Today is the big day! I’m officially bound for Antarctica. Arriving aboard the MV Sea Spirit, we were greeted with the likes of pastries and crème puffs by absolutely professional staff. I could tell this is going to be a great journey from the get-go. This is luxury like I’ve never experienced: a suite with a large walk-in closet, a bathroom with shower, towels, lotion, shaving equipment, and the whole lot.
After all the years I’ve spent scraping by, I’m suddenly living the high life on my way to Antarctica. At 5 PM, the horn blew, and we set sail for the Ice. Shortly thereafter, we had our safety drill: an emergency is seven short blasts followed by a long one. It doesn’t necessarily mean to abandon ship, but means you must get a lifejacket and meet at your designated muster station. A single long blast afterward means it’s the order to abandon ship. Hopefully that’s the only time we’ll hear any such alarms. Anja is our expedition leader, a bubbly young German lady fluent in four languages. She gave her introductory talk and is quite comical in her speech, saying how the internet on board is expensive and slow, and how it’s a “10-day internet detox.” I’m almost in tears tonight, as I’m off to a destination I’ve had on my radar since I was a child.
Dinner tonight was legendary, with grilled fish, bow-tie pasta, corn chowder soup, and braised potatoes, I sure didn’t go hungry as it’s served buffet-style. For dessert I had some chocolate ice cream and a coffee. Dining room service amongst the chefs and waiters is top-notch.
The sunset tonight was absolutely magical.
I’ll talk about a few of the people I’ve met so far. Roger is from Switzerland, and he is my roommate. Rachel and Phoebe are two attractive ladies from Sydney. There’s a pretty lady named Yvonne from LA. There’s also a large group of Australians, and a fair few Chinese. With the diversity of nationalities, announcements are made in English, German, and Mandarin.
Tomorrow we’re sailing across the Drake Passage; it’s either the “Drake Shake” or the “Drake Lake” and I can’t say “you used to call me on my cell phone, late night when you need my love.” There’s no “Hotline Bling” here as, once we lost coverage we'd all be without internet for 10 days. With the weather forecast, it seems like it seems it’ll be the “Drake Shake.” Though I’m on my way, I will not feel my mission is accomplished until my two feet are planted on the ground in Antarctica. Shake? or Lake?
