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Published: March 1st 2008
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Arrival to Antarctica is not only cost prohibitive but if travelers-to-be knew beforehand of the discomfort of sailing through the Drake Passage, it may be enough to discourage a few more from making the journey. I boarded the Polaris after a 10-day wait in Ushuaia nearly trembling with excitement. I was only mildly aware that 12 hours later I would be trembling with nausea. Upon boarding the ship and receiving our room assignments we were called to the front room to meet our staff and learn more about our Antarctic expedition. We were all thrilled to hear that on our ship with a capacity of 64 passengers, we would be only 33. That meant maximum access and no lines! We were sailing on the newly acquired Polaris, a Russian ship contracted by the Canadian company Gap Adventures after their former ship sank in November. (You can read more about that by Googling "The Explorer, ship that sank") So, a very important part of our initial lecture was the safety procedures and a demonstration of how to don the special immersion suit that would be necessary if we did have to abandon ship.
During dinner I downed my first seasickness pill
and after a bit of socializing headed to bed. I was hesitant to climb into my skinny bed but the metal bars near my head and feet gave me some assurance that if I rolled sideways I would be detained enough to wake up and correct the rolling. When I got into my bunk the boat was already rocking from side to side. As the night progressed, the rocking, at times, was so powerful that I would slide from head to toe, nearly touching my head on the wall, and then pushing off with the balls of my feet as if I was jumping on a trampoline. Back and forth, back and forth, for hours until I finally fell asleep around 5 AM... only to be awakened by the breakfast announcement two hours later. Our instructions for first movement in the morning were the following... Sit up in bed, get your bearings, synchronize yourself with the rocking, and then start moving. The effects on the majority of the passengers were evident once I made my way to the dining room. About six passengers arrived for the beginning of breakfast. Those of us who were present had our first lesson in
Tug Boat
Tug Boat pulls the Polaris off the dock to begin our journey. dining room protocol in the Drake Passage. NEVER leave your plates and glasses unattended because when you return to them it is unlikely that your glass will be upright nor will your food be on the plate where you left it. Knowing that my roommate was currently holed up in the room with some serious symptoms of seasickness I slowly chewed eat bite of bread and then hesitated, waiting to see if it would stay down. I was successful.
The first two days of the trip consisted of rotating through a simple schedule: eat, nap, attend a lecture, nap, eat, nap, lecture... I think the effectiveness of the seasickness medication lay in its ability to make me so drowsy that I didn't have time to feel sick before falling asleep again. Its effects, combined with the rocking of the boat, made a very nice environment for naps. However, I did not miss a single lecture given by our staff. On board we had a Marine Mammalologist, an Ornithologist, a Historian, and a Glaciologist. They all rotated giving some very informative lectures in order to increase our understanding of the sights and the wildlife that we would be seeing.
During our second day in the passage more passengers began to reemerge as they became accustomed to the rolling of the ship. We learned that our first landing would be Penguin Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula. After two days surrounded by water and seabirds and dolphins as our only companions, we eagerly anticipated the sight of land. We were instructed in the landing procedures. As you leave the boat you rinse your rubber boots in disinfectant, then turn your tag from green to red so that it is evident that you are off the boat. Use the staircase to get to the zodiac which carries you to land. All of our landings were "wet landings" which justified the use of our knee high rubber boots. If you misjudged the waves as you were making the landing you may end up with a boot full of water. After time on land you must scrub your boots with the Guanomatic to remove all penguin guano and any other critters, board the zodiac, back up the staircase, turn your tag back to green, and disinfect your boots.
The cooperative weather allowed us two landings per day on average. The ice was not
as cooperative. As we approached the Weddell Sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula we were met with large numbers of icebergs. The hope of our Expedition Leader had been to penetrate and enter the Weddell Sea. It became apparent after a few near misses that we would be forced to turn back and continue our tour along the peninsula. That morning we took an amazing zodiac ride amidst the ice and took in the peaceful atmosphere that being surrounded by miles of ice and water provides.
Our expedition included the following landings and sightings of penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, and various sea birds. Exceptional descriptions and photos of the sites will follow in the next blog.
Penguin Island
Brown Bluff
Paulet Island
Esperanza Bay Station
Gourdain Island
Deception Island, Whaler's Bay
Aitchoo Island
After saying goodbye to the penguins at our final landing on Aitchoo Island we began our journey back to South America. Ben, a fellow passenger, created the itinerary for the First Annual Drake Olympics. The Olympics were designed to keep our minds off the rocking and rolling during our return through the Drake Passage. The passengers who were not below deck for
The Bridge
Control Deck for the Captain and Crew the rough trip back participated in various events such as balancing a roll on a spoon and walking the length of the ship, racing to melt a piece of ice against the body, and creating poems based on the subject matter learned in our history lessons. I represented my team in the rubber boot toss (using only binoculars to see) and the immersion suit race.
We spent our final night on board docked in the port of Ushuaia. I went to bed missing the rocking of the boat and wondering how I would sleep so soundly without it. And then, before I was ready, it was time to disembark. Days later I was still bracing myself in the shower and while washing dishes, swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the sea, my body and legs conditioned to compensate.
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Caroline
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Wowee
Wowee wow wow wow. i didn't know you were doing this! Unbelievable. What an experience! Today I did some laundry and volunteered at Luke's school and then taught drama. ... Nope. Doesn't compare. :) Thanks for sharing! Miss you!