At Sea

Ok now I¹m really getting into this ship everything runs so smoothly, with 68 crew and 11 expedition staff, and this time, it¹s not Russian. We were shifting fleeces and jackets around and one of the crew assisting said ³Ya mon I would die of heat if I wore these at home!² given this ship¹s port of call is in the Bahamas it¹s home to a mix of people all over the world, mainly Philippines, Bahamas, Poland and all over South America. I sat down for a meal and started shifting around my cutlery, and a waiter kindly re-ordered them and placed the napkin on my lap. After finishing my King Prawn the waiter scooped the bread crumbs off my table, and I was immediately offered a second meal, the serving staff can read my mind. Oooh my gosh ..food! Then at breakfast, they made me a cheese and mushroom omelette just as I ordered. Tomorrow I will experiment and see if they can make me an egg white omelette, I haven¹t worked up the courage yet to ask for low fat cheese.

Here I am going to a place famous for starving and killing countless explorers, the lost continent shrouded in mystery, rife with tales of disaster and despair, and I¹m worried about eating too much fat, and will probably gain weight (not a bad thing for me). I¹ll be chomping down on cheeseburgers from Alberta while laying eyes on places so desolate that nearly 100 years ago was occupied by men surviving on stringy penguins while sheltering in downturned lifeboats for months during the Antarctic winter. Shackleton is rolling in his grave.

Today we will have to prepare for our inspections as South Georgia is an incredibly sensitive place. This is an island that has evolved without the presence of any rodents so the wildlife here has no defense for an utter onslaught by such a prolific animal. Other threats include introduced seeds and roots carried in the pockets, velcro, treads, and bags of travelers. Every person will be vacuuming and disinfecting their gear between every locale to ensure we don¹t destroy what¹s left.

It¹s day two at sea en-route to South Georgia for my 6th time and excitement is mounting. Ooooh to be back again! I wonder what the seasonal variation will bring, something is always different. Sadly the delay at Stanley means another half day at sea tomorrow, but hopefully the evening will present a fantastic evening in the most ebullient place in the Southern Ocean.

Falkland Islands

There is so much to know about the place, the 1982 war, it¹s exploratory history and wildlife but the things most people know about it isn¹t always what comes across in a short visit. I could go on about the brief Argentinean occupation, and how it¹s shaped these islands and it¹s people, but it all seems to fade into the background noise of the actual personality of the place. It¹s not a war torn island, it¹s a place where penguins, people and sheep live in the present, not the past. Sure, I¹ve seen the war museum and monuments, and walked down Thatcher drive, but that¹s what I did my first few times down there. Now my Port Stanley visits are filled with, walks down the streets asking locals for directions to see the secretly famous gnome garden and contemplating on how they reproduce and whether the females have beards too since every gnome has a beard. Or a relaxing lunch at the lovely local Brasserie and see the new art work displayed, only to hop over to the grossest and most truly British, stinky dingy ³Victory Bar² with the staff to get drunk on a single pint of Strongbow (since I¹m a two pot screamer). I¹ve been told it¹s like a pub in the North of England. Lastly a frantic look around the grocery store for my favorite British craving, as it¹s the last store we¹ll see for ages.

It was a good visit, we arrived back at the port greeted by a flustered and distracted port officer taking in our cards at the gangway and were given the all aboard ok. We sailed out of the ³Narrows² and on towards our next destination South Georgia. An hour after departing, we realized we were short one passenger. Now I ran through in my head what other expedition leaders could do about this situation, how do you tell people we have to return for someone left behind? Some would keep it under wraps, and find another excuse for returning, or wait to the last minute to explain the situation after rumors and speculation run amok the ship for hours, twisting into one grand ridiculous rumor, rife with passengers concern about fuel surcharges and itinerary delays. But Laurie handled it with absolute class.

Before anyone could begin to notice, he went right to the microphone ³Hello everyone, we have left behind a passenger in Stanley, we will turn around to pick the person up at the port-² promptly followed by the spilling of martinis and grasping of the hand rails as the ship made a sharp u-turn. No beating around the bush, no room for speculation, he just got it out there, let them gawk about it and get over it. It¹s been a day since then en-route to South Georgia and the entire thing has been forgotten, with just a slight scheduling hangover of 3 hours. It was interesting to be on a ship when an event occurs you know will reverberate among the polar cruise community. Always hearing about the ill fated cruises, and slight bumps along the road, I wonder how this one will translate? It will definitely shape a new manifest protocol on future Quark expeditions.

Argentina at last

Heading down south a third Antarctic sumer in a row, I feel like I’m watching the introduction to the grandest most epic most anticipated film of all time. Except it is my life, and it’s all starting to feel so normal. The pain in my hip flexors remind me I’ve been flying for a day and a half, but the blast of fresh moist salty air tells me I’m in the oceanside Argentinian version of Banff. Ushuaia, in the land of fire: Tierra Del Fuego and the doorstep to Antarctica.

It’s such a welcoming site, seeming touristy at first, but for me it’s like a little holiday land. Every time I’m back from the Antarctic we all head to our favorite bistros bars and restaurants, laptop in hand to hear what has happened over the past few weeks and to catch up on news, the soft glow of the computer personify a warm hug from far away friends and family.

The cafe experience is delightful, genuine empanadas sit ready to be eaten, sipping a sunken chocolate “submarino” in hot milk makes for a deliciously fun hot chocolate. And always receiving sparkling water with any order lest consider it an insult, makes me feel like every glass of sparkling water feel like a kind gesture from a friendly stranger.

The beautiful National Parks here are wonderful to walk through, hopefully you might get to see one of the two mainstays of the area, the Red Crested Pecker and the Canadian Beaver. Yeah, 50 years ago someone decided that Tierra Del Fuego’s fur industry deserved a boost from the Canadian beaver. I suppose they imagined the runways of Buenos Aries adorned with coarse brown fur and leathery tails as high fashion embraced our furry little friends.  Fast forward 50 years and 50 beavers has proliferated into 100,000 pairs, wreaking havoc on an ecosystem un-evolved and unprepared for such an onslaught.  However the endearing personality of the beaver has won the hearts of tourists and Argentinians alike, oddly resulting in a pair of unusual mascots, both the pecker and the beaver rule the “end of the earth”. Seriously, awesome.

Yah, I’m glad to be back, I almost forgot too, I’m getting paid to do this. Heheehehehe.

Also, I just found out I’m going to South Georgia for a 6th time! Greatest place in the south BAR NONE! So happy right now!