What can I say?! One minute we are rocking and rolling around, struggling to shower and put trousers on without sitting down first, and the next it is flat calm and we are surrounded by massive chunks of ice and icebergs you could land a plane on!
I can't put into words just how incredible yesterday was so I will just put some pictures up. Needless to say I did not remain outwardly cool, calm or professional and there was a fair amount of hopping and skipping around the decks with my camera and a stupid grin.
Me on a ship in sea ice
Unusually, I thought I would include a picture of myself this time, just to prove that I really am here and to show off how well my new down vest matches my eyes!
I now have A LOT of pictures of icebergs and some major editing to do!
Disappointingly, I learnt today that the way I thought the ship broke through ice is not, in fact, the actual way it breaks through ice. Either I just made it up or dreamt it, but I was sure that the bow somehow rose out of the water to smash down on the ice like a WWF wrestler elbow-dropping his/her opponent. I have been fairly reliably informed this is not the case. Luckily, to ease the disappointment, there was lots of lovely wildlife hanging out on the ice which distracted me somewhat from ice breaking.
Chinstrap penguins
Another non-cute seal species - Leopard seals have heads rather like snakes and I don't think I approve of them
This is a proper seal looking all friendly and nice (though probably not if you happen to be a crab)
“For general information the ship is about to change course, I would suggest everyone holds on. I repeat the ship is about to change course, please hold on.”
Ha, I love living in a moving house! Admittedly I’m less keen when the sill under my window fills with water and then discharges dirty salt/rain water with bits of cracked off paint in it all over my bed. Some might say it was my own damn fault for not closing the window properly after pretending to be a ninja, but I’m only a girl, so how could I possibly know it would be a problem….
Anyway, it has been a busy few days since we left Stanley as we have been restocking the bases on Bird Island and South Georgia. Whilst it was pretty awesome watching the cargo being shifted from ship to boat and then to land using big cranes (who doesn’t love cranes?!), I did spend a lot of time worrying that I may be called upon to actually do my job at some point. Moving boats, moving sea, heavy loads and a tight schedule make a slightly concerning combination. However, the deck crew have clearly done this more than a couple of times before and all went well – lots of aching shoulders and bruises but nothing for me to deal with. On the other hand, a professional masseur would have been far more useful! Sadly the cranes can’t do everything and lots of man-handling of fuel drums and boxes is still required – lots of work for everyone on board and very long days, especially for the deck crew. On the plus side, hard hats and orange boiler suits were required which always makes me a bit happy (simple pleasures etc!)
Boat, crane and Bird Island
Bird Island is an amazing place – like some kind of lost world, with wildlife absolutely everywhere! Now I’m rather fond of seals, with their lovely big eyes and flippers, so I will admit that I had ignored all warnings about the ferocious fur seals on Bird Island, and instead assumed it was all exaggerated nonsense. How can seals be scary? Big eyes. Flippers. Cute noises. Oh how wrong I was. It turns out that fur seals are NOTHING like your average UK seal and they really, really don’t like people invading their patch of beach or rolling oil drums down the jetty. And they’re big. And they move FAST! After a rather close call with a particularly grumpy male (embarrassingly squealing like a girl and running to take cover behind someone with a stick was involved), I have developed a healthy respect for them and am slightly regretting offering to help with the pup-weighing on South Georgia. I may have to find myself some important medical stuff to do on those days! Luckily, and to be honest rather surprisingly, no one was bitten. This also made me happy.
This guy REALLY did not appreciate a digger invading his beach
Penguins and seals and a white bird whose name I've forgotten
After completing relief at Bird Island it was off to South Georgia for more fun and frolics involving boats and cranes. The weather was not kind to us and the island was shrouded in cloud for the first day with intermittent drizzle meaning that everything in cardboard boxes got wet – for information Becks boxes do pretty well in the rain (German engineering and all that) whereas St Miguel are RUBBISH! I had a brief look at the surgery, which is ridiculously massive and scared me a bit. However, it will be nice to have everything out and ready to go, rather than lashed down and packed away. Also, opening cupboards without having the entire contents pour out onto my head will no doubt be quite a novelty after 4 months at sea and will probably take some getting used to. My time on the island was mostly spent unpacking food and drink so the boxes could be loaded back onto the ship, but I did have a quick wander around the base and it looks most wonderful. However, whilst it was good to see my future home, I’m not ready to leave the ship just yet, so there were no tears when the time came to get back on the boat. Also, I’m not going to be provided with puddings twice daily on the base, unless I make them myself, and this is something that will take some time to adjust to – I may go into mourning some time in January in preparation. A little annoyingly the weather on the second day was absolutely fantastic, but sadly there was no time for shore leave so we just had to admire the mountains, turquoise water and elephants seals lounging around on the beach from the comfort of the ship. In my head I was bouncing around ecstatically (like a small child on Christmas day) at the thought of spending a year there, but I reckon I managed to look outwardly cool, calm and professional. Maybe.
