Drake Passage - return crossing

Apparently our group has been extremely lucky when it comes to the weather we've been having.

This crossing was not a Drake Lake but it isn't a bad Drake Shake either.  I wasn't feeling well right away but I stayed in bed for a little while to get it under control.

When I started feeling a little better I joined in the party we had in the bar area.  I'm sure our crew thinks we are crazy because we had a full fledged dance party.  I can't imagine that many people party when they cross the Drake Passage, but it was a great night. 

I sat in on our last lecture that was about whales and dolphins and it was great.  I feel like I'm going to come back home and be an expert on identifying whales and penguins.

We were given a dvd at our last recap and it's so awesome that I want to watch it again! It highlights our entire route, our daily itineraries, all of the lectures, and has a bunch of photos that the staff took.

We even had a wonderful certificate ceremony and a champagne toast!

Dinner and a final party to follow!
Don't want to leave but I have to.

The people I met in this group are amazing! It's going to be different this last week.

Crossing the Drake Passage

The Drake Passage is known for it's rough open waters.  It was the part of my trip that I was the most nervous about.

After we left port we had a nice welcome toast with champagne and light snacks.  The crew introduced themselves and most of our expedition leaders are biologists or geologists.

We had a saftey video and training where we had to put on our life jackets and go to our designated meeting place.

At dinner they recommended we take any seasickness medications because we would be hitting open water around midnight.  After dinner they showed the movie Earth, which is a disney movie but it was more like the planet earth series.

I never felt sick overnight but you could really feel the boat moving.  At breakfast though I was struggling. I only grabbed a bowl of cereal which I almost finished before rushing to my room to throw it right back up. 

I think the worst part about it is that everyone keeps saying we are experiencing a "Great Drake" and that it could be much worse.  I really hope that's not the case because I can only imagine how sick I'll be on the way back if it is any worse.