The next two days we are kept pretty busy with mandatory briefings, getting our free jackets, trying on our muck boots (loaned for the duration of the trip), vacuuming all of our gear that we will take on land with us to remove each and every bit of lint and fluff, and learning about the strict IAATO rules and regulations governing visitors. There are not too many places in the world that have such stringent guidelines on visitor numbers and procedures to minimize impact to the environment as much as possible.

Unfortunately, during this time, the Drake Passage was not kind to us. Wave height was up to 30 feet for parts of the 2 day journey. The saying goes that you have one of two experiences for your crossing. Either the Drake Shake or the Drake Lake. As we got the Shake, fortunately a lot of the briefings were streamed to the TV in your cabin for those that could not make it to the theatre. The location of the theatre was not ideal, as it was higher than the passenger cabins and right at the Aft. At times, there was a slow but steady stream of people quietly leaving the briefings to seek calmer areas.

The Kayaking briefing was brutally honest and graphic to ensure those that joined were being made aware of the risks. Tipping over and entering the water while in Antarctica is a very real chance and they wanted to prepare everyone for how to deal with that, and be sure that they were physically able to get back in on their own. Kayaking was available through a “Lottery” basis, only 48 lucky people get to go (3 groups of 12), and our ship had about 360 people onboard.

In addition to the briefings, there were constant lectures throughout the days on all sorts of subjects including history, conservation, climate change and of course wildlife. I did need my Scopolamine patch on the journey to and from Antarctica which helped ease the sea sickness and allowed me to mostly enjoy those 2 days.

Walks out on deck were very chilly but exhilarating and enjoyable in small bursts. I was not expecting to see any penguins until we were closer to the Antarctic Peninsula so I was extremely excited when I saw some penguins “Porpoising” right off the front of the ship on day 2. Little did we realize that we were closer than expected and would arrive mid Monday afternoon at our first landing on the white continent.