February 21,

Up and readied for a day at sea. The view out our balcony is just gray sky meeting the sea. We had ordered a room service breakfast of a Western Omelet, Muesli, yogurt, and a side of bacon. The food was delivered just after 0830. It was good and pleasant to just sit by ourselves in peace and eat. Jeff has a bit of a sore throat and is coughing some. Our laundry was delivered, fresh and clean by our house steward, Dewa. He is very friendly, and has smiling eyes. We declined a room cleaning today- no reason, he works all the time it seems, but happily serves.

Just before 1000, I went down for two lectures. The first lecture, The Myth of Shackleton, was given by Isidro. What I took from his talk was basically reflecting on Shackleton as a myth, and likening his stories to stories or myths of our past that stay with us and shape us in a way. Myth and stories such as Ulysses, or the Three Little Pigs – something about them presses through humanity. Thinking on Shackleton may be the same. He also said… Adventurers are so named from bad planning, as with Shackleton; and Explorers are so named because they accomplished, as with Amundsen (who was the first to reach the South Pole). I found it an interesting concept that we relate with the adventures due to the failure, or the struggle, maybe? Different and an interesting lecture. Jeff watched it in our room.

The second lecture was Protecting Whales to Protect the Planet by Sara. Whaling on a large scale had been starting as early as the 17th Century. But the whaling industry, in earnest, started in the 18th & 19th centuries. Some two + million whales were killed throughout the Southern Ocean, to near-extinction, during the 20th Century. This started the protection of whales by various groups, and just on Jan. 17, 2026 a High Seas Treaty- to protect ocean life – was set in force and has become International Law. She related how whales help sequester CO2 and that one whale absorbs more CO2 than 1,000 trees. She played a short video (that was narrated by Julia Roberts) on nature, with the key takeaway: “Nature doesn’t need people…people need nature.” Another interesting lecture. Jeff watched this in the room on the telly as well.

Then Jeff came and joined me in the Atlas Lounge to try the drink of the day – Coffee Caramel Martini. We chatted a bit with the young couple from London. Then we went to lunch. I had shredded veggie soup and carving of Porchetta Ham with rosemary sauce with small sides: cold grilled asparagus salad, and hot veggies of brussel sprouts, cauliflower and onion. Jeff had, in addition, Wild Boar stew with the asparagus. For dessert we shared a piece of chocolate raspberry tart, and coconut flan.

After lunch we went to the Dome to whale watch. The view is still a gray sky “shrouding” that meets the darker gray water. There was a bit of rocking and rolling, but it is not affecting us, and we’re not needing to take Dramamine. We did spot some icebergs, otherwise it’s just sky and sea. At 1330, we were rewarded with half a dozen whale blow spouts in the distance. Don’t know what whales they were, but it did happen.Yay! Then really nothing, so around 1600, we went back to our room. Wouldn’t you know, just 15-20 minutes later, Chad announced that an “iceberg off of our port side, that had broken off from the Weddell Sea had come to meet us.” We rushed back up to see it and were rewarded to see it!

At 1815 we went to the Briefing and Recap for today. There were three mini-segments by three presenters. First was Flor on Lichens and their relationship in South Georgia. Next was Jan on the Water Cycle. His talks are always fascinating. The amount of salt water to fresh water compared to the density of the earth was way less than I thought. Because I always have heard it compared to just the earth’s surface. And lastly was Maria on South Georgia Habitat Restoration – they eliminated rats and reindeer! Both had been brought by man through seven major whaling stations. A major feat!

For supper we were in the recommended late seating, so we again opted to sit with someone as there was limited space for just two. It was the two ladies from Steamboat, Colorado that we sat with on the charter flight down to Ushuaia, Argentina. They are lab technicians and both had done traveling jobs. It made for good conversation as we ate. I had a Mushroom Barley soup with a main of Seabream Fish with roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnip (not a fan of the latter). Jeff had a Horiatiki salad (similar to a Greek salad) with a main of BBQ Ribs, onions rings (X2), piece of corn on the cob, and coleslaw. Jeff and I also shared a dessert of chocolate peanut butter cake. Overall great supper, but the cake was probably our least liked dessert dish so far…just lacked flavor.

Finished, we went back to our room and we were able to WhatsApp video with my mother. That was a nice cap to the end of the day!