Carribean beckons!

Finally, its on!


Am going for the Cricket World Cup in West Indies. 1st Semi Final in Kingston. 2nd Semi Final in St. Lucia and the final at Barbados.

It should be fun. Kashyap is joining from California with his friend Vigyan.

I hope for 2 things -
India makes it to the Semis. At least.
I find an easy way to travel between the 3 venues

Am gonna carry a sleeping bag and most probably, a tent for acco - Just in case there's no hotel or cruise boat available

Under Down Under - Epilogue

Before we left for the trip, there were 3 things I said, I was looking forward to –
1. Vast, uninterrupted, undulating, Snow all around
2. Life on an expedition ship
3. Setting foot on Antarctica

Well, looking back, reality exceeded expectations on all 3 fronts.

The snow in Antarctica is like nothing I had seen. It’s everything. Antarctica is snow, snow is Antarctica.

It announces its presence as the 1st iceberg, even before you see land. It gives meaning to the fact that white comprises all colors. It re-assures you by adopting familiar shapes. You can see the Sydney Opera House, the Suntec Towers, even a Yog Kutir in the million icebergs around you.

It threatens you by imposing glaciers. As glaciers, it dwarfs you with their size, lulls you with its apparent stillness and then shocks you by suddenly relieving a hanging block into the sea and causing huge tidal waves.

It reaches to the sky atop high mountains. It stoops to the depths as the Bluetooth of huge icebergs. It envelops you in a 360 deg blanket by giving the sky a white brooding tinge, the horizon a white hazy glow and the seas a white cover. Land, rocks and pebbles try to fight a losing battle with it. They peer at you by snatching small patches for short times but their apologetic protrusions acknowledge the imposing rule of snow in the southernmost, windiest, driest, coldest, highest, and most lifeless continent.

Life aboard an expedition ship took some getting used to.

The first thing that hits you is confinement. Your cabin is inspired by Japan’s capsule hotels. The corridors require a single file. Turning around while sleeping is a battle against gravity – you have to almost raise yourself on the same place and hop to the other side. Its an acrobatic feat when on ground – becomes more challenging when the bed under you is rolling along with the ship.

The second thing is the rolling. It was worse on the Drake Passage and subsided in the calm waters of the Southern Ocean as we neared Antarctica. Lets take Drake first. We were lucky that we got the Drake Lake instead of the Drake Shake! But even the lake was tough for us. I threw up once. Smita was horizontal most of the time we were on the Drake. Shalini needed a shot from the Doc. Shankar managed by keeping quiet all the while.

Two thoughts come to your mind – what would it be like in a Drake Shake. Have heard stories that everything comes falling down and its hard to stay put. Second, how would the early travelers manage. We had comfortable beds and carpeted floors, heating in our cabins, railings to hold on to but in those ships life would be truly miserable!
Well, apart from the claustrophobic interiors and the rolling world around you, life was generally quite pleasant aboard.

Food was a pleasant surprise. I tasted cuisines from different parts of the world over the 10 days. The Vegetarians had a main course designed for them each meal. Landings were well managed. The Bar was well stocked. Our room was cleaned everyday with a chocolate left for the night.

Ship language was interesting. The captain’s navigation room is the Bridge. The front of the ship is the Bow and the back is the Stern. Left is Port side and Right is Star side. Things are pointed out in the fashion of a clock – there is a whale at 11 o’clock. There are penguins swimming along at 3 o’clock. Then there were the tags. Every time you leave the ship you turn your tag from yellow to black. Everyone has a tag corresponding to his/her name on a tag board.

This is the only way for the ship crew to know who is onboard and who is onland. This turning tag was an interesting and important ritual at every landing. Even though everything is taken care of, life aboard the ship is infused with a sense of adventure and everyone thrives on it.

Setting foot on Antarctica was special.

We actually paused for a moment to take in the occasion. We had hand painted an Indian flag with crayons which we promptly displayed on landing at Paradise Bay (Almirante Brown). To think that if I just kept walking inwards, I would reach the South Pole! To think that so many explorers lost their lives getting to this place not even 100 years back!

To think that no one lives in this continent we are stepping onto! I was overcome with emotion even though all we had done was walk out of a comfortable ship, don 5 layers of warm clothing, walk down a gangway of 15 steps, step onto a zodiac and step ashore.

The glaciers and icebergs around us and beyond held 95% of the world’s fresh water. I was glad that it was this way because if it were to be thawed into water, the oceans will rise by about 60 metres submerging a lot coastal cities.

