Heading North

We’re still in the Drake but the waves are slightly less powerful than last night. With a good breakfast and the magic patch, I was able to make it through most of the day without any queasiness.

Mandy and Cameron brought a deck of Uno cards, which was fantastic! I played the longest game of Uno ever – three of us played for over an hour and shuffled the deck at least 9 times after running out of cards. I can’t even remember who won, isn’t that funny? I think it might have been me, but I can’t be sure. I’ll need to ask the girls. [I just found out that I won – obviously I’m not as competitive in Antarctica as I am at home, ha ha.]

Throughout the week, we’ve had many lectures and movies that educate us about Antarctica, the animals (penguins, seabirds, seals, and more), lichen, climate change, sea ice, and the history of Antarctic explorers. I have learned a lot and really enjoyed myself.

Yesterday, the ship had an auction with all proceeds benefiting the nonprofit “Save the Albatross” foundation, which promotes safe fishing practices in the Antarctic region. They auctioned off a variety of items, and the auction was a lot of fun. Some of the items were: the chef’s hot chocolate pudding recipe with a chef hat; our ship's red flag; bottled glacier ice (melted into water) with a used beanie; breakfast in bed served by your crew member of choice; and the chart showing exactly where we’ve traveled on our trip. Breakfast in bed went for $250, and there was a volley between Naked Man Andy (asking our Hotel Manager Josie to serve) and a half dozen older Aussie women (served by Matt, the youngest crew member who turned 20 yesterday). Naked Man Andy eventually won, but the women offered a $50 donation to the foundation in order to have breakfast at a round table in the dining room with Matt and Pablo (the second youngest crew member).

The chart was quite nice (I learned it’s called a chart and not a map), as one of the crewmembers drew pictures on it and the whole crew signed it. We all thought it would go for ~$500, but within 30 seconds of open bid the price was $1,000! It ultimately sold for $1,500 to two American women who are travel agents. In all, the auction raised over $2,200 for the “Save the Albatross” foundation, and it was a fun evening.

Here is a pic to show you how windy it was sometimes on the deck (check out my ponytail):