Life on board the Ortileus was not very exciting. This was no cruise ship and it definitely wasn't the warm smooth waters of the Pacific. The Drake Passage is known for its rough open waters. It is where three oceans meet (The Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern); which creates a very open, cold, and rocky ride.
The boat trip is two and a half days long each way. It is rather miserable, and almost impossible to not get sea sick. It takes a lot to get me nauseous, and I was sick in bed almost the entire time.
The first day each way was spent in bed. We would try to force ourselves to get out of bed to eat meals, and sometimes I couldn't even do that. Otherwise we would read, watch movies, and try to remain as still as possible.
The second day we would learn from the day before and try to spend as much time above deck. The wind and cold air would help you not feel sick. The only problem was it was really cold air!
We also spent time exploring the ship, but sadly there isn't very much to explore. The rooms we could explore consisted of a dining hall, our bunk, a bar, the viewing/captains deck, and a lounge. The lounge we quickly found out should be avoided at all costs; It had no windows and you were guaranteed to get sea sick inside it.
We usually would revert back to trying to entertain ourselves above deck. Most people stayed in their rooms due to the rockiness, so we were usually alone up above.
There really is only so much you can do on a boat. The seas were so rough that everything in our room was constantly falling over. Our chair would tip over and then everything on our desk would fly across the room. Taking a shower would almost be impossible because you'd have to hold on the entire time, and water would be flying everywhere. It was much safer to wait until the boat was stopped to shower, and even then it was pretty difficult.
We could tell we were getting close to Antarctica because the seas had calmed down and it was much easier to walk around the boat. Everyone was beginning to come out of their dens!
You know the saying, "the harder the work, the greater the reward", it definitely applied to this trip. We were all so excited to get to Antarctica! After flying to Ushuaia, spending so much money, and going through the drake passage; we were all relieved and completely ecstatic to have arrived! For almost everyone on the boat, it was a once-in-a-lifetime destination, and seeing Antarctica for the first time was a pretty cool feeling. The excitement and relief of having finally arrived could be felt all over the ship!
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