Monday Feb 5, 2024
Hi Gang! Well we had a very sunny day in Ushuaia (calm before the storm!). A little windy but warm for here, 55 degrees. Tonight we start our journey across the Drake Passage!
The Drake Passage is the body of water that goes between the tip of South America (Cape Horn) and the Antarctica Peninsula. It was named for Sir Frances Drake, the explorer whose ship drifted far south after passing through the Strait of Magellan in 1578 entering the Drake Passage. This let the world know there was open water south of South America.
The Drake has some of the roughest seas in the world where waves can get up to 60 feet high! We’re actually hoping for just 20 feet or less which will still be rough! Say a little prayer for us and our Atlas World Navigator ship. For some this is a rite of passage but for us it’s just the way to get to Antarctica!
At 4 PM we had to do a mandatory zodiac boat drill to teach everyone how to get in and out of the zodiac boats and other rules about going to Antarctica. We also found out there were only 143 passengers on board while the ship holds about 180. Less people to fall down going across the Drake! Lol.
We had another nice dinner. I had the red snapper with mussels and risotto (sooo yummy) and Kathy had the Coq de Vin (she said it was good but a little dry).
After dinner we listened to Kevin play the saxophone. He was really good and is the same guy that played the clarinet last night. Very talented!
We’re hoping we don’t get bounced out of bed tonight due to the rough seas of the Drake. Wish us luck! Happy Monday to all!!
PS: We enter the Drake around 11 PM!
The Wandering Italian 