Day 28 ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside! The Chilean Glaciers

 February 6, 2022

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY~ Leeway

The "weather" side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The "lee" side is the side of the ship that is sheltered from the wind. A "lee shore" is a shore that is downwind of a ship. If a ship does not have enough "leeway," it is in danger of being driven onto the shore. (I learned all about this phraseology decades ago from watching "The Secret of Nimh" with my girls when they were little. It's a surprisingly angsty tale about a group of field mice who must find safety by moving their home "to the lee of the Stone.") 

Today we visited the Amalia Glacier, and its oversized and still growing cousin, the Brugen glacier. These are connected to the Southern Patagonia Ice Field high in the Andes, the third largest storehouse of ice on earth. 

It was in the high 40's, but the icy breath of snow sweeping down the narrow waterways made it feel much colder. Since we were expecting to be hugging the equator for 50+ days on this voyage, to say that we hadn't packed the right gear is an understatement, however we made do.  Layers help and--fun fact--socks work well as mittens in a pinch! 

But the cold couldn't keep us off our balcony as we cruised by the outlets of these massive rivers of ice. It's difficult to get a sense of scale for these features. Even from a mile away, the Brugen glacier tops some of the high-rises we've lived in in the past. And with a mouth 2 kilometers wide, it's an impressive sight.

Here's the DH's montage:  

We learned a new Norwegian word picture from the captain: "frost smoke." This phenomenon occurs  when the water near a glacier is warmer than the air, and a cloud forms on the surface of the water. Captain Olaf sent out a tender crew to capture a relatively small iceberg and bring it back on the Star. There are bubbles in the ice, pockets of air from literally eons ago. Scientists use these captured mini-gaseous samples to study the composition of the earth's atmosphere in the past. 

It was a long morning and afternoon, glued to our veranda. We feared we'd miss something wonderful if we looked away, even for a second. But eventually, once the Star had negotiated the passage back to the open sea, we had to prepare for the evening's entertainment. Which we were a part of! 

The Viking Star's Got Talent Show was incredibly well attended and very kindly received. Along with our a cappella duet, there was a broad mix of offerings--a couple of pianists, a ukulele solo, some karaoke singing, a lovely hula dancer, a comedian whose humor would've killed in a middle school setting and didn't do too badly here, one of the housekeeping crew who performed a hilarious magic act, and, saving the best for last, a husband and wife who played harp, clarinet and flute together. Know you'll enjoy the snippet of their act in the video above!

We saw wonders. We experienced the nervous excitement of performing and the joy of singing together. It was a day filled with delight! 

More soon...  

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