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Saturday and Sunday Jan 21/22

My niece, Jenny, told me at Christmas that she knew someone who went to Antarctica and “he said the scenery and wildlife is indescribable”.  How does one try to write about it when that is the absolute truth?  Going into our first channel was gobsmacking enough, but then we were in that channel for FOUR HOURS and the smacking of gobs was endless.  I took so many photos all for naught, I know.  Had I a good camera maybe it would be different but for this trip I will have to rely on the best the iphone can do.

One thing I can say is that we are at the mercy of weather and ice, but thus far both have been merciful.  If you can find a map of the Antarctic Peninsula, that’s where we are hanging out.  We missed Palmer Station on Saturday, but no worries, we were able to get in to Lemaire Channel, Neumeyer Channel and Gerlache Strait.  During the night (little of it that there is – I keep waiting for dark to start to write and next thing I know it’s 11 p.m. and it is still light out.  Can you say Night Owl’s Paradise?) we can go on to the TV and see where the ship is on a map and our captain has just been puttering around until morning when we will try to get back into inlets and harbors.  

Today started out with glorious snow. Snow globe snow. Huge conglomerations of flakes looking like plastic that might be used for a theatrical production’s version of snow. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been in my life in this environment.  What, exactly, is my PROBLEM?  

We thought we might get shut out of scenery or whatever due to snow, but in Antarctic in the “summer” you are never shut out.  Our ship made it into Paradise Harbor and Andvord Bay/Neiko Harbor where we were treated to penguins flying through and up out of the water.  Doubt if my movies could really get it but whatever.  Again, I am aware that taking photos is pretty useless, but that hasn’t stopped me from taking what are probably thousands by now.  A friend in Peru told me to take slo-motion videos and then you can grab screen shots or at least really see what you’ve filmed.  I have been doing that now so we’ll see. 

Penguins were one thing.  Whales were everywhere. As a Southern California girl I have seen my share of whales and have even seen them up close and personal in the lagoons of Mexico but these were different.  I’m not sure what kind they were but no matter, probably humpbacks.  What struck me was how slow they were moving – it’s icy water and I’m just making things up now but maybe that’s why.  Or maybe I’m just slow.  (Nope, saw some more later today and they definitely are slower) At any rate it was so cool to be able to spot them every which way, and some even did a bit of spy hopping and almost all of them gave a nice “whale tail” when they dove down for a snack. 

A highlight for me in Paradise Harbor was seeing the humans –  crew members from South Pacific and Indonesia who had never seen snow.  The snow globe snow continued and there was very little wind.  It was magical. It could not have been a better first experience for these hard working men and women who make our trip so comfortable and easy.  Their utter delight and excitement was wonderful to witness and I, of course, insisted on having my photo taken with them to remember that moment of my trip. 

We are now on our way to another bay that encompasses Cuverville Island that is a breeding ground for gentoo penguins. (Later: less than impressive – too far away to really see). No worries, many more penguins to come later in the trip.

I have neglected to try to describe the scenery, because I’m afraid to.  Is it enough to say there is ice everywhere you look?  Massive ice bergs and little “growlers” ice (for the sound they make when they’d scrape across wooden ships) and sea ice actually forming in sheets on the surface of the water and those same sheets of ice broken up into pieces? And the land – those bergs had to come from somewhere and it is broken off from the glaciers that kisses the sea wherever land hits the water.  Some of the bergs are from the other side of the continent, being carried around by currents to this side. 

What is hard for me to comprehend is that we are seeing a teensy tiny portion of Antarctica, and what we are seeing is massive and indeed – indescribable.  I have a book on my Kindle that I started long ago and not sure I finished called Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration  by David Roberts, about one of the many driven or insane people who were called to this place, in this case Sir Douglas Mawson who managed to survive in 1913.  I think I might have to go back and read that one again, as well as any other Antarctic stories I can get my hands on – Shackleton is of course a famous one that I read years ago.  The best in my humble opinion is by Caroline Alexander and is notable because it was the first published photos of the photographer on the journey – Frank Hurley.  

Our enrichment guide told a few stories today.  One of the coves we passed is called Whale Met cove, so called because some scientists were going along in their dinghies and a pod of orcas started to follow them and did not stop following them .  Although we know orcas aren’t usually out to eat humans maybe they thought the dinghies were nice fat whale calves or something.  The scientists took shelter in the cove and apparently the orcas stuck around for a while, leading them to believe that they were, indeed being checked out as a possible food source! 

Another wonderful tale that I intend to follow up on is of two British grad students who went along with John Lachlan Cope in 1921, a graduate of Cambridge.  Now Cope had tried unsuccessfully to get funding for his grand plan to explore Antarctica but failed for whatever reason.   They got as far as Paradise Harbor by way of Norweigian whalers and were dumped on an outcrop called Waterboat Point after an abandoned boat there. The crew of four men used the boat as shelter with their provisions.  

Well, Cope decided the fantasy did not fit the reality and left after six weeks, but the two grad students who had paused their education to go on the expedition, Bagshawe and Lester, decided to stay and thought they would be paid for doing research.  These two guys did massive amounts of record keeping despite not having a lot of instruments on everything from meteorology to botany to oceanography to geology you name it.  There are some articles on the subject on the internet, most of which I’m unable to actually download due to internet issues. 

Why am I fascinated by such people? Now that I have seen and can still only imagine what they were doing beyond the Antarctic Peninsula on the other side nearer to Australia and New Zealand, I am even more blown away that they could do what they’ve done over the years before satellite telecommunications and high tech ship navigation.  

I am humbled, for sure.

It is now later the same day – I am totally exhausted, emotionally.  Like art in Italy, this has ceased to be able to comprehend intellectually and can only be absorbed as a life experience.  More ice, more mountains covered in ice rising out of the sea, more sea life – orcas this time.  More clouds and snow mixed with sun and reflecting many, many more than just fifty shades of gray and silver.  I keep taking photos and have no idea why, except that I want to show everyone I know and love about this place.  Wishing my children were with me.  Wanting to cry for reasons I can’t explain.   

Tonight I looked at the schedule and guess what is playing on the main stage? Not dancers (the same dancers that were with us on the Mediterranean cruise, more about them, possibly for a second time, later) but a documentary about the guy I mentioned above, who was the subject of the book Alone on the Ice – Mawson!

Truly, I’m kind of blown away and feeling very, very small on so many levels.