Jan 29th, 2020 Day 26 of 128

Crossing Drake’s Passage. According to the Antarctica team that is on board with us for the next week, this has been a gentle crossing of Drake’s Passage.  We will be crossing it again in a few days, fingers crossed it is as smooth.  It has been the roughest 24 hours we have had to date. In the night last night the champagne glasses in our bar all fell over and couple of them broke.  A rude awakening at 4:00am.  The air temperature is currently 45 degrees as is the sea temperature.  We are expecting a cool 34 degrees tomorrow.  In about an hour we will cross 60-degrees longitude, which signifies us entering the Antarctica sanctuary.  There have been many talks and pamphlets passed to all passengers informing us all of the rules and regulations that must be followed while we are in this area.  Absolutely no trash out side, no smoking and for the few hours of darkness there is, no outside lights on and our curtains must be kept closed.  Sunset is at 9:30pm tonight and sunrise is supposed to be at 4:40am tomorrow.  We are hoping to start seeing the landmasses of Antarctica at 8:00am tomorrow morning starting with Elephant Island, so we will be up early with binoculars, cameras and warm coffee.  We attended three lectures today and learned a lot about life in Antarctica, the wild life, the expeditions and the history of the discovery.  Megan and I watched the Disney documentary on penguins this morning; they are showing it on the television in each cabin.  We also went to our crochet class and turned in my blanket today. There will be lectures broadcasted all over the ship throughout the day over the next few days as we see the amazing sights of this beautiful area.  Stay tuned for some beautiful pictures.  Tonight we had a commemorative dinner in honor of all the explorers that discovered Antarctica.  It was presented nicely with a keepsake menu.  Oh, and we found out they are hosting a VIP super bowl party on the ship on Sunday so mom and I bought tickets.  All the alcohol we can drink and front row seating for the big screen event in the main theater.  Kids attend free yeah!!  Wi-fi is getting worse by the minute this will get posted as soon as I can.  Love and hugs.  Bundle up and stay warm.  Debra