Day 6 January 28th

When our ship was out of the channel we noticed that the ship rocked quite a bit and it wasn’t even bad weather.  We decided to put on the patch to prevent seasickness and we were very glad that we did because today was a day at sea as we head across the Scotia Sea to the Falkland Islands .

During the day we had a mandatory IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) briefing.  Ali, our expedition leader, explained the rules and regulations that the members have agreed upon to protect this remote and delicate area of the world.  They have established safe and environmentally sound regulations and restrictions that we are to all follow!  This briefing was followed by a mandatory zodiac meeting.  They went over the proper way to get on and off the zodiac and also the sailor hold that you use and the proper way to wear our life vest.  All of our stops on this voyage will be done by zodiacs so this was important information.

Since we had signed up for kayaking, we had a mandatory kayak meeting.  Only 16 people were able to kayak so we felt really privileged to participate in this program.  Todd and Tara, our kayak guides, went over the process and safety and we all introduced ourselves and explained our kayak experiences.

David, an expedition team member, who is a historian, presented a slide show and talk on the history of the Falkland Islands.

We also were fitted with our muck boots!  They are about knee high and keep you dry!  These boots were mandatory footwear whenever we were in a zodiac.

Miko, a marine biologist, gave a presentation called “Stowaways and Marauders:  The Curious Case of Island Ecology”.

Miko’s presentation was followed by a recap and briefing.

We found these presentations informative and were well done.  The expedition team members did an exceptional job preparing us for what we would be seeing by explaining about the land, birds, marine life, icebergs, glaciers, and climate changes.

Our captain, Alexey Zakalashmyuk, and his officers arrived for the Captain’s Welcome Cocktails.  They served a lot of delicious looking hors d’oeuvres and a variety of drinks.