January 5, 2009 -- Northbound...

On this day in 1922 the great Ernest Shackleton died of a coronary off of Grytviken. His body was buried on South Georgia.

Here I am, crossing the infamous Drake Passage once again! Except this time, I'm feelin' fine! I took some anti-nauseants from a friend and although the boat is definitely moving around in the water, I'm not feeling queasy at all. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the day...on the way down I did more sleeping, but that just seems wrong somehow. My roomate Nataliya isn't doing so well...she's pretty much laying prone and sleeping her way through this day. Sooo glad that's not me!

Mikolaj and I had a chat about job possibilities for me on "The Ice"....could I work as the "gift shop girl" at Port Lockroy? I wonder....

Now Miko is preparing for his talk entitled: "Sex on the Beach -- or How Do Elephant Seals Do It?" I'm sure it will be interesting!

Strange. There is always sadness on departure.
It is as if one cannot after all bear to leave this bleak waste of ice, glaciers, cold and toil...
~ Fridtjof Nansen 1912 ~