Antarctica Part 2: Land Ho!

Antarctica Part 2: Land Ho!-

On the afternoon of our second day at sea we hear the announcement over the intercom that we were going into the Drake Passage: “Tie down all loose articles that may shift in your cabin. Wrap and secure any glass items and valuables that can be broken, we are going into rough seas now.” All railings for the stairs and walkways were lined with vomit bags. Rocking back and forth many people made good use of these handy white baggies and most people were confined to the beds in their cabins. I have only been on a few multi day boat trips and nothing in waters like these. (In case you missed Part 1, the Drake Passage is known as the world’s roughest seas). I intentionally refused the option of taking medication that would have minimized the effects of motion sickness just as a personal test to see if I can handle it. I’m happy to say that I was one of only a few that did not get sick through the Drake. I believed this to be, like many things, all in you’re head. It turns out I was absolutely right, but only sort of. [fun fact: motion sickness is triggered by the fluid in your ear canal which relays stimulus to your brain. Some peoples brains function in a manner that counter balances this disruption, some peoples brains do not. It has nothing to do with being able to “stomach” it, nor how macho you are, it is hence; All in your head]. The in-room tv screen flashes a motivational quote in efforts to lift the morale of the bed ridden; “All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean. And therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea- whether it is to sail or to watch it- we are going back from whence we came”- JFK… That night while braving the Drake Passage I made my way to the ships library which also includes a selection of DVD’s. What better movie to watch at this very moment than The Perfect Storm! It’s basically identical to watching the movie Alive while flying over the Andes. Swaying back and forth in your cabin while watching a fishing vessel capsize on TV, killing all on board, is a bizarre sensation to say the least.

On the 4th day we are spit out of the Drake and begin approaching the outer islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. To this point we have kept a very busy schedule. Breakfast around 8:30, a morning lecture, lunch, 2 afternoon lectures, afternoon tea, an evening lecture, dinner, a late night lecture, daily recap, next day’s outlook, a movie. Lectures spanned the range of anything and everything relating to our voyage (Antarctic mammals, Antarctic birds, Antarctic expeditions, political history, polar exploration, geology, birds again, history again, photography tips etc etc) this gave it the feel that we were on an educational and informative “expedition” which I loved.

In an attempt to maintain the moderately leaned up physique I gained hiking in Patagonia, I even managed to squeeze in a work out in the ships gym my first 3 days, Doing push-ups on a rocking ship gives you the added bonus of altering positions in a continuous set- (Flat, flat, decline, decline, decline, flat, flat, incline, incline, incline, flat, flat…) The remainder of the time not swaying in a lecture room or swaying in the gym was filled with food. Good food. A lot of food. This is in contrast to the educational “expedition” feel and reminded me that we were, in fact, on a “cruise”. Rack of lamb, seafood chowder, bacon wrapped pork lion, tilapia, reindeer, (yes reindeer), grouper fillet, sirloin steak, duck breast with orange sauce, multiple deserts, a bottomless wine glass with dinner and everything with white glove service; “Hello! Good morning Bob! The usual omelette with everything for you again this morning, or something new today?… Would you like the same table?… Coffee with sugar and milk again, yes?” At the end of the third day, feeling fat and sorry for myself, I start tapering off on my portions when a member of the expedition staff relays what’s now one of my new favorite quotes and perfect for the occasion; “Take everything in moderation… including moderation.” Ok fine, so now’s not the time to skimp and count calories I guess. Plus I’m headed straight back to Patagonia after the cruise where I’ll be burning calories on hiking trails again… “Um excuse me Evans, I’ll have the raspberry cheesecake please.”… “Coming right up Mr. Shindelar!”

Our first stop on land was Half Moon Island and although not technically on mainland Antarctica it felt like we had arrived. Fur seals in abundance, that would chase after you if you got too close, as well as 2 species of penguins (Chinstrap and Gentoo). Thankfully a few inches of snow fell overnight giving the island a nice dusting and covering all the wildlife excrement. The snow also provided the inspiration and medium for the highlights of this stop; initiated by the expedition staff, about 30 of us break into a massive snowball fight, followed by Antarctic snow angels, the building of our 1st of a series of snowmen and body sliding down the hill of the mountaintop we just summited. Everyone among us, in every age category, felt like little kids again and from a distance it would appear it was the very first time any of us had seen snow.

From there to Deception Island where one of the expedition leaders took us on a hike around the island, which is actually a volcano caldera. The panoramic views were silencing and brought on a sense of humility. Postcard picture perfect I remember thinking how it would be impossible to beat that exact moment of the trip. Only half way through the afternoon of day 4 and it gained distinction of one of my all time single days of traveling. It got better.

After dinner, (veal osso bucco this time) another bottomless glass of red wine (Chianti this time) some of the Wolf Pack head up to the top deck where sits a gurgling hot tub. (Again if you didn’t read part 1 our tight knit “Wolf Pack” is Mike from UK, Kazu from Japan, Lindsay from the US, Judith from Germany, Tom from UK, Kiki from Germany and myself-to name a few). Within 5 minutes of having the hot tub all to ourselves Lindsay suggests we all have too much clothes on, reaches her arms under the water and returns with her bathing suit bottoms in hand, Mike and I follow suit right away followed by Judith shortly after. We then look over to Kazu, the soft spoken and shy Japanese with a very minimal understanding of the English language. Somehow in the commotion, not only has he already removed his board shorts, but has them securely fastened around his head. The rest of us immediately break into jubilant cheers. We stayed this way, underwear on heads, for over 2 hours and dusted 1 of my whisky bottles in the process. The whole time it was intensely blowing gale force winds and pelting us with sideways snow. Every so often one of us would enthusiastically repeat the mantra echoed from people in every corner of the world when trying give a descriptive sense of a place that’s absolutely freezing; “Holy shit, it feels like we’re in freekin’ Antarctica!!”

Bob