This morning, everyone went to the Theater to pick up muck boots! They’re green waterproof boots with insulation on the inside to keep our feet dry and warm. They ran slightly small, so I got the next size up. I took all of my outer layers - waterproof pants and jacket, beanie, and backpack - downstairs to be vacuumed to prevent contaminating Antarctica. I also had to scrub my hiking boots and rinse them in a cleaning solution to get rid of the mud from the glacier in Ushuaia.
During the morning briefing, I learned about all the basics - life vests, clothing, zodiacs, flags, swipe cards, and more! The zodiacs are small, black motor boats that will take us on cruises and transport us to landings. To get on and off, we’re supposed to use the “swing and slide” method, where we swing our legs over the rim of the boat and slide down to our seats. For landings, there are small orange flags that tell us where to / not to walk. A single flag means that there’s a safe path, two crossed flags tell us not to enter, and two flags close together indicate a “penguin highway.” Swipe cards are white, plastic cards that we use before we get on the zodiacs and when we return to the ship - they let the crew keep track of everyone.
During the morning briefing, I learned about all the basics - life vests, clothing, zodiacs, flags, swipe cards, and more! The zodiacs are small, black motor boats that will take us on cruises and transport us to landings. To get on and off, we’re supposed to use the “swing and slide” method, where we swing our legs over the rim of the boat and slide down to our seats. For landings, there are small orange flags that tell us where to / not to walk. A single flag means that there’s a safe path, two crossed flags tell us not to enter, and two flags close together indicate a “penguin highway.” Swipe cards are white, plastic cards that we use before we get on the zodiacs and when we return to the ship - they let the crew keep track of everyone.
In the afternoon, there was a mandatory session on rope skills. I learned how to tie three types of knots: the water knot, figure 8 knot, and alpine butterfly knot. The water knot is used for tying ribbon around our waists, which will be attached to an alpine butterfly knot in the rope with a carabiner. We also learned how to coil rope.
Today was particularly exciting because I saw my first ice berg! I also saw some islands, which had research bases on them. The bases were small red buildings with black roofs. Even more exciting were some seals and a whale spout!
The water today was pretty choppy, so I laid down for a few hours. Since I was dizzy, Shayna called Doctor Paul. He gave me a sea sickness pill and Heather brought lunch to my cabin. All of the 2041 staff are really nice!