Day 10: Wednesday, January 8th, 2014
Steps taken: 11,545
This was the last morning of excursions. The morning excursion was to Deception Island. It is an inactive super volcano. We hiked up the trail where there was a bowl shaped valley below. We trekked down around the valley and along the coast back towards the zodiacs. There were many penguins and seals along the coast. A few of us took some icicles that hung low from the heavy snow packed above the coast, and ate them. Best icicle I've ever had. (That's some high quality H2O.) We also pretended we were fighting avalanches. After we had our fun we took a zodiac back to the ship.
After lunch we had a little time to kill before the afternoon excursion. We relaxed until that point and then it was off to Yankee Harbor. Scott, Dan, and I walked along the rocky shores discussing infinite parallel universes. Were we similar in alternative universes? Radically different? Still alive? Maybe I'm actually a wolf in another dimension. Perhaps there is another universe where either I didn't have wanderlust or the need to travel as much as I have been doing in the past five years. Maybe there is a universe where Lydia decided on a life with me, and we traveled the world together. Whatever happened in other universes I am content with what I've decided and done with my life thus far in this universe.
As for Yankee Harbor itself, there were penguins as far as the eyes can see in some stretches. Many of them had their chicks hatch fairly recently. We had seen baby penguins before, but there were so many here. (Insert collective "Daaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww!" here.) After an hour or so, the cold was bothering me a bit, however I toughed it out for another hour because we had to make our final landing last.
We returned to beef broth and snacks. I showered and got into my dress clothes (sans dress shoes) in anticipation of the 'Black & White' events. Black & White dinner was blissful & wonderful. The appetizer was a choice between California rolls or mussels. I chose the mussels, but it was not an easy choice. We also had fish soup. For the main course I had steak. Dessert was black & white mocha cake.
After dinner there was a contest for best costume. So many new breeds of penguins! Frank has his work cut out for him with researching them all. There were many festivities that followed such as a viewing of Sleepy Hollow (not really sure why they didn't show Happy Feet since Sleepy Hollow has nothing to do with Antarctica.) in the Discovery Lounge, and Parker playing in the Polar Bear Bar, however a group of us desecrated the library with a three hour Cards Against Humanity session. Jessi, Lisa, Sabrina, Dave, Melvin, Phil, Thomas, and I became worse people together scaring off anyone who might have wanted to spend a quiet night there. I went to bed at 1:30 hoping I wouldn't have dreams against humanity.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
The Whalebone Graveyard.
Day 9: Tuesday, January 7th, 2014
Steps taken: 4,205
The night's rest was just what I needed after what seemed like two full days without sleep. After breakfast we had a zodiac cruise around Cierva Cove. Unlike the previous zodiac cruises especially the last one , which felt like we were hares, this one was accustomed to the speed of a tortoise. I had no problem with this considering the amazing scenery. The entire zodiac was hushed by the landscape and maybe even the pace of the little black boat. There were massive glaciers and walls of snow ready to separate in large sheets on the mountains. While this may be said about much of Antarctica, the cove felt unique. I think that's the greatest thing about being here: not getting tired of seeing glaciers, icebergs, and mountains.
Also, I don't know if it was the day or doing five minutes of Tai Chi circulation exercises before breakfast, but I barely felt the cold on this particular zodiac cruise.
We came back for lunch and then after some respite, arrived at our next destination which was Mikkelsen Harbour. We stopped off at Trinity Island first to see the whalebone graveyard. Perhaps I should have done some more circulation exercises before hand because this excursion was definitely chillier. The whalebone graveyard was a sight to behold. Some pieces were massive and many, such as spinal columns, were still attached to each other. Many of the bones were estimated to have been from before 1910 since there were laws about using every part of the whale around this time, and more people were extracting oil from bone. Amidst the scattered bones were one wooden vessel. We spent an hour on the island and then took a zodiac cruise (I'm not going to get tired of saying or writing that.) around the Harbour.
The highlights of the harbour were joking around with Brooke, our zodiac mistress, and seeing some excellent wildlife. We saw a massive bird fight between an Antarctic Tern and some kelp gulls. In addition to the birds, we found a leopard seal hanging out on an ice floe. They responded to us really well. Kept popping their head up and smiling. We spent a good five minutes with them. The thing that we were told was rare behavior was for them to open their mouth, which they did repeatedly. After saying goodbye to our new friend we returned to the ship.
One thing of note that I forgot about before was the spotting of a pod of humpback whales from the ship before Trinity Island. They swam with the ship for a good five minutes allowing us for some stupendous photo and video opportunities. This was a great moment for us all.
For dinner was ossa bucco, and panna cotta for dessert. Our whole table were panna cotta warriors. After dinner, Dan and I chilled in the Discovery Lounge with a glass/mug of wine, and talked with a few other Expeditioners before calling it a night.
