12/21/2022 Pancakes with Whipped Cream on Top

We are having a calm day at sea with snow showers all day.  The temperature is above freezing, so any snow that lands on the deck turns to slush.  Since the sea water is colder than the air, the snow flakes float on the surface and congregate in round patches.  They call it “pancake ice.”  Snow has accumulated on top of some of the patches and looks like whipped cream on some of the pancakes.  

It is overcast, so there is not a lot to see looking toward the land, but lots to see on the water.  Icebergs are continuously breaking off the snowpack on shore.  We have not seen the actual “calving” but the water has lots of floating icebergs and smaller chunks of ice.  The shapes give your imagination a real workout.  One berg looked like an Egyptian sarcophagus. The part of the berg that is under the water melts faster than the above water portion.  Eventually the whole thing becomes top-heavy and tips over.  I guess that some may tip over completely. But the one we saw today only went 45 degrees.  You can see the line which were horizontal from accumulations of snow, and they are now are at an angle.

I went out on a Zodiac this noon and got a close look at the floating ice.  The sun was not shining and it was gently snowing.  The driver stopped the boat so we could sit still and listen to the ice bobbing up and down and bumping into other ice.  It is impossible to describe.  Sometimes we see penguins sunning on the ice.  Maybe they can see fish in the water, because after a bit they dive deeper into the water.

The waiting list to go out on the submarine is long, so I will probably not get a chance to go.  They have had to cancel some submarine sailings so those people who got on the sign-up sight within the first 5 minutes it was open will probably get to go.  I did not feel like staying up until midnight to book my tours, so all the submarine slots were taken.  I am on the waiting list, however.

Darrell has gone on the Special Operations Boat (the SOB)  ( I mean the boat, not a remark about my husband.)  I hope to go out on it on Dec. 23.

I have spent some time working on a 4000-piece puzzle.  There is not even enough room for it on the puzzle table!  On the right side, there are 3 rows of pieces on the side edge of the table.

We never did finish it!