Penguins are pottering around in their colony. A lot of them warming their eggs, some feeding their chicks and a lot engaged in pebble stealing. Pebbles are the Penguin’s currency – they need them to create a place for their eggs to thatch in the snow. They guard it more zealously than man does money. They steal them with more guile than petty thieves do. Looking at them brought to mind all the petty neighborhood fights so common in small towns. You feel like an intruder yourself – walking into a world that is not yours.

The serene surroundings command deference, they impose a responsibility on you to respect its purity. Being a responsible tourist in Antarctica is not difficult because even the tiniest infringement stands out in relief. The pottering Penguins, the unconcerned Seals and the blanket of clean white inspire you to keep it that way for others. Antarctica brings out the best in you.

There are also 2 things that were running at the back of my mind:
1. Sea sickness.
2. The Cold.

Sea sickness was an issue over the Drake Passage. We survived while going to Antarctica with medication. On our return it was a bit rougher. But overall, it was less of an issue than I had feared.

The cold was not a factor. We were well prepared. The thermals from Meters-Bonwe held on quite well. We could have done with a neck warmer – a scarf or something – but this was not a big issue. The parka from Quark was more than adequate. If I had known that our bottoms need to go over the rubber boots, I would have bought a couple more with side zippers. The Thinsulate gloves and cap stood up to the Antarctic chill. We actually cocked a snoot at the Cold with Polar plunges – one was soft while the other was hard.

I had expected the detour to Iguazu Falls and the stop over at Cape Town to be the icing on the cake. But it turned out to be a really thick and tasty icing!

Iguazu Falls are massive. Nothing in the Iguazu river betrays what its going to do as it winds its way in Brazil. It is just a small, non descript, river turning on itself from Brazil and suddenly dropping all its volume into this gorge. As you near the falls, you are engulfed in gusts of mist and between protecting your camera and securing your step on the wet railings, you just try to take it all in. You can’t even see the bottom as the water falls into the gorge – the mist hides it behind its veil. Peering down doesn’t help because you just get more waters on your sun glasses. Have you ever tried seeing through water droplets – it can be amazing, you can even spot a rainbow on your eyes! The Aventura Nautica that takes the boat right under the waterfall was exhilarating! Returning back to the hotel all wet is not pleasant but small change for the great experience. Being able to drive to Foz do Iguacu in Brazil for an evening of shopping and Mojito was the cherry atop the icing.

Cape Town is a place that reminded me of Sydney so much. They are on the same latitude. V&A waterfront is like Darling Harbor. Camps Bay is like Manly. Hout Bay is like Bondi Beach. The roads are similar. The cars are similar. The sea is as blue.

There are 2 differences. People are more friendly and helpful in Cape Town. Food is of a different kind – although Sydney has an equally amazing variety, the constituents are different here. You get Carribean, African, Brazilian in addition to the usual Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, Mediterranean that make up the numbers in other cities.

Cape Town is also a city that evoked the emotion – ‘I would want to live here someday’ from Smita at least 10 times. Prettier than the city – even though it’s a tough act to beat – was the Cape Peninsula and the drive around False Bay all the way to Cape Agulhas.

We went to South Africa thinking Cape of Good Hope would mark the southernmost point of Africa and where we’ll see the Indian and the Atlantic Ocean meeting. We returned educated that Cape of Good Hope had, well, no hope of being that. That credit goes to Cape Agulhas which at 20° East, is the point where the two oceans meet and Africa’s southern extremity exists.

The drive from Cape Town to Cape Agulhas and back was spectacular and reminds you of the Great Ocean Drive from Melbourne. Both bring up the bottom of their respective continental mainland and both combine rocky outcrops, sandy beaches with blue water to make a dramatic landscape. And driving around at night through small towns like Kleinmond, Gansbaai and Simon’s Bay looking for a place let us experience manufactured excitement.

Being able to watch India play South Africa at Newlands on the 1st day of the 3rd Test match was the cherry atop this icing. Here again, the denouement was similar to what happened in 2004 when we watched India play Australia on Boxing Day in Melbourne.

The trip to Antarctica was the high point of our Southern Hemisphere vacation. Till the next one comes along, we’ll be driven by its sweet memories. The next one, the next big one I mean, is a land trip from Singapore to Lisbon. It will take us to Beijing, Istanbul among other places and promises to be another exciting one. When? Well, 2012 seems like the right year for it.

IV - Drake Passage Part Two

Displacement:
Melchior Islands 64°44’S 62°37’W to
Ushuaia 54°14’S 68°19’W
Duration:
62hrs. 5.30pm, 25.12.06. TO 7.30am, 28.12.06
Landings:
None

25.12.06.Evening
What lay ahead were 3 days of Drake Passage. We prayed for another Drake Lake but I had a lurking feeling that it’ll be a Drake Shake. We had had 4 days of magnificent weather and even with the pantheon of Hindu gods, our good luck could carry us only this far.