Steps taken: 4,205
The night's rest was just what I needed after what seemed like two full days without sleep. After breakfast we had a zodiac cruise around Cierva Cove. Unlike the previous zodiac cruises especially the last one , which felt like we were hares, this one was accustomed to the speed of a tortoise. I had no problem with this considering the amazing scenery. The entire zodiac was hushed by the landscape and maybe even the pace of the little black boat. There were massive glaciers and walls of snow ready to separate in large sheets on the mountains. While this may be said about much of Antarctica, the cove felt unique. I think that's the greatest thing about being here: not getting tired of seeing glaciers, icebergs, and mountains.
Also, I don't know if it was the day or doing five minutes of Tai Chi circulation exercises before breakfast, but I barely felt the cold on this particular zodiac cruise.
We came back for lunch and then after some respite, arrived at our next destination which was Mikkelsen Harbour. We stopped off at Trinity Island first to see the whalebone graveyard. Perhaps I should have done some more circulation exercises before hand because this excursion was definitely chillier. The whalebone graveyard was a sight to behold. Some pieces were massive and many, such as spinal columns, were still attached to each other. Many of the bones were estimated to have been from before 1910 since there were laws about using every part of the whale around this time, and more people were extracting oil from bone. Amidst the scattered bones were one wooden vessel. We spent an hour on the island and then took a zodiac cruise (I'm not going to get tired of saying or writing that.) around the Harbour.
The highlights of the harbour were joking around with Brooke, our zodiac mistress, and seeing some excellent wildlife. We saw a massive bird fight between an Antarctic Tern and some kelp gulls. In addition to the birds, we found a leopard seal hanging out on an ice floe. They responded to us really well. Kept popping their head up and smiling. We spent a good five minutes with them. The thing that we were told was rare behavior was for them to open their mouth, which they did repeatedly. After saying goodbye to our new friend we returned to the ship.
One thing of note that I forgot about before was the spotting of a pod of humpback whales from the ship before Trinity Island. They swam with the ship for a good five minutes allowing us for some stupendous photo and video opportunities. This was a great moment for us all.
For dinner was ossa bucco, and panna cotta for dessert. Our whole table were panna cotta warriors. After dinner, Dan and I chilled in the Discovery Lounge with a glass/mug of wine, and talked with a few other Expeditioners before calling it a night.
The World's Greatest Ice Garden
Greetings, fellow adventurers! I know it's been a while, and I left my Antarctica daily blogs half finished (I'll try not to do anything half way anymore.), but here is the rest of my time in the Antarctic. I'll make sure I catch up with my excursions both grand and small that have happened between Antarctica and Australia & New Zealand. Here is where I left off.
Day 8: Monday, January 6th, 2014
Steps taken: 7,359
Initially I slept well, however after an hour or two I grew increasingly cold and uncomfortable. After twisting and turning in my sleeping bag, I awoke at 3:30 and needed to move around. I hastily put on my wolf cap and boots, and hurried to 'the loo with a view' behind the cabin at the campsite.
Much to my dismay, the flags were crossed indicating that someone was already using the loo. I was ready to urinate there on the spot, but Aussie Darryl came out of the cabin and said that he forgot to uncross the flags. I went to the portable bathroom to do my business, uncrossed the flags, and went into the cabin to spend the time until we had to leave with Darryl. More and more people trickled their way in as it got closer to the 6 am wake up call for everyone. It was nice talking to Darryl and the others about assorted things while we waited.
6 am arrives and most people are up and breaking down their tents to get on the zodiacs for the return to the ship. Melvin was not up, but once I talked to Jessi and Lisa next door, he started to stir. I was already packed up so once he got his stuff together we broke down the tent. Of course this was easier than constructing the tent. Ahh! Thus is the way of most things in life.
We were on one of the last zodiacs back, but that's all right since there was some hot chocolate waiting for us when we arrived. After getting situated again it was time for breakfast. It was nice to be warm and full again. Despite the lack of sleep, camping was very cool
The next activity was sightseeing from the boat on the Lemaire Channel. I was so exhausted after breakfast that I feel asleep while reading and didn't wake up until lunch time. I didn't really want to miss anything, but that can't be helped sometimes.
After lunch, we got ready for the afternoon excursion on Booth Island and in Pleneau Bay. My group went to Booth Island first. This is where we saw all three types of penguins of the area all together although Guintoo dominated. We saw a few Dehlis and Chinstraps. There was a rock formation with an 'F' (for Ferrara of course) carved into it that Heidi had a telescope set up for, but I was not able to spot it very well. It was really faint and I had limited view through the telescope because of my glasses. I wandered around for an hour or so and then headed back for a zodiac to cruise around Pleneau Bay.
