Crossing the Drake Passage is one of the toughest voyages on the planet. It stretches from the tip of South America to Antarctica. Drake's Passage is 400 miles wide. With no land to break the squalls and colliding currents, this is the spot with the globe's worst weather on the sea. Drake's Passage is a real adventure before the adventure of Antarctica. The only expectations I had were of icebergs and penguins. I really didn't know what else to expect. I hadn't researched the history or geography of Antarctica and didn't know what immense power the continent held. Cruising toward Antarctica, we didn't experience the terrors of Drake's Passage in its entirety. However, the return trip provided more than enough thrills for even the most avid thrill seeker. The first morning in Antarctica, we awoke to a calm, gray sea. At first, I saw grayish mountains with some brown peeking through. However, it wasn't long before I saw the ice. Tiny ice chunks floated around the boat, bobbing in the water. I rushed outside into the freezing air after throwing on the red parka supplied by the ship. I also grabbed my camera. Given a menacing sky and a gun metal sea, we occupied the day partly by hurrying outside upon the announcement of whale, dolphin or leaping penguin sightings and partly sitting at slide presentations by the naturalists who had accompanied us. We were in a great mood as we took off in our small raft from the mother ship, and began floating free amongst the icebergs. The first glimpse of land came into view. It was a rocky, icy coastline ringed with penguins that seemed to be contemplating a swim. At the very minimum we had penguins all around us. Bedraggled, little gentoo penguins occupied this outcropping of land in Paradise Harbor with a team of researchers. They waddle around in a giant hurry; they look as though they have too many things to get done and not enough time to do it in. Some of the penguins were content to stand on rocks and stare at the funny beings dressed in red and pointing at them. The majority of these were adolescent chicks, as the majority of the parents had already moved on. Many of these kiddos were still trying to deny their predicament. They eat krill at this stage, and the chicks are used the parents regurgitating it into their mouths. These youngsters are also going through various stages of molting. During the molting, most of the baby coat had been replaced by sleek feathers. But in some spots, the grey down remained and the birds looked like they had on earmuffs and hats. Some just looked like they'd gone to a very bad barber. We cruised through ice floating on the bay when we headed back to the ship. One little mountain of ice sported a lone seal, handsomely stretched. Seeing him and his huge, pink tongued yawn [perhaps an editorial comment on how much he cared about us] was the perfect ending to a really wonderful day. All at once the penguins started that hard to define thing which gives them such charm. Penguins and their waddle belies their gawky nature. The formal look of their feathers combined with the orange webbed feet The island had lots more rock than actual dirt, so the penguins were more tidy. The narrow, black line beneath their chins provides and extra animated flair to the look, and it also gives them the appearance of having chubby cheeks.
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Drake's Passage looms as a malevolent toll taker, in between the southernmost tip of South America and the continent of Antarctica. Currents collide in this 400 mile stretch of water. The weather is impossible, and there is no land in sight to calm the water.
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