To say that Antarctica is amazing is such an understatement!!!
I´ll start at the beginning...
Jan 9th we wandered down to the main docking wharf in Ushuaia. It is a long pier with a dozen ships docked to the wharf. We passed through immigration and made our way down the dock to our ship - the MV Ushuaia. She was a fine looking vessel although I must admit to being more than a little nervous about getting on and being "stuck" on board for the next 12 days.
We were taken to our cabin by one of the crew and a smaller dog box I have never seen. We were tucked away in the bowels of the ship with no window (or port hole in ship talk) in a room with 2 bunks, a cupboard, a table and a sink, our bathroom shared with the folks next door. I couldn´t get out of there quick enough. My comment to Dave was that I could never commit murder as I definitely would not be able to do the time.
We dumped our gear and went exploring. The ship is well appointed with a lovely bar/lounge area with huge big windows. The decks run all the way around over 2 levels so we went up onto the bow to check out the sights. It was such an exciting moment. An announcement called us all in to the bar for a meet and greet where we got to check out our fellow passengers.
What a fantastically mixed bunch we were. People of all ages, all langauges and all types. There was a large group of US University students with several of their professors (the loudest group in the room :) lots of older passengers and a smattering of 20-40yos.
A quick toast and we were off. Next stop Antarctica!! Even now typing this I can feel the nerves bubbling away inside. Such excitement but so many nerves.
Once we were underway we had our first introduction to our crew and lecturers/guides. My head nearly fell off when the group leader was introduced - Agustin Ullmann (said just like my name). It was to prove amusing for me over the next 12 days to hear my name in constant use when not in reference to me. (Yes I realise most people in the world hear their name in use when it does not reference them but not for me, I´m the only Augustine I know).
We were warned to go below and secure our belongings as at approx midnight we would be starting our Drake crossing and it could get rough. Then we had all of our lfe boat drills. The lifeboats are fully enclosed orange pods that looked quite seaworthy so I was feeling fairly well at ease with that idea.
We met a few of our fellow passengers that night and many of them had special patches that they put behind their ears to ward off seasickness. I was quite jealous as these patches don´t make you drowsy unlike my medication, until a fellow Aussie said that we can´t get them in Aus because they have been shown to have permanent sight damage as a possible side effect. No thanks, I´ll just stay drowsy.
So after a fine dinner and a movie about Antarctica (through which I was falling asleep) we retired to the dungeon for the night. I was so scared of the tight confines of our room I slept with the light on (yeah I know - what a chicken but I was worried I´d bash my head if I sat up in a hurry looking for the bin to throw up). Seasickness tablets taken and I was ready for the infamous Drake.....
No comments:
Post a Comment