Pleneau Bay was fantastic. The best way to describe it is an ice menagerie or an ice sculpture garden. All of the glaciers were extremely distinct. We saw glaciers shaped like animals, places, and things from popular culture. Of course this was all subjective. One glacier looked like the U.S.S. Federation from one angle, the Millenium Falcon from another, and a giant manta ray from a third. Pablo was driving the zodiac with Bismark in the nearby area, so we would race each other through the sea's ice garden. We stopped a few times (one time for a leopard seal, and another for a colony of crabeaters), but most of the time it was a fierce and close race. We slowed down to drive through a glacier that was cleaved down the middle, but almost symmetrical on both sides.
When we reached the other side of that glacier/non-glacier, Pablo accidentally pulled (engaged) the kill switch on the engine, and we came to a halt. We frantically tried to get started again while Bismark sped past pointing and saying "Har-Har! Har-Har! Har-Har!" Nelson Muntz style at us. We got our engines revving again, and the chase was on! We managed to bridge the gap, but we were almost at the ship. As Bismark's group was about to win, our zodiac cut on the inside into the stair tower back onto the ship. WE WON! BITE MY ICE!
When we all started congregating on the ship there were heavy talks of a polar bear plunge. I was interested in doing a plunge, but on the conditions that I had a normal pair of pants to change into afterwards. After the first excursion I had only one clean pair of pants left. I wore white cargo pants for the first excursion for the illusion of not having legs. Sliding down the mountain twice left me with only a pair of dress pants. I had sent my laundry out immediately the first day, and was told I would get them back in a day or so. I was hoping to get my clean clothes back for a polar plunge, but unfortunately I did not. Since I have never seen a polar plunge done in person I was okay with not doing it yet.
Forty people including Dan did the polar plunge. The rest of us watched from the top decks. The way it was set up was that one or two people at a time were harnessed to the mudroom scaffolding and would jump. The sounds people made were hysterical. Some people were timid, others eager. Most people stayed in the water for a few seconds. One hot dog stayed in for at least twenty seconds. After watching this I really wanted to do the local polar plunge and I swear when I go to the Arctic that I will do one there.
Dinner that night was really special and a good way to build off an event like the plunge. They had a BBQ on the polar bear bar deck, which was phenomenal. It was a warm enough day, Some really good food from basic stuff such as hamburgers, and hot dogs to more advanced stuff such as ribs, chicken wings, and rice with mussels and crawfish. There was an ice cream bar(buffet bar not singular ice cream bars) and apple cobbler for dessert. This may have been some of the world's best BBQ! Or at least the best BBQ I've been to on principle.
After a BBQ coma I went back to the room to read and went to bed by 10:30. Another productive and eventful day.
Day 8: Monday, January 6th, 2014
Steps taken: 7,359
Initially I slept well, however after an hour or two I grew increasingly cold and uncomfortable. After twisting and turning in my sleeping bag, I awoke at 3:30 and needed to move around. I hastily put on my wolf cap and boots, and hurried to 'the loo with a view' behind the cabin at the campsite.
Much to my dismay, the flags were crossed indicating that someone was already using the loo. I was ready to urinate there on the spot, but Aussie Darryl came out of the cabin and said that he forgot to uncross the flags. I went to the portable bathroom to do my business, uncrossed the flags, and went into the cabin to spend the time until we had to leave with Darryl. More and more people trickled their way in as it got closer to the 6 am wake up call for everyone. It was nice talking to Darryl and the others about assorted things while we waited.
6 am arrives and most people are up and breaking down their tents to get on the zodiacs for the return to the ship. Melvin was not up, but once I talked to Jessi and Lisa next door, he started to stir. I was already packed up so once he got his stuff together we broke down the tent. Of course this was easier than constructing the tent. Ahh! Thus is the way of most things in life.
We were on one of the last zodiacs back, but that's all right since there was some hot chocolate waiting for us when we arrived. After getting situated again it was time for breakfast. It was nice to be warm and full again. Despite the lack of sleep, camping was very cool
The next activity was sightseeing from the boat on the Lemaire Channel. I was so exhausted after breakfast that I feel asleep while reading and didn't wake up until lunch time. I didn't really want to miss anything, but that can't be helped sometimes.
After lunch, we got ready for the afternoon excursion on Booth Island and in Pleneau Bay. My group went to Booth Island first. This is where we saw all three types of penguins of the area all together although Guintoo dominated. We saw a few Dehlis and Chinstraps. There was a rock formation with an 'F' (for Ferrara of course) carved into it that Heidi had a telescope set up for, but I was not able to spot it very well. It was really faint and I had limited view through the telescope because of my glasses. I wandered around for an hour or so and then headed back for a zodiac to cruise around Pleneau Bay.
