Crossing the Drake Passage – 1.28 – 1.29.17

This morning the boat was rocking from one side to the other. Yes, we were now in the famous Drake Passage.  This body of water is between South America’s Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands just  off the Antarctica Peninsula.   It is where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet, the currents cross and is noted for its rough seas.

Since we were traveling the cruise director encouraged everyone to go on deck to look for wildlife.  Two albatrosses followed our boat most of the day.  This bird has a wing span of  12 feet!  Sorry, I didn’t get a picture.

 

While I went with Frank to the dining room for our meals, I tried to stick with bland items.   I was feeling slightly nauseated.    Diet Coke and  crackers seemed like safe choices.    Frank on the other hand had no problems and enjoyed the breakfast and lunch buffet items, especially the desserts.

When we walked on the ship we looked like drunken sailors!  The waves were about 14-16 feet and caused the boat to  rock and sway. We tried to hold onto railings whenever we could.   Walking with our feet wide apart like a duck seemed to help.   All of the other passengers were having the same problem.   Often in the dining room the waiters would put our their arms and help me to  a table or carry my food.  The crew all were very sure footed.  They must have  earned their sea legs from previous crossings.  We are told that on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the roughest crossing, we were experiencing a moderate crossing at about a 4.  I was certainly glad it wasn’t any higher!

During the day there were several different presentations in the lounge.  I went to one on photo tips.  Another program was about whales and dolphins.  These programs were very informative, at least the parts I heard when I wasn’t sleeping! I kept nodding off!

By Sunday morning the waves were calming down and by afternoon we had reached the South Shetland Islands and had our first shore excursion. We landed on Aticho Island. We had to put on our long underwear, our regular clothes, our water proof pants and parkas. After getting on our boots, we boarded a zodiac raft. They hold about 10 passengers. As we traveled in the rafts, there were penguins swimming on either side. It is awesome to watch them arcing out of the water and diving back again. This behavior is called porpoising.

I don’t think I can describe in words what landing on the island was like. There were penguins everywhere! Penguins congregate together in a nesting area called a rockery. At this point, the babies are almost the size of their parent but because of the gray plumage, they are easy to distinguish. While we aren’t allowed to get closer than 15 feet, if you just stay still, the penguins come to you. They are not afraid of people since this is a nature preserve. We must look like large red penguins to them!

Hey, everybody!   Listen  up!

I got a picture of an adult feeding his/her fledgling. Both parents gather krill from the ocean. When the chick pokes his beak at the adult, the parent regurgitates the food into the chick’s beak. Sound appetizing, doesn’t it!

An elephant seal was conked out on the ground. The naturalist explained that the seal probably swam all the way from South Georgia Island and was exhausted. The mother seal abandons her pups at three weeks. This seal was a young one. When full grown, they can weigh up to a ton!

I am sure I will never forget the sights I saw on our first landing. It was truly amazing!