26 & 27.12.06. Sea, sickness and shots
Bravado typically follows alcohol and I did not escape this phenomenon. While Smita and Shalini smartly took the sea sickness pills, I was convinced of my invincibility against matters of balance (or the lack of it – that too in my ear!). Pay I did for this by throwing sick in the middle of the night and sleeping, clutching my stomach. I skipped dinner last night, had no heart for breakfast and was only able to get up and go down for lunch. A small nibble and we were again horizontal in our cabin.

Drake Passage was much worse on our way back. I got sick, Smita was horizontal most of the time, Shalini had to get a shot from Dr. Jo and Shankar saw the devil in the form of waves crashing over the ship’s bow (They had the front room and he could see water splashing onto the bow in big buckets as the ship not only rolled star to port, but also dipped wildly up and down). It was best to stay in your cabin or at most go down for one of Yar’s lectures. It was here that we saw meteorites; real ones! And one of them was older than our Solar System. It was weird holding it in our hands – something that predated not us, not our earth but the whole planetary system around us!

Then it was time to pack those layers and layers of woolens. It was tough work what with those bulky parkas, reams of paper and Port Lockroy shopping to fit in our already bursting bags. Partly by having Smita sit on the bag while I zipped it and partly by using the old roll ‘em up trick, we managed to pack everything neatly in 3 bags. Settle bills, pay the gratuities for the staff and we were ready for the farewell cocktails in the bar. Kirsten thanked her team and the captain, Rahul made a funny speech, I added in a bit for Rahul, we clicked lots of pictures and then got our certificates for kayaking, overnight camping and polar plunge. Sated, we returned to our cabins for our last night aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy.

28.12.06. Ushuaia
The popular image of farewells is teary and dramatic. Real life is much more mundane. Between, ensuring we had packed everything in, identifying our ‘checked-in’ bags, breakfast and holding on the gangway railing as we disembarked, there was little time for wistful glances at the ship, profound thoughts of what the trip meant and the meaning of it all. Then, suddenly everybody started saying that they had been among the best 36 people, that they had had the best time of their life, that the expedition staff was the most capable they had ever seen. Emotions cloud judgement or make what we want more important than what’s there. We said our thanks, our goodbyes, our ‘till we meet again’ and ‘keep in touch’ and then went our own ways. It was an unremarkable end to a remarkable journey and was better this way. What I want to stay in my memory is my first iceberg and not my last hug of Antarctica.

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.

II - South Shetland Islands

Location:
Within 61° 00'–63° 37' South, 53° 83'–62° 83' West
Duration:
23 hrs. 8pm, 21.12.06 TO 7.15pm, 22.12.06
Landings:
Four

21.12.06. First Landing
Today, we set foot on land at Yankee Harbor - 62.35S, 59.50W. Yankee Harbor is on Mcfarlane channel off Bransfield Strait and is on Greenwich Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands. The South Shetlands consist of 11 major islands and several minor ones, totalling 3687 square kilometres of land area. Between 80 and 90 percent of the land area is permanently glaciated. The highest point on the island chain is Mount Foster on Smith Island at 2105 metres above sea level. Yankee Harbor was our first real encounter with Penguins on land (I'm discounting the small blue penguins that we saw in Philip Island off Melbourne in Dec 2004). Everyone went berserk looking for the best photo opportunity with the penguins. There were also some juvenile elephant seals lying around.

Penguins are skittish beings; and a bit daft. Their gait over the pebbles and snow makes for a comical show. Looking at them, it’s amazing how they are able to negotiate the terrain. Their walk is hard to explain. Its a combination of Charlie Chaplainesque steps, mini-rabbit hops, rolling off inclines and unsuccessful attempts at maintaining their balance for more than 5 meters. They seem to be color blind too. Imagine mistaking a bright yellow parka clad person for a fellow penguin, walking upto him and then realising its mistake, doing the step, hop, roll, fall routine in no particular direction. Andy, our resident marine biologist attributes it to short sightedness but I'm prone to believe its the bird brain together with color blindness :-)

Seals are another story altogether. They lie in supreme disregard of any foreign presence. Their slightest movement seems to be against their will, involving extreme effort of both mind and muscle. They peer at you in a manner which is equal parts disdain and indifference.

