January 27th - Surviving Drake's Passage

 I knew that Drake's Passage could be treacherous but I wasn't quite prepared for this:

I wasn't surprised by all the recommendations...it was the top notation that took me off guard...40-60 hours with 20-30 foot waves.  In all the research I did for this trip, I had never actually had seen it spelled out like that!

We made it through dinner (thank goodness we were in the first seating) but then the ship really started to rock and roll.  Walking around the ship became very challenging so we headed back to our cabin, took some precautionary seasickness medicine and applied a patch behind our ear as an extra measure.  

When you don't feel nauseous and don't have to walk around, the rolling motion is quite an experience.  The night turned out to be "moderate" with only 18-24 foot waves!

This was taken today after lunch when the waves had dropped to 9-15 feet (hope the video works!):

In spite of the rough seas, it has been a busy day.  We had to watch a briefing about landing protocols in Antarctica and later there was a fabulous lecture about cetaceans - 90 species of whales and dolphins and an overview of those that are found around the antarctic convergence (the curve continuously encircling Antarctica where the cold northward flowing antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-antarctic).  In the afternoon we had to collect our muck boots and clean any clothes that are going to be warn on the landings.  And since I signed up to go kayaking, I had to watch a briefing on that!  

After dinner tonight, we learned about our landing tomorrow afternoon and also had a great lecture on penguins, specifically about the 4 species that we should be seeing on this cruise.  Nearly across the Drake and exciting times ahead!