We are on the ocean...

We are on the ocean – sailing in weather that [quote one crew member] is as good as it gets! The sun is shining and the ocean, while not steady-steady, is rolling steadily.

Before boarding yesterday we visited the Ushuaia National Park and were able to walk along board walks.

We viewed geese, still lakes, clear glacier filled rivers and the mountains of Chile and Argentina .

I sent a postcard from the most southerly post office, where the post master saw us arrive and zipped over in a Zodiac to do his duty. We had our passports stamped with his special stamp – all at a cost of course.

After an easy boarding, we were shown into our compact cabin from a drizzly and wet Ushuaia we were given a very brief briefing after which we went on deck and were nearly swept away by cheeky biting wind. Our bright yellow parkas will ensure that we will be visible on the ice and kept warm at the same time.

David had given me some medication for anti sea-sickness which made me float around the galleys like an albatross. Sitting chatting to David through the evening meal was a dream-like experience, not because I was mesmerised by his scintillating conversation, but because I was totally out of things!

I do not know if I undressed to sleep, but woke this morning still ‘out of it’ and eschewed any further of DJ’s ‘magic muti’! I did manage to dislodge the shower soap as I manoeuvred myself in the shower area, but after a hearty breakfast of cereal, eggs and smoked salmon I have recovered enough to walk on deck without fear of diving off the edge and now sit in the lounge surrounded by the crew and some fellow passengers, all of whom I look at and hope to goodness that they are competent enough to lead us through and crisis we might encounter.

The guests as always for me are almost more interesting than the wildlife.

We have ‘The Birders’ who, even though there are only ‘x’ number of birds to identify at any given spot, argue, dissect and ponder the siting. The conversations always end up with one of the ‘spotters sighing – ‘well, yes, yes, it has the eye-stripe so it must be the……………albatross.’

We then have ‘The Experts’, those who have been on an Antarctic cruise before where on the previous ship the food was better, the lecturers more erudite and the passage smoother. For me the passage so far has been smooth and fab and that’s good enough for me.

We also have the ‘team players’. Many Australians who have their green and yellow shirts on with kangaroos bounce about. The Israelis who talk ‘big’ and secretly and the Brits who put on the accent and treat everyone else like colonials. This lot may well set another sortie when they land on the Falklands.

Don’t let’s even talk about ‘The Photographers’ who discuss aperture, light and focus until all have disappeared into a cloud of grey.

The internet here is dodgy, with the satellite being behind the funnel, no one being cheeky enough to request that the captain turn the vessel for easier internet access. David has arrived with a cup of hot chocolate. I feel more ‘in the moment’ again...

Till next time.