Anyway, today we had our wake up announcement at 7:30, breakfast at 8 and 2 mandatory morning lectures, one on Zodiac safety and one on IAATO regulations for Antarctic visits. (Notes…available…yadda yadda) At lunch we got our race numbers and were told that we should see land any time, so there were a lot of people out on deck. Penguins swimming in the water, a few seals and a pod of Minke whales were all spotted. I did miss the breaching humpback which was a bit disappointing, but hopefully we’ll see them on other days. Spent a little time on the bridge watching for land and wildlife, then on to a penguin lecture at 2:45. Very informative (notes, yeah yeah.) I skipped the second on the history of Antarctic exploration and hung outside. We finally saw land...we got really close to it. The fog had rolled in and the wind had picked up. Thank goodness we were through the Drake Passage! As soon as we saw the first land, we passed it and couldn’t see it any more. I saw a seal! He popped his head up and looked at our boat and split. Very cute. So I read and relaxed while dad prepped his gear for the race, then switched while I packed mine. We needed clothes to get over there, clothes to run in (with all the “just in case” stuff like balaclava, ski goggles, yak trax, gators, etc.) and clothes to change into after the race. I walked around in circles for a bit, and finally figured I had everything. We’d earlier been fitted for dry suits and booties (for kayaking…in case we won the lottery!) and pfd (personal floatation devices) for zodiac excursions. So dad and I dropped our muck boots in the mud room.
So at happy hour we came upon land again, OUR land that we’ll be running on.
HO-LEEEEEEEE COW! The Antarctica marathon is tomorrow! We all went outside – the wind had died a bit (still 25 knots, was 33 earlier) and it was snowing. "At least it’s not raining." So off to dinner. Finally, Thom got up to give us the race briefing which got my stomach twisted up a bit, but it’s not as through I’m not going to do it…so here we go!
It’s been fun in the dining room. We have a core group of me and dad, Karin and Anders, Judy and Keith, and sometimes Kathy and Eva. Then other random couples join us. Very cool. Anyway, so we dropped our gifts in the pile for the Russian scientists. They let us use their base and apparently they aren't getting as much financial support from their government, so they’re very appreciative of any gifts. So 6am wake up, 6:30 breakfast and 7:30 launch for an 8:30 race start. I've been waiting fo this for over 2 years. Here we go. (Weather permitting!) WHEEEEEE!
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