Drake Passage aboard Swan Hellenic - Not Quite A Shake, Not Quite a Lake
By Cruising With Honey - 23:22
Crossing the Drake Passage - Swan Hellenic
“Innocent sleep. Sleep that soothes away all our worries. Sleep that puts each day to rest. Sleep that relieves the weary laborer and heals hurt minds. Sleep, the main course in life's feast, and the most nourishing.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Is it a Shake or a Lake?
I was up early, again. I looked at my phone and it was 3:34am. Ugh, my circadian rhythm was all out of whack, but that’s what you get for living in Australia and travelling to the northern hemisphere, then back to the southern hemisphere in the span of 30 hours.
The good ship Vega was now well and truly in the Drake Passage, and I was keen to step out into the balcony to see what all the fuss was about. This stretch of water is infamously known for its dramatic nature. Were we going to get the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake?
Pulling on my soft robe, I stepped out onto my balcony. There definitely was some movement, but not as bad as I had imagined. Okay, Honey, we can do this.
As I was awake, I thought I’d get some writing done, so opening my laptop I attempted to compose a few words. Big mistake. My head spun, my eyes rolled back, and my stomach lurched. Automatically, I closed my eyes, laid back onto my pillow and willed myself to fall back asleep.
A few hours later, I woke once more and thought a light breakfast would be a good idea. I managed a few mouthfuls of porridge as I watched the waves. I wish my body wasn’t so susceptible to movement as I was mesmerised by the curling, swirling, powerful, watery mass.
It was a little tricky walking back to my cabin, the Drake making it difficult to walk in a straight line. Sinking into my bed, I was so grateful for this luxurious cabin. Popping a sea sickness tablet, I summarily fell back asleep.
My phone rang – it was my sister Facetiming me. As sister’s do, she told me how beautiful I look (sarcastically) took unflattering screen shots and told me to eat a green apple. I could still hear her laughing as I hung up on as my eyelids drooped and, for the third time today, fell asleep.
It was hard to discern what time of day it was. I has a few mouthfuls of chick pea soup and a glass of ginger ale in the Swan Restaurant.
I did make it up to hear the guest lecturer Ed Sobey give a fascinating talk, Welcome to the Drake Passage and Antartica.
You can watch his lecture here
Armed with a green apple, I tried my utmost to stay awake. Alas, I found myself, once again in my ultra-soft bed, asleep.
At this stage, I just resigned myself to the fact I wasn’t going to be very productive today but managed to order room service at 11pm. Room service is available 24 hours a day and has NO extra charge. I surprised myself when I wolfed down a burger and a chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious! In an effort to keep awake, I skulled a can of coke. Nope, that didn’t work either. Sleep consumed me once more.
Sometimes in life, you just have to go with the flow. It was no use fighting the sleepiness and, despite me feeling as if I wasted the day, I couldn’t do much about it. I had every comfort I could ever want, so really, what could I possibly complain about? Tomorrow was another day and I had plenty of time to enjoy my time on Vega.
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