Early this
morning, it seemed that we were not going to be as fortunate as yesterday in
Fortuna Bay: we awoke to a white-crested sea stirred by strong gusts of wind,
which would not let us disembark on Grytviken. It was a stark reminder of just
how much and how quickly weather can change around here… The powerful winds
lasted all morning and everybody on board MV Fram had the same question in the
back of their minds: will we be so close yet so far away from this place? Will
we not be able to pay our respects at Shackleton’s and the recent Frank Wild’s
tombs? Will we be forced to just look at the beautifully and photogenically
rusty remains of the whaling station from afar? To many, this was the highlight
– the purpose even – of the trip, so it was a long morning, not daring to lose
hope nor to speak out the unspeakable: we’ll have to set sail en route to
Antarctica without setting foot on Grytviken…
But just as
quickly as the weather turned nasty, so it cleared in a minute and before we
knew it, there was hardly any breeze at all and the sun started piercing
through the clouds – and we all felt sunshine in our hearts, because that meant
we could land!
Evidently,
everybody first visited the famous graveyard where Shackleton, the famous explorer,
lies next to his friend and second in command, Frank Wild, who only quite
recently (November 2011) was interred to his right. Having fulfilled this
modern, Antarctic pilgrimage, we explored the derelict whaling station, the
beautiful Norwegian wooden church that several used appropriately to have a
short, personal Christmas experience, and finally, the interesting museum.
Naturally, we had a further opportunity to witness just how feisty fur seals
are, how rotund elephant seals are, and how yummy both are – for giant petrels.
