December 13, 2013

If you’re about to (or plan on going) go on a trip to Antarctica (and possibly Patagonia) here’s what you should know:

1. Pack scopaline. This has saved me. You put on a patch behind your ear and leave it for 3 days and it helps with motion sickness. Everyone gets motion sickness (some form of it). For me it happened yesterday when the waves are the worst and what helps is just lying down in my bed. I was grateful that Kim took my dinner to me. I realized today (the next day) that I wasn’t the only one in my cabin for a couple of hours to nap – a lot of people felt that way and went to lye down. And if you have the patch then drink TONS of water. The past two days I’ve been super dehydrated and always felt like I needed to get some sleep because that’s what the patch does. Now I know why I always want a nap.
2. Hold on to the railings, especially when you’re going up and down the stairs or you’ll end up like you’re great grandmother who fell down the stairs and broke her hip.
Pause! Just went outside because we heard there was a whale. Darn, just saw their spout blowing water.
3. Don’t go on the penguin highways (seriously).
4. Keep your distance from the seals – about 25-50 meters. They bite.
5. Follow the IAATO rules. Or you’ll get arrested.
6. Bring an iPad, and download books. You get a lot of free time here (I’m a slow reader but I’m reading The Hunger Games which is a page turner) and it’s nice to have an iPad mini (before or after the boat journey to go in a cafe and use their wireless…plus many of my friends and family told me to blog about this trip) as you can tell.
7. When you click glasses together and say cheers, you hold the glass and touch with the back of your hands instead of the glasses.
8. Superstition: Don’t whistle while your on the boat. It brings bad luck.