Day 6 – We’re On Our Way!

By travelerdon on June 15, 2019

DAY SIX (Feb 21

1st full day on the ship. Fun people, fun times. Halfway across the ‘Drake’ now.  We walk about and mingle with other guests as we check out the ship and get used to the location of everything.  We see random sea birds and the occasional whale in the distance.  Walking around today is easier than we thought it would be and the seas are not horrible like we were told this passage could be.  We’re told we will step on land in Antarctica tomorrow.  We go to our scheduled meeting with the Kayak Group and meet everyone, including our two Kiwi Kayak Guides that are fun and playful, yet all business when it comes to safety.  We get our Dry Suits for Kayaking and all the gear necessary for that.  Then we go to the meeting for our Land Excursion Group and get our Land Excursion gear including boots and Life Vests.  We walk around the ship and familiarize ourselves with the layout of the Ship and look out at the lonely Southern Ocean as we continue to cross the Drake Passage.  The seas are moderate and we wonder what is really in store for us over the next two weeks.  But we know where the food is served and where the bar is!  We visit with other shipmates and start to get to know them.  Some music plays in the lounge and drinks are poured to calm any nerves that may still be on edge.

We discuss the opportunities to send Postcards from Port Lockroy, the British Post Office Base, where ships like ours pick up and deliver mail every time they arrive and depart.  Sometimes, we’re told, it takes up to 6 months to receive a Postcard and sometimes it takes as little as a month.  Imagine that, a Postcard that takes a month to 6 months or more!  Sounds like the 50’s!  What an archaic system!  But this is Antarctica!  Nothing modern down here!  Can’t wait to see this place!

But we know where the food is served and where the bar is!  Progress on the ship is being made!  We visit with other shipmates and start to get to know them.  More music plays in the lounge and more nerve calming medicine is acquired from the bar.  It is time to go to sleep.  We will wake and see what tomorrow has in store for us!