There was a wonderful sunny sky this morning after a very calm night of sailing. We were very, very, very fortunate to experience more of the Drake Lake rather than the Drake Shake.
It's just noon and we are pulling into the Beagle Channel and out of the way of a brewing storm. Sometime this evening we'll pick up a pilot for the last leg of the expedition back to Ushuaia. We disembark after breakfast tomorrow.
So here are a few facts and comments about our ship:
The ship was built in Finland to Russian specifications for acoustic research therefore, it's been exceptional quiet. The stabilizers have made even the roughest parts of the trip feel pretty smooth. When I saw the Expedition ship and then last night the good ship Ushuaia, you could see what a different experience was being had.
The Vavilov is still used for research between the Arctic and the Antarctic seasons.
One thing that's amused me on board is the prevalance of seasickness bags. They are everywhere. Tucked behind art work hanging on the walls, hanging off of the grab bars in the corridors, laid out on side tables here there, at the end of each dining room table and in a basket at the bar. The lady who does the room check during the dinner hour carries the daily pillow candies/mints around in a barf bag.
One of the ladies who cleans the cabins formerly served in Afghanistan with the Russian army and has two bullet wounds.
The Library and Lounge use a rubbery tablecloth underlay, known as "elephant skin" for coasters and runners to keep stuff from sliding. I can attest to the fact that this will hold a full bottle of beer to just over a 10 degree inclination.
The ship can hold enough water to last six months.
The Russian crew have their own kitchen and fish off of the bow of the ship when we are off in the zodiacs.
There are no locks on the cabin doors - something that you would never do in any other hotel type setting. I will have to readjust my thinking on shore.
The most expensive cabins are on the 5th floor - this is a fairly "tall" ship - and on the outside. This puts them farthest away from the ship's center of gravity and therefore gives them the roughest ride possible of any of the cabins.
There was an interesting cross section of folks on this expedition. There were international bankers, a jewelry artist, a sheep farmer, AIDS workers, academics, lawyers, accountants, school teachers, a secretary and on and on. Most were 50+ and many retired. What everyone had in common was a great sense of adventure as well as a good sense of humour, both of which were indispensable on this trip.
One of the questions going around at dinner is "Would you do it again?" My answer is an emphatic "Yes, in a heart beat." I would love to come back, later in the season and see the west side of the penninsula and cross the Antarctic circle.
Decisions, decisions....
Sent to you over a satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short
No comments:
Post a Comment