World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas
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Saturday 17 November 2012
Highlights: Rock and rolling of the Drake Passage
Our return to Ushuaia was well underway today. The ‘turbulence’ was also back and quite a few people suffered ill effects despite today being calmer than the first time through the passage. For most of the day we sailed in mist and fog with not much visible. Due to the conditions we couldn’t go out on the decks.
Friday 16 November 2012
Highlights: Sunshine, Chinstrap Penguins, Macaroni Penguins
The best weather day of the Antarctica trip. I was drawn in the first landing at Half Moon Island and experienced brilliant conditions. The sun was shining and we experienced mostly blue skies during the 2 hour visit. It was even relatively easy to walk on the snow I only occasionally had to step with the snow at knee level.
Thursday 15 November 2012
Highlights: Landing at Deception Island, Polar Plunge, Wild zodiac ride, Humpback Whale
Today was the day for the crazy people wanting to do the Polar Plunge aka as running into the freezing water. Both Ben and Vera signed up for this crazy activity which was made worst by the incredibly cold and windy weather.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Highlights: Paradise Bay zodiac cruise, Visiting the Bridge, Killer Whale sighting, Enterprise Island zodiac cruise
Landing conditions meant we could not visit the Argentina base on Paradise Bay, not that the base is occupied yet. We did however get to go on a 1.5 hour zodiac cruise in rougher conditions than yesterday.
Tuesday 13 November 2012
Highlights: Peterman Island, Pleneau Bay, Walking on an Iceberg, BBQ on the deck, Shots of 500 year old ice.
Here is a YouTube video so you can get a feel of the conditions.
Today was overwhelming, I mean how often do you climb on a moving iceberg and just watch as you float around 🙂
Monday 12 November 2012
Highlights: Camping on Antarctica
During the night I slept on Antarctica wearing two pairs of socks, normal underwear, thermal underwear, water proof pants, two tops, one jumper, one Arctic jacket (with inner liner), gloves and a Peru cold weather beanie, and an inner sheet inside a -3 to -10 degree sleeping bag. It was just warm enough to not be uncomfortable although my feet where starting to get cold around 4 am.
Sunday 11 November 2012
Highlights: Antarctica Continent Landing, Gentoo Penguins, Weddell Seals, and Sleeping under the stars!
Today was the big event, stepping onto the Antarctica Peninsula and then the Continent itself! My group was drawn for the first landing attempt. With my new Canadian jacket, water proof pants, thermals and a few other layers of clothing I boarded the zodiac very excited as we headed for Danko Island. Some passengers struggled to follow directions like don’t stand in the zodiac but most got the hang of it and no one fell in.
Saturday 10 November 2012
Highlights : Antarctica Convergence, Captain’s Welcome, Camping demonstration
The sea was smoother today making the challenge of showering a little easier. Despite the smoother conditions at breakfast I felt a little queasy and as a result until lunchtime I took it easy mostly lying down and taking some motion sickness tablets. Weird that I got effected today just when everyone else is getting better, luckily the queasy feeling only lasted a few hours.
Friday 9 November 2012
Highlights: Rough Seas and Onboard lectures.
A very rough night of sailing. A lot of items in my room ended up at the cabin door. At one point I started to fall out of the end of the bed. I later learned some passengers with beds facing A different direction to mine rolled out of their bunk and onto the floor. One passenger needed a visit from the doctor for stitches to her head.
Thursday 8 November 2012
Highlights: Setting sail for Antarctica
Boarding of the MS Expedition commenced at 4 pm giving me most of the day to catch up on e-mails, upload photos and explore the city. Checkout was at 10 am giving 6 hours without a room to rest and charge devices.
Nathan's Insights 