Much to everyone's relief, the crossing back north was much smoother than the first one. We experienced the "Drake Lake" rather than the "Drake Quake."
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The Return
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Is
it worth doing? Ask any member of [Shackelton's] expedition and you will
receive the reply, "Yes, I wouldn't have missed it for worlds."
Would you go again? "Rather! Such is the call of the South!"
(Diary
of the Endurance expedition)
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Much to everyone's relief, the crossing back north was much smoother than the first one. We experienced the "Drake Lake" rather than the "Drake Quake."
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| The smooth water allowed us to spot a small pod of sei whales, which really excited the naturalists as well as the passengers. These whales don't get much above the water and hard to see when it is rough. | ||
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| The ship was constantly followed by southern great petrels, although in the calm wind there were far fewer of them. | ||
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| Upon our return to Ushuaia, we had a morning free before our flight left, so we visited a national park on the outskirts of the city. | Condor Peak towered over the lake and most of the rest of the park. | |
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| Now that we were back in a vegetated area, we saw different birds, including this upland goose. | We also saw dozens of rabbits, which are introduced to the area and are a major pest. | |
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| We hiked up a trail to get a good view of Lapataia Bay. | Finally, we had reached the end of the road--actually, of the Panamerican Highway, which stretches from Fairbanks to Ushuaia. We have now visited both ends, although we still have a lot to see in between. | |