LANDING IN ANTARCTICA

The Drake Passage has been rough at times with thirty-foot waves and swells, so we didn’t move around the ship much, but overall, during the two days we spent traversing the passage, we found it moderately smooth. Alleluia! This morning we arrived at Yankee Harbor by the Antarctic Peninsula. We had very small cups of coffee because we couldn’t face having to remove all the layers we put on: underwear, long underwear, pants and shirts and waterproof pants, underparkas and overparkas, scarves and gloves, hats and hoods. Once bundled up we went down to get fitted with our life jackets and then walk through a tub of raspberry Kool-Aid. Actually it only looked like raspberry Kool-Aid but was a decontaminant for our boots.

Then down to the Zodiac where the Expedition team helped us get into our little bobbing rubber vessel. Moving across the Sea, the boat grated against pack ice making eerie sounds and then “landed” in a pile of stones. Disembarking was not easy; one of our mates fell into the Sea. We didn’t, so we got to see the fauna: sea lions. No flora visible. Gentoo penguins were also not in sight so we will wait until tomorrow.

Back into the boat, back on the ship, boots removed by capable stewards, off for a late lunch (dessert pictured above) – and now we await a briefing for tomorrow. (Note: Sitting below the face mask by the blueberry pie is Sunday’s sermon, already done.)

Love, Hope and Bill