Lady Franklin & Monumental islands
11:08am on 2022.10.02, Monumental Island
Day 8: our 2nd day in Canada, scheduled to hop around two islands on Zodiac.
However, the water is too rough to set out on the Zodiac, so our AM excursion to Lady Franklin Island is cancelled.
Monumental Island @ 2pm: the advance/scouting team went ahead and reported back that the condition is more sporty than one feels comfortable and there is no wild life, SO this excursion is also cancelled.
Another day at sea.
The sunset at 6:37pm and the aurora at 10:03pm
More lectures. Sarah recommended two books: Michael Palin’s Erebus: The Story of a Ship (2019), and Geiger & Mitchell’s Franklin’s Lost Ship (2015)
… why is everyone so obsessed with Franklin anyway?
- everyone loves a mystery … Great unsolved mysteries in Canadian history”
- England had a lot invested in finding the Northwest Passage
- Lady Jane Franklin was a master at 19th century social media
- lots of intrigue surrounding who made what discoveries; attributed to Robert McClure in 1850, but really it was John Rae in 1848…
Ok, it’s food time …
Dinner: the Spanish wine Altado, scallop ceviche, cream of artichoke soup, Chateaubriand of beef, AND the sticky toffee pudding, which is heaven. It’s someone’s birthday
Afternoon tea: Boston cream cake is light, and caramel cake is chewy and delicious, lamington squares are coated with coconut is ok.
Lunch has crab legs and curry. The naan bread isn’t fluffy – rather dead – maybe the oven is different on the ship? The lentil soup is wonderful, with ginger.
We had our breakfast in the room, due to the sea sickness – I’m fine but my better half isn’t; and I got to have mine in the balcony.
