January 30, 2020, Niemeyer Channel, Antarctica
We’re back to high summer with the sun coming up sometime around 4:30 in the morning and setting around 10:30 in the evening. This morning we woke up at about 6 pulled open the curtains and had a glorious view of the entry to Niemeyer Channel. I was still groggy because of the fog horn that sounded for 5 seconds every two minutes at the beginning of the evening. When we got up people were already out on deck walking their laps or setting up their deck chairs. The deck chair people were all bundled up in steamer blankets and the walkers were mostly dressed for winter. The temperatures were in the mid-30s and I had on a poly pro t-shirt, a fleece and a faux Gortex shell and I was too warm. Later, however, when the wind came up and snow started to fall, I was glad for the layers. I also felt like the effort to pack the extra layers and the space they took up in the suitcase was worth it. This is the only place we will need it.
We had rain (and a trace of snow) on our morning transit of Niemeyer Channel. And that was the best weather we had all day, later the clouds dropped and we could not see the mountains. The lack of direct sunlight brought out the vivid colors of the glaciers. The blue ice became bluer and the green and orange ice alae stood out against the white background.
just extraordinary! thank you!