Nothing to see in any direction except the big ocean….I am again traveling in the spot where the Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. The reason why the Drake Passage gets such a bad reputation is because the winds around this area aren’t slowed by land as they spin around our globe in this area.
What is incredible about passing through the Drake is the number of birds who join us for the journey- these birds (albatross and petrels) have special modifications so that they can survive without land. They fly all day long without any spot to stop and rest.
Since we were on the ship in the middle of the ocean, I do not have incredible views to share with you. However, I can tell you our day was still jam-packed with adventure. We started off the morning with a talk on the plankton of Antarctica. I really appreciated this talk because I knew of some of these species from my time on the NOAA ship a few months ago. It was really cool to see the differences in some of the plankton here vs off the coast of Oregon & California!
Following that presentation, we had the mandatory disembarkation briefing, where we got instructions on how to return our rented gear, when our luggage needs to be ready to be offloaded, and other logistical things like that. After that, we got to learn about the history of Antarctica – all the way back to when it was a temperate region closer to the equator.
After lunch, we got to experience a tour of the garbage area of the ship. Jacqueline and I had learned a lot about Lindblad Expeditions’ commitment to being sustainable and eco-friendly, so it was fascinating to see how the crew has to sort out all of the garbage. Some things get incinerated, and a lot of it gets compacted.
We were then treated to a presentation on the history of whaling. After that was done, it was tea time. Today’s tea time was special because the crew held it in the laundry room of the ship, and opened up the whole area for tours. We got to see the laundry room, the engine control room, the azipod controls, and the garage where they keep the zodiacs and kayaks. I was incredibly impressed by how pristine all of these areas were- it looked like our ship was brand new!
Once done with our tea time tours, we had a fascinating presentation on Extreme Ice Surveying, which one of our naturalists aboard is involved with. He showed us time lapse videos of the receding and advancing of Antarctic glaciers. From there, we went into our recap meeting, where we got to learn about why this ship is so smooth in rough waters (the stabilization system and the hull), the history of the Antarctic treaty, and understanding survival of the fittest in terms of Antarctic animals. We also learned that one of our shipmates is leading the naming of a whale we saw on the trip through Happy Whale. Happy Whale is a citizen science program in which people who get pictures of a whale’s flukes can upload them to the Happy Whale website and help track the whale throughout its life. Our naturalists submitted fluke photos of the first whale we saw this trip, and found out it was not named yet. We thought it would be fun to all chip in and name it in honor of this expedition, and one of the guests on the ship is organizing it. We voted on the name and everything! What a cool remembrance of our whale siting!
After another delightful dinner, I’m writing this blog post and then going to bed. Tomorrow will be my last full day on the ship before entering the airport adventures coming up. And, fyi- my daughters have been sending me the weather the last few days, and southeastern Wisconsin is colder than I ever was in Antarctica! Good thing I’ve got all of this warm weather gear for when I get home!!!
Car Full of Harmony 
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