Day 10 – Afternoon in Fournier Bay
After a short afternoon break and a repositioning of our expedition ship to Fournier Bay, we headed out for another Zodiac tour.
Just a quick explanation: On board, we have around 10 black Zodiacs that look like inflatable boats. These are lowered into the water from Deck 7 using a crane and are operated by the “Zodiac drivers”. Before we can board, a door on Deck 3 is opened and a platform is set up so we can safely enter the boats.
After successfully boarding, we set off on our expedition through Fournier Bay and explored the icy bay with many… very many glaciers, ice floes, and larger icebergs. Around some of them, we were able to observe wildlife such as sea lions and seals – always keeping a respectful distance, of course.
Our Zodiac driver even picked up a piece of glacier ice from the water and showed us that, due to the air trapped inside, you can tell under which climatic conditions the ice was formed… or something like that 😅 I didn’t fully understand the science behind it – partly because I was completely fascinated by the surroundings, and partly because my English isn’t always perfect.
These were our two expeditions today – and they were truly amazing. We are absolutely thrilled with the entire journey, the crew, and also the scientists on board. They put so much effort into sharing their passion and knowledge about Antarctica and always take the time to answer all our questions.
After the tour, we disinfected our boots again, checked back in on board, and attended the briefing for the next day. Matt – the “Chief of the Tour” or something like that – explained the route and plans for tomorrow. Small spoiler: it’s going to be very exciting!
You can really feel that the entire crew is just as amazed as we are. Everyone is relaxed, enthusiastic, and you can sense how we are all growing together as one big group.
In the evening, we had a great dinner with mulled wine, which we once again enjoyed with Megane and Brandon – our new friends from Dallas. We get along really well with them, as we share a very similar sense of humor and interests.
After dinner, there was a small concert in the main lounge by one of the researchers. Together with them, we also had a bottle of wine. And yes… with a little alcohol, speaking English becomes much easier 😄
The concert had a really special atmosphere, and the nicest part was that almost everyone on the ship was there – even the co-captain. He was really happy about the sense of community. Fun fact: after this Antarctica expedition, the co-captain will take the ship north to operate Arctic cruises.
All in all, it was another incredibly spectacular and intense day here in Antarctica.
Thanks for reading – the next update will come tomorrow!