Pleneau Bay was fantastic. The best way to describe it is an ice menagerie or an ice sculpture garden. All of the glaciers were extremely distinct. We saw glaciers shaped like animals, places, and things from popular culture. Of course this was all subjective. One glacier looked like the U.S.S. Federation from one angle, the Millenium Falcon from another, and a giant manta ray from a third. Pablo was driving the zodiac with Bismark in the nearby area, so we would race each other through the sea's ice garden. We stopped a few times (one time for a leopard seal, and another for a colony of crabeaters), but most of the time it was a fierce and close race. We slowed down to drive through a glacier that was cleaved down the middle, but almost symmetrical on both sides.
When we reached the other side of that glacier/non-glacier, Pablo accidentally pulled (engaged) the kill switch on the engine, and we came to a halt. We frantically tried to get started again while Bismark sped past pointing and saying "Har-Har! Har-Har! Har-Har!" Nelson Muntz style at us. We got our engines revving again, and the chase was on! We managed to bridge the gap, but we were almost at the ship. As Bismark's group was about to win, our zodiac cut on the inside into the stair tower back onto the ship. WE WON! BITE MY ICE!
When we all started congregating on the ship there were heavy talks of a polar bear plunge. I was interested in doing a plunge, but on the conditions that I had a normal pair of pants to change into afterwards. After the first excursion I had only one clean pair of pants left. I wore white cargo pants for the first excursion for the illusion of not having legs. Sliding down the mountain twice left me with only a pair of dress pants. I had sent my laundry out immediately the first day, and was told I would get them back in a day or so. I was hoping to get my clean clothes back for a polar plunge, but unfortunately I did not. Since I have never seen a polar plunge done in person I was okay with not doing it yet.
Forty people including Dan did the polar plunge. The rest of us watched from the top decks. The way it was set up was that one or two people at a time were harnessed to the mudroom scaffolding and would jump. The sounds people made were hysterical. Some people were timid, others eager. Most people stayed in the water for a few seconds. One hot dog stayed in for at least twenty seconds. After watching this I really wanted to do the local polar plunge and I swear when I go to the Arctic that I will do one there.
Dinner that night was really special and a good way to build off an event like the plunge. They had a BBQ on the polar bear bar deck, which was phenomenal. It was a warm enough day, Some really good food from basic stuff such as hamburgers, and hot dogs to more advanced stuff such as ribs, chicken wings, and rice with mussels and crawfish. There was an ice cream bar(buffet bar not singular ice cream bars) and apple cobbler for dessert. This may have been some of the world's best BBQ! Or at least the best BBQ I've been to on principle.
After a BBQ coma I went back to the room to read and went to bed by 10:30. Another productive and eventful day.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
The world's last continent.
Day 7
Sunday, January 5th
Steps taken: 9,599
During the night we had finally reached land and we were set to step foot after breakfast; I did my typical pre-breakfast stuff: shower, brush teeth, stretch, work out, read. Breakfast, which was always a buffet was good. I ate vigorously in order to have enough energy for what would be an extremely long day.
There were two expedition groups for each excursion in order to make sure that not too many people were on land at once. I was in the Ross group, which was the first to go out to land. We went to the mudroom, put on our boots and life jackets, and lined up to take the zodiacs to shore. I thought we would be called up instead of free range so I waited an extra ten minutes and my friends were already en-route.
I finally get in a zodiac and the air is palpable. Tension. Excitement. Awe. The moment some have been waiting for a year and a half and for others their entire lives. The day was perfect. Sunny with very little wind. It was almost hot. I did get some sunburn. Typical ginger that I am.
When I finally stepped foot on Paradise Bay I said out loud "Eucyon. Number Six." I trekked up some paths and up the mountain everyone else was climbing. When I got there I found my friends and asked them how seven felt. It is indescribable. They said they felt great, but it's more than that. You can't vocalize what your adventures and journey completely mean. You can see it more on people's faces.
We stayed up on the 1,000+ foot mountain for a good ten minutes taking in the scenery as well as taking epic photos. Then for those going back down we had two ways: walk down or slide down. I hate heights and fast movements downwards, but after getting enough courage I slid down the mountain and I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the funnest things I've ever done. It was so fun that I climbed up one more time to slide again.
Once I returned to the base I walked around some more. Then I got back on the zodiac for a...ZODIAC CRUISE! (Not to be confused with the Zodiac Crews from my novel series "The Fangs of the Wolf".) We cruised around the coastline seeing penguin rookeries, random birds nests, and a leopard seal. It was chilly on the water, but it could have been much worse. On each zodiac were eight passengers and one driver. We had a good time with our driver Scott. He was insightful, but humorous. All the crew have unique senses of humor and a love of adventure. After about forty five minutes to an hour of this, we went back to the boat.
Soon after we ate lunch, which was also always buffet style, we prepared for our afternoon excursion to Port Lockroy outpost. Here we toured the museum, which was intact storages of rooms of the outpost from the 50s, and went to the gift shop. I bought some souvenirs for people and sent a postcard home. [It took a month to arrive.]
