ON THE DRAKE PASSAGE

 On this, the first sea day of the expedition, we were woken with a lurch and a roll followed by Christian’s dulcet tones. He invited us to clamber out of our bed and make our way to breakfast if we dared. The notorious “Drake Passage” was upon us, and whilst not extreme version by any means, the cork-screw motion threw many for a stumble. Myself so far felt fantastic but unfortunately I could not say the same for hubby, who stayed horizontal for all of the day. 
For those who were still standing the day was jammed packed with information filled lectures. To herald the way, Roger took to the stage, and introduced us to the wonders and intricacies of the sea birds of the Southern Ocean. We learned that sea birds in fact, have a sense of smell, and they often use this ability to find their prey in the ocean.
After a quick cuppa and a peek into our cabin to see how Alan was fairing I ventured outside, and found it pleasantly warmer than thought, thongs  and no gloves.
Time for a few laps of the deck before we were called to another lecture where Christian brought back to life the early explorers of Antarctica. He told us how James Cook arguably the best sailor in history, was thwarted many times when trying to catch a glimpse of the icy continent to the south. However it was the Russian Bellinghasuen who was the first sailer to set eyes on Antarctica 47 years later. Lunch was a jovial affair with many passengers finally being able to find their sea legs. After a few laps of exercise around the deck to walk off all of this delicious food we were once again called to the lecture room where Alex shared some great tips and tricks of how to take the best photo. In the evening we enjoyed pre dinner drinks in the bar to toast to our captain Yuri. Tonight we will get closer to the icy continent. 

Filed under: Antarctica