Genuine Experience

Would a trip to Antarctica be complete without experiencing extreme weather? We may have differing opinions, but I certainly was questioning my sanity as I sat perched upon that bit of exposed bedrock.

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, our expedition leader had turned our course north again. The weather in the Weddell Sea, which had been so inviting yesterday, had turned nasty. As we rubbed the sleep from our eyes, we were informed that our future destination would be on the western side of the Peninsula. Along the way we would make a mid-morning stop at Brown Bluff. Under the guise of seeing the Adele and Gentoo penguin colonies, we dutifully made our way to the Zodiacs.

Gentoo penguin

And so here I sat, next to you, upon a rock roughly 30 yards from the water's edge. We were surrounded by deep snow, and all that was visible were your eyes. In my neck of the woods this would be called a blizzard. Our view was a morphing of gray. The snow was falling hard, with catabolic gusts of wind that made us huddle together. Our cameras stayed safely stowed as we peered through squinted eyes at the penguins that waddled in our immediate vicinity. Some considered swimming as they gazed at the sea, others ate snow, whilst many took a ride on their bellies, maintaining balance with their stiffly held wings.

"Why exactly are we out here," you screamed above the howling wind, even though I was only inches away. "Because we are having an EXPERIENCE," I chuckled in reply. First you rolled your eyes, and then I knew you were smiling, as the creases around your eyes crinkled. After about another ten minutes of quiet meditation, and noting the occasional penguin which wandered close to see what type of creature had arrived upon their beach, we both slapped our thickly padded thighs and said "ENOUGH". And in due course, back on board, with warm drinks in hand, we both agreed that Mother Nature is magnificent.

Yesterday was a completely different story, for with nice weather we had made our first contact with the continent of Antarctica. For quite a few on board this ship, there was a cheer, as they had finalized their dream to step upon all 7 continents of this, our home, Earth.