Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Hi Folks! Last night the ship was rocking. We started crossing the Drake Passage in the middle of the night and you could feel it. Today it got even rockier throughout the day and they said it would get worse over night. God help us!
The Drake Passage opened when Antarctica separated from South America due to plate tectonics millions of years ago. The opening had a major effect on the global oceans due to deep currents like the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The 500 mile wide passage between Cape Horn and Livingston Island is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to another land mass.
Today was in essence a sea day so they offered lots of various lectures and activities. The first lecture was from Sam and his stay on Antarctica. He signed up in Dec 2019 to work at the British Research Station at Rothera Point on Adelaide Island for 4 months for the summer. But Covid hit and he was stuck there for 15 months thru the winter! He said while it was one of the most exciting times of his life it was also very stressful and hard. But he said he may do it again!
We went to trivia and didn’t do that great. We played with our new friends Ray and Carmelita from Sunset Beach, NC. All the questions were on 70’s and 80’s stuff and we still couldn’t get them all!
After trivia we did a tour of the galley (kitchen). We’re a small ship but the galley was much smaller than I thought. It was also down a floor from the restaurant so now I know why the waiters are so thin since they go up and down those steps all day! We also found out our cruise was lucky since we had a full load of food delivered the day we left whereas the next cruise’s food shipment got delayed and they won’t get it before leaving. So in essence, they get our leftovers! Lol
We then attended Elsa’s lecture on seals. Between all the seals we’ve seen on this trip as well as all the pictures and videos she showed, I love seals! Their faces are so cute and some of them, especially the leopard seals are so smart.
After that we went to Valeria’s lecture on whaling in Antarctica. Thankfully they have cut back on allowing whalers to hunt and kill whales so as not to make them extinct.
We had a late daily recap and briefing by Jonathan. He said the Drake Passage should settle down tomorrow. From his lips to God’s ears!!
Dinner was good once again but there weren’t many people there since I assume some people were a little nauseated. I guess that’s why we finished dinner in about an hour… a record!
We then watched the movie they showed in the auditorium called “BBC Series: Seven Worlds One Planet – Antarctica”. It focused on the harsh conditions experienced by all the wildlife that’s there like seals, penguins whales and birds. Pretty much what we just experienced!
After that we listened to our favorite sax player Kevin up in the Dome Lounge. They say the highest decks in the front of the ship are the worst for feeling the ship rocking during high seas. Well that’s exactly where we were. Yes, we’re crazy!
So for a sea day it was chocked full of stuff! Hope all are well!
The Wandering Italian 