To the Bottom of the World

Leaving...
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Leaving the dockside came with a sense of exhilaration and excitement.  We were heading South - first Chile, then Antarctica, with the small matter of the Drake Passage in between.  The crews of the neighbouring ships waved as we passed.  Ships sounded their horns in farewell.  It felt like a party....... or was it farewell in case we didn't return??!

We sailed down the Beagle Channel to Puerto Williams in Chile. After clearing immigration we were free to go ashore, increasing the local population tenfold, it would seem.  Where was everyone?  The place seemed deserted.

Teletubbies on parade

This little town is the proud owner of theremains of the 'Yelcho' - a must-see for any Shackleton fan.  For this was the ship that 'The Boss' used to pick up his team from Elephant Island, with not a single person lost.  The prow of this ship is proudly on display in the centre of town.

Back on board, time for the mandatory lifeboat drill. At the signal, we all donned our lifejackets (some of us incorrectly) and mustered as instructed.  Now on a normal cruise this would be done in shorts & t-shirts.  We had several layers on even at this early stage in the trip, and with lifejackets on could barely move and looked like an army of teletubbies on parade!  Little did we know that we would be wearing this get-up every day in a couple of days time.

After dinner, we met our expedition team.  These were the experts who we were trusting to keep us entertained, educated, and safe for the next 2 weeks.  Our expedition leader John was an all-round expert with 15 years Antarctic experience; and then we had 4 other experts, covering birds (including a separate authority on penguins), geology, ice, whales, seals.  I wasn't convinced I wanted to go in for all this 'lecture' malarkey.  I was just there to enjoy the ride, not go back to school!

That night after dinner we left the seclusion of the Beagle Channel and entered the Drake Passage.  The ship was already starting to rock ominously as we finished dinner; everything in the cabin was creaking, and I wasn't so much rocked to sleep as hurled from one side of the bed to the other.

Now, where did I put those Kwells......?