We came back and partook in tea and beef broth. I was a little leery of the broth at first, but I'm now a fan. We formed a brotherhood of the broth. It's like a sisterhood of traveling pants only with cups of broth...not really. Since the campers had to leave after dinner, we got to have dinner early, which was a buffet for the occasion. Best buffets I've had. I ate until I was feeling like a beached (or iced) seal and of course that means I sneezed in rapid succession. I should have known better, but I had to load up on food since it was going to be a long night without any outside food or drink at the campsite.
Melvin and I were on the first zodiac to the campsite so we went and set up the ground by stamping it in circles and then built our tent. The tent was not really complicated, but we messed it up a little and Bismark had to come and correct us. I'm sure my father was watching me and yelling to do it a certain way and to do it faster. Aaaah camping memories. Though I do have more fond memories of camping with him than I do negative.
Once our tent was up we helped others until there was almost thirty tents in the campsite. After set up was complete, we hiked the area up to the penguin rookeries. We spent about an hour there. The view from the top was magnificent. We could see the ship and the surrounding mountains and seas.
Unfortunately, the wind had picked up and what was tolerable weather became harsher. After 11 p.m. despite the sun still being out, many of us returned to our tents. I tried reading, but it was extremely uncomfortable and I decided to call it a day/night/whatever.
Sunday, January 5th
Steps taken: 9,599
During the night we had finally reached land and we were set to step foot after breakfast; I did my typical pre-breakfast stuff: shower, brush teeth, stretch, work out, read. Breakfast, which was always a buffet was good. I ate vigorously in order to have enough energy for what would be an extremely long day.
There were two expedition groups for each excursion in order to make sure that not too many people were on land at once. I was in the Ross group, which was the first to go out to land. We went to the mudroom, put on our boots and life jackets, and lined up to take the zodiacs to shore. I thought we would be called up instead of free range so I waited an extra ten minutes and my friends were already en-route.
I finally get in a zodiac and the air is palpable. Tension. Excitement. Awe. The moment some have been waiting for a year and a half and for others their entire lives. The day was perfect. Sunny with very little wind. It was almost hot. I did get some sunburn. Typical ginger that I am.
When I finally stepped foot on Paradise Bay I said out loud "Eucyon. Number Six." I trekked up some paths and up the mountain everyone else was climbing. When I got there I found my friends and asked them how seven felt. It is indescribable. They said they felt great, but it's more than that. You can't vocalize what your adventures and journey completely mean. You can see it more on people's faces.
We stayed up on the 1,000+ foot mountain for a good ten minutes taking in the scenery as well as taking epic photos. Then for those going back down we had two ways: walk down or slide down. I hate heights and fast movements downwards, but after getting enough courage I slid down the mountain and I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the funnest things I've ever done. It was so fun that I climbed up one more time to slide again.
Once I returned to the base I walked around some more. Then I got back on the zodiac for a...ZODIAC CRUISE! (Not to be confused with the Zodiac Crews from my novel series "The Fangs of the Wolf".) We cruised around the coastline seeing penguin rookeries, random birds nests, and a leopard seal. It was chilly on the water, but it could have been much worse. On each zodiac were eight passengers and one driver. We had a good time with our driver Scott. He was insightful, but humorous. All the crew have unique senses of humor and a love of adventure. After about forty five minutes to an hour of this, we went back to the boat.
Soon after we ate lunch, which was also always buffet style, we prepared for our afternoon excursion to Port Lockroy outpost. Here we toured the museum, which was intact storages of rooms of the outpost from the 50s, and went to the gift shop. I bought some souvenirs for people and sent a postcard home. [It took a month to arrive.]
We came back and partook in tea and beef broth. I was a little leery of the broth at first, but I'm now a fan. We formed a brotherhood of the broth. It's like a sisterhood of traveling pants only with cups of broth...not really. Since the campers had to leave after dinner, we got to have dinner early, which was a buffet for the occasion. Best buffets I've had. I ate until I was feeling like a beached (or iced) seal and of course that means I sneezed in rapid succession. I should have known better, but I had to load up on food since it was going to be a long night without any outside food or drink at the campsite.
Melvin and I were on the first zodiac to the campsite so we went and set up the ground by stamping it in circles and then built our tent. The tent was not really complicated, but we messed it up a little and Bismark had to come and correct us. I'm sure my father was watching me and yelling to do it a certain way and to do it faster. Aaaah camping memories. Though I do have more fond memories of camping with him than I do negative.
Once our tent was up we helped others until there was almost thirty tents in the campsite. After set up was complete, we hiked the area up to the penguin rookeries. We spent about an hour there. The view from the top was magnificent. We could see the ship and the surrounding mountains and seas.