It is possible that this post may turn out to be a disjointed stream of consciousness due to my current level of excitement and need to explain just how wonderful the Falkland Islands have been and how lucky I am to have this job and how much I like penguins and beaches and sitting in the sun and apple pie and early morning sunlight and having an afternoon doze in sand dunes. For anyone expecting my usual level of high quality factual information about my adventures, I apologise.
Gypsy Cove in the morning sun
This is actually taken at Surf bay but I am too excited to order the pictures sensibly
It would be impossible to imagine how the last four days could have been any better as the weather has been perfect every day and, since there is a hospital in Stanley, my services have not been required on the ship (not that my medical skills are required very often here anyway) so I have been off exploring. Every day has started with a 6am run to Gypsy Cove for a penguin pick-me-up and to enjoy the fantastic light which made everything look stunning and caused me to skip a little bit every now and again. Admittedly each morning when my alarm clock went off at 5.45 and I contorted myself in bed so I could see the small triangle of sky, which is just visible above the lifeboat if I press my cheek to the glass, a little bit of me hoped that I would see grey sky and/or rain so I could justify going back to sleep. However, once up, there were no regrets and it was more than a little disappointing that we lost our berth yesterday and have had to anchor out in the harbour meaning no run today. Rather surprisingly I managed to recruit company for the early morning activities which meant Rich (the ship's purser) was there to witness my totally uncontrolled delight at the penguins, and the baby ducks, and the baby geese and the general loveliness of it all - bemused is probably a good description. I was a little concerned that, after such a wonderful start to the day, things would only go downhill. Not so, for there are many exciting things to do around Stanley, particularly if you are in possession of a bike.
Surf Bay
The cycling options available on the Falklands are rather limited as very few of the roads are properly tarmacked and my road bike would have been most unhappy if I had tried to explore too far afield. However, from where we were moored it was possible to whizz along the road to Surf Bay and arrive at paradise (albeit a rather chilly paradise) in less than 10 minutes. I then left the bike (tied to a post with a lock that was basically little better than a piece of string which I borrowed from the Chief Engineer - no crime here apparently) and walked along the coast to the lighthouse which I saw on the way in. For anyone that has seen the Anne of Green Gables TV show that was on when I was little, the lighthouse was exactly like the one in that, and in my mind I was rapidly transported to New England and Gilbert Blythe. Anyway, I digress. Along the way my eye was caught by a small movement on the beach and a large white object that appeared to be waddling. All I can say is thank god I was on my own! Lone king penguin wandering around on the beach. Clearly lost. Clearly in need of someone to look after him or at least to give him a little stroke. Luckily I managed to regain some composure after a small amount of hopping and squealing and settled for a couple of photos. If my excitement level turns out to be directly proportional to number of penguins seen I may be in trouble when I get to South Georgia and the colonies
PENGUIN!!!!!!!!!!
Lying in the sand dunes I somehow summoned the energy to take a picture
I returned to Surf Bay the following day as several people told me there were often dolphins playing in the water there, so I thought I should maximise my chances of seeing them. Sadly no dolphins, but I did manage a short afternoon nap in the sand dunes with the sea splashing up the beach - it is indeed a hard life!
Remembrance Day in Stanley
Attack of the seagulls
Elland Road 7970 miles - useful to know
I have also wandered in to Stanley on a couple of occasions and managed to make it in for the Remembrance Day ceremony. Since it is the 30 year anniversary of the Falkland conflict this year, the event was probably a bit bigger than usual and included royalty (rather lost on me admittedly). The church service was standing room only and all the divisions of the forces had a marching party to accompany the veterans and marching band. It really was quite special - particularly the bit when a currently serving officer was screaming out mildly amusing commands to the veterans to get them into rank ready for some marching (apparently at a reduced speed to ensure the young guys could keep up with them). It seems you never forget how to march and the veterans looked equally as smart and organised as the serving troops but their presence was somewhat more poignant. Out of respect I resisted all temptation to photograph young men in uniform, but I figured the band was fair game as they looked all bright and shiny. I also spent a lot of time watching the world go by while sitting on the shore in the sunshine and am a little concerned that if I get much more relaxed I will never be able to return to normal life.
