On the Drake

Yesteraday we had a leisurely day browsing some of the shops in Ushuaia, had
lunch, and enjoyed the warmth in the sunshine in a park. It was a lovely day
in Ushuaia, clear and about 12 degrees. In the afternoon we returned to our
hotel and got our boarding cards for the ship. From there we loaded on to
busses and went to board the ship.

Onboard we headed to our stateroom, with we are sharing with 2 other ladies.
There are two lower beds, and two uppers (accessible by ladder). Me and
Kristin have the upper bunks and to my relief there are bars on the beds to
prevent us from being tossed out of bed! We each have a decent sized
cupboard to unpack and keep our things organized.

We headed up to the Discovery Lounge to have some refreshments, and mingle
with our shipmates. There are about 9 of us in our 20's and 30's, and we've
had lots of fun and laughter. We headed up to the top deck as the ship set
sail and departed from Ushuaia. It was calm and sunny as we headed down the
Beagle Channel. As we sailed, a humpback whale was seen nearby. A great
start!

Once we were underway, we had a mandatory safety drill. Then the staff did a
very good information session, introducing themselves and giving some
helpful details about life onboard. Then we headed up to dinner with our new
friends. After dinner we picked up our jackets (provided by G Adventures)
and then we headed to the Polar Bear Pub to have a celebratory drink! A very
successful first evening!

Today the seas are still calm, but we are a bit uneasy on our feet, as we
stagger around. We prefer to be sitting or laying down, but we are doing
very well! This morning there we attended a photography lecture, and now we
are watching a BBC Documentary: Frozen Planet. Later on this afternoon there
is another lecture we will attend, Intro to Antarctica. Very busy, and we
haven't arrived yet!

Just a sidenote: we are posting on the blog via a webmail program onboard
the ship, we cant actually browse the internet, so we wont see any comments
that you leave until we return to land. If you want to reach us onboard, you
can email us at: guest+tomlin@ms-expedition.com

Hope everything is well back at home!



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