Note to self – don’t repeat yesterday’s crawling episode. In fact, don’t repeat much of yesterday. Where are we? Are we out of the Drake Shake yet? No, but somehow I do feel better. Kristen is also looking a bit more lively today. Mike – he was never affected by the rolling seas, which I later heard were gale force 5 winds. Don’t know if that is right, but it sounds utterly wicked. He gives credit to NOT becoming sick to NOT taking the medications that we did.
Who ever thought that attending a lecture could feel so good? Vertical feels very good today! All lectures are attended and enjoyed: Penguins, Whales, a slide show about the Conservation of Antarctica, and lastly a discussion about the Volcanoes of Antarctica, and then an evening film.
First glacier sighted at 4:48 pm today. We must be getting close! As I think about seeing a “glacier,” I wonder how there can be a glacier when there is no continent in sight. I guess it must be so continuously cold that there are glaciers formed on the islands around Antarctica.
In the nightly recap we are told that the winds never got under 20 knots today. Now I’m not going to pretend that I even know how fast that is, I just know it is fast from my gut instinct! The winds did not do as expected, so there has been a change of plan. When we came through the gap between Robert Island and Nelson Island, they looked at Fort Point, but they could not get enough shelter there. So we went to Yankee Harbor, but found the winds at 40 knots. Half Moon Island was also too rough. So we finally anchored at False Bay, Livingston Island. Who knew? It is a good thing they wait until all of the “looking” is over to tell us the situation. It sounds like the Capt. Roder had a full day of looking for a parking spot at the mall during Christmas season shopping peaks, only with a little more danger at stake. Oh well, lectures were good and plenty of hot tea to keep warm. And did I mention . . . I am still vertical and it feels good!
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.