While yesterday was the last day in the Antarctic Peninsula, there was still the matter of a two day voyage through the notorious Drake Passage back to civilization.

So, let’s get on with the two day journey…

Day 1

The Drake Passage is either known as the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake depending on weather conditions.

We’ve been fortunate enough to be blessed with the Drake Lake both on our way in as well as on our way out of Antarctica.

Despite the relatively calm water, it’s still quite a journey through the passage with 2 to 3 foot waves pounding the ship.

For me, that’s enough to make my stomach queasy.

Not enough to be sick but enough for me to be out of commission.

All I wanted to do during the voyage back was keep to myself and pass the time watching videos I had downloaded.

I actually skipped breakfast this morning opting to just sleep in and spend the morning lying in bed.

I finally peeked my head out for lunch and then hung out in the library watching Tulsa King all afternoon.

The library is centered in the middle of the ship so you don’t feel the swaying as much and has been my zen area when I’ve been feeling queasy on the ship.

By the time 6:00 rolled around I was feeling pretty decent and made my way to the lounge for our daily recap and info meeting.

Then it hit me.

If the library is my zen area then the lounge is my personal hell.

It’s situated right at the front of the ship and you can really feel the movement of the ship here.

It only took 20 minutes of sitting there to undo all the hours of settling my stomach over the course of the day.

So, it was back to the library for me and, sadly, another missed meal.

After feeling a bit decent again, I made my way to my cabin and turned in for the night.

Day 2

It was a bumpy ride through the night on the Drake but I was actually able to sleep just fine despite it all.

Because of the great weather, we actually had extra time so we did a detour to do a swing by Cape Horn.

We went from the Southern Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and then to the Atlantic Ocean all within a few hours of each other.

It all happened right around 7am so it was a nice way to wake up and start the day.

I was also feeling just fine when I woke up.

I was, however, going to play it smart – no lounge for me on this day.

No seminars.   No meetings.   Nothing.

Our disembarkation is tomorrow morning at 8am so there was a meeting about it just before lunch.

I watched it on my TV in my room sitting snug in my bed.

See?   Smart!

Our ship would reach port in Ushuaia later tonight, we’d spend the night on the ship, and then tomorrow morning we’d disembark.

Through the course of the afternoon there were a couple of seminars as well as a Antarctic Quiz in the lounge.

And I…

Watched from my room.

So smart!

A meeting and an auction

I did, however, pop up to the lounge at 5:30 because this was the final goodbye.

Another captain’s toast with champagne and an introduction of all the staff.

Not just the expedition staff we see every day but the cooks, the cleaners, the crew – everyone.

After several rounds of applause and a few standing ovations, it was time for another expedition tradition.

The raffle and auction portion of the night with all proceeds going towards Planterra which is a charity dedicated to protecting and helping the environment.

The raffle went as raffles do.

Names were pulled out of a bag for various prizes including the coveted Expedition flag that flew at the bow of the ship.

I didn’t win anything.

And then the piece de resistance.

The auction.

Holy crap.

People went crazy for some items.

A book on Toby the Pig who was more of an Antarctic traveler than I, went for $200.

A voice message of our expedition leader, Johnathon with his raspy British voice, giving a wake up call went for $220.

A wool hat that was lovingly knit by another expedition member, Meru, went for $340.   Man, to see the smile on her face as the bidding went on and on was priceless.

And then, as if it couldn’t get any crazier, the last item for bid was presented.

A navigation map of our trip with hand drawn art on it.

The bidding was fierce between 4 different people and, in the end, after about 10 minutes of back and forth, it went for a whopping $1480.

The last dinner

After all the craziness with the room buzzing, we headed into the dining hall for our last dinner.

Man, it just seems so final when I phrase it that way but the end was, indeed, near.

We had actually docked in Ushuaia during the auction and were now looking out into civilization as we ate dinner on the ship.

Our appetizer was sushi.

Now, that’s how you start a meal!

For a main, there was Chateaubriand, a very tender piece of steak.

And for dessert, Baked Alaska, which Randy brought a gluten free version over to me.

I spent the dinner chatting with some of the best people I’ve met on this trip – Laura, Constance, and Jess.

We chatted, of all things, about Hinge and the world of dating.

Apparently I need to get on Hinge.

The last hurrah

Since we were docked we were actually allowed to leave the ship after dinner to explore the town if we wanted.

We still had to return to the ship to spend the night as they take their disembarkation pretty seriously but, for a few hours, we were free to walk on dry land again.

It felt very weird to be on shore again walking in town, speaking Spanish again (or at least trying to).

A group of 8 of us headed to a nearby restaurant bar to get some drinks.

Everyone all of a sudden had wifi and data again so there was alot of catching up on the past couple of weeks and, of course, there was also a ton of reminiscing about the adventure we just had.

By midnight I was back on the ship.

One last night’s sleep and then that was it.

Tomorrow morning we disembark…

Edit Note: I am currently still sailing in the Antarctica with limited expensive internet.   I’ll be uploading all my photos and videos into a gallery at the end of this post when I arrive back on land.