Unfortunately, the wind had picked up and what was tolerable weather became harsher. After 11 p.m. despite the sun still being out, many of us returned to our tents. I tried reading, but it was extremely uncomfortable and I decided to call it a day/night/whatever.
Closer and Closer
Day 6
Saturday, January 4th
Steps taken: 3,813
Saturday on the Drake's Passage was less choppy and we started to see more people back at meals. A few people were still sick or feeling out of it, but overall it was a day full of almost the entire ship taking in the sights of less water and more ice.
Whales were reported to have been seen by a few people, but even spending most of the day wandering about or in the Discovery Lounge, I did not catch a glimpse of any. Even with binoculars (which I was too absent minded to even bring) it would have been difficult.
The day was also spent reading, going to lectures and documentaries, as well as getting to know fellow passengers more. Despite the sheer numbers of Expeditioners I had interacted with many of them by this point. Normally it's easier for me to let others come to me first or let my friends start the interactions and I build off of them, but it hasn't been so tough this trip. Again, everyone here is like minded in the love of travel and adventure and for the most part, have their shit together.
Dinner was a corn chowder soup, a really nice fish which I can't remember the name at the moment, and Boston creme pie for dessert.
After dinner, the excitement grew for the next day when we would reach land and for the group of us that were going camping at some point with the most favorable time being the next night.
Before bed, Dan and I opened up a bottle of wine he received for being such a loyal G Adventurer and we hung out at at the Polar Bear Bar. (Since this was my first G adventure, but not my last, I did not receive one) It was relaxing since the next day would be filled with more active adventures.
Saturday, January 4th
Steps taken: 3,813
Saturday on the Drake's Passage was less choppy and we started to see more people back at meals. A few people were still sick or feeling out of it, but overall it was a day full of almost the entire ship taking in the sights of less water and more ice.
Whales were reported to have been seen by a few people, but even spending most of the day wandering about or in the Discovery Lounge, I did not catch a glimpse of any. Even with binoculars (which I was too absent minded to even bring) it would have been difficult.
The day was also spent reading, going to lectures and documentaries, as well as getting to know fellow passengers more. Despite the sheer numbers of Expeditioners I had interacted with many of them by this point. Normally it's easier for me to let others come to me first or let my friends start the interactions and I build off of them, but it hasn't been so tough this trip. Again, everyone here is like minded in the love of travel and adventure and for the most part, have their shit together.
Dinner was a corn chowder soup, a really nice fish which I can't remember the name at the moment, and Boston creme pie for dessert.
After dinner, the excitement grew for the next day when we would reach land and for the group of us that were going camping at some point with the most favorable time being the next night.
Before bed, Dan and I opened up a bottle of wine he received for being such a loyal G Adventurer and we hung out at at the Polar Bear Bar. (Since this was my first G adventure, but not my last, I did not receive one) It was relaxing since the next day would be filled with more active adventures.
Surviving Drake's Passage
Day 5
Friday, January 3rd
Steps taken: 4,007 (More steps are generally taken because I don't always have my Nintendo 3DS with me)
This was our first full day at sea and our main day of sailing through Drake's Passage. I woke up around 7 a.m. feeling good despite the choppy and rough waters. I got up, went to the bathroom and drank a bit of water. I sat down again to read, however shortly after I felt my self growing nauseous. It's funny because I never get sick or remotely sick on the water. I love the water. I am a sea dog. I vomited a little bit of water and tried to relax. I felt better temporarily, but the motion must have gotten to me again since I vomited a little more during the next ten minutes. I occasionally get motion sickness when I'm in someone else's car and I've had stomach problems in the past, but I've always felt like a champion on water, so this was also psychologically unpleasant.
I laid down and napped for almost two hours. I awoke to Dan knocking on my door. I felt better so I decided to wander around the ship with him. Scott wasn't feeling 100% either nor were about 25% of the passengers. Many passengers had Dramamine patches behind their ears. I did not consider that since I thought I was invincible on the water. I still will not consider them since the rest of the day went smoother for me.
After walking around, drinking a cup of peppermint tea and some water, it was time for lunch. I ate lighter than I normally would.
The rest of the day was filled with lectures (photography and about Antarctica), documentaries, photo taking (mostly open water, but also our first glacier), and socializing.
Dinner was a lamb dish and dessert was tiramisu. The soup was cream of garlic. It was light in flavor. Another excellent meal. Needless to say, you'll see that some of the best food I have eaten was while I was in Antarctica. Life can surprise you in good ways despite some of the bad surprises such as getting seasick for the first time.
