After a second night of rocking back and forth while the ship finished crossing Drake’s Passage, we awoke to find that we were at the entrance to the English Strait. We had spent the last 36 hours crossing Drake’s, and we were happy to 1) see land and 2) officially see Antarctica. 

We went outside on the bow of the ship where the crew greeted us with hot chocolate and Irish coffee and watched as the ship navigated the strait with islands on either side.

During that time we saw lots of penguins swimming around the ship, popping up out of the water and then diving below the surface again. We also saw several whales off in the distance with water spouts and tails making an occasional appearance.

The weather wasn’t too bad (34 degrees, cloudy, slight breeze), so we stayed outside for an hour. During this time, the crew started a mandatory safety drill, so as we headed inside for breakfast, crew members were walking around in life vests going to various stations while announcements were being made over the intercom system. Because this was a simulation, the Expedition Leader, Olivia, would say, “For exercise,” before giving each instruction to the crew. My favorite was hearing “For exercise, for exercise, for exercise. Abandon ship. Abandon ship.” All while we were eating breakfast.

The ship continued to cruise through the morning until we reached Fort Point, our first “port” of call, at noon. The ship dropped anchor, and everyone prepared for an afternoon of outdoor activities. Each day, the ship sails to a new location where guests have a choice of excursions – going on land for a hike, taking a cruise around the bay, kayaking, or going for a submarine dive.

We were scheduled for a hike at 4 pm. The first set of zodiac boats ferried people across the water, and we watch people disembark and walk around the spit of land. There was a penguin colony at this location, so I was vibrating with excitement. The thing about penguins is that they poop, and when you have a colony of penguins, the smell from so much penguin poop can be overwhelming. We could even smell it from the ship.

When it was our turn for our hike, we got suited up and stood in line to get on a zodiac. We were a few minutes away from starting our adventure when all excursions were canceled for the rest of the day. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and there were large swells on the water and gusty winds which made it dangerous to go out. We were a bit disappointed, but we also know that you need to be flexible in Antarctica.

When we met up with Jolie and Lucy later in the afternoon, we heard that they had been on land when the weather turned. They were some of the last people to be ferried back to the ship, and their boat filled up with water on the way back due to the swells.  As Lucy put it, they got the Shackleton Experience where they thought they might die in Antarctica.

The four of us had a nice, leisurely dinner together sharing stories about our day. As we were finishing dinner, we looked outside and saw a big iceberg going by. Of course, we went bananas and took a bunch of photos. Little did we realize that 24 hours later we would have seen so many icebergs that we would say, “Oh look. Another iceberg. Whatever.”

The ship pulled anchor at 8 pm and sailed to our next destination on calm seas while we slept.