Our daily plans

After an already intense 24 hours of zodiacs, penguins, and kayaks, we prepared for our daily briefing. Each day, the expedition leader would hold a 45-minute briefing for all passengers. We would learn about the plans for the next day, expected weather conditions, and how to prepare. These briefings were usually held right before dinner, and on this particular afternoon, after a full first day of adventure, we were given the exciting news that those who had signed up to camp in Antarctica would be sleeping on a nearby island that night!

We had a giddy dinner with Rex, talking excitedly with him about the adventure ahead of us. When we asked him if he would camp, he chuckled and said, “Oh no, I am from Indonesia!” his words expressing that he would never venture outside of this ship and into the cold.

Sleeping on Antarctica

The activity itself had been a long time coming. A few months ago we had gotten an email that enough spots had opened up for us to camp. We immediately said, ‘Hell yes!’ and couldn’t have been more excited. Text messages were rampant in our group for months, everyone so thrilled that we would be sleeping on Antarctica! We bundled up in a few extra layers for this event, knowing that the sun would attempt to set for about three hours and it would get colder than the daytime hours. I wore three pairs of pants, two shirts, three coats, and four hats. I stuffed a few hand warmers in my socks before putting my boots. Oh, and I intended to sleep in all of this too.