Scenic Sailing – St. Lawrence River

Today was a calm day at sea as we continued our journey on the St. Lawrence River. Tim and I took the opportunity to relax this morning.

A Beautiful Day at Sea

I did join a Microplastic Sampling in the Science Lab this afternoon. Chief Scientist Dr. Brandi oversees the collection and analysis of microplastic samples, and guests donned lab coats to observe the process. In collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Viking has been sampling the oceans and Great Lakes for microplastics, and we were able to look at the samples under a microscope. The microplastic fibers were the easiest to spot.

Microplastics Sampling

At the Daily Briefing, we learned that the winds were going to pick up substantially and that we would not be able to make our scheduled stop tomorrow at the village of Cap-aux-Meules, one of Quebec’s 13 Magdalen Islands. Oh well, we will just go with the flow. Besides, sea days on a Viking Expedition ship are filled with activities.

One of the short presentations at the Daily Briefing was on waterfalls, harkening back to our visit to Montmorency Falls in Quebec City. Dr. Jim Miller used Niagara Falls as an example, which was cool since Tim and I had just visited there.

Tim and I Were Just at Niagara Falls

At the beginning of every Daily Briefing, Marc, our Expedition Leader, always shows a few photos to recap the day’s activities, and a few photos of me happened to be featured yesterday and today. I've already included these, or similar, photos, but I thought it would be fun to include a screenshot of the Daily Briefings as well. 

Seeing My Image at Two Daily Briefings

We enjoyed the evening with classical music and a talk by Expedition Team member Zach on his travels by sailboat and canoe on the Great Lakes. It was a good day.

Beautiful Music from Our Classical Duo