Today we woke up, went to breakfast, put on our seasickness patches (which caused dry mouth and cold-like symptoms) and while our luggage was being transferred to the ship, we shopped in Ushuaia, went to the Maritime and prison museums, ate lunch and continued to be frustrated by spotty internet service. While it never truly gets warm in Ushuaia, today was particularly cold and rainy. Ushuaia is a colorful town and is particularly pretty from the ship where the colors are easily seen.
We boarded the Ocean Diamond around 4:00 p.m. and were pleasantly surprised by our rooms – nicer than any we have had on any ship as we had upgraded to a suite. The Ocean Diamond is an expedition ship as opposed to a cruise ship. Instead of tenders to get passengers ashore, the ship uses 18 Zodiacs. It is also equipped with kayaks, camping equipment, skis, snow shoes, trekking poles and paddle boards. There are 185 passengers, 26 Quark Excursion Crew and 92 Hoteling and operational staff. Only those ships with less than 200 passengers are allowed to let their passengers set foot on Antarctica.
We had a short introductory briefing, a nice dinner and received our bright yellow Quark Parkas that will be our best friends over the next 9 days. After dinner we awaited “The Bump” – the moment there is no more land on the starboard or port side or the ship – the moment we leave the Beagle Channel and officially enter the Drake Passage. As we entered the Drake the ship started creaking and popping even though there were only seven-foot swells. When we went to bed a little before midnight and it was still light outside.
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