Moving toward parity in the sickness department (@ sea) - 31 January - 2 February

If you've followed the blog then you know that I've had some unpleasant experiences along the way (usually not where you'd expect).  You also know that the Drake Passage is typically where the rough part of the Antarctic trip occurs.

What you don't know is that neither Jen nor I have a history of motion sickness.  Granted we haven't spent a lot of time on boats, but the week in Palau didn't cause any problems.  I was a little surprised when Jen wasn't feeling well earlier during the trip, so it didn't come as a surprise when it happened again.  It did come as a surprise when she threw up into the trash can, though.

While I tried to be a supportive spouse I get sick around the smell of vomit, so I did have to leave the cabin briefly.  Only to come back and have to get her a sickness bag.  Let's just say that the use of dramamine increased significantly...

They tried to keep us occupied during the days at sea with presentations from the naturalists and films.  In a historical context we've moved on from tracing the path of Jean-Baptiste Charcot to following in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton.  I'm not going to go into all the details here, but this t-shirt probably conveys it best.  In life Shackleton was at a loose end but in his expeditions he was a real leader.