Landings are big operations. First, the ship stops and drops anchor. Then, zodiacs - small inflatable boats are lowered via a crane to the water and the staff go for a recce of the place. The gangway is lowered from the ship to reach the zodiacs. All this while we have rushed to our cabins to dress in 5 layers of warm clothing. The parka that Quark provided goes on as the outer most layer. The life jacket goes above the parka. The water proof bottom goes over the long rubber boots. 2 layers of gloves go on our hands. And then the back pack goes over all this. Sun glasses, cap and if we've managed to stay alive in the stifling heat of our cabin, we stagger to the board to turn our tags (more on this later). Then we walk to the bow of the ship to wash our shoes in an antibacterial liquid. That's when we're ready to board the zodiac. We walk down the gangway and gripping the expedition staff in a sailor grip, step onto the zodiac. Motor on, and we're off for a landing.

We had our first taste of kayaking at Yankee Harbor and it was not a good one. The briefing had already made us a bit nervous because it was sounding all hi-tech and complicated with the skirt that would seal the water, the pogey that would protect our hands but hinder our grip and the lifejacket that made breathing difficult. And then we saw the kayaks – they were very different to what we were expecting! And I think, either we didn’t explain our inexperience well or Louise failed to grasp what preparatory briefing is needed. So there we were at Yankee Harbor trying to make sense of the rudder, the peddle and her cries for ‘Try to go anti-clockwise’ while all the while trying to take time out to take in the penguins, the seals, the small icebergies and the mountain ice blocking the horizon. But inspite of all these ‘teething problems’, we had fun maneuvering the kayak.

22.12.06
On 22nd, we reached Half Moon Bay where a big colony of chinstrap penguins awaited us on land and a tough session of kayaking awaited us in water. Chinstrap penguins stand out because of the unmistakable black lines that go around the face – thus the name chinstrap. We were able to spot a Macaroni penguin who had mistakenly wandered off to this colony of chinstraps. We even saw some abandoned penguin eggs. And of course there was a lot of the pottering, falling, sliding penguin gait on display. After a short walk up and down the island, we began our 2nd kayaking trip.

This one was a bit better because we had fixed the rudder on our kayak and were a bit further up on our learning curve. However, we soon realized the Rick and Darcy were setting a really fast pace with most of us playing catch up. I was enjoying kayaking in the Antarctic waters and taking in the awe-inspiring scenery. What I didn’t like was pushing myself with the sole purpose of reaching a particular point in the fastest time. Louise called everyone together and asked us to bunch up so we don’t spread too far (this was for our safety since there was one safety zodiac for the group – in case someone capsized). We rounded up the kayaking trip with the realization that while some had come for real power kayaking, others had just signed up so they could experience being in Antarctic waters on a kayak and get close to the icebergs. It will be interesting to see how Louise resolves this conflict.

On 22nd evening, we entered Deception Islands - named so because its hard to tell from afar that the huge, singular massif is actually the remaining rim of an active volcano with water inside it. Entry is through a narrow 200 mts inlet where the caldera rim has collapsed and what makes it more interesting is a rock at 2.5mts depth almost in the middle of the inlet. This leaves about 95mts for the ship to pass through and tests the navigational skills of every ship captain who dares to unmask the deception.

Deception was one of the most exciting landing this far. First, our kayak ran aground as we were negotiating a narrow channel to get into a small bay. Smita and Shalini had (wisely) decided to skip kayaking and go for the extended walk among the different volcanic pools on the island. Dittmar and Verena also opted for the walk leaving Rick & Darcy, Shanks & me and Rahul & Paula in 3 kayaks with Louise behind us as kayak master. We started off well, with Rick & Darcy again setting the pace, Shanks & me following them closely and Rahul & Paula bringing up the rear. At this point, Louise, directed us to go to the small bay on our right through a narrow channel. As we were approaching the channel, I looked back to see that Rahul & Paula had fallen back and asked Shanks to slow down so they could catch up. By this time, Rick & Darcy had left us behind and even when we tried calling, they couldn’t hear and crossed the channel to the other side. As we lay waiting for Rahul & Paula, the wind picked up and started carrying us towards the rocks. Given our limited skills, we couldn’t maneuver the kayak and ran aground. It was exciting to get out of the kayak, pick it up and carry it across the narrow channel. By this time Rahul & Paula went backwards through the channel, their kayak being carried by the wind and water current and they having lost momentary control. Louise came up, directed us across the channel and then went ahead to get every one to bunch up. As we entered the bay on the other side of the channel, we realized we were short on safety cover, since the safety zodiac could not enter. We had a situation. So Shanks & I and Rahul & Paula waited in our kayaks while Louise got back Rick & Darcy. A tough conversation followed with Louise bringing up the lack of group ethic in staying together and its impact on safety, Rick calling out his frustration in not being able to kayak at the speed and duration that he wanted and we saying that lets split the group. Interestingly, no one overtly called attention to the security lapse and no one admitted to it. We've had enough of kayaking for sometime to come.

