Lisa G Saw • November 13, 2022

Sunset Over The Sea

I headed down to the beach at dusk. It was a sunny autumn afternoon and several people had the same idea as me. I walked down the beach away from most on the esplanade. I recalled one of my last visits to the beach, when the air was warmer and the sea calmer. Today, the sea was noisy. There was no silent moment between the rise and fall of the tide. With the wind behind me, I flipped up my hood and instantly it dulled the sounds around me and provided some warmth.

 

I realised my shoulders were tense. So, I let go and relaxed, standing, facing the sun as it neared towards the horizon. Despite the distraction of the sea and wind, everything else seemed calm and effortless, the way the seabirds were gliding across the darkening sky and how the sun slowly dipped behind the faraway clouds and then appeared to melt into the sea. The sun was such a gorgeous fiery orange. I stood still, watching the light change and the sun set, thinking about how happy I've been the last few weeks.

 

The challenges of this year have been floating away behind me. What’s past is past. The sun has set. I’ve embraced the hard times and delved deep inside to get to where I am now. It’s all been worth it, in ways I never dreamed possible. With a feeling of hope and optimism I can move forward. I’m so happy about all the things on my horizon.

 

I continued to walk along the beach, wondering if the sun would provide that wonderful encore, that last light, before the day was done. It didn't look like it would, so I turned around and started to head home. Thankfully, I cast a glance over my shoulder and I saw it, the last rays of the sun illuminated the underside of a band of clouds. The glow warmed my heart and made me smile. It was beautiful.

By Lisa G Saw April 24, 2025
HEADING TO THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA We had an early morning wake up call at about 5am to say we were close to the Antarctic Peninsula and had reached the pack ice. Despite the early hour, there was a lot of excitment on board and the cold air certainly woke me up. All around us were icebergs and brash ice and slowly the ship surged forwards. There were two Cormorants sitting on top of a large iceberg. They looked tiny in comparison.
By Lisa G Saw April 21, 2025
PENGUIN ISLAND We woke up to find it snowing heavily for the first time on our journey so far and I was thrilled. I love the snow! It seemed so fitting to be seeing the penguins in these cold conditions. We managed to get ashore in one of the first few zodiacs and stayed virtually until the last one, so we made the most of our landing and really enjoyed ourselves observing the penguins on the island and other wildlife. Sadly, there weren't any Adélie Penguin colonies to be found, but we saw a few Gentoo Penguins walking around.
By Lisa G Saw April 18, 2025
ONCE MORE AT SEA Leaving South Georgia behind us, we ventured further south towards the frozen continent of Antarctica. It took us three days. Since we were the first voyage of the season, we had no idea what lay ahead. Would we see any Adélie Penguins? How much of the ice would have retreated? Would we actually be able to walk on the Antarctic Peninsula, which was where we were ultimately heading? Everything had been so good already, I didn't have high expectations. I was just open to whatever we would experience and enjoying it all. Over the course of the three days we were at sea, we weren't able to be out on deck that often as the conditions weren't great. I certainly didn't take many photos. On our first day, though, I was pleased to take a few nice ones of a Blue Petrel flying close to the ship.
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