DAY 4 on the ICE....... KAYAKING, WHALES AND PALAVER POINT

 Today the 25th Feb was kayaking day. Those going on the kayak were to miss the morning expedition on the zodiac. Today was also my sisters birthday, a happy coincidence. The previous evening, the crew had left life jackets, wet suits and crocs for us to wear. They had held a demo on day 1 on how to get into the wet suit and we had a choice of wearing inner thermal wear and then getting into the suit. Considering the place we were in and the temperature, I got into 2 layers of inner wear  before  getting into the wet suit, The thick rubber suit was insulated to keep one from freezing in that water, but I was not sure for how long. The reporting time was 8 am, which was way earlier than the usual time for zodiac trips. The drill was that the  12 kayakers  would get in to a zodiac and move  150 meters distance away from the ship, then  on all fours crawl onto a floating pad of 3 feet by 4 feet  size and slip into the kayak. Yes, I had not prepared for that one. 

I was paired  with a young Korean lady and we discovered it was the first kayaking experience for both of us. The one in the rear seat is the captain and issues instructions ,and here both of us wanted to be in the front seat. After a brief discussion, two new pairs were formed and my new partner was Marie, the assistant instructor in the kayaking team on board the ship. I was relieved, as now I was sure I wont fall into the water.

I managed to crawl into the kayak and we let go. Since  Marie was with me, we were the rearguard , to ensure that everyone was ahead of us, The kayaking chief was solo in the front, and we set off. It was exhilarating to be at the sea level. The water  was still and gently lapping against the kayak as we paddled . I was expecting to use my paddle  but I found my partner Marie doing all the work. Not only was she an experienced  kayaker, she was way more efficient in the use of her energy in propelling us forward.  I  realised my skills were not needed and I proceeded to enjoy the vista, the scenery, the beauty of it all .

Fully togged up in my suit

As seen from the kayak

This photo was taken by Samantha Whitcroft, a fellow passenger, who has kindly permitted me to use this in my blog.

And thats me in the middle of the ice and sea !

Some here , away from the ship, we stopped paddling and gently drifted amongst the brash ice. The boss man told us to close our eyes for a minute and listen to the sound of the ice. That was one of the most beautiful moments of the trip. You could hear the ice crackling away as the air bubbles burst from  within the ice. When we opened our eyes, I saw this huge iceberg  bobbing up and down in the water.  It was awe inspiring  and humbling at the same time to see that an iceberg several thousand tons being subjected to the power of the sea. No matter the size, there is always a power mightier than you !

We slowly and reluctantly made our way back to the ship and then we saw the whales. As we edged closer to the ship, we saw three of them bobbing on the surface. And then we found the gentle current pushing us towards the whales and we had to back paddle, that too gently and without making noise and panicking . I was good because I just sat and watched the whales , while Marie did all the work.

 I was not carrying my phone or my camera as there was no space  for a DSLR, that too  with borrowed lenses and I was  scared of the phone getting wet .  So some of the photos and  all the videos  below are taken by my co passengers. I  have given them due credit and also thank them for letting me use them in my blog.

https://youtube.com/shorts/W0FcJuI4LTE?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/R5jdqo4KYwk?feature=share

As we turned around towards the ship , we found 2 more whales, somewhat blocking our way to the ship. Here is the link.

https://youtube.com/shorts/4RVHk4Q5HkA?feature=share

Here are 2  videos taken by  passengers from the back deck. You can see our kayaks in the distance.

https://youtube.com/shorts/1it1UC-dvWk?feature=share

https://youtu.be/O7i7TI1eg14

And as the whales moved past the  ship, we made our way back to the ship. As before we crawled our way into a zodiac and then zipped to the ship.  I was  on a endorphin fueled  high for the next hour  or so, with the thrill of kayaking and seeing the whales up close. It was a magical morning and a  much cherished chapter in my life.

 Taking off the wetsuit was a task, requiring some assistance with the heavy duty zippers.  And then post lunch and afternoon tea , our evening expedition to Palaver point awaited us.

Palaver was an uphill walk, with busy Gentoos making their way up and down . On the side we  also found some grey seals and weddell seals. We also got some lovely photos of the bay.

After all the excitement of the day, we made our way back to the ship.  The ship had offered  a dinner  with a senior members of the staff. They had about 10 staff members with each of them having 4 guests at their table. We had dinner with the chief of the  front desk and her deputy. It was interesting, because  Rebecca was  from Reunion island , a French territory in the Indian Ocean. That was very unusual  and we had some interesting conversation.

Later that evening, there was a quiz session on the lounge deck on level 3 on flags of various countries. While it was fun, we later found that all the flags shown were countries from where the crew and passengers had come from. I was surprised that they had over 26 nationalities on board .