Friday, January 3rd
Steps taken: 4,007 (More steps are generally taken because I don't always have my Nintendo 3DS with me)
This was our first full day at sea and our main day of sailing through Drake's Passage. I woke up around 7 a.m. feeling good despite the choppy and rough waters. I got up, went to the bathroom and drank a bit of water. I sat down again to read, however shortly after I felt my self growing nauseous. It's funny because I never get sick or remotely sick on the water. I love the water. I am a sea dog. I vomited a little bit of water and tried to relax. I felt better temporarily, but the motion must have gotten to me again since I vomited a little more during the next ten minutes. I occasionally get motion sickness when I'm in someone else's car and I've had stomach problems in the past, but I've always felt like a champion on water, so this was also psychologically unpleasant.
I laid down and napped for almost two hours. I awoke to Dan knocking on my door. I felt better so I decided to wander around the ship with him. Scott wasn't feeling 100% either nor were about 25% of the passengers. Many passengers had Dramamine patches behind their ears. I did not consider that since I thought I was invincible on the water. I still will not consider them since the rest of the day went smoother for me.
After walking around, drinking a cup of peppermint tea and some water, it was time for lunch. I ate lighter than I normally would.
The rest of the day was filled with lectures (photography and about Antarctica), documentaries, photo taking (mostly open water, but also our first glacier), and socializing.
Dinner was a lamb dish and dessert was tiramisu. The soup was cream of garlic. It was light in flavor. Another excellent meal. Needless to say, you'll see that some of the best food I have eaten was while I was in Antarctica. Life can surprise you in good ways despite some of the bad surprises such as getting seasick for the first time.
A day of miscalculations and preparations.
Day 4
Thursday, January 2nd
Steps taken: 6,426
I woke up around 5 a.m. and considered going back to bed for another hour, however thought it would be more efficient to shower and finish packing by 6-6:30 because we wanted to get breakfast promptly at 7 in order to get a cab to Lake Esmeralda.
It had rained during the night and was still raining a bit. A little rain wasn't going to stop us. After a hearty breakfast and a spot of tea, we went to the cab stand to head out to the lake to hike until about 11 since we needed to be back at a decent time for boarding the ship. As we got closer to Lake Esmeralda, the weather became more and more inclement. When we got the welcome center for the lake, we were greeted by the groundskeeper who told us that the direct path was closed as well as the cafe. Instead of turning around, the cab driver Juan told us about an alternate path to the lake. Despite the snow and rain (snrain) coming done relatively hard we had to see the lake. We told Juan to pick us up at the exact spot he dropped us off at 11. Big mistake!
At first we were in the woods therefore we had some protection from the elements, but the paths were muddy. I had my hiking boots, but Scott and Dan had regular sneakers causing their socks and feet to get wet much quicker. Slowly the water was seeping through our coats, gloves and pants. When we reached the open trails it was more or less a washout for us. We walked for thirty minutes, reached a waterfall and then turned back. Considering we had almost another two hours to wait for Juan, we needed to find shelter.
We knocked on the groundskeeper's cabin door and he called the cab company for us. No answer. Then he called another service and they were on their way. In the mean time, we rung out our hats and gloves, played with the groundskeeper's orange tabi, and I admired the wolves and sled dogs on the property. He was kind enough to let us into the visitor's center and put a fire on. We dried out as much as possible and laughed at how we were such stubborn gringos.
The cab came and got us and took us back to the hotel. Scott attempted to call the cab company, but they had no idea who Juan was! He even went over there to clarify the situation, but was unsuccessful until after Juan returned. We gave him (and the groundskeeper earlier) some money for their troubles and had a mildly embarrassing, but entertaining story to tell. Those kinds of stories are what adventurers live for. Well maybe not live for.
At the hotel waiting for the bus to the MS Expedition I got a hot chocolate, some lamb empenadas and tried drying my hat, scarf, gloves and jacket some more under the rest room's hand driers. I also did a bit of reading (My book for the trip was Haruki Murakami's "1Q84". I read 950 of the 1155 pages of the book while away.) and we conversed with some more of our fellow Expeditioners before it became time to leave for the port.
The buses were a little ridiculous in the way that they were lined up and how they tried to leave the parking lot for the docks, which were only a block or two away from the hotel. The buses pulled out starting from the farthest of the three and tried to drive between the other two buses parked at an angle and the parked cars. I honestly don't know how our driver didn't clip/smash into a parked car or the final bus waiting to leave. There really had to have been a better way to do this. Probably ten easier ways.
After that, we were finally boarded onto the ship. I was in Cabin 304 with Melvin from Los Angeles. He was traveling by himself and has done an extensive amount of traveling as well. Out of the 163 passengers, he was one of ten or eleven doing the optional kayaking excursions.
Once we were settled in, we wandered around the ship and then had a meeting in the Discovery Lounge about different things on the ship and meeting the crew. There were sandwiches and beverages and it gave us a further sense of community. All of the travelers were first timers to Antarctica although many of us are veteran travelers. Many of us have been to at least half of the continents before. (This would be my sixth and for Scott and Dan, their final.)
The age groups were also a wonderful thing because they were incredibly varied. There were a few kids and teenagers, a few 20 year olds, a decent amount of 30 year olds like us and then several people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. We were expecting it to be more skewed towards the older crowds initially. Even the countries of origin were well diversified. An astonishing group of travelers.
After the meeting, we wandered about more and then had dinner. I had the pork medallons, with king crab meat. They were excellent. There was also an appetizer of spinach on mussels lightly covered in cheese, which I want the recipe for. Traveling and eating are serious business for me and this was a rewarding trip for both.
After dinner I relaxed and then wandered around a bit more before heading back to the room to read and then sleep. Onward to Antarctica! EXCELSIOR!
Thursday, January 2nd
Steps taken: 6,426
I woke up around 5 a.m. and considered going back to bed for another hour, however thought it would be more efficient to shower and finish packing by 6-6:30 because we wanted to get breakfast promptly at 7 in order to get a cab to Lake Esmeralda.
It had rained during the night and was still raining a bit. A little rain wasn't going to stop us. After a hearty breakfast and a spot of tea, we went to the cab stand to head out to the lake to hike until about 11 since we needed to be back at a decent time for boarding the ship. As we got closer to Lake Esmeralda, the weather became more and more inclement. When we got the welcome center for the lake, we were greeted by the groundskeeper who told us that the direct path was closed as well as the cafe. Instead of turning around, the cab driver Juan told us about an alternate path to the lake. Despite the snow and rain (snrain) coming done relatively hard we had to see the lake. We told Juan to pick us up at the exact spot he dropped us off at 11. Big mistake!
At first we were in the woods therefore we had some protection from the elements, but the paths were muddy. I had my hiking boots, but Scott and Dan had regular sneakers causing their socks and feet to get wet much quicker. Slowly the water was seeping through our coats, gloves and pants. When we reached the open trails it was more or less a washout for us. We walked for thirty minutes, reached a waterfall and then turned back. Considering we had almost another two hours to wait for Juan, we needed to find shelter.
We knocked on the groundskeeper's cabin door and he called the cab company for us. No answer. Then he called another service and they were on their way. In the mean time, we rung out our hats and gloves, played with the groundskeeper's orange tabi, and I admired the wolves and sled dogs on the property. He was kind enough to let us into the visitor's center and put a fire on. We dried out as much as possible and laughed at how we were such stubborn gringos.
The cab came and got us and took us back to the hotel. Scott attempted to call the cab company, but they had no idea who Juan was! He even went over there to clarify the situation, but was unsuccessful until after Juan returned. We gave him (and the groundskeeper earlier) some money for their troubles and had a mildly embarrassing, but entertaining story to tell. Those kinds of stories are what adventurers live for. Well maybe not live for.
At the hotel waiting for the bus to the MS Expedition I got a hot chocolate, some lamb empenadas and tried drying my hat, scarf, gloves and jacket some more under the rest room's hand driers. I also did a bit of reading (My book for the trip was Haruki Murakami's "1Q84". I read 950 of the 1155 pages of the book while away.) and we conversed with some more of our fellow Expeditioners before it became time to leave for the port.
The buses were a little ridiculous in the way that they were lined up and how they tried to leave the parking lot for the docks, which were only a block or two away from the hotel. The buses pulled out starting from the farthest of the three and tried to drive between the other two buses parked at an angle and the parked cars. I honestly don't know how our driver didn't clip/smash into a parked car or the final bus waiting to leave. There really had to have been a better way to do this. Probably ten easier ways.
After that, we were finally boarded onto the ship. I was in Cabin 304 with Melvin from Los Angeles. He was traveling by himself and has done an extensive amount of traveling as well. Out of the 163 passengers, he was one of ten or eleven doing the optional kayaking excursions.
Once we were settled in, we wandered around the ship and then had a meeting in the Discovery Lounge about different things on the ship and meeting the crew. There were sandwiches and beverages and it gave us a further sense of community. All of the travelers were first timers to Antarctica although many of us are veteran travelers. Many of us have been to at least half of the continents before. (This would be my sixth and for Scott and Dan, their final.)
The age groups were also a wonderful thing because they were incredibly varied. There were a few kids and teenagers, a few 20 year olds, a decent amount of 30 year olds like us and then several people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. We were expecting it to be more skewed towards the older crowds initially. Even the countries of origin were well diversified. An astonishing group of travelers.
After the meeting, we wandered about more and then had dinner. I had the pork medallons, with king crab meat. They were excellent. There was also an appetizer of spinach on mussels lightly covered in cheese, which I want the recipe for. Traveling and eating are serious business for me and this was a rewarding trip for both.
After dinner I relaxed and then wandered around a bit more before heading back to the room to read and then sleep. Onward to Antarctica! EXCELSIOR!
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