Wednesday 16 March 2011

And then there were no land in sight

Another season in Antarctica is over, the 9th on a row since we started expedition voyages in 2002. Thousands of pictures and impressions of a landscape and atmosphere have been taken, it is hard if not impossible to explain for anyone who has not been there what those photos really show. So if you are reading this blog and have a wish of seeing something spectacular and unlike any other journey, a visit to Antarctica should be on the "bucket list".
 After saying goodbye to colleagues who have been working for months at end, a deserved vacation was well deserved. Peter, Frieda, Bob, Julian, Manuel, Petra and all staff members from the entire season, thank you, thank you for your passion, knowledge and your enthusiasm you bring to this product. Anja & Karin (Expeditionleaders FRAM)

The days onboard on a crossing is quite different from the rest of the year. We have plenty to do, but the pace is somehow slower and relaxed. Imagination runs wild with us sometimes too, as the picture of our new state of the art sound system proves on this picture. Chief Purser Aleksander created a sound room in reception area by using 3 plastic boxes on a wobbly chair, faced his ipad to the microphone of the PA system, turned it on, and voila sound system "extraordinaire".
Here you see Aleksander viewing his new invented sound creation from his office on deck 4. As you see the attire is also less formal on a trans-atlantic crossing. Uniform has been replaced with sneakers and jeans, but as Aleksander so elequently put it, "the work is still the same".