Drake Passage
Today would be our first of two attempts to make up the distance from the Antarctic continent to the islands off of South America. The distance from the peninsula to Cape Horne is the shortest of any from the three continents (South America, Africa, and Australia) that surround Antarctica. However if the seas are rough then the trip is long indeed, no matter where you start. The captain rated our crossing a 6 out of ten. Which made sense considering that 60 percent of us made it to the lectures that were offered throughout the day. The one constant besides the relatively rough seas were the sea birds that ghosted our ship from the peninsula north. The species were few in number but beautiful in form. The most abundant was the pentado petrel. A stout little bird with great markings and patterns along its back. It enjoyed the sweeping and swaying along our stern as many birds drafted in our wake.
While we were at sea we thought about many things, the wildlife of Antarctica, the breathtaking scale of it all, and the affect that this trip would have on the rest of our travels in other areas of the world. For this continent, like no other , can be described in one word: indescribable. That is not to say we cannot try, only that we should not, for those who have not experienced the trip, because until they do there is no frame of reference. And so the search for adjectives continue…
Today would be our first of two attempts to make up the distance from the Antarctic continent to the islands off of South America. The distance from the peninsula to Cape Horne is the shortest of any from the three continents (South America, Africa, and Australia) that surround Antarctica. However if the seas are rough then the trip is long indeed, no matter where you start. The captain rated our crossing a 6 out of ten. Which made sense considering that 60 percent of us made it to the lectures that were offered throughout the day. The one constant besides the relatively rough seas were the sea birds that ghosted our ship from the peninsula north. The species were few in number but beautiful in form. The most abundant was the pentado petrel. A stout little bird with great markings and patterns along its back. It enjoyed the sweeping and swaying along our stern as many birds drafted in our wake.
While we were at sea we thought about many things, the wildlife of Antarctica, the breathtaking scale of it all, and the affect that this trip would have on the rest of our travels in other areas of the world. For this continent, like no other , can be described in one word: indescribable. That is not to say we cannot try, only that we should not, for those who have not experienced the trip, because until they do there is no frame of reference. And so the search for adjectives continue…