Anyway, we all left our kayaks, got into the safety zodiac and went to the landing site (from where we had begun kayaking). The wind had really picked up by this time and because we were wet, we were feeling doubly cold. So there we were, wandering on Deception Islands, looking at the seals – there were Weddell seals and a Elephant Seal – with the temperature plummeting to sub zero. It was at this point that, Kirsten announced the next exciting event of Deception Islands - a Soft Polar plunge. Here’s what a Soft Polar Plunge is:

Requirements:
1. Temporary loss of sanity.
2. Suicidal tendency
Methodology
1. Strip down to your swimming trunks in the open against a cold blast of wind
2. Run towards the ice cold sea
3. Run into the sea and dunk full body
4. Run back to the shore
5. Grab a towel from the expedition staff
6. Check whether your fingers and toes are still there - cause you sure can’t feel them!
7. Rub yourself dry
8. Try to wear clothes in whatever manner you can with stumps for hands
9. Run towards the zodiac that carries you back to the ship
10. Shiver all the way back to the ship
11. Wash your boots, turn your tag and get to your cabin
12. Strip down for a hot shower
13. Sigh of relief!
Reward
1. Bragging rights
2. Certificate
3. Self satisfaction (yeah right!)

Once everyone was onboard, Kirsten, our expedition leader - and an exceptional one at that - decided to take a quick stop at a historic whaling station in Deception Islands. In a 60 year span human greed led to 95% of the world's whales being massacred for their oil. The Antarctic treaty bans whaling but different countries and rogue operators nick in a few here and there.

I - Drake Passage

Displacement:
Ushuaia 54°15’S, 68°19’W to
South Shetland Islands ~62°S, 59°W
Duration:
50hrs. 6pm, 19.12.06 TO 8pm, 21.12.06
Landings:
None

19.12.06. The Journey Begins
6pm, 19th December, we set off for Antarctica. Ushuaia turned very cold and windy just as we were about to board the ship – I wonder whether it was showing rage at us leaving or giving us a preview of what might lay wait for us down south. After locating our cabins, finding our baggage and discovering cute little welcome notes on our pillows, we went to the Upper Deck to watch Akademik Shokalskiy – our ship, pull away from Ushuaia harbor. Everyone was making agreeable noises in polite conversations. Partly because we were 4 of us and partly because we felt a bit self conscious, we tended to stick together.

Akademik Shokalskiy was commissioned in 1982 in Finland. Its a Russian ship with Russian crew and was used for research purposes by Japanese, European and American scientists before starting life as a passenger ship. It is ice strengthened and is as strong as an ice breaker – just that it doesn’t have the engine to actually break down swathes of pack ice. Its earlier Antarctic expeditions were from New Zealand but for the past 3 years, it has been going from Ushuaia. It is a cute, smallish ship and we are only 36 passengers on board.

Then, as the ship glided through the Beagle Channel, we gathered in the bar for an introductory briefing. The expedition staff looked measured and experienced. Kirsten, our expedition leader gave a small briefing on the trip. She talks in an even tone which is in equal measure re-assuring and forbidding. Captain Igor came in and in his broken English introduced himself and his crew, Chief Officer Nikolay and Chief Engineer Konstantin. While the Expedition staff is a mix of Americans, Scots and Australians; the crew is purely Russian. The staff manages the trip, the crew manages the ship. The Staff manage us, the crew manage the sea. The staff dictate displacement, the crew dictate duration. It is a neat division of responsibility based on recognition that while one can command machines, the other can do the same with men.

Then came the most exciting part of the day- the life boat drill. At the sound of 6 short bells and 1 long one, we had to don our warm gear, carry our life jacket and get as fast as possible to our designated life boat. The life boat was a complete new experience. I have never seen anything like that - I was expecting that we'll be in a raft or zodiac. Instead, imagine a rectangular steel tank. There were 2 rectangular holes along its length through which you get into the hollow of the tank. Inside, there's a protrusion that runs around the 4 sides, acting as seating area with seat belts. There's supposed to be food for about 3 days in the lifeboat, some water and a pipe with a hole to relieve yourself. Seemed equal parts comforting and intimidating. Comforting that there was something solid in case of emergency and intimidating that the expedition needed something so solid to fall back on!

20th December, 2006. Onboard.

