I have been in Buenos Aires now for a few days but I want to get one more post out about Antarctica because some of you have been asking me for more details about our trip to Antarctica, so here it goes. The boat we took to Antarctica was called the Akademik Sergey Vavilov, a former Russian research ship.
There were about 93 passengers, about 26 staff, and 42 crew members on the ship. The youngest passenger was Robert, who was 9, and the oldest was Christine, who was 76!
Here I am with Robert, looking for whales:
I think most people go to Antarctica to explore, to see penguins, to mail a postcard from Port Lockroy, or get their passport stamped on the 7th continent.
On the ship we were served three meals a day and ALWAYS got a piece of chocolate on our pillows. I spent a lot of my time reading or whale watching.
This was what an average day on the Akademik Sergey Vavilov was like:
Jonathan, the Expedition Leader, would give a wake-up call between 5:30AM and 7:30AM every morning, depending on what we were doing that day. The early wake-up calls were for landing days when we were going ashore.
First thing in the morning, Erin made smoothies for everybody in the bar lounge. Or you could get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate there to get your day started. (I loved the hot chocolate machine!)
Then we would go to breakfast at 7:30AM. After that, when we were sailing, there would usually be a presentation, such as safety briefings or presentations on the wildlife or the ice we would be seeing. We learned a lot about Antarctica from these presentations.
When we were in the Antarctic Peninsula, we had Zodiac landings. Those days were a little different and we had a lot of preparation to do. You can read about our landings here.
One day, when we got back from our morning landing, the staff and crew put on a barbecue for us out on the deck!
Normally, at 12:30PM, we would have lunch, and then another presentation or another landing, and free time to do whatever. I liked to spot wildlife from the bridge or write notes or hang out in the hot tub. Yes, the ship has a hot tub!
Everybody liked to take photos. Some people had small cameras, and some people had really big cameras.
At 4:30PM, we would have tea time and then at 6:30PM, we would have happy hour at the bar lounge. We all decorated the lounge for Christmas, and we also decorated cookies.
On the last day of the voyage, I got to give the presentation at tea time! I talked about our all7in7 project and taught everyone how to say hello in each language we encountered.
Then at 7:30PM, we would have dinner …
…and finally a movie would be showing and games would be held up in the bar lounge. Some nights, mom and dad went to bed before me!
At the end of the trip, we got to go on a tour of the engine room and the control room. It was really cool to see all of the instruments, but the engine room was LOUD!
And that was an average day on the Akademik Sergey Vavilov!
all7in7 
That was a marvelous post Elliot, with so much detail. I’m still curious about some things – like, what exactly did they barbecue and what were the meals in the dining room. You can tell me when I see you. Were the cookies gluten free? How many people did the cooking? I would have loved to hear your presentation! Did you do a powerpoint? I love you!!
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The barbecue was shrimp (which I don’t like), burgers, hot dogs, and sweet potatoes. The meals in the dining room were different every day for lunch and dinner, but always the same for breakfast. I usually had cereal for breakfast. The meals I remember were lamb shanks, chili, Thai rice noodles, salmon, more lamb, duck confit, and we had a sandwich buffet and a pizza buffet. They made me my own gluten free pizza which weighed about 5 pounds, mostly cheese. Then, for dessert, we had creme brulee (that was at the Captain’s dinner on the last night), cinnamon apples, ice cream, bread pudding (which I couldn’t have because it was bread), chocolate mousse, and stuff like that. I don’t know how many people did the cooking, but there were at least four people in the kitchen, including the head chef who was from the UK. I’ll do my presentation for you when I get back. I had to use Powerpoint because we didn’t have wifi and I couldn’t figure out how to show a keynote presentation from the iPad. I love you, too.
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Hola.!
great report mate! I like your quote” average day on the Akademik Sergey Vavilov!” It made me laugh. Enjoy Buenos Aires and bring us home a rock!
one question … ?
What are the languages that you encountered? I’d like to see that blogged.
cheers to all7in7 in 2015.
the 3 M’s, Dudley, MA
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Hi Monica! The languages I have encountered so far are Italian, Arabic, French, Thai, Australian (which, as you know, is different!), Spanish, and also Penguinese. 🙂
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I forgot to tell you Elliot that I liked the flags on your title page for alll7in7! That would make a great poster for your room. Love you – Nonna
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Hi Nonna! That picture is actually from an Irish pub we went to for lunch in Ushuaia before we got on the boat. They also had soccer stuff in there.
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cool beans, Eliot. Let us know if ‘ye have seen a white whale. . .’
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We didn’t see a white whale, but we did see the bones of a right whale.
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Happy New Year, E! I have truly enjoyed all of your blog posts, but this series showcasing Antarctica is my current favorite! Exotic in locale and wildlife, difficult to travel to and unique amongst travellers, I welcome your observation & perspective. Christmas Day in Antarctica, New Years in Argentina! Thanks so much for bringing the broader world to my inbox regularly. Looking forward to Argentinian update!
Ginger
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Happy New Year to you, too, Ginger! I will have an Argentina post coming up soon. We are really enjoying Buenos Aires so far!
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Hey E..congratulation on the 7 in 7!! Happy New Year to you and your parents. Gald to see how well you are all doing. We miss you guys and look forward to seeing you in the spring/summer!!
Talk to you soon….Greg
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Happy New Year to you, too! We miss you guys, too, and hope you are doing well. I can’t wait to see you this summer.
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