Day first: Arriving to Ushuaia, the southeast city called The End of the World. I come here thinking to stay for a few days only to see the beautiful landscape of Patagonia.
I'm not prepared for what is going to happen soon after. Ushuaia also is a place for Antartica cruise departures. Even so expensive, the tours are booked six months or more in advance. While driving in a taxi to a hotel I see a last minute deal for the following day, almost half of the regular price. That would mean: no Patagonia, no Iguazzu waterfalls, no money on my savings account. Well, this is my policy: all of this can go to hell when I'm about to explore new continent. It's Sunday, a holy day for all the Christians but not for explorers. I find out that two agencies offer the tours and both of them are closed. Luckily there are contacts of the agent " in case of an emergency". There's no good internet connection so I ask a waitress to make a phone call for me. She helps me contacting people in charge and I arrange a meeting with one of them. I book the tour and the last deal's been just closed. I just hope my bank won't cease my account. The owner of the "hotel" I had booked is pissed off because I need to cancel the reservation. He can go to hell, too. I'm going to Antarctica and I I'm so excited that I can't sleep.
Day second: Boarding on the ship has started. It's not the biggest I've ever seen but the biggest I've ever been on, very well equipped with a lot of crew and the explorer teams. I meet some Serbian people working here. One of them, Mirko I had already met in Ushuaia walking down the street. Other two Nikola and Tina welcome me on bord. Nikola offers to get for me whatever I need. He's very polite and helpful. In general, the whole crew is extremely polite. I wonder how it looks like working on the ship and not getting off for a while.... The cabins are comfortable with a small shower inside, better than some hotels. All the passenger are introduced with the safety policy and the ship is leaving the port. We're all provided with waterproof jackets-parkas and the boots. Wearing the jacket and boots feels like I'm onto something significant for humankind. A warning about taking the pill for see sick is on and everybody's suggested to take one because the two day trip in the open see is ahead of us and the wether forecast predicts some "tsunami size" waves.
Day third: Crossing Drake's passage means nothing but the open see for hundreds of miles. It's named for Sir Francis Drake who's ship was blown between Atlantic and Pacific oceans in 16th century. The weather condition is little bit better than predicted but it still gives a hard time to a captain to operate while the ship is swinging. Waiters occasionally need to wipe the food from the floor spelt by the guests. Everybody looks like having an after party after some music festival. The pill does the job making us sleepy and noxious. The Captain slows down the ship to 13,5 knots in order to avoid predicted storm. The waitstaff is doing their job more than well balancing around with the plates and making no mess at all. I'm not sure if I could manage it. Despite the rough see, presentation about wild life, photography, geology of Antarctica are held every hour. I'm so impatient until I see it in person.
Day fourth: The ice bergs and glaciers around means welcome to Antarctica. I feel butterflies in the stomach just like falling in love for the first time. Everybody comes to the dock to take the picture and go back to their rooms, but I stay staring at these ice cubes almost a half size of they used to be. The fact all of this ice might not be here one day, scares me.
At the distance there's a splash of the water and a sound of whales passing by swimming so deep that only a part of their bodies or the tail can be seen. They like colder water because it's rich with minerals and more productive.
This is Humpback whale which can be found here every summer, maybe to get the treatment for "pimples" covering half of it's head.
It's the afternoon and the time for our first disembark in Cierva Cove. We are divided into the groups named for penguins and we take a tour on the boats called Zodiacs. My group is Chinstrap.
It's a beautiful sunny day and I take a breath of fresh Antarctica air. The water is dark blue and landscape around perfectly white like the commercial for the londery dertegent. Seal are taking a brake on the icebergs. This is Crabeater seal and survives eating krill from the see like the most other animals living in Antarctica.
Crabeater seal
As we're cruising around there's one more seal but this one is found in a smaller number than any other kind . It is a Leopard seal, a real predator, very aggressive even if doesn't seem to be. They don't eat just krill but penguins and other seals (crabeater