Sea sickness was a big concern - it still is! Shalini was the most paranoid, starting up on Ginger and Ginger tablets from yesterday morning. Smita was more measured in her anxiety but cometh the hour, she too succumbed to her fears and popped half a pill plus a healthy dose of raw ginger. I was pressured to visit the ship doctor, gather my quota of prescribed pills and eventually pop one before going to sleep as others were taking their 2nd and 3rd. Ditto with Shanks. Thankfully, we have been fine till now though for short periods, we've had to lie down and pray that it doesn't set in.

Last night was interesting. Imagine your bed hinged at the middle along its length and going up and down by about 15 - 20 deg through the night. Also, the world around you is creaking at a constant, repetitive drone due to the rolliing ship. You keep yourself in place by either your feet hitting the wall or your head sliding up to the head rest. The curtain along your bunk bed slides up and down on the curtain rails revealing and hiding the porthole window in a rythmic beat. Given that natural light lasts from 4am to 11pm, that can mean sunlight streaming on your face in sync with the ship's roll. All this while you're trying to put the sea sickness demons in your mind to sleep and ignore the throbbing headache induced by the ill advised glass of wine! That was my first night on Akademik Sholaskiy!

Today, we barely made it to breakfast, skipped most of the morning lectures, stumbled onto the deck for some sun and were only fully in our senses by lunch time. It was a beautiful day - bright, warm and sunny. At 2, we had our 1st kayaking briefing. By the end of it, I was left with a feeling of nervous excitement. The bodysuit, the PFD - personal floatation device, the waterproof bag etc were cool stuff. We have never kayaked before and the cold antarctic waters would be the best place to start!

The water around the ship in the evening was all misty & the sky all cloudy to really see anything. Well, the mist is due to waters from the Atlantic and Pacific meeting alongwith the cold drift from the Antarctic. Its cool to be witnessing this churn at the bottom of the earth!

A word here about the lectures that are scheduled to break the monotony of being holed up in your cabin and to distract you from sea sickness. Our Expedition staff carries a lot of experience and knowledge between them. Kirsten, our leader has been doing Antarctic and Arctic expeditions for 6 years. She is all weather hardened, classic Australian cynic and as Trevor will tell us later, ‘dislikes everyone but penguins’. Trevor is a historian and adventurer in his own right. He recreated the journey of Earnest Shackleton’s Endurance to South Georgia by sailing in a similar boat and claims a mention in the Lonely Planet Antarctica. Yar Petryszyn is a Geologist with particular affection for meteorites. Andy is a Biologist who spent 2 years diving in Antarctica. Louise is a champion kayaker who will be our kayak master supported by Jamie. Dr. Jo is the ship’s Doctor.

Antarctica Trip: Overview

Towards Under Down Under – An overview

From Ushuaia to Antarctica and back needed 10 days.

1. It took us through Beagle Channel and over Drake Passage to touch down at South Shetland Islands – a set of islands northwest of Antarctica. Here we went to three islands – Yankee Harbor on Greenwich Islands, Half Moon Island and Deception Island.
2. From these sub Antarctic islands we went via Bransfield Strait and Gerlache Strait to hit Cuverville Island in Errera Channel.
3. From Cuverville, the ship took us to Almirante Brown in Paradise Bay. Almirante Brown is an Argentinian station on continental Antarctica and where we camped overnight.
4. From Paradise Bay we went to the southernmost point of our trip – Petermann Islands via the scenic Lemaire Channel. (65"10.6' South, 64"7' West).
5. From here we sailed back up via Lemaire and Peltier Channel to Port Lockroy, a British outpost and the southernmost shopping centre in the world!
6. After Port Lockroy, we went up the stunning Neumayer Channel and then eastwards towards Neko Harbor on the continent.
7. Our last landing was at Danco Islands in the Errera Channel (yes, we went by this water body on our way down)
8. We then sailed northwest, pass the Melchior Islands. These islands lie between Anvers Island and Brabant Islands.
9. Then it was 2 days across the Drake Passage and back into the Beagle Channel before we hit Ushuaia.
   

From this world to the other – all in 10 days!!

Under Down Under - Pictures from the 1st leg

Top 10 memories of Antarctica

Top 10 memories of Antarctica

My first iceberg

Setting foot on Antarctica @ Almirante Brown (Paradise Bay)

Night camping on Antarctica snow at Almirante Brown!

