View Arctic Cruise 2012 in a larger map
Yesterday afternoon, after almost falling off a bar stool falling asleep during an afternoon lecture session, I went to the cabin and caught up on some sleep. I've no idea how long I slept, but my roomie said I was out cold when she came in - I never heard a thing! As always happens when I sleep during the day, I felt terrible after I awoke. I decided to get some fresh air so I grabbed my camera bag and a mug of tea, and headed to what's by now my regular station on the top viewing deck. I ended up skipping dinner altogether, just grabbing more tea and a couple of bikkies before heading below for the night.
Despite having slept during the day, I had another great night's sleep and we arrived at our next destination, Kap York, under the now-customary dreary skies early this morning. But it wasn't raining or snowing, so we weren't complaining too loudly!
Kap York is another of Peary's expedition bases, but is possibly more notable as the location of three iron-rich meteors! In the usual manner of the time, Peary promptly took all three of the megaton meteors back to New York - probably to prove to the expeditions' sponsors that he really was doing some useful scientific research in the Arctic! One wonders what the Inuit reaction to this theft was, considering that they'd started utilizing various forms of the ore. None of the meteors has ever been returned, either.
There wasn't a great deal to see here in the way of relics of past settlements, but it was scenic and we were able to take the zodiac close to some magnificent icebergs on our way back to the ship (difficult to take photos - very splashy and bumpy). As with other places we've visited on this journey, it struck me again how very difficult it is to imagine anyone living here year round, particularly with the absence of modern communications - or fleece and goretex!
No comments:
Post a Comment