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| We made a great video but won’t share it until we’re back in Buenos Aires due to the poor Wi-Fi signal. |
Currently, we’re experiencing what is classified as Level 2 (of three levels) rough seas in the Drake Passage, which is known to be the roughest seas anywhere in the world. It isn’t easy to walk across a room and down the hallways.
My water glass flew off the table in the lounge on deck three. I’d decided against drinking tea this morning when the risk is too high for getting scalded. As I began preparing this post, there was only a handful of passengers in the lounge. We imagine the rest are in their cabins, preferring not to walk about the ship.
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| Seasickness bags are positioned throughout the ship’s public areas, as shown in this elevator. |
Tom usually has a few poached eggs and bacon in the buffet each morning while I wait until lunch to eat. Most mornings, I join him and sip on herbal tea. This morning, I suggested he go on without me since it would take a little longer for me to get showered, dressed, and ready for the day based on the rocky conditions.
Taking a shower was challenging. Thank goodness there is a grab bar in the shower which I hung during the shower. I decided to forgo shaving my legs which I usually do daily. “Too risky,” I thought as I bounced around in the small space.
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| This photo was taken from our cabin balcony this morning. It’s certainly wild! |
I hurried, and by the Tom returned to the cabin. I was ready to go. We grabbed my laptop and headed to the lounge. As we sat on a sofa, we stared out the windows, stunned by the raging seas although we weren’t feeling seasick (thank goodness). Glasses and cups flying around, breaking with a loud crash, startling the few of us in the lounge on each occasion.
This 264 passenger ship (only 200 expedition cruisers are allowed to enter Antarctica) is considerably smaller than any cruise ship on which we’ve sailed over these past five-plus years. It’s more like a luxury yacht than a cruise ship.
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| The seas continue to lurch unpredictably, making walking rather challenging. |
As a result of the ship’s smaller size, we’re feeling the rough seas considerably more than we have during rough seas during any of our prior 21 cruises since the onset of our world travels, except for the trans-Atlantic crossing in 2013.
Are we scared? If it gets to Level 3 within the next 28 hours or so until we arrive in Ushuaia on Wednesday (where we’ll spend one more night on the ship), it could be one rough and rocky ride.
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| For a moment, it may seem calm, and then whoosh…there’s a giant swell powerful enough to knock us off our feet. |
The cruise line had planned the extra overnight in Ushuaia to accommodate any delays in our arrival due to rough seas. It certainly makes sense for them to plan accordingly to prevent passengers from missing their flights.
At this point, we’re fine, not overly worried, and prepared to stay as stable as we possibly can. We made a video and took these few photos of the rough seas, but at the moment, I’m having trouble holding onto my laptop on my lap and don’t necessarily feel like going outside to take more or better photos.
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| The waves are splashing up to the 6th deck. |
Based on the fact any videos we post here must be uploaded to YouTube, and with the signal is too weak to upload a video, we’ll save it for when we wrap up the posts from Antarctica once we’re on land.
We’d planned on posting other photos, but today, we decided to focus on this last leg of our journey through the Drake Passage as we head back to civilization. We’ll be back in touch soon. We’ll keep you updated.
May your day be safe and steady!
Photo from one year ago today, February 6, 2017:
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| We were at the Geeveston, Tasmania Classic car show when we spotted this ’48 Chevy Fleetmaster, made the year I was born. Gee., that car is old, and so I am! For more, please click here. |