Friday, Jan. 1 - Drake Passage

Drake Passage. This was a full day at sea. When we awoke the sea was exceptionally calm, and as smooth as glass. I had taken seasickness medicine the night before as recommended by the doctor. It turned out to be totally unnecessary and I awoke very groggy. It took a while for the effects to wear off.

During the voyage the guides gave presentations, they showed a documentary and in the evening there was a movie. The presentations were about the natural environment and the history of Antarctica. On this day I did not attend all the presentations. We would go out on deck to enjoy the fresh air. However, this was no Caribbean cruise. It was cold out there, but we knew what we were getting into before we left.

The schedule on the ship was fairly rigid. Meals were served at particular times. If you missed a meal you were out of luck. In the morning you were awoken by the Expedition Leader. His voice would come over the loud speaker. I found it annoying, but you really needed to get going when he made the morning announcement or you would miss the first event. The first event being either breakfast or an early outing. All the passengers on the ship really did everything as a group.

Although the meal schedules were strict, there was not a problem with caloric intake. And I found the meals quite good. You could buy a bottle of wine for meals. If you didn't want to finish it, the staff would hold it for you until the next meal. They also went out of their way to satisfy Becky's request that her meals were not prepared with any peppers whatsoever. There were no assigned seats, you sat whereever you liked. This allowed you to meet all the people who had traveled such a long ways.

There was a small bar in the upstairs lounge and viewing area. It had regular hours and was where we would sit and mingle. This lounge, called the "Panorama Lounge" was where the presentations were given and movies were shown.

Announcements would come over the loud speakers informing us of wildlife sightings or other items of interest. The guides on the ship were generally friendly and quite knowledgeable.

I would say that most of the passengers on the trip were from Canada, Australia, and the USA. But there were also passengers from Israel, China, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Belgium, and the UK. I found it most interesting that there were a significant number of passengers from the Bay Area. 7 in total, 8 if you count the photographer from Carmel. I wonder if there isn't something about the Bay Area culture. On our previous trip to Peru we went to the small Jungle Lodge deep in the Amazon. There was only one group of guests already there. They were from Berkeley!

Dinner Albatross At sea in her new expedition parka