Antarctica has always been a dream destination of mine. I remember telling Andrey my dream bucket list destinations early on in our courtship: Egypt, Namibia, and Antarctica! (And I’m pleased to report we have already checked off Egypt back in 2021! He makes me dreams come true)

One thing about me, I’m not the best planner. For vacations, I typically rely on the organization and drive of others. However, I maintain a firm philosophy: If you don’t help plan, you don’t complain if you don’t like the plans. Nothing worse than a non-helpful nay-sayer, so what I lack in planning initiatives, I make up for in good vibes.

Therefore, Andrey planned this dream trip. While researching ways to travel to Antarctica, he found a Ukrainian adventure travel company that organizes expeditions globally, the Paganel Studio. He booked us a 3-week sailing trip to Antarctica. As it’s a Ukrainian company, the dominant language onboard is a mix of Russian/Ukrainian, but luckily most people speak English to some degree – but give me credit! I speak a decent amount of Russian at this point!

“Luxury” is not the right adjective to describe this trip. Yes, the trip is very exclusive, unique, and fabulous – but this trip has the “rough edges” associated with adventure and is more of an exotic trip. We are on a 60’ sailboat we are a total crew of 12 people: 1 captain, 2 assistants who also take turns steering the boat, 1 chef, and 8 auxiliary crew (that includes us!). We have limited wifi access from starlink, and what the trip lacks in “luxurious comforts” it more than makes up for in views and experiences. In the facebook group, I had seen a mistranslation that there would be no alcohol for the trip (when really, it was a suggestion to limit alcohol consumption) so I also looked forward to the 3 week dry period. 

I don’t mind a healthier diet, I was excited for the cleanse from caffeine and booze, and I happen to love taking a break from my hair/makeup routine… but I was CONCERNED about my motion sickness. It doesn’t help that in the month or two beforehand, my FYP on tiktok was inundated with videos of monstrous waves from the Drake Straits! And what does the trip start with? A three day long sail through the cold straits between the tip of Argentina and Antarctica of course!

We boarded the boat late Thursday night but did not set sail until technically 1 AM Friday morning. Before we even left the dock, I put on a scopolamine patch. I am notorious for motion sickness so I figured I would fight it before it even began. 

FRIDAY:

I’m not sure if it was the scopolamine patch, or the lack of sleep from long travel days, but I spent the majority of Friday in bed. I slept through breakfast AND lunch. I made a brief appearance around 3 pm in the main cabin. I was greeted by the chef, Anya, with a bowl of vegetable soup and a half-apology half-warning that mealtimes were strictly enforced: 10 AM breakfast, 2 PM lunch, and 8 PM dinner. However, during the Drake Straits it is permissible to skip as seasickness is common. I assured her I was not expecting special treatment and was hopeful to join everyone on the common schedule. 

I slunk back to bed, with my scopolamine patch keeping me feeling very fuzzy in my head and a very dry mouth. I awoke at 8 PM, and I returned with the group to eat dinner. I warily ate a plain salad – I have known myself to get sick to the point of emptying my stomach, so I did not want to eat any of the meat or hearty options. Following dinner, I returned to our cabin and passed out for the evening. 

Overall, I felt confident that if the Drake Straits continued in this manner, I would be fine. The waves weren’t too rocky, and the scopolamine patch kept me mostly sleepy with a steady stomach. 

SATURDAY:

I woke up Saturday feeling less groggy, and the excitement of adventure started kicking in. I had been too sleepy yesterday to appreciate the reality: no land was visible. I had never sailed to a point in the ocean where I couldn’t see land! The reality and excitement of the journey felt palpable in the air! 

Breakfast was a delicious bowl of quinoa, egg, avocado, and fish. I gobbled it down without hesitation. Feeling extra cocky, I moved around the cabin, at one point even reading my book. Lunch was more vegetable soup – delicious. I returned to reading my book, “How to be a Boss Bitch” by Christine Quinn, feeling invincible from the tumultuous sea. 

Wrong. By the time I felt the familiar head sick sensation and the taste of pennies in my mouth, I knew I was screwed. Luckily, I got a bag in time – and emptied my stomach regretfully. Main lesson: chew my food better.

I spent the rest of the day miserable in my cabin. Unfortunately, at this point in the journey we had lost our use of starlink Wi-Fi, so I was unable to google if I could combine Dramamine with my Scopolamine patch. I skipped dinner, and tried to eat a simple roll just to fight hunger. My stomach promptly rejected the bread into a bag Anya had generously supplied me with, and I went to bed feeling dehydrated, nauseous, and defeated. 

SUNDAY: 

I woke up Sunday feeling MORE nauseous, hungry, and very sorry for myself. I poutily skipped breakfast, preferring the bite of an empty stomach over the discomfort of actively emptying my stomach. Andrey had done some “social research” with the other crew members and discovered it is permissible to combine the Scopolamine patch with Dramamine.

A swig of water and 30 minutes later, I felt a bit better. I still stayed in bed but treated myself to a few salted peanuts (CHEWED WELL!) and listened to a few chapters of an audio book with Andrey. We shared with the rudimentary method of each taking 1 air pod, and switching each chapter. 

Dinner rolled around, and I was too hungry – the risk felt worth it and I genuinely felt better from the Dramamine. A hearty, warm bowl of fish, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a traditional Ukrainian type of squid. It was easily one of the best meals I’ve had in a while – and I don’t even like potatoes!! The highlight of dinner was that I also got to keep it in my stomach. 

MONDAY:

The utter dullness of the 360 view of foggy waves. That might sound ungrateful, but there was seriously a “lost at sea” vibe without the chaos of being lost. I was still taking a little Dramamine to ensure I didn’t get too sick – but I was also successfully reading more of my “Boss Bitch Book,” and yes, the title did make the crew members all laugh. I finished the book, and then went back to alternating airpods to listen to the audio book with Andrey.

We saw our first “land” around 7 pm! By land, it was really a large iceburg. The whole crew was impressed by the large floating block of ice – it felt like a promise of what was to come! Eventually we saw land!! The captain lowered the speed and we began navigating between much larger ice chunks. 

That night was the first evening we anchored. We were in a small cove of a small island, protected on all sides from the wind and waves. There was nothing but a gentle rocking of the boat. We all ventured around the main deck, in awe of the scenery. Side note: when the moving engine turned off for the first time in 3+ days, I realized how LOUD it had been!

Overall, the Drake Straits were quite manageable – really setting a tone for the upcoming adventure. I should note…. The waves and conditions were NOTABLY UNUSUALLY CALM!!! That’s right… I guess I really put the “drama” in Dramamine. While there were some decent waves, it was not the classic 30’ rolling waves and high winds usually associated with the Drake straits. Welp… guess that’s a concern I’ll deal with on the way back!

Xoxo,

Elizabeth