Antarctica 2005 – Day 9 and 10 - Drake passage and Cape Horn…

Day 9 – Sunday , February 6th, 2005 at sea – Drake passage After the polar low settled in last night we left the continent of Antarctica behind and begin the return north. The picture above shows the wall of clouds that were low to the horizon (that was not land).  It was eerie at that time because there was clear sky above  and the wall of clouds completely circled us... We can thank Captain Aye for our safe passage through all the ice bergs.

The morning light peaks over the horizon only to find us at sea crossing the Drake Passage... but today the seas are relatively calm after a rough last night. We must again cross the Drake Passage, known as "the roaring forties,"  heading towards the Cape Horn and eventually back to Ushuaia. Today be will in the Drake for the whole day and will see the Cape Horn sometime early tomorrow morning. This day was spent predominantly on the top deck seeking sea birds and studying the albatrosses at sea… and the day ended with one of the most magnificent sunsets I have ever witnessed.

Day 10 – Monday , February 7th, 2005 at sea – Drake passage

  Again the morning sun rises and greets us all with our last day on the sea in the Le Diamant. Today we will get to sail by the Cape Horn and view it up close, then up the Beagle Channel and finally back to Ushuaia, Argentina. The first land sighted is the Cape Horn… so it appears we will make back across the Drake without a  mishap. A Chilean Pilot comes on board as the military craft lets him off. It turns out to be our lucky day… since the waters are so calm the pilot has agreed to let us circumnavigate the Cape Horn… Wow what a treat! As we go around the Cape there is a bit of fog on the lowlands and the water is calm..The megallanic penguins are playing along the water’s edge.  We have sailed so close that we have a clear view of the sculpture on top of Cape Horn. The sculpture is cool in that it has outlined, in its center, the wanderer of the sea… the albatross.

Before long we have circled the Cape and head down the Beagle Channel till we see the city and port of Ushuaia thus signifying the end of the cruise and this adventure in Antarctica… the end of this journey and the beginning of another…