Shortly after breakfast this morning we were called to the deck to get our first glimpse of the land that makes up the tip of South America. We were a little ways West of our starting point in the Beagle Channel, which meant that we had to round the infamous Cape Horn, cruising past Chilean coast line.
Cape Horn
The day has been a mellow one, going through pictures, listening to talks and reflecting on the awesome experience that we’ve all just had. Although my journey is not quite done yet (I’ll be in Easter Island as of December 31st and blogging from there), this first stage of my adventure is definitely coming to a close. Many of us have talked about the need to get home and decompress before being able to truly grasp the enormity of what we’ve just experienced. While I feel the same, I’m also aware that I am about to have a second such experience, and I want to do justice to both trips. Does that mean I need to doubly decompress when I get home?
Yesterday’s interview with the video chronicler was a good opportunity for me to start the reflection process, as one of the questions that he asked was what was I most surprised about the journey. I think coming to Antarctica I expected the ice, I expected the vastness, I expected the adorable penguins all over the place. What I didn’t expect were the people (and of course this is when I can hear my dad chiming in and saying “of course it’s the people, P over T). I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to share this adventure with so many amazing people; my cabin mates, the naturalists, the crew and the incredibly diverse cross section of guests that are on board the ship. Although I will be coming home with a wide variety of resources that I can integrate into my lessons/teaching, I think what I will value the most from this whole thing are the connections I’ve made. It is nice to know that when I’m back at home, that I will only be an email click away from this incredible community and the resources it has to offer.
Final highlight of this trip was a late in the afternoon call over the loud speaker to say that there were Sei Whales off our bow. These speedy 15m giants spent a solid 20 minutes feeding in our area. The water was so clear that you could see them swimming below the surface, which meant that everyone had their cameras pointed in the perfect spot right as they came to the surface… well everyone but me. I was on one of the top decks when the call came and didn’t have my camera which was on one of the bottom decks. I didn’t altogether mind though, it was kind of nice to just appreciate them without worrying about whether I got the perfect shot or not.
Tonight we will dock in Ushuaia and have the evening to explore before our final sleep on the boat. Tomorrow morning is an early one as we have to catch a plane to Buenos Aires and then after that another to Santiago. I have 8 hours in a hotel in Santiago and then the morning of the 31st I fly to Easter Island. I probably won’t post much tomorrow as it’s a travel day, but look for the next set of posts as of the 31st/1st
Hasta Luego
Yesterday’s interview with the video chronicler was a good opportunity for me to start the reflection process, as one of the questions that he asked was what was I most surprised about the journey. I think coming to Antarctica I expected the ice, I expected the vastness, I expected the adorable penguins all over the place. What I didn’t expect were the people (and of course this is when I can hear my dad chiming in and saying “of course it’s the people, P over T). I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to share this adventure with so many amazing people; my cabin mates, the naturalists, the crew and the incredibly diverse cross section of guests that are on board the ship. Although I will be coming home with a wide variety of resources that I can integrate into my lessons/teaching, I think what I will value the most from this whole thing are the connections I’ve made. It is nice to know that when I’m back at home, that I will only be an email click away from this incredible community and the resources it has to offer.
Final highlight of this trip was a late in the afternoon call over the loud speaker to say that there were Sei Whales off our bow. These speedy 15m giants spent a solid 20 minutes feeding in our area. The water was so clear that you could see them swimming below the surface, which meant that everyone had their cameras pointed in the perfect spot right as they came to the surface… well everyone but me. I was on one of the top decks when the call came and didn’t have my camera which was on one of the bottom decks. I didn’t altogether mind though, it was kind of nice to just appreciate them without worrying about whether I got the perfect shot or not.
Tonight we will dock in Ushuaia and have the evening to explore before our final sleep on the boat. Tomorrow morning is an early one as we have to catch a plane to Buenos Aires and then after that another to Santiago. I have 8 hours in a hotel in Santiago and then the morning of the 31st I fly to Easter Island. I probably won’t post much tomorrow as it’s a travel day, but look for the next set of posts as of the 31st/1st
Hasta Luego
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