Narration for our circumnavigation of Cape Horn was to begin around 7 am. When we woke it was obvious the ship was rocking more so Bob and I both took a dose of meclazine just to be safe. I made a quick trip up to the buffet and grabbed a cup of coffee and some pastries and brought it all back to the cabin for a "pre-breakfast".
When we went outside, we could see the lighthouse and the sculpture of the albatross using our binoculars. The Celebrity Eclipse and the smaller Stella Australis were right in front of the island. In his commentary, Kevin said that we would sail around the island and then it would be the Zaandam's turn to sail "past the horn". It was going to be awhile before that happened.
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As we waited, it began to rain. I went back inside the cabin and listened to the commentary over the TV until we had gotten around to the other side of the island. During that time the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to peak through.
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| The memorial to the sailors who have died going around the horn features the silhouette of an albatross. |
The Celebrity Eclipse had pulled away, but the smaller expedition ship was still in the area and with binoculars (or my camera zoom) we could see people were going by zodiac from the ship to the shore. They were climbing up a very steep set of steps to get to the top of the hill.
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| A very steep climb! |
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| Zodiacs loading at the back. |
Once we "rounded the Horn", the Zaandam started across the Drake passage headed for Antarctica. Later in the cruise we were all "awarded" certificates acknowledging that we had followed in the footsteps of the great explorers when we went around the horn.
The four of us went for a late breakfast at the buffet, along with most everyone else on the ship. Bob and Kent went to a lecture at 10 am on the Antarctica treaty. I spent some time backing up photos in the cabin and then I joined Bob and Kent for the 11:00 lecture by Bryan titled "Antarctica - Isolated at the South." The topic turned out to the geology of the region and not about living in isolation as I had thought. I wasn't that interested, but had taken my iPad and worked on my blog notes as I half listened to what was being said.
Once the lecture was over everyone rushed off to eat lunch. We knew that the buffet would be a zoo (just like at breakfast) so we took our time leaving the theater. We hung around the guest services area and listened to the organ play at 12:15. (I had listened a few days ago but the others hadn't heard it yet.)
The lines to get food were very short when we got to the buffet, but finding a table was a challenge. Eventually we found one in the Canaletto part of the dining room. We lingered over lunch and then went back to the theater for a talk on penguins. A combination of a full tummy, the meclazine, and a speaker with a soothing voice had me nodding off...and Bob too.
I actually wanted to hear the talk at 3:00 on "My Life at Sea" but there was no way I could stay awake. Bob and I went back to the cabin for nap time. Bob was so sleepy that he laid down on the bed, covered up with his coat and didn't even bother taking off his shoes.
Over an hour later, I had to force myself to get out of bed to shower and get ready for dinner!
After dinner the entertainment on the Mainstage was Duo Yalba...two men who played music from all over the world on many different instruments. They were accompanied by the ship band. Unique...and not something we would ever experience except on a cruise.
Sunset was getting later each evening so when we left the theater we went up to the Crow's Nest. The minute we walked in I saw we were approaching a really large (at least at that point it seemed large) iceberg. I took a few photos with my iPhone but knew I could get a much better picture with the zoom on my camera.
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| We got so excited when we spotted this iceberg. In less than 24 hours we wouldn't have even paid attention to one this small! |
I ran back to the cabin, grabbed my coat (the temps were in the 30's) and went outside. When I turned the camera on all I heard was a "click, click, click" and the sound of gears grinding. I frantically turned the camera on and off a few times but each time the result was the same...nothing. I took the battery out and replaced it but still nothing. I can't begin to tell you the sick feeling I had. Going to Antarctica without a camera!!! NO...it couldn't be happening!!
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| Taken with my iPhone. 😞 |
Bob went with me and I took the camera up to the photo shop for advice. The gal working there played around with the camera but said there was probably no way to fix it. I started looking at the cameras they had for sale. We had quite a bit of onboard credit which would help take the sting out of a large purchase. There was no way that I was going to be happy taking all of my photos with my iPhone.
I asked to look at any cameras they had with a decent zoom. I looked at a Nikon with an 83x zoom. Nice...but very big. A Canon with a 35x zoom was small enough but had no viewfinder which I really wanted. As I was looking at the cameras, Bob took mine and started twisting and pulling on the lens. He couldn't make it any worse, so why not! He yanked off the filter AND the rim around the lens but the camera started working! Yay!!
It was reassuring to know that I could purchase a new camera if needed but for now my old Canon SX-50 seemed to work. What a relief!
Although the seas had been a little rocky first thing in the morning, most of our day on the Drake Passage had been smooth sailing. We were experiencing the "Drake Lake" instead of the dreaded "Drake Shake!"
