Departing from Ushuaia, in Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, the end of the earth, I get on the Polar Star. It is a smallish ship, bound for Antarctica, via the Drake Passage and Beagle Channel.
Our days were kept full by a lecture program. The boat I am on is full of experts in several fields which made things really interesting and a great way to learn as I visit this beautiful continent.
The ship is an expedition ship. We are one of the very few boats that will cross the Polar Circle. Most boats play around the peninsula, but we will go farther than almost anyone does that isn’t a scientist. I love being on the ocean despite my seasickness. I spend endless hours, hypnotized, staring at the waves.
Everyone on the boat is very amicable. They are super well traveled. I am the youngest on the ship, but not by much, there is a shocking number of us last minute backpackers that jumped on for a discounted price. Still, most of the people are triple my age. They have been everywhere. At first I was in awe at how much they have all traveled, but by the end of my trip I realized that yes, I am extremely humbled by the places they have been, but they have done almost all of them on tours, which is a different experience. Still, it is a lot of fun. I quickly settled in to a nice little crew of us, mostly Dutch. I don’t know if it is because the group I was hanging out with happens to be very tall, the next person being about 5’ 11’’, but there were an extraordinary number of short jokes aimed at me. Even the staff joined in. I don’t mind, and I am used to it, but it was an unprecedented number.
Most of the people on the boat are smart. And they are opinionated. And we spend so much time together that people seem to argue for argument’s sake. Also our conversations are strange. Mundane. People take many more chances on jokes here than they do at home and as a result there are a lot more misses than hits but it is all rather entertaining. I find myself flitting from group to group, but returning to my core group, and seeking out alone time.
Still, one American, Patrick, touched me when he said, “I am really happy that you are traveling so much. You are always so happy, bubbly and genuinely friendly and nice to everyone that I like knowing you are out there in the world representing our country like that.” Aw.
Getting to land took 2 ½ days, but once we arrived we were able to do zodiac landings at least twice a day every day. We crossed the Polar Circle and went so far south that we may have done a first landing, though it is hard to tell. It was a first for all the crew at least.
It is surreal to wander around colonies of penguins, so close I have to watch to not step on them. We had Humpback Whales approach our boats as well as Minkeys. It was when a Humpback got so close to our zodiac that I almost cried it was so stunning. It was awe-inspiring to watch its fluke disappear into the water. It really felt like a gift.
We saw loads of Weddell Seals, Fur Seals, Elephant Seals, Leopard Seals, Gentoo and Adelie Penguins, Albatross and more. Penguins feed their young by regurgitating in their mouths. I saw that at close range a lot and it still didn’t put me off my dinner.
Also incredible were the ice formations. There is something so humbling about watching calving glaciers, hearing the thunder echo through, reverberating through still, silent bays. The floating ice is incredible too. It is never monotonous. There is sea ice, ice bergs, brash ice, glaciers all varying in colors and textures. Often the ice spreads out under the berg in this surreal blue that looks like the painted bottom of a swimming pool. Wind relentlessly carves the ice into shapes that the finest artists couldn’t create.
When we land, we usually are able to go off by ourselves so I find myself at the water’s edge, watching penguins work up the courage to jump in or rocketing through the water, just reflecting on how incredible it is to be here. I am so lucky.
The peninsula is full of mountains. They are massive, absolutely massive. Some are white peaks but there is so much stunning rock face. The bays and inlets sometimes have water that is so smooth it looks like a photograph while at other times it is full of white caps.
We visited an English and a Ukrainian science station. Both seemed to come out of the 50’s. On our last day before we headed back we went to Deception Island, one of the South Shetland Islands. It is a black sand beach, a ghost town from the whaling days, full of seals now. There is something completely surreal about being on a black sand beach, surrounded by waves with the snow falling down on you.
It was one of those trips that I never wanted to end. That I worry nothing will be so immense, wild and raw as what I just saw, that my craving to be in nature will never be satiated after this. I don’t know how to fit back into the world after being somewhere so isolated, powerful and extreme. But it was one of the best experiences of my life.
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