Zodiac cruising among icebergs around Cuverville Island with Yar Petryszyn

Soft Polar Plunge in Deception Islands

Hard Polar Plunge at Damoy Point (near Port Lockroy)

Bum slide on Neko Harbor

Kayaking in Deception Islands with Shanks

Shopping in Port Lockroy

Wandering among the icebergs. Sumeet & Smita Cabin No. 426

22Dec 64'40"S, 62'40"W. Today must count as one of the 'Best Days of our
Lives'. Seeing not 1, not 2 but countless icebergs up, close and
personal was something I had only dreamt of! They come in all shapes,
sizes and their shades of blue range from the mundane to the azure. We
saw a humpback whale too! The past few days, we spent at Yankee Harbor,
Half Moon Bay and Deception Islands - all fabulous sub-antarctic
islands. Look them up on the map. More Later! Frm Under Down Under.

The Power of One Big Idea: Fin Del Mundo

Everything in Ushuaia is defined by one Big Idea - Fin Del Mundo (End of World). The train is tren del fin del mundo, restaurants are ristorante del fin del mundo, the lake is lago del fin del mundo, there´s even a toilette del fin del mundo!! Anything and everything here appropriates this idea as a suffix to their name. Its refreshing to see one Idea integrating every conscious realm of a people.

How good it would be if everything in India could integrate under the Idea of Land of Himalayan Bounty´ or under the Idea of Land of 3 seasons´. Even if a city such as Mumbai could come together as the ´City of Equal Opportunity´ - it can do wonders for the collective spirit of the city.

In the simplicity of a Big Idea and a single minded execution that ties everything to that Idea lie some solutions to our problems of division.

Ushuaia - fin del mundo

Sunday, 17th Dec, Los Nires Hotel, Ushuaia. Post 2
Its crazy to be staring at sun rays at 9pm. Its even crazier to be woken up by sunrise at 3am. This place is disorienting us - used to as we are, to 7am sunrise and 7pm sunsets through the year in Singapore.

Ushuaia in summer seems to be on a revenge mission to get all the sunlight it missed out during the winters. Days are 19 hrs long with night just making a cameo appearance.

Dinner was zuppa asparagos or Asparagus soup, salad and wine. We - esp the 3 veggies have had enough bread and pasta for the past 5 days. We will drive to Lake Fugnano tomorrow in a Hertz car and that should be fun.

More Later
Frm Under Down Under
Ps: This couplet came up today in our chat-
ragon mein daurtay firney ke hum nahi kayal,
Jo aankh se hi na utra, woh lahu kya hai
(We're not enamoured by that which merely runs through the veins,
What's blood's worth if it doesn't show in your eyes) - a revolutionary's call to stand up and fight.
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

The southernmost city in the world!

Sunday, 17th Dec, Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia is everything that the southernmost city in the world should be and more. Although Aerolineas Argentinas made us wait 2 odd hours before we could board our flight from Buenos Aires, the turbulent ride indicated that getting to the Ushuaia will be special.

Our plane seemed to strain to touch the ground as if the convexity of earth at its southernmost point was making it hard for the protruding tyres to make contact. Finally, we landed with a thud and as we stepped out of the shed that passes off as airport terminal, we were greeted by a barren landscape that did full justice to being the last frontier of civilization on earth.

Los Nires is a delightful hotel. Its got a wonderful view of the Beagle Channel one one side and of brown mountains with a smattering of snow on the other. The rooms are cozy and spacious and the people are very helpful.

We spent yesterday walking the San Martin street in Ushuaia town. The town itself is a delight - stuck between snow capped mountains and a colorful port. The weather was cold, a bit windy with a slight drizzle.

Today, we went to Martial Glacier via a chairlift. The chairlift takes you to about a 1000 meters above sea level and then its a couple of kms to the glacier. It was fun to walk on the snow and we met Ashok, Rajendran and Rupel - people who would be with us on the Antarctic cruise. They were amazing fit for their age and actually walked down all the way while we took the chair lift back!

The Train at the end of the world - Tren del fin del mundo - is immensely avoidable. Like a lot of touristy stuff, it was a lot of fluff wiht no substance. Imagine being in a 60cm gauge train that moves at the speed of 10-15km per hour through territory that is nothing special save for a wide expanse of tree stumps and you would know what I´m talking about. And all this for 80 Pesos (abt 27USD) and 2 hours!! Never ever take the tren del fin del mundo even to save your life!

We have hired a car to drive around Ushuaia - there are a couple of good spots in a 100km radius around towm. Will let you know tomorrow how it goes
More later!
Frm Under Down Under

Under Down Under III

15th Dec. 11.10am. Howard Johnson hotel, Florida St. BA
Yesterday was our full fledged day of holidaying - we scanned Buenos Aires like nobody´s business!

Went to the cemetery at Recolleta - where Eva Peron lies among other dignitaries of Argentinian history. This was followed by an extended lazing session at Plaza San Martin. We then went to La Boca - Maradona´s home suburb. Saw the colorful houses that are a hallmark of this area, experienced the neighborhood where he played - Boca Juniors stadium was close by. Were accosted by Maradona himself - it was only on close inspection did we realise that he was a look alike!! We rounded off the day at Michelangelo with a Argentine Tango performance. Michelangelo is a real high end place and a good lesson on how to package your culture for the tourist dollar. Given the food, drinks and performances it was dollars worth spent :-)

Buenos Aires for most part is strinkingly similar to a lot of cities we are familiar with. In its weather its a bit like Sydney. In its traffic, its a bit like Manila. In its culture richness, its like Italian cities minus the attitude. In its people, its like Mumbai - very pleasant and forthcoming in help. In its food, it has a bit of all of the above. If I blindfold you, bring you here and open your eyes here, you´ll have trouble figuring out where you are.

Today we are planning to go to Tigre. Dont know much about the place save for the fact that there is a lot of greenery, around a body of water (or the other way around)

More Later
Frm Under Down Under

Under Down Under II

Thursday, 6am, Buenos Aires.
Today, I woke up to dull pink curtains, pale yellow wall paper and a low brooding ceiling. This is Howard Johnson Hotel in Buenos Aires, #04-01.

Buenos Aires airport reminds one of Mumbai. The only difference are the pretty immigration officers and the wide highway leading out of it. Otherwise, the crowds, chaos and confusion re-assured me that India is not alone in tourism anarchy.

The stop over yesterday (wednesday, 13th) in Cape Town was interesting. First, we almost choked on our Lattes (Shanks on his breezer) at the announcement to evacuate the terminal building due to security concerns. This gave rise to some confusion when the couple on the next table kept ordering more beer nonchalantly. It was only when they told us that the announcement was for Terminal 1 ( we were in 2) that we resumed our pursuit of a hindi movie dvd. Our infallible logic was that Gandhi's popularity would have had a halo on bollywood's in South Africa - can't argue with that!

Second, Cape Town became the 5th airport where yours truly's name has been announced to goad me towards the plane. This time though, there was comfort in numbers :-).

We've slept for 13 hours and at 6.30 are ready for a shower, breakfast and exploring Buenos Aires. I'm also hoping to catch a live soccer game here.
More later!
Frm Under Down Under
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Under Down Under 1

So I left office early today for last minute packing up and generally to get into the mood for my vacation. This is something I have planned for a long time and finally I'm leaving for Antarctica tonight!

 

There's Shanks, Shalini, Smita and me - 4 of us going on this trip which'll take us to KL - J'burg - Capetown - Buenos Aires - Ushuaia - Antarctica & back with a detour to Iguazu Falls thrown in. For Smita and me, this was one of the 10 things we wanted to do before we had kids (the other few being going to Everest Base Camp, climbing Mt. Kinnabalu, Conducting a Summer Camp for kids, taking a sabbatical from work etc.)

 

There are 3 things I'm looking forward to as the time to board the flight comes closer -

1. Vast, uninterrupted, undulating, imposing Snow all around. I love the purity and stark beauty of Snow and hope there is no place better than Antarctica to see this in all its glory

2. Life on an expedition ship. These are Ice breakers or Ice strengthened ships brought down from the erstwhile Soviet Union for carrying curious passengers like us to Antarctica. If you've read Ernest Shackelton, you'd know that getting to this southern most continent takes a lot of cutting through ice packs and it was always fraught with dangers. But with these ships, its now easier and more manageable. I hope we don't get caught in stubborn ice packs and are able to get to and get back from Antarctica!

3. Setting foot on Antarctica. This has to be special. To be actually standing on the last frontier of landmass on Earth, take a whiff of pure air and look up at the gaping Ozone hole should be one amazing experience.

 

 

There are also 2 things that are running at the back of my mind:

1. Sea sickness. Don't know whether I'm prone to it or not. Don't know whether any of us will get it or not. But I just hope that the Ocean and us are long lost friends - we take to each other with nothing but joy. Shalini is going to get some patches to ensure we stay normal but hope we dont need them much beyond the torrid Drake Passage.

2. The Cold. Ya, we are carrying layers and layers of clothing. Am sure the parka provided by Quark expedition would be great, but I want to be able to move about my arms freely, be able to maneuver my Canon 400D without the hassle of two layers of gloves.

 

The icing on the cake promises to be the detour to Iguazu Falls and the stop over at Cape Town on our way back.

 

I'll be writing regularly to keep my travelogue updated. Do post any questions about the place and I'll try my best to answer via words and pics.

Cheers to Under Down Under!