cold toeses and noses

Lying in bed, 8 o'clock this morning, feeling vaguely guilty, and wondering when the cruise ship would arrive, then Rick remembers that they have changed their schedule and are not coming at all! So we relax, another cuppa and breakfast in bed. Even put the heater on as it is below 5 degrees - the benchmark for requiring heat! It's a blizzard outside. I go down to the landing site without getting properly dressed - I need to check if the package of 200 postcards and stamps is still there or whether the cruise ship that requested them had picked them up during the night. They are gone, and I hope they did not just blow away. Come back up, dripping into the bunk room, long johns soaked through and shivering, much to the amusement of the other two. Back into bed to warm up and dry off. It feels like we have come full circle here, there is a lot of snow lying outside, wonder just how much more wintry it will get before we go.

We had our visit from the Saga Ruby, they kindly delivered about 30 boxes of supplies, then we went on board briefly for a hasty dinner and Rick to give a slideshow. Met a friend of my mother's, who hadn't seen me since I was 4! he had some photos of me with him - I've grown a bit but don't look much different! Sadly we didn't have much time to chat - I had to go and do finances with the purser, as they had an on board shop for us on the way here. Rick's talk went down well, in fact he got more laughs by all accounts than the stand-up comedian who followed him. We set off home near to midnight, and while we'd been on board the bay had filled with ice! It was truly spectacular, but made progress slow, and we were even wondering if (hoping!) we might have to go back and spend a night in a warm cabin ..... but no, Neil the driver got us through, with a colleague at the front with a torch shining the way. It's getting really dark at night these days, the days are shortening quic
kly, and we are glad that Rick has fixed us up with an electric light in the bunk room. Though I miss the hiss of the Tilley lamp. The next night we had three cruise ships moored nearby overnight (oh, and another superb meal with fine wines...) and it was strange to see the artificial lighting around us making the ice cliffs glow at night.