III - Antarctica at last

Location:
Within 64° 41' – 64° 54' South, 62° 38'–52' West
Duration:
56 hrs. 10am, 23.12.06 TO 6pm, 25.12.06
Landings:
Seven

23.12.06. Morning. Icebergs Colony
After 3 days of nibbling at the edges, we finally set foot on Antarctica today, well almost :-). Cuverville Island is an Antarctic island but not part of the antarctic peninsula in the strictest sense of the word. It is almost like Singapore not being part of the Asian mainland.

The island itself is fairly non-descript by itself - I mean, by now, we are getting used to Penguin colonies and the interplay of snow and rocks - but its surrounding icebergs elevate it to the level of a wonder of the world. Imagine a setting where you can pick icebergs a la carte, from the buffet or even ask the chef to make one for you. They were in all shapes, sizes and orientation. We saw one like the Sydney Opera House, another like the Jodhpur Umaid Bhawan Palace, even one like Yog Kutir! And then there was one which looked like a million crystals coming together in a magnificient chandelier. It’s what you can imagine from what is offered to you. Almost 6/7th of an iceberg is under water and it presents itself as a turquoise blue 'bluetooth'. Its almost like an iceberg promises more than it reveals.

We zodiac-cruised around the icebergs, went whale watching, and saw icebergs ‘up, close and personal’. Whale watching was fun as our zodiacs took us real close to them and we could see them swimming and breaching. We could hear their snorting sounds and it was an amazing experience sharing the same water with the biggest mammals on earth.

Antarctica and its surreal beauty is incongruous to negative feelings. The serenity of the surroundings purges the mind off anger, frustration and disappointment. The calmness of glacier’s façade while it reins its hulking mass against gravity inspires similar disposition. The glacial waters and their gentle caresses to the ship soothe frayed nerves. And before you know, you've settled into a blissful admiration of nature's sculptures, forgetting any bitterness or irritation. I wish I could carry a piece of Antarctica with me to ward off frustrations at work! Maybe, I will :-)

23.12.06. Afternoon. In the world of Glaciers

Paradise bay is everything its name promises and more. It wouldn't hurt to add ‘ultimate’ as a prefix! Here's what you get - A massive glacier face presents itself to the sea. You feel dwarfed by its presence and numbed by its threatening bulk. You hope for some pieces to fall off so they break the imposing silence and yet you hope they stay put so your zodiac does not capsize with the resulting tidal wave. You get excited by getting close to the icebergs and then worried that it hides more below than it shows above. The silence is both eerie and loud, the expanse both limitless and limiting and the scale is both imposing and uplifting. It evokes a feeling you only read about in books. And even with all the vocabulary at my disposal, I would still struggle to describe it. You've just got to get here to experience it - language doesn't have words that do justice to it.

Kirsten, our expedition leader was driving our zodiac for the day as we Zodiac cruised around Skontorp Cove. We saw some Blue Eyed shags and Antarctic Terns during the cruise before landing on Antarctica. Yes! Antarctica! As we set foot on Almirante Brown – an Argentinian base on Antarctica, we felt like Explorers. Although, all we had done was purchase tickets for this trip, donned 5 layers of warm clothing, stepped on to the zodiac and stepped down ashore, yet it felt like we had crossed the 7 seas, braved the winds & waves and reached the last land frontier for humanity – Antarctica! Its weird, just the rarity of an action accords it some superhuman status. Anyhow, these are just reflections of an idle mind; when we were there, all we were interested in was to quickly pose with the paper Indian flag that we had painted with crayons and rush up to the peak for a bum slide.

23.12.06. Night. Overnight Camping
After 2 briefings over the last 2 days and a great barbeque dinner tonight, we picked up our sleeping mats and bags and headed towards for camping overnight on Antarctica. This had to be one of the high points of our expedition. It promised to be both the southern most and the coldest I have camped in my life.We got off the zodiacs, climbed to the ridge that Jamie had chosen for the camping site, picked our location and began the arduous task of flattening and hardening the snow. Untouched, the top layer is soft and fluffy and we would go almost knee deep in that location. We stamped around for 20 odd minutes to flatten it and lost all the energy we had gained with the sumptuous dinner! Erecting the tent was relatively easy given the demo session from Jamie and Andy. Once it was done, it was time for some quiet reflection on rocks that were jutting out of the snow near the shore. As we started walking towards the shore, we heard a huge thud & splash and turned around to discover that a glacier face across the bay had breached. The huge crash set off a wave and had icebergs bobbing up and down on water around us. The enormity of this coincidence amazes me. Imagine ice having been formed over 20 million years and hanging around here for that long only to fall off at this precise moment. I felt privileged to have witnessed this unique action of nature.

After some gazing and mulling over the meaning of life, the different colors of white and our role in the cosmos, it was time to return to our tents. If your idea of sleep involves getting into a closely hugging bodybag , having a thin layer of insulated material between you and the freezing snow, slipping on your sleeping mat because you didn't flatten the snow properly, being amidst wandering penguins while the temperature plummets to -5deg Centigrade, you would have loved this. As it transpired, I was left wondering why I was putting myself through this. From 11.30p to 4am, I remember most of the ticking seconds. I don't recollect the few minutes of snatched sleep but can distinctly recall Shankar's snores, some penguins wandering around and the loud rustling of my sleeping bag.Morning couldn't have come any earlier than it did. We hurriedly packed up our bags, dismantled our tent and tried to unfreeze the water bottle. Looking back, it seems more fun now than it seemed then.

