Thursday 25 February 2010

Drake Dance

We hit a storm in the Drake Passage, and a quite serious one to be true. When Sir Francis Drake discovered this infamous body of water in the 16th century he was thrown into it by a mighty storm and he did not even want to be here!! Now, we have come here out of our own free will, but the weather is not exactly making it enjoyable for us. Everyone on board was trying to hold on to something and a lot of people were using many more steps to get from one place to another than they would usually. It was nice that there were some places where we could just sit back and relax like the fireplace with its soothing atmosphere of natural calm...
because outside, the elements were having their way and large waves and strong winds were our constant enemy today. 

The only ones who seemed to enjoy this day tremenduosly were the albatrosses and the petrels who found ideal flying conditions in these winds. Today we began to understand why the sailors of centuries gone by considered the albatross to be a sign of good luck. There is something curiously reassuring about the quiet and peaceful way in which these majestic birds soar in the trough of the winds of the southern ocean and do not seem to be affected by them at all!