Well it's been a little while since the last bit of twittering - mostly because there are only so many pictures you can take of the sea and the ship in the sunshine with no land in sight and really only so much you can say about it. I have therefore been saving it up for the extravaganza that I shall now launch into. My non-medical endeavours have continued and I have a beautiful white cargo tender cabin to show for it - the 6 years of medical school did not prepare me well for such tasks but, luckily, my dad did. Admittedly some paint did not end up where it should have, but it really is very challenging painting above head height in fairly high winds while bobbing around at sea. I am still discovering paint in my hair nearly a week after completing the task and the windows required a bit of TLC with a scraping device, as rollers, gloss paint and high winds is a particularly tricky combination to manage. Anyway, I enjoyed myself immensely - mainly because I got to hang out in the sunshine listening to my especially prepared 'music to paint to' playlist and eat desserts guilt free thanks to the calories burnt keeping upright.
Admire the shiny whiteness of the cabin
The wildlife sightings have been increasing the closer we have been getting to land and, although I have been terrible at actually photographing it, I can report sightings of whales, dolphins, albatross and penguins. The latter I shall come onto in a bit. One of the main reasons for the lack of good photographs is that it has been getting a little more choppy and windy over the past few days which has coincided with the arrival of the birds. I have managed several rather blurred pictures of an albatross but there is definitely room for improvement. I think I will probably see them again - hopefully sitting on a nest staying nice and still. I have also discovered that, while I appear to be fairly immune to sea sickness, sleeping when you're being rolled from one side of your bed to the other is a skill that I have yet to master. Luckily we have arrived in the Falkland Islands today; the ship is moored up and therefore staying still and I plan to do a bit of sleeping. Unless of course it is sunny tomorrow, in which case I will be hunting down the penguins at every opportunity. Maybe even in the dark.
A video clip would probably be better here
Yes it's blurred but it's the best I have for now
On the subject of penguins, I have managed to get my first sighting of the little fellows and thus the obsession has begun. Before I launch into tales of treks to far off beaches, I think it is important to try to set the scene a little. The following 3 pictures were taken as we dropped anchor and within the space of about 10 minutes in the order shown. The weather here is unpredictable to say the least. Think Scottish islands and you will have a pretty good idea of what it's like.
Nice! I decided not to offer to help out on deck today.
The site of penguins (or at least somewhere vaguely near the penguin burrows)
Anyway, despite the fact that the deck crew were battling with a storm of horizontal hail stones, all went smoothly when coming alongside, and the promise of solid ground for the first time in just under a month beckoned. Two options for walks from the ship were suggested to me:
1) turn right, walk for about 10 minutes, arrive in town and have a cup of tea/pint
2) turn left and walk for an hour through intermittent hail stone flurries and some mighty strong winds but with the possibility of white sands, turquoise water and penguins at the end.
Obviously there was really no decision to be made and, although I did momentarily question my choice as the hail stones were flung against my legs so hard that they actually stung through two pairs of trousers; when the clouds cleared and the sun came out and two little penguins popped out of the sea and waddled up the beach, I was happy with my decision. Less happy when I realised I would have to run back to avoid missing dinner whilst wearing a thermal, fleece, down jacket and full waterproofs. Oh I looked good when I arrived back on the ship wind burnt and sweaty!
I'm not going to even attempt to describe it, but needless to say my hiding place was not the greatest, I was soon found and punishment was administered.
King Neptune and his wife, who for some reason was dressed like a penguin, waiting for the fun to start
The vat of kitchen scraps that had been stewing and fermenting for a week or so
The Judge - charges against me were tenuous to say the least
Slimy, pungent and generally disgusting
Clearly a career high point
Never have I looked more attractive
Still it could have been worse - Carl, who was last to be found, got the remains of the concoction
Little to write about today so I will try to keep ramblings
to a minimum and instead treat you to a few photos. I believe we crossed the line (equator)
sometime in the early hours of Friday morning, but the ceremony is to be held
later today - I am less than thrilled by the prospect of this charming seafaring
tradition and what it means for me! On the plus side,
there will be a BBQ to celebrate the occasion and the food promises to be
truly delicious. Whether this will make
up for my hair smelling like mouldy fish for the next week (if rumours are to
be believed) remains to be seen. In fact
I crafted the burgers for the BBQ with my own fair hands, having now ventured
into the galley for some cooking lessons pre-arrival in South Georgia. If all goes to plan, today I will be
foregoing the early morning rowing (finally managed sub-21mins yesterday -
woohoo!) in order to learn to make bread - probably a more useful life skill.
