No matter how much time you spent at sea, the power and mysticism of the ocean never seizes to enthrall you. Like Jacques Cousteau said ‘The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever’. And so many of us spent countless hours outside in the sun or in the observation lounge gazing out into this vast expanse of ocean. This seemingly uniform wilderness was nevertheless dotted above the surface with the occasional whale and seabirds catching the tiny upwinds created by the waves, accompanying us, for a little while, on our journey north and on their quest for food.
For us of us willing to tear ourselves away, we had the chance to listen to several lectures by the expedition team, and to enjoy the wonderful waffles on deck 7. Our cozy day was capped by an intellectual challenge: THE QUIZZ!!! Twenty questions across all topics we learned about on this trip had been prepared and a high court was convened to decide the winners. Boat groups competed ferociously against each other straining to remember lecture content from the past two weeks. But a winner was declared and all members of the group enjoyed a drink as their reward.
