Grytviken

February 23

During lunch, we sailed eastward a short distance to Cumberland Bay, where we spent the rest of the day at Grytviken. This famous whaling station was established in 1904 by Capt. C.A. Larsen, our old friend from the Nordenskjold Expedition who overwintered at Paulet Island in 1903. Larsen described the whaling potential at South Georgia and found backers in both Britain and Norway to finance the establishment of Grytviken. Virtually all the work here at the station was done by Norwegians. Six other whaling stations were soon established in bays along the northern coast. We landed near the cemetery to pay homage to Ernest Shackleton (with a toast of rum for "the Boss"), and then we hiked around the end of the bay behind the station itself in order to visit the excellent museum run by Tim and Pauline Carr, visit the old Norwegian church, walk to King Edward Point, hike into the hills, etc. The museum has many excellent exhibits covering all aspects of South Georgia, and also has a post office where we mailed a few postcards. After our visit, Magnus kindly gave Doug and I zodiac cruise to see the station from another viewpoint. It was interesting to see the perfect little white church (built in 1913) peeking out between the wrecks and the debris of the station.

Grytviken
South Georgia

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