At Sea—The Drake Passage
Last evening we departed the southern city of Ushuaia, Argentina and began our trip toward the magnificent continent of Antarctica! Anticipation mounted as we made our way down the Beagle Channel and out into the open sea.
The Drake Passage! The name immediately stirs up thoughts of seafarers, ancient and modern, traversing one of the most challenging ocean passages in the world. A tremendous volume of water passes through this channel between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula, before continuing on its course around the continent. Throughout the day today, any opportunity to look out a window afforded opportunities for watching seabirds. These enormous residents of the Southern Ocean soared effortlessly around the ship, watching the sea surface for minute traces of food that could be quickly gobbled up.
We eased into our crossing this morning with an introduction to the National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions Staff, followed shortly by an opportunity to learn more about our cameras from the Photo Team. Later in the afternoon, Stefan shared his love of seabirds, after which we tried our hands at identifying them on the aft sundeck. Wandering albatross, black-browed albatross, giant petrels, and pintado petrels were some of the more common species that we watched in envy as they floated above the water.
Lastly, everyone was introduced to the continent of Antarctica in a briefing conducted by Lisa. This briefing gives a great introduction to Antarctica and seems to solidify the fact that we are truly on our way! We crossed the Antarctic Convergence, the biological boundary of Antarctica, this late afternoon and felt the air temperature drop considerably.
As the end of our first day drew to a close, we could only anticipate the adventures awaiting us as we approach closer and closer to the mysterious continent of Antarctica.
