At home, the weekend comes after five days of school, unless there is a holiday or something special, it is predictable. A routine we know, and can pace ourselves for — but when we travel sometimes we have four amazing, full days in a row, other times we get an easy day after each day that takes a lot of energy and thought.
Today was a sea day. No scenic cruising, and it was almost a relief when the weather started creeping close to the ship. With no fear we might miss exciting sights outside, the Flat Friends could relax, rest, review the past month of travel, and prepare for the days to come.
Flat Hal and Flat Halena added a sixth type of penguin to the list of ones they saw! Five types in the Falkland Islands, and one more in Antarctica. Flat Hal saw Chinstrap Penguins last year, but it was too foggy to see them when we sailed by their home this year.
Welcome to the Order of the Red Nose!
For Entering The Domain of the Penguin
And Risking Being Frozen Stiff
EXPLORING THE ANTARCTIC
Let it be known that Flat Hal and Flat Halena set out on a grand expedition and displayed enough audacity and courage to ascend to the Crow’s Nest, go to the Open Decks of the Volendam to view the finest sights of this magnificent part of the world, as Sir Ernest Shackleton and Capt. Frank Worsley did onboard the Endurance on January 14, 1915.
This expedition was made aboard the Volendam from January 29, 2026 to February 1, 2026, in the footsteps of such great explorers as Capt. Roald Amundsen, Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton.
This is a proclamation that during this voyage the good ship Volendam explored the White Continent of Antarctica to the
Latitude of 64 degrees 58.4 minutes South and
Longitude of 63 degrees 45.0 minutes West
following the same path discovered by the Dutch explorer Jakob Le Maire and Navigator Willem Corneliszoon Schouten on January 29th, 1616.
Welcome to the Order of the Moss Back!
For Braving the Fury of the Two Oceans And Rounding the Treacherous Horn
THE PASSAGE OF THE HORN
Let it be known that Flat Hal and Flat Halena, having survived the frozen grip of the Antarctic, did display exceptional fortitude and iron stomachs as they entered the turbulent waters where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collide.
Be it proclaimed that on this voyage, they successfully Rounded Cape Horn, navigating the treacherous Drake Passage and facing the wrath of the “Screaming Sixties” and the “Furious Fifties.”
This feat was accomplished aboard the MS Volendam on February 3, 2026, following in the wake of the fearless Captain Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, who first identified and named Kaap Hoorn on January 29, 1616.
By virtue of this passage, they are hereby inducted into the Ancient Brotherhood of the Cape Horners and are forever granted the right to keep one foot on the table while dining and to spit into the wind (though it is ill-advised).
Cape Horn- Latitude 55 degrees 58 minutes South
Longitude 067 degrees 17 minutes West
