The Drake Passage Part 2

On the second morning they announced that our position was now 60 degrees and 41 minutes south. We were now officially in Antarctic waters. I went up to take have a look and was really struck by the fact that I've never been in the open ocean like this this before do far away from...everything!

They make good use of the time in the crossing to give us some lectures on where we're going, what we'll see and what we can and cannot do.

There's a mandatory talk on the code of conduct for tour operators and visitors to Antarctica. It's the IAATO, or International Agreement for Antarctic Tour Operators, and it's fairly thorough which I was glad to see. Some things really need to be said as common sense isn't as common as it should be. Predictably, no littering and don't approach the animals are on the list. Disinfecting boots before and after visits was a surprise though but it makes sense as they're trying to keep the area as pristine as possible and avoid the introduction of any foreign organisms.

All the talks were very interesting though I confess to being less interested in the talk about pelagic birds. When I heard mention of petrels, adelies and skuas I had to shudder. Those are names of some tools at work. After a brief thought or two about Corporate-Christy, I remembered it's Monday and I'm as far away from her as I can get! ;o)

In addition to the lectures by the guides, they're showing the BBC documentary 'The Frozen Plant' narrated by David Attenborough. It's fantastic and has certainly got everyone chomping at the bit to get out and see it all for themselves.

Land Ho! After a couple of lectures and a nap, I went upstairs to the dining room to peek out at the view. Land! Here's my first glimpse of Antarctica:

These are part of the Shetland Islands which we'll spend the next few days exploring. We've been kitted out with rubber boots, warm parkas and life-jackets for tomorrow morning's excursion. How exciting it will be to get out and set foot on land and explore!