We hiked up on top and stamped down our sleeping spots. (In hindsight, I should have paid a little more attention to the shape of the snow beneath my bag.) We got a quick brief on Mr. Yum Yum, our toilet for the evening (a blue barrel…yuck!) We chatted a bit and very quickly went to bed.
At first when we got into the beds we were all toasty warm but as you laid there, the cold started to permeate. Luckily it was a beautiful wind-free night so we had it pretty easy, but it was still cold out there. The stars were bright and you could hear glaciers calving all over the place. I awoke at 2am and kind of had to go visit Mr YumYum, but more urgent was the need to get out of that sack. I fought my way with zippers and layers trying hard to keep the snow out of my bag. I put on my fleece and headed over to visit Mr. Yum Yum. Aside from the snoring people, it was really peaceful. The water was still, the boat was lit up, the full moon (which I never saw, but knew it was there becayse it provided a lot of light) reflected off the snow. What a beautiful night. So I hopped back in the bag and kind of went back to sleep until 6am when Dutch yelled “ok everybody, GET UP!” and Sam, one of the passengers yelled “WE MADE IT!!!”.
Everyone, all 36 campers lasted through the night. The staff had given us the option of waking them up to go back to the ship if we were too uncomfortable but no one did. We quickly packed up and headed back to the boat for hot tea and a nap!
At breakfast I was chosen to go kayaking which I was pretty excited about. I had such an amazing experience with the penguins at Petermann island that every penguin experience since had paled in comparison and they were headed to a landing at the largest penguin colony on the peninsula so I was happy to go kayaking instead.
Unfortunately they got to see a leopard seal hunting, toying with, killing and eating a penguin in 20 minutes of dramatic and graphic detail, so I was bummed to have missed that, but the pictures were amazing.
We saw a leopard seal with a penguin, but had to raft up all together for fear that he’d knock into us in his feading frenzy! The kayaking was pretty cool. I was pleased with how I could control my boat but the noise of the dry suit and fellow kayakers stole from the serenity of the scene. No denying the beauty though, and it was really cool to be that close to the water.
So back on the boat to warm up. This afternoon was our last excursion and by after lunch I was feeling pretty sick. Headache, tired, chilly so I begged out. The amazing bay we were in promised lots of icebergs and glaciers. It’s sunny and calmer than this morning, the water is like glass. I’m bummed to be missing it right now, but am having a well needed rest. I came here to run a marathon and that’s been the smallest part of the trip! I’ve been up close with penguins and seals and whales and icebergs. I’ve gone swimming (twice), camping, kayaking and cruising on zodiacs. I’ve eaten my way through this trip and have gotten very soft. I’m starting to look ahead to the next part of this trip, and while I don’t want to miss any of what Antarctica has to offer, I’m looking forward to heading back into the Drake tonight and back to Ushuaia. We’ve had amazing luck with animals and weather, the one thing that’s the most unpredictable in Antarctica has gotten better and better every day, ending today with a January like day (mid summer) not a March day (early fall)
I took a nap, felt a bit better and went to happy hour. A scotch helped me feel even more better! After dinner, a few more drinks, and wandering the boat visiting with different people, then off to bed. At around 7pm tonight we hauled anchor and set a course for the Drake Passage. We were all concerned about how the passage would be as we had such an easy time on the way down, so talk of the patch and Dramamine and the bracelets were high on the topic list!
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