The Final Leg

Among the passengers on our cruise were six members from the State Department who were coming down to check on stations from other countries and field camps. Their purpose is to make sure the stations' actions and such are in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty. They were a nice group of folks. Also, there was a researcher who we needed to drop off at Cape Shirreff on the way. By drop off, i mean we would anchor down off the coast, crane a zodiac or two into the water, and shuttle people and cargo to shore. I was also suppose to go ashore to take pictures of the radioisotope lab they had in their camp for our company's records, so we could know better what we were outfitting when ordering instruments in the future. However, the weather had turned sour after our smooth ride across the Drake, and we were not able to land. The lady we were suppose to drop off had to continue to Palmer with us and wait things out there until the Gould was going north again- then they would try again then. A free vacation for her, and no boondoggle for me. Yes, very sad.

We puttered on, the weather calmed down, we watched a couple more movies, i napped, we watched more movies, and i went to bed early anticipating our early arrival the next morning to the Gerlache Strait.

I woke up at 4:30 the next morning, went on deck, and i was amazed at the sights. Off both port and starboard sides were some of the most beautiful snow-covered mountains and glaciers across the waters.