February 5, 2019

The Antarctic Experience Day 3

Once again I slept for 9 hours since I was so tired from doing nothing.  When I awoke we were in Hope Bay and the view out of my window was of one of the Argentinian base camps.  This one is unique because not only is it manned year-round but it also has families living here for a year at a time.  At least eight babies have been born here.  There is even a school.  But most notable are the penguins – thousands and thousands of penguins although the number is declining.  These were Adelie penguins named for the wife of one of the early explorers.

After spending some time out on my deck, I moved to the Lido to get a good viewing seat for lunch and afterwards until arts and crafts.  I saw numerous icebergs and many had penguins on them.  I did not see as many seals today and no whales.

In arts and crafts we made an explosion box.  Mine is still drying so I will include a picture tomorrow.

We had our first perfect score – 18 out of 18 – at trivia and we were the only ones.  Most of the questions were so easy that we did not even have to confer.

1) What country lost the Philippines and Puerto Rico to the US in 1898?

2) What is the largest fish in the ocean?

3) Found in Central American cuisine, chorizo is a variety of what?

4) What title does Canada’s head of state hold?

5) What does the “zip” in zip code stand for?

Once again only six of us for dinner.  It was Chinese New Year so the dining room was decorated, the servers had costumes, and, of course, the penguins got in on the act.  I had a starter of fresh fruit, sweet and sour pork, and ice cream for dessert.

I did not go to the show and am again really sleepy – another early night!

Argentinian base

an iceberg full of penguins

close up

huge iceberg

Adelie penguins

Trivia

1) Spain

2) Whale shark

3) Sausage

4) Queen

5) Zone Improvement Plan (this was a three point bonus)

Smooth sailing until next time.