The Route

I posted this map outside my office (from a British tour company - I added a little snippet red line south of the Antarctic Circle b/c we are scheduled to go there - 24-hr sun!). That's the Polish icebreaker, The Ortelius, I'm on - spartan decor inside but it's the strength that counts and this puppy has the strongest ice-class rating, 1A. According to the tour website (link at bottom of picture), we could plow through solid one-year sea ice in this - no destination denied by ice pack I imagine!
http://www.cheesemans.com/boats/ortelius_ship.html#decks  I'm in cabin 448 - I think that's the equivalent (port side instead of starboard side shown in picture) of the third set of double windows at the bottom of the white-painted area (right below that stairway down from the bridge and at the same level as the observation deck). Nice view from the room not that I imagine I'll spend much time in the room. Just picked up my seasickness prescription today (the patch you put behind your ear, good for 3 days per patch, 10 patches ought to more than do it!). I only expect potentially rough seas on the big open ocean crossings but when we're by the islands or the peninsula things should be calm. The peninsula in particular apparently often has glassy conditions. And of course I'll be on shore a bunch of the time - lots of landings and many will be 8 hour opportunities for birding and photography. Of course, back when I was doing my PhD I got seasick on a Zodiac!! Not because I'm extremely susceptible - years of sailing with my dad on wonderful trips to Catalina Island indicate 5 hours is no problem, and more is usually OK, but b/c I was using my binoculars the entire time to count murres. Optics plus swells = barf-fest. And what will I be doing on The Ortelius? Of course trying to ID every single animal I see and spot the super rarities after I get very familiar with all the common ones. Luckily the camera will help - quick photo, zoom, zoom, zoom on the little screen, ID! That's how it's supposed to work. How it will actually work is likely zoom, zoom, zoom, hmm, still not sure, download to already overloaded laptop (note to self, must make room on hard drive before I leave), full screen, zoom, zoom, zoom, consult multiple field guides, tentative ID. Ask expert. Solid ID. Become expert by end of voyage.