24.12.06. Southernmost Point of our Life. Yet.
After the overnight camp on Antarctica, we came back to the ship, sleepy and weary-eyed. I promptly slumped to the cabin couch but Smita woke up sometime between a Soccer dream and a dream about us running for our lives from militants in Srinagar. That was to see the picturesque Lemaire Channel as our ship passed through it. Lemaire Channel is often called Kodak Canal or Fuji Funnel because it makes one gasp with wonder. Snow-clad mountains rise on both sides as the ship passes through a narrow strip of water, 11km long.

The ride through Lemaire Channel took us to Petermann Island – the southernmost point on our trip. Weather has been benign thus far. As per the ship tradition, one person is given the responsibility for managing the weather – as if he/she really has any influence! But at least it makes for a good lynching target, in case the weather screws up the trip J. The Indians have been asked to manage the weather since yesterday and seeing what beautiful weather we got in Cuverville and Paradise, Kirsten asked us to manage it today too.

Petermann Island had a colony of Adelie Penguins. These have a sheer black coat quite different from the Gentoos or Chinstraps. We walked all the way up the island to the point, where you could see the continent rise up and merge with the skies on the horizon. On our right, lay blue water with millions of icebergs and bergy bits adding a white/silver glitter. Just as we were getting ourselves clicked at the Southernmost point, a gentoo penguin pottered behind us – almost mocking our latitudinal achievement.

We then walked through knee deep snow to where Andy was sitting close to the Adelie Penguin colony. It was fun watching the pebble stealing routine of the penguins. Pebbles are the penguins’ currency. They steal it, store it, treasure it and exchange favors in return of them. Just then a skua landed in the middle of the colony and there was a sense of alarm in the colony. Skuas feed in Penguin eggs and chicks and it was intriguing to see this battle of the food chain on Petermann.

It was with a tinge of reluctance that we boarded the ship this time, knowing that we will be headed back to civilization here on. Even though, we would be stopping & landing at other places, Petermann marked the destination of our escape from the world and also the return to its humdrum existence.

24.12.06. Evening. Damoy Point & Port Lockroy.
As our ship was navigating water and icebergs on its inevitable journey northwards, Dr. Jo mentioned that there was a surprise in store. We thought that Kirsten had been able to wrangle out a landing at Port Lockroy – our only hope of going to an operational Antarctic base but she had another one up her sleeve, The Extreme Polar Plunge. Here’s what it entails:
Requirements:
1. Temporary loss of sanity.
Methodology
1. Strip down to undies or swimming trunks
2. Walk down the 12 odd steps of the ship’s gangway
3. Get a harness loosely tied around your waist
4. Say your prayer and Jump into the ice cold water of the Antarctic Ocean
5. Get half pulled, swim halfway back to the steps
6. Lift your by-now-numb leg to step on the gangway
7. Run up as fast as you can
8. Grab the vodka shot that Laura offers
9. Gulp down the vodka as you grab a towel and dry yourself
10. Run to your cabin to get under a hot shower
11. Emerge with your sanity and body intact.
Reward
1. Bragging rights
2. Certificate
3. Self satisfaction (yeah right!)

As we were thanking the sun for saving us after the Extreme Polar Plunge and rubbing our hands and feet to feel them again, Kirsten announced that yes, we will land on Port Lockroy. Port Lockroy also has the southernmost Post Office in the world and this was our chance to send ourselves and our loved ones an epistle from the most unusual place. Port Lockroy also offered us the southernmost shopping store in the world! We were not going to pass up this opportunity. So we promptly got ready to be the first ones to land, went around the base, shopped around for souvenirs and gifts and got the book ‘Of Dogs & Men’ signed by its author, Rick Atkinson who was one of 3 people manning this British base. Back in the ship, we had a sumptuous Christmas dinner and fell to a satisfied slumber.

25.12.06. Christmas in Antarctica
Today was our last continental landing and our last kayaking experience. By now, Louise, after some back and forth, had realized that despite her contempt for anything that didn’t kayak for miles and hours, there were people who just wanted to cruise, stop, admire and return. So we agreed to go out for a final kayaking session – no pressure, only the pure simple joy of moving your paddles in Antarctic waters and sometimes breaking some sea ice to make headway.

We reached Neko at 9.30 in the morning and went to shore to kayak. After an hour of kayaking, we landed for our final rendezvous with Antarctic mainland. As we walked inland, we realized that there was a massive snow-clad cliff, perfect for bum sliding but because we had spent time kayaking, there wasn’t enough left to hike up lest you ran. We, of course took the challenge. Half running, half trotting, we went up the cliff. When we felt the inside of our throats sticking together to close the passage, we scooped some ice and sucked on it. Looking down, we could see the team as specks on snow. Smita was waiting below with her camera, apparently to take shots but more to zoom in on me and figure whether I was coming down in one piece. I walked to the edge and then let gravity pull me over the cliff on the snow. All the while I was sliding down, I just tried to go feet down first. And once I got down and pledged that I have to learn snow boarding. Speed, snow and gravity make for a very potent combination!

Here on, it was time to say one final goodbye to the mainland, take a last wistful look at the penguins and capture the continent in our eyes. The last turn of our tags and we were headed back to civilization. There was another stop at Danco Island but I wanted my last landing to be the continental one (the real reason was tiredness). So we sat in the bar, downing vodka and cranberry juice as our ship left Antarctica behind.