After our last two landings, it was time to head back into the Drake Passage, unfortunately. The way back was also mostly "smooth," although it did get pretty rough in the middle of the night on the second night. At about 1 am, I woke up to everything not nailed down on one side of the room flying over to the other side of the room, including a ladder and a chair. The violent rocking only lasted for a couple of hours, but all night, I was involuntarily moving in a sort of elliptical motion, like my whole body was revolving around some imaginary axes. I didn't really sleep that night, but at least I didn't get sick.

We had some more lectures by the expedition staff and I played some scrabble with Ellen, Becky, Juli, and Jonathan (Fiona was just watching and standing by to break up any violent outbursts,) and sometimes we got expert advice from a swedish guy named Juicy. We had played another game earlier in the week which became quite an event. We had 3, yes 3 dictionaries to consult whenever there was a challenge. Scrabble is not just for fun anymore.

We got into port early wednesday morning and disembarked, after one last picture. I had the time of my life on the trip and I definately plan to return again someday to see more of the continent. In fact, I was very tempted to rebook on a last minute trip leaving the next day back to Antarctica. Sounds crazy, I know. I ran into a lot of people that day that had just disembarked from an Antarctican ship and it seemed like we all had the same feeling of deflation. It has been really hard for me to explain the trip here, even though I have tried here in this marathon blogging session. I know it does not even come close to doing it justice. You just have to go there and experience it yourself. Go Go Go.

I spent my last day in Ushuaia with Jonathan at the Antarctica Exploration exhibit. I had gone to the museum before the trip on my own, but I had a hard time reading all the displays without my eyes glazing over. It was much easier this time with him there, because I could just follow him around and he would tell me all the interesting parts of the displays, since he is an expert on the subject and all. We had a nice day just wandering around Ushuaia until his flight left that night.

If you enjoyed reading this entry please post a comment. I like to know who is out there e-traveling with me! Thanks!