A Day in The Drake

A Day in the Drake

After a somewhat fitful night’s sleep, we started our day with a shower followed by breakfast.  The medicine had done the trick and I was not the least bit sick.  However, it did leave me a little groggy which I really didn’t like.  Breakfast is a buffet served on 3.  Pretty standard fare, but tasty non-the-less.

This morning, there was a mandatory briefing on going ashore.  They are serious about preserving the Antarctic for future visitors, so we were reminded of our duty to leave it as untouched as when we came.  This means no bathroom breaks or littering.  We were instructed to leave at least 5 meters (fifteen feet) between us and the animals (although the can approach us if they like).  We are also to avoid the ‘penguin highways’ that they use getting from the land to the sea.  We are arriving after most of the penguins have hatched their eggs and now are taking care of their young.

We were released from our meeting to await being called for boot distribution and bio-hazard inspection.  I think I may have been the first person to get their waterproof, insulated boots.  The crew couldn’t say enough about how these boots, along with a layer of socks, will protect our feet.  We then took anything that wasn’t new and was going ashore (underwear excluded) to bio-stations where they were vacuumed to ensure we were not take a little of ‘home’ with us.  Tripods and walking sticks were put into a chemical bath to kill any unwanted germs.

Time for our buffet lunch then a series of lectures to prepare us for our trip.  Did I mention that one of the side-effects of the anti-nausea medications is drowsiness?  Well, I slept through the whale presentation (along with about half the room) and skipped the bird talk if favor of a nap in the cabin. 

Remember how I said the Drake can be rough?  Well, not on our trip.  The crew started calling it the Drake Lake.  They said this was one of the smoothest crossings they had encountered.  And, we also had blue sky and sunshine which is also a little rare.  Our luck keeps holding out!

I did manage to stay awake for the photo lecture.  I think the best piece of advice that Simon, our photo expert, gave was to take your time to take it all in.  Sit in one spot and observe your surroundings.  Give the curious penguins time to come up to you.  This is a photographers dream and we should get photos of a lifetime.

Before dinner, we had our nightly recap along with a preview of tomorrow’s landing.  We heading to Antcho Island in the Shetland Islands.  We should see Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins, along with the possibility of whales and of course birds.  You can feel the excitement building!

Since it is New Years Eve, dinner was a little special tonight.  We found a place in The Restaurant again tonight.  One of the staff sat with us.  She’s from New Zealand and runs the kayak program aboard the ship.  Along with kayaking, we also had the option of cross-country skiing or rock climbing, none of which I’m partaking.  She has a military background and seems to love everything outdoors.  Being very well traveled, she has seen quite a bit of the world.  The staff seems to mix with the passengers which is pleasurable I hope for both.

Special coffee and a dessert bar was served after dinner.  There’s a celebration set up in the bar for New Years, but this traveler is opting to miss it for a good night’s sleep.