Day 14 · January 2, 2028 · The Drake Passage
You can bring back photographs. That is the whole list.
The ship turns north today and starts the second Drake crossing.
Behind you is a continent where the rules are unusually plain. Take nothing. Leave nothing.
The Madrid Protocol: take nothing, leave nothing
In 1991 the Antarctic Treaty nations signed an agreement on environmental protection, usually called the Madrid Protocol. It came into force in 1998.
The protocol names Antarctica a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. It bans mining outright. It requires an environmental assessment before anyone does anything new down here.
Rocks stay. Bones stay. Feathers stay. Nothing living gets taken and nothing gets left behind, down to the crumbs from a sandwich.
Expedition ships vacuum the seams of visitors’ coats before landings, hunting for seeds carried from other continents.
The two days north
Two days of open water now, back across the current that circles the world.
The albatrosses come back. So does the swell. Somewhere around 60 degrees south you cross the Convergence again, and the sea temperature climbs.
Two days of open water is enough time to sort a week of photographs.
Onboard with Taylor
Join Taylor for informative and invigorating learning and discussion about the geology, geography, history, and peoples of the areas we’re sailing through.
Sorting your photographs
White subjects, hard light, and a moving deck are a difficult combination for any camera.
Look at the images on the way north rather than at home. Ask the person next to you what settings they used. There is time on this crossing, and nothing else pressing.
Next stop: the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands. Sheep, shipwrecks, a red phone box, and penguins on the beach outside town.
