We spent the morning at Amalia Glacier – weather forecast was 100% chance of rain – but once again, we beat the odds.
If you’re lucky, you can make your iPhone panorama picture do wonderful things:
I did capture another couple of sightings of the rare ice duck:
Here’s more info about today’s naturalist/zodiac driver:
Eduardo Shaw has travelled widely as a naturalist and guide. For the past 34 years he has lived with his family in northwestern Patagonia, working as a teacher and in community projects before returning to expedition ships. Eduardo is deeply committed to the principles behind sustainable development. He is happily married and the father of five children. Eduardo began his expedition cruise adventures on the first expedition ship ever built, the Lindblad Explorer, or The Little Red Ship, as she was lovingly known. During the two years he worked on her he travelled around the world one and a half times. The first places he visited are the ones he most returns to: the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Although Eduardo has no favorite destination, believing that each place holds something special, his love for Antarctica goes back to childhood, when his mother used to read him stories of the explorers. The stories led to a dream which was fulfilled in 1976 when he went there for the first time, and he counts himself privileged to continue returning year after year to this fascinating part of the planet. Eduardo is rapidly approaching 100 expeditions to The Ice, and each time feels there are new things to be discovered and experienced, which leave him in awe of this wondrous place – the pristine beauty of its ice, the resilience of its creatures and plants, and the stories.
Nat Geo/Lindblad had never been to this particular glacier and Eduardo was exploring along with us. This channel beckoned:
About this point, I made a crack about needing to deflate the zodiac in order to get out. He remarked, that because he’d been around for so long, he always had stories and, yes, that had happened. Someone had not paid attention to the tide and got stuck. He did back out shortly after.
And, as we had had in Antarctica during a kayak trip, we were treated to the bar boat, which was serving hot chocolate (including a vegan variety) topped off with a liquor of your choice.
This ship, and her sister, the Endurance, has a dining alcove in an area called The Den, otherwise known as the library, It’s a beautiful space and is used as an alternative dining area for lighter breakfasts and lunches. In addition, they host a chef’s tasting menu, to which 20 passengers at a time are invited. Since we’d thoroughly enjoyed the experience on the Endurance, we were delighted to find out that this ship has continued the custom.
We’re pretty careful at choosing cruise lines as far as or food preferences are concerned, and Nat Geo/Lindblad has gotten better and better. As the world has begun to acknowledge plant based eating is healthier for humans and the planet, one of the practices this cruise line has put in place now has a solid indicator of that trend. We’re asked to sign up at breakfast for the entree of our choice for dinner as a way to cut down on waste. We recently heard that that practice has reduced waste by 25%. Out of curiosity, I checked to see how many passengers had chosen vegetarian/vegan and that percentage has been running around 10%, higher than the general population.
We were encouraged to meet the executive chef at our first dinner. He knew he had some vegans on board but wanted to let us know that although the menu indicated the vegan, gluten free, and dairy free options, that we could always ask if something else could be made vegan. The chances were good that we could be accommodated and we have been. The head of hotel services, Sebastian, (who runs food services) knows us by name, as do a number of the servers who know our choices as well. Every time we see him on board, he asks if we’re getting what we want. We’ve definitely been pampered.
And, in our cabin after dinner (Ron grabbed one before I could take the picture…)
