Be careful what you wish for! When we started our journey and experienced Drake's Lake instead of Drake's famous storm tossed passage, some of us were a bit disappointed. Well, we soon learned better. For the two day's sail from Grytviken to Stanley in the Falklands, we experienced and weathered a Beaufort scale storm at a level 8. We had gale force winds well over 40 mph and seas topping more than 20 feet. There were very few brave souls on the bridge taking pictures as most of the passengers remained in their cabins. Meals were attended by less than half and even a few of the expedition leaders where hard to find. Dr. Linda was busy visiting those who were finding no relief from medications, and they were given injections to get them through to Stanley. We were informed often of Brian's condition and heard he was grateful to be on board as his ship did not have stabilizers. I felt fine but wondered one night, as I lay in my bed, if the ship might just burst apart- or be crushed by the sea like the Endurance. The hull would crack and moan and groan, and as I was tossed about in my bed, I sometimes wondered if I might just hit the ceiling. In the morning, there were a few brave souls at breakfast, but some pancakes ended up in laps and not in tummies. Three of us played scrabble that afternoon, and it was fun to watch the tiles shift and slide about the board with each swell. We would look at the board and ask, " What kind of word is STREPHKELYTED" ? It didn't matter, though, as we were playing in the Bistro, and we were kept supplied with hot tea, cakes, cookies, and scones!
We finally arrived in the colorful town of Stanley and everyone was happy to be on land for a day. An ambulance was there waiting for Brian, and he was quickly taken " to hospital ". We learned later that he was doing fine. We walked and shopped and ate cheese and tomato toasties and visited a pub which was decorated for Christmas and had an Old Speckled Hen. It is amazing that these islands survived such a war and their British allegiance is felt everywhere you go. These are my friends Maury and Karen with whom I enjoyed the town and much of my journey.
