It might have been the Drake Lake on the way down, but what we awoke to this morning was certainly the Drake Shake! Overnight the ship had morphed into a nautical version of Elvis Presley with all the associated rock’n’roll and exciting gyrations and vibrations. The early morning wake-up call from our expedition leader, Bud, came over the PA system and encouraged us to either enjoy the spectacular views of the wild waters with the whipped white-capped waves, or hold tight and stay horizontal until the waters eased.
We decided to delay the morning program until we gained the welcome lee from the southern islands of Tierra del Fuego. It was at 11:00 when Kevin Schafer delivered an inspirational and insightful presentation on his conservation-orientated photographic work documenting endangered species worldwide.
After another sumptuous lunch, we joined Kendra to hear about our disembarkation tomorrow and then joined Sue, Andy and Doug to hear about some exciting future cruises on offer in 2014 across the Lindblad-National Geographic fleet. Just as this presentation ended we gained some spectacular views of Peale’s dolphins riding the pressure wave of the bulbous bow of National Geographic Explorer.
We continued to enjoy fabulous views of the Beagle Channel in the afternoon as we started to contemplate the somewhat somber task of packing our bags and returning our loaned gear. After afternoon tea we gathered in the lounge for the photo slide show, which proved a fantastic creative collaboration between our fellow travelers. We docked alongside soon after dinner and some of us took to opportunity to head ashore and sample the night life of Ushuaia.