The world's biggest infinity pool - no swimming allowed!
Yesterday saw the arrival of frigate birds which are pretty
awesome creatures - absolutely massive and they glide gracefully alongside the ship for hours,
occasionally trying (succeeding intermittently) to land on the mast. The gannets were also out in force and were
looking quite delightful against the blue sky. I'm not much of a wildlife photographer (rather lacking in the required levels of
patience sadly) but I did bring out a ridiculously oversized
lens so thought I should at least give it a go - it
was very windy and they did keep moving about which I found most unhelpful, but I eventually managed to get a couple of acceptable shots.
This one has a very good beady eye
In other exciting news I have finally got around to checking
the x-ray kit works. It does and I have
a reasonably satisfactory picture of my hand to show for my efforts - complete
with grubby finger prints in the bottom left corner. I have an awful lot of chemicals for
developing x-rays in the surgery so I may have a think about other things that
might look good on the inside.
So, to set the scene, this is the window in my cabin.
Not the best view on the ship
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You might say this is a rubbish window. No view of the sea or sky, just an orange lifeboat to look at. However, this is not a rubbish window, and the reason for this is the little green sign above it.
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Now, just say you were on a ship for a month with fairly limited options for entertainment. It is possible that you might decide one day that you wanted to pretend you were a ninja for an evening, and wander stealth-like around the ship in the dark without anyone knowing what you were doing. If you wanted to do this, you would need a method for getting outside without passing through one of the doors that are all either near people's bedrooms or a bar. What you would need is a window in your cabin that is big enough to climb through. Not such a rubbish window now eh? Since you only want to do the stealth-like wandering bit of being a ninja and not the killing people bit, you would need slightly different kit (I would suggest forgoing the G&T in favour of Black Sheep which is considerably more portable but also quite delicious). Tempting as it is to dress completely in black, I would recommend not doing this if you are passing through the tropics. Should you meet anyone whilst wearing a black polo neck they will probably be a bit concerned about your mental health - not ideal when you have to spend several more weeks stuck on a ship with them.
Supplies for evening excursions
Anyway, if you were to wander up to the Monkey Island and open the Black Sheep and look up at the sky with clouds whizzing past and occasionally opening up enough to allow the moon to shine through and maybe a few stars to twinkle, I suspect you would agree that there are few better ways to spend an evening. I would also suggest that if you were to put a bit of Elton John, Tiny Dancer on the i-pod it is VERY important to remember that there may well be cameras on the Monkey Island BEFORE you start any twirling around.
Task for today: check camera situation to ensure no one thinks I'm a crazy person.
I am going to have to work on my night time photography skills
The monkey island during the day (as in the grey bit at the bottom of the photo not the white masts sitting on the monkey island which I am not allowed to go near)
In non-ninja related news, there have been many, many flying fish leaping out of the water and flying really quite considerable distances before diving back in with a splash. I would like to put up a picture but I had to google them to see what they look like close up as they are tricky little fellows and not easy to catch on camera. We also had another drill today which means I got to put on a hard hat, orange boiler suit and steel toe-capped boots before heading out to my muster point. Since today was a fire drill, a smoke machine had been set off in one of the front holds and a crew member was reported missing. The remaining crew then had to head in wearing breathing apparatus to drag the 'body' out while others sorted out fire hoses, closed vents, isolated stuff etc. Luckily I don't have to get involved with the rescue side of things (wearing fire-fighting kit in the tropics looks very, very hot). I just have to wait outside with my medical bag and assistants, who have brought the stretcher, until the casualty is brought to me. There is then a bit of time to discuss how we would manage the casualty if this happened in real life before heading up to The Bridge for a debrief. From my very inexperienced point of view it all looked most impressive and seemed to be managed extremely efficiently by the officers and crew - I guess that is the point of twice weekly drills though!
