Fifty Shades of White

So, I think it's fairly likely the next few blog entries will involve lots of pictures of ice and not much else, but really, who doesn't like icebergs?!  After leaving Stanley we met some fairly exciting weather, and for the first time in the 6ish months I've spent on this ship I actually had to hold on tightly to my mattress to stop myself sliding off the bed.  This particular roll resulted in various boxes, lamps and buckets coming lose in the surgery which then started to crash around in a most distracting manner (my cabin is next to the surgery so it's hard to ignore the noises).  I made the mistake of getting out of bed in bare feet just as the ship rolled again, and found myself sliding quite fast across the cabin and face first into the shut door with some force.  A real delight at 2am.  Unfortunately this meant we had to head in entirely the wrong direction for a while as the waves were being particularly troublesome - less than ideal as we were already several days behind schedule after some difficulties with cargo loading in Stanley.  However, it only lasted a couple of days and settled just in time for Christmas Day.  If it hadn't then I suspect we'd actually have had to delay Christmas as there is just no way the chefs could have prepared anything resembling a Christmas dinner in those conditions.  As it was we had a lovely meal, I spent a very pleasant couple of hours chatting in the crew bar and then some more in the officer's bar attempting to assist with a ridiculously tricky jigsaw which had far, far too many beige pieces for my liking.  Rock and roll it was not, but still very pleasant!  Soon after that we reached the ice.

Heading into the ice just off Signy

Chinstrap penguins porpoising next to the ship

One of the many good things about sea ice is that it ensures the sea beneath it is virtually flat calm.  I have tried using my turbo trainer in slightly bumpy conditions and it's just not a pleasant experience.  I think the fact I'm clipped into the bike as the ship's rolling around makes it feel like a particularly bad idea, and when I started wondering if I should attach the bike to the ship I figured it was probably time to go inside.  However, since we've been in the ice I've been on the bike every day (twice on one day as it was just so beautiful), and in terms of exercise options on a ship not much much can beat cycling along in the sun, watching the ice float by, with penguins porpoising, seals lounging and snow petrels wheeling about!

The view from my verandah taken while cycling

The first proper day in the ice ended with the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen out here (and that really says quite a lot).  The presence of a particularly large and imposing iceberg in just the right position definitely helped add drama to the scene, and the fact it could all be enjoyed from a comfortable seat on my verandah with a glass of wine and some dark chocolate made for a near perfect evening.  Just when it seemed it really couldn't get any better and the sun was about to disappear, the ship squeezed between two large icebergs and nearly everyone on board could be found on the aft deck trying to capture the scene with a large array of photographic apparatus.  I will admit there are times when I find life at sea more than a little tedious, but experiences like this do somewhat make up for the days spent staring at water!

Taken from my verandah - not a bad life!

Really quite close!

Against all odds the humber and cargo tender managed to find a way through the ice to drop off and pick up people at Signy, and then drop off the field party on Southern Powell Island.  I have to be honest and say I was rather hoping they wouldn't be able to drop off the latter party as I'm really not sure I like the sound of what they're going to do to the penguins there, but apparently it's all in the name of science.....

On the plus side, the weather at Southern Powell was highly conducive to getting atmospheric shots of icebergs, and of course I really don't have enough photographs of icebergs already!