Boarding Day!

 The G Expedition.

 Gifts!

 Our room and my bunk.

 The view from our window.

 The Expedition Lounge, where everything happens.

 Life jacket drill.

 The big red thing is one of the four life boats.

 Views from the harbour.

 Amazing junkyard eyesore.

 Montevideo and the pier we walked, as we sailed out of the harbour.

Off on an Expedition, not a cruise.

Wednesday, October 23^rd.

Boarding Day!

Today was a travel day. We got up, packed our bags and took them to the lobby by nine. Then we had breakfast and finished getting all our kit organized and checked out. Now I am officially homeless again.

We went for a short walk looking for a place to withdraw some money, but to no avail. Seems that there is only one bank and that all of their ATM’s are antiques. They have English menus until it won’t let you get money and then it reverts to Spanish. The only thing I understand is the word ‘impossible’. So, I go aboard without any money for the tips at the end.

We finally ended up at the same café we went to on the first day. We had a coffee and chatted about our upcoming adventures. We went back to the hotel and spent the last couple of hours sitting around the lobby and outside the spa talking to a few other passengers and catching up on the last e-mails. We talked to a couple from England named Ken and Barbie and I met a young girl who has badly sprained her left arm (it is in a tensor bandage from wrist to shoulder) and her roommate who has a broken right thumb from a bite from her German Sheppard. Together they are one able person.

At 2:30 we all boarded three coaches and were driven to the port where we had to go through immigration and get stamped out of the country. Finally, we drove to the dock and saw our big red ship which flies a Mordovan flag. It was dwarfed by the massive freighter that was docked beside her. We boarded at 3:30 via the gangplank and were directed to our room where we found our luggage outside it. Inside was our new bunkmate Bruce, from England. He had already claimed the one solo berth so John and I were to be in the bunks. I opted for the top as John had been there in the Maldives. There was also a bottle of wine each and a card welcoming us back to another GAdventures trip. In addition, there was a package specifically wrapped and addressed to me. It turned out to be a box of treats and sweets like Hallowe’en candies.

We were all called to the Expedition Lounge where they gave us the compulsory safety briefing, including how to put on a lifejacket and were to muster. We were taken out to the deck and shown our lifeboat capsule. There are four of them which hold 51 persons each. Then there was another meeting orientating us to the ship and where we would find the Albatross Dining Hall, the Polar Bear Bar, the Penguin library and the gift shop. Jonathan the Expedition Leader went to great lengths to tell us about their safety concerns: no open toes shoes, watch your fingers in sliding metal doors, watch for obstructions on the upper decks and always hold handrails. He drew our attention to the fact that the further we go the further we are from any medical help, there is no helicopter pad, and if someone is seriously injured, we would have to turn back. That was a sobering thought. He also introduced us to the kitchen staff and other crew.

At six we all went up on the top deck outside to watch as we began our journey and sailed away from the dock and Montevideo.

Back to the Discovery Lounge where we were introduced to the whole GAdventure crew by Jonathan, the CEO. Each spoke briefly about their career and their expertise. There is a young lad from Parry Sound. There are bird and mammal experts, geologists and other scientific staff and a young doctor from Mexico. 

Jonathan told us that we are on a expedition, not a cruise. The itinerary can change very quickly depending on weather conditions, ocean conditions and for other reasons. There are no promises about exactly where we are going or what we will see. But, it will be an adventure!

Finally, we were invited for dinner in the Albatross Dining Room. We had a crabmeat salad, soup, halibut and veg and a cake dessert. There are two or three options for dinner and the food was excellent. The chairs are all chained to the floor, so they do slide in and out a little but not much. And the tables all have a slight lip on them to prevent things from sliding off in rough seas.

Lastly, we went back to the Expedition Lounge to be properly fitted and outfitted with our issued parkas. As it was then 9:30 we headed back to our room. I went for a short wander around the ship orientating myself before returning and three of us turned in. It was very warm so I slept on top of the sheet and later when I woke up cool, I couldn’t figure out how to make my bed in the dark with about two feet of room above my head and not wake up the others, so I slept on the sheets. However, I slept pretty well as the ship rocked about gently.