Feared by sailors for centuries, the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula is well known for the ‘Drake Shake.’ Today, however, it was the ‘Drake Lake’ that we awoke to, and the day was spent pleasantly cruising over placid waters.
A calm day at sea gives the crew and staff on National Geographic Endurance a fantastic opportunity to entertain. National Geographic expert Ricky Qi started the program just after breakfast with his talk about the journeys of Antarctic heroes followed by Kelly Ferron, who spoke about female explorers of the White Continent. Later in the afternoon, naturalist Harold Stowell spoke about bedrock geology.
But it was teatime that became the talk of the day. Usually hosted on deck 8 in the Observation Lounge, today the bowels of the ship were opened to the guests for a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Sandwiches and cakes were served in the laundry room while the crew led tours of the Azipod control rooms and the Zodiac hanger deck. The evening brought us the traditional crew party, and the night was spent enjoying the music of the ship’s band, the Shackletunes.
