Days 10 and 11...Sunday and Monday....January 17 and 18, 2016
At sea in the Drake Passage'Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all’ - Helen Keller
This is what it looked like when we were leaving Ushuaia yesterday.
This is what we woke up to today.
Here's what I looked like leaving Ushuaia yesterday.
The next morning I clung to the railing.
For the next two and a half days, the Drake Passage certainly lived up to its reputation. We were experiencing tempestuous, blustery weather.
During our first night we heard that the wind had been above 45 knots and the waves were 17 feet high! Before boarding yesterday, Jeff and I had taken anti-sea sickness precautions. That, plus our cabin's position in the middle of the boat, allowed us to feel absolutely fine. Not as many on the ship were as fortunate as we were. The dining room was very empty throughout the day.
The Drake Passage churned relentlessly. Throughout the next two a half days and nights there was a lot of pitching and swaying, rocking and rolling.
During our multi-day Drake Passage journey, our outstanding staff, all specialists in their respective fields, presented exceptional lectures on marine mammals, the geology of the Antarctic continent (4.6 billion years), seals and birds of the Antarctic peninsula and other fascinating information.
Throughout these "Drake-Shake" days, each passenger was outfitted with their Quark issued yellow expedition waterproof jacket with its warm synthetic jacket underneath and our Biosecurity & Expedition boots. We also received instructions on zodiac landing and safety .
We were all instructed on biosecurity protocol. We all had to take our hats, gloves, day packs, camera cases, binoculars, anything we would be taking ashore meaning whatever we would be wearing or carrying, to the bio-security station. Each item was then vacuumed out for bio-security and safety by the staff members. We would soon be entering Antarctica, the most pristine part of the world. It won't be long now. The captain told us by tomorrow morning we will cross the Antarctic Circle!