As we sail away from the White Continent and back towards our busy, day-to-day lives, it’s nice to have a couple days at sea to decompress and work on digesting the incredible expedition we just had on the Antarctic Peninsula. Today was a day of rest and reflection. Luck was on our side, and we enjoyed a rather calm crossing of the Drake Passage. We spent time in the lounge sharing stories and photographs from the journey. Though we are on the same trip, we all experienced it a little differently; it’s always interesting to view other people’s photographs to see things from their point of view.

We’ve been busy on the peninsula all week, so it was a good day to spend time with the naturalist team and the officers on the bridge. We filled the day with good conversation and lectures, allowing us to quench our thirst for curiosity…for now. Talks included “Blubber,” by Jim Coyer, “124 Days on a Patagonian Toothfish Boat,” by Jayden O’Neill, and “Threats to Sea Birds,” by Jamie Coleman. You really can’t beat an evening filled with wine and stories of a frozen continent. After dinner, we capped off the day with a fitting documentary, Chasing Ice, in the lounge.