Onboard MV Ushuaia

Day 1 of the crossing across Drake Passage on our ship MV Ushuaia and we woke up to the wake-up call from our team leader at 0700 in the morning. I was able to catch a good sun rise, even though the cloud coverage hid most of the sun. The temperature outside is not so bad. I can walk around in a fleece jacket and a water proof wind breaker. We are keeping to the same time-zone as in Argentina, which at this time of the year is 3 hours ahead of Chicago. For our breakfast, our chef whipped up a nice breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausages, croissants, sandwich meats, cheese and fresh fruits. I could only imagine how they managed to cook and serve that during the choppy seas.

We boarded MV Ushuaia the evening before. She carries a staff of 35 strong (mainly from Argentina). From the beginning they made us feel at home. After orientation about the ship and a full fledged safety drill that included climbing into life boats, we had our dinner. Dinner was a sumptuous 3 course meal and after that I gave up on any hope of losing couple of pounds on the trip. It took us over six hours after the ship left the port to reach the Drake Passage through the shallow Beagle Channel. Once we were in the Drake Passage, the seas started to get rough. Almost all of us were already on sea sickness medicine or patches, except for couple of brave souls.

After breakfast in the morning we realized that nearly half of our team was seasick, including some that were on medicine. The rest of us checked up on them periodically throughout the day and almost all of them felt better by the evening. In the mean time, the rest of us attended a seminar on climate change, led by the communication manager from investment firm Climate Change Capital. He shared with us the empirical data showing how the planet’s temperature has increased by 4 C over the last couple of centuries, with much of the temperature rise coming in the 20th century. He challenged us to be part of the solution. “If we are part of the problem, we should be part of the solution.” He said part of the difficulty in successfully dealing with climate change is that many talk about it, some know about it and very few act on it.

In the afternoon, our liaison officer aboard the ship gave a thorough introduction about the wild life in Antarctica, including the penguins, seals, whales, birds, etc. Antarctica is a great wild life preserve and all Antarctic tour operators enforce a strict set of rules to keep it that way. We need to keep at least 5m distance from all animals, even if it is a cute and cuddly penguin. We are also required to wash our boots and clothes in disinfecting solution before we leave the ship and before we return to the ship. This we are told is to minimize chances of introducing foreign agents to the wild life and to avoid any kind of infection breakout on the ship.

During the day and in between lectures and meals, I spent a considerable amount of time outside on the ship’s deck, especially at the front bow. It was nice to take it all in and breathe the freshest air I would probably ever run into my life. I also found few albatrosses flying around our ship. It was amazing to see these majestic birds (with 3 meter wing span) fly just inches off the water. I kept wondering where they will perch, since the nearest land mass is hundreds of miles away.

After another 3 course dinner, some game of cards in the lounge area, I hit the sack. The sea has calmed down a lot and I didn’t have to worry about rolling off the top bunk. The overall day was so relaxing, with no phones, no emails, no outside news, and with plenty of time for an afternoon nap. I think I will be coming back from the trip looking at least a year younger, but I want to bargain for 10.