Having had my relaxing spa day it was time to finally head to the docks and board the Sea Spirit in anticipation of the adventure yet to come. The ship, though smaller than most, was huge and had all conveniences one could think off including a jacuzzi, gym, library, bar and of course an emergency room fully equipped to deal with the standard interventions that might occur during a cruise. However, when I entered my awesome room I found out I had to share it with an obese Chinese man with a snoring problem (henceforth named Snorlax). He was a nice guy but right from the start I could see that this guy will keep me awake all night long.
After everyone had arrived and checked into their rooms we had our very first lecture (champagne included) during which the plans for the coming 11 days were laid out, which started with crossing the notorious Drake passage. This passage normally takes 2 days to cross and is known to cause sea sickness in all but the most hardy folk and refusing to take the sea sickness medication allotted me plenty of time to bond with the ship’s toilet. The only thing that helped me not to throw up was to lie down on my bed and try to sleep, which is where Snorlax comes into play. Snorlax did not allow me or our neighbours to sleep as his loud snore was able to bypass even professional earplugs designed to keep the ship’s engine noise out. The only solution to actually getting some rest was to grab my sleeping bag and sleep in the ship’s lounge during the night. The expedition team took notice of my predicament, but with all rooms fully booked I had no other choice then continue to sleep in the lounge, or so I thought. The son of a German family got an appendicitis and needed to be evacuated to Ushuaia leaving a private double empty. After kindly asking the expedition team and with the approval of the family (if you are reading this I want to tank you once again) I could switch rooms! From here on out the vibe of the tour suddenly changed for the better and after a good night’s rest I woke up to a magical winter wonderland!
We arrived in Antarctica!
