FORTUNA BAY, South Georgia

Today we scrambled. We had to be packed back into our Antarctic gear for a 7:15 check-in. The butler brought coffee and muffins at 6:30, but Hope bolluxed up the schedule by donning Bill's boots instead of her own (they are all huge and heavy). So when Bill discovered that he couldn't fit his feet into her boots, we had to trade, and getting this Antarctic footwear on and off is a big project. But we did and then we got checked in to our expedition, checked out of the ship, disinfected, and loaded onto our Zodiac.

We came into Fortuna Bay where we are allowed to disembark because none of the island's 12 residents is here, so they wouldn't be susceptible to any viruses we might transmit. It is a small harbor protected by the surrounding mountains, and it is beautiful. Thousands of king penguins strut and hundreds of fur seals flop themselves forward on the rocks. We had been warned to back away from the seals if they approached, told that the seals can travel faster than we can and that they can be very aggressive. One of them was. One of them (a mother, we learned) though Hope to be threatening and decided to let her know that. The seal honked and bared its teeth and moved in. Hope wielded her hiking pole and backed off, but the seal was undeterred and knocked the pole away. Hope made loud noises (probably a bad idea) and retreated as fast as she could, and the seal ultimately found something better to do. Thanks be to God.

The red sacks you see piled up on the beach are filled with emergency supplies - tents, first aid, food, etc. - for use if the ship has to leave and we are stranded here. We were very glad to see the bags returned at the end of the excursion!

This afternoon we are being Covid tested again because, after tomorrow, we will be at sea for 11 days so if there are any positives, they can be quarantined until South Africa.