This morning we were greeted by a thick layer of snow on the outside of the ship - definitely need all our layers today for the excursions. Getting ready for each trip takes time, but we're getting better - each trip we usually have a couple of layers of clothes, then our waterproof jackets and pants, two pairs of socks, gumboots, life jacket, hat and gloves.
Instead of getting on the Zodiac first and sitting in front, we tried to sit near the back, it can be freezing up front when the zodiac is at speed, and today the snow was steadily falling and the zodiacs already had a good covering of snow. This was unfortunate for K as her "waterproof" pants had a leak - meaning the longer they were wet the colder she felt.
We spent an hour or so cruising around the icebergs near the Ukrainian Antarctic Research Station at Vernadsky Base, before going into the station for a quick tour. This is the station where the hole in the ozone layer was discovered, and the dozen or so staff stay at the base for a year, April to April. The staff had radioed the ship earlier to ask if there were any Russian movies on board they could copy, and for whisky.
The station had a small gift shop called the Southernmost Souvenir Shop On the Earth and a largish bar with an assortment of bras hanging behind - a swap, free drinks for your bra to add to the collection. They were doing good trade with their post office, where you could send postcards home (via Kiev, after the April change over), and also get an Antarctica stamp in your passports.
It continued to snow all afternoon so M went on the zodiac wildlife spotting cruise on his own and managed to see the ubiquitous penguins, lots of Crabeater and Weddell seals and also had a close-ish encounter with a small group of humpback whales. K stayed in the warmth and comfort of the ship's lounge but also managed to see two massive humpbacks up close that were swimming right next to the ship, blowing and flipping their fins and tails as she walked alongside them on a lower deck.
After all that we pulled up anchor to head out to the open sea to head north to the Polar Circle, this means its back to "one hand for the ship" time again. We had so enjoyed our smooth sailing, but it's back to a night of rough tossing and turning in our beds, fortunately with raised edges to stop us falling out.
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