DAY 1 on the ICE......BORGEN BAY & DAMOY POINT
Day was to start at 8.00 am for us. Since the weather was fair and seas calm, the restaurant on deck 6 was now open for business, with the executive chef , Julien Grimaldi overseeing its affairs. During the the days we had trips on the ice, breakfast was from 6.30 to 8.9 am to help the first group. We hurried through breakfast , admiring the views from the top deck, amidst nervous chatter.
Back in the cabin we put on layers of clothing to prepare for the cold outside. It was reminiscent of the warrior getting ready for battle in the mahabharata TV serial. First the merino wool inners, then the fleece layer, followed by the waterproof fleece lined pants. The for the top, same procedure, of merino wool, fleece and a sweater followed by the parka. The parka itself was heavy duty stuff, water resistant with industrial grade zippers. then a thin helmet liner to cover your head and neck , followed by a woolen cap. We had the parka hood for extra protection, in case of need. And the gloves , of course. My son had lent me his, all 4 pairs of them. And then we had to carry the boots to the lounge and put it on there ,so as to not contaminate them as far as possible. Nothing from the ship was allowed to stick on to the shoes or clothes, such that even by accident, no foreign material would be carried on to the pristine land which awaited us.. We then realised the parka had to come last as putting on those shoes would be difficult otherwise. On top of all that came the life jacket, which was checked by a crew member before we left the ship. We now knew why the astronauts walk the way they do. But cant say we were not warm enough. I felt a bit foolish with all these layers, when we were told that the temperature was 2 deg celsius ! This was warmer than my daughters place in New Jersey and I never dressed like that over there !! In all this, our travel guide and organiser had missed out mentioning a walking stick. That actually is critical for balancing when one walks on the ice. We improvised and took along the umbrellas in the room . The crew didnt bat an eyelid. Apparently we were not the first to have this brainwave. The two smarter ones in our group managed to borrow walking sticks from the other passengers!
We then walked down from level 3 from the rear of the ship down to the embarking bay. , about 2 feet above the sea waters lapping the ship. There was one zodiac lined up against the ship with others awaiting their turn. Each zodiac would carry between 8 to 10 passengers and the pilot cum naturalist. So, , we were herded in groups, into the gently bobbing zodiacs with the precise instructions of the previous day being repeated to us. We were not allowed to stand but to slide along the rim to our seating positions . We were strictly forbidden to stand in he zodiacs without permission of the pilot, for any reason. I didnt really think anyone would be doing that, but we did have a few younger passengers intent on selfies who would twist and turn to get the best angles.
Now, the Antarctica holds about 27 million cubic km of ice which , if it were to melt completely would make the global sea level rise by58 meters or roughly 180 feet.. The ice here represents 60% of the worlds fresh water resources and about 90% of surface fresh water resources. at its thickest point the ice is about 4.9 kms deep. Without the ice, the land mass is a little larger than Australia and with all its land mass and ice and islands its about 1.5 times the size of the United states and about twice as big as Australia. That should give you an idea about the enormous size of Antarctica. And we were just going to step on its outermost periphery. We were at 64.5 degrees latitude . 66 degrees was the Antarctic circle which we would not reach. Very few ships actually take you to any point close to the that circle. I read of only about 2 cruises which touched the Antarctic circle and they were cruises over 15 days.
The first day first trip was supposed to be exploratory to get us used to the zodiac travel and we were not getting off the zodiacs, We had a 75 minute cruise around the bay , and feeling the atmosphere and taking in the ice and the icebergs around us. it was a breathtaking experience , being out there for the first time. For me at least, each time I stepped out on the ice it was an astounding fresh experience to breathe in the pure cold air and wonder at nature and its creation around us. We sighted our first seal, and then gently bobbed around water with ice floes and little pieces of ice called brash ice. Thats when I realised why the ice cubes in my drinks look different from the opaqueness of the Antarctica wilderness. The ice cubes at home are transparent as there are no air bubbles trapped inside. The ice in the Antarctic, on the other hand is all water and air bubbles frozen in time and space. One could hear distant claps of thunder, which was really ice breaking off from the glaciers and being reborn as icebergs. That was quite sobering. And then when the zodiac went silent , one could hear the crackle of the ice and the trapped air bubbles being released. The sound , the surroundings and the feeling cannot be duplicated or captured in any form. Though I will be posting lots of photos of the Antarctic , I cant even begin to do justice to the magnificence of the continent.
Lunch was open from 12 noon to 1,30 pm on decks 2 and 6. I preferred deck 6 because of the commanding views and since the ship would either be stationary or sailing at a gentle 3/4 knots it was a good feeling. A quick rest and we would out again at 3.30 pm onwards for the afternoon expeditions. When the final batch would return to ship, we would be given a debriefing session followed by a brief on the next days schedule and then break up till dinner. In between there would be talks by the Smithsonian experts or the naturalists. One of the naturlists was Dyan deNapoli simply known as 'The Penguin Lady. She was involved in the rescue of over 40,000 penguins of South Africa when a giant oil spill covered the sea and the penguins. She is also author of a award winning book on the subject and a known penguin conservationist. Very interesting talks and a nice person too. Point was it was hard to find spare tine on board , with people like Dyan and Ben giving us such interesting and absorbing talks. And one could not simply ignore the evening cocktail hour. Usually we would end up taking our drinks to the theatre and listen to these guys sipping a drink. Best of both worlds. Followed by wine with dinner ! While people like us and some older people would hit the bed by 10 pm, the younger lot would have music and dance sessions in the lounge,. The ship had an entertainment team to do these shows, demonstrate tango etc and a pianist rending out numbers at other times. There was also a front deck bar on the 6th floor with a library for a quiet time with drinks. I found that older Europeans and Americans would usually make their way there. There was some place for everyone. Plus all rooms had television. This was the daily routine for the next five days.
So today's afternoon expedition was to Damoy point. This place had a research station, used for logistical purposes. Normally we would have checked out the cabin, but a penguin family was using its base as a nest and we could not get close. Damoy was interesting we would see the first of our Antarctic penguins. Till the talk the previous day, I had no idea that there more than one type of penguins in the world. Three are most commonly found on the Antarctic with different physical appearances and even the sounds they make.... Gentoo, Chinstrap and and Adele . Did you know that penguins are classified as birds, who dont fly. I didnt. Apparently they are birds because they have feathers, lay hard shell eggs and are warm blooded. The chicks moult after they hatch. They have fur when they are born but moult in the next few weeks. Once they moult they get a bit independent and fend for themselves in about 3 months or so. Till hen their good parents feed them and look after them and keep away predators. The penguins mate in the Antarctic winter, lay their eggs by November, hatch them in December to January period. Fun fact... Penguins are said to be monogamous and mate for life, though cheating by females is not unknown .
A short zodiac ride later we were at Damoy and the expedition team had marked out paths and areas with red flags. The team members were available for any queries and doubts and were very helpful.. We had been warned that the penguin colonies smell, but we had no idea how much. We could smell them a mile away and the the nauseating smell was all pervading, They pooped red because of the krill they eat and they pooped all over the place. The poop stayed on the ice and well, we could smell it all ! We walked on ankle deep ice and it was hard work. The air was crisp but the smell really got us!
And that boys and girls was our first day experience. Take another 2 days to load the next instalment as we are heading to the US from Rio. More on the Rio experience later.
Before I end this, I need to seek your indulgence on the numerous spelling and other errors , for which my wife and my family have been giving me a hard time. My excuse is that, in my hurry to upload , my proof reading has taken a back seat. As long as the reader understands, I am happy. But please do point out anything that sticks out , or just ignore and plod on. Thanks
Beautiful stuff! Makes me want to visit.
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