At sea, crossing the North Atlantic between Iceland and Greenland
Lots of "oh, hello, may we join you? First time on the ship?...where do you come from, no where do you really come from?...oh, you're French?....no, I'm not vegan...oh, you're Scottish too?......no, please I insist...I'm sorry this chair is taken....
The ships routine at sea becomes established fairly quickly.
Breakfast between 7 and 9
A science activity plus a lecture.
A buffet lunch served between 12 and 2
Lecture/activity
Tea and cake at 3
Dinner served between 6 and 8
Briefing on the following days programme
Ben's Bedtime story at 9
(Eagle eyed observers will have spotted gaps of up to 3 hours between feeds - a difficult time for all..)
Benjamin, our resident historian, writes tales based on ancient mythological sagas and delivers his stories, centre stage in the Explorers Lounge, in a hesitant, falling inflection sotto voce, laced with gutturally precise pronunciation.
Black Guillemot
A WhatsApp group is set up to alert passengers to any wildlife that has been spotted, which can lead to the comical situation of everyone abandoning their eggs hollandaise and rushing to whatever side the creature has been spotted.
The science programmes start with a bit of cloud and wildlife spotting.
Mrs M studying the form
Errrr......clouds....
Pilot whales
Fulmar
Lectures that day included History of Greenland, whale Identification, tidal flows and Ice.
The evening before arriving at Prinz Christiensen Sound, we had a mandatory briefing on how the zodiacs operated.
These small inflatable boats take about 8 passengers from the ship on either a sightseeing cruise or to a landing ashore.
Zodiac waiting for passengers next to the extendable landing stage
Various techniques associated with getting in and out of theses craft are explained and we are advised to wear our waterproof gear plus the fabulous "Muck boots" we were issued with on embarkation.
The Zodiac Look
The passengers are divided into six boat Groups and each Group is called sequentially to the boat deck on level 2. The time of first landing is given the night before with whichever boat group starts the sequence. A 10 minute warning to kit up is given over the tannoy then successive numbers are called at regular intervals.
Its a good rotating system giving all Groups the chance to be first off and not hang around.
Pep's Log : Knit and natter - didn't make it
Tales of the Mead of Poets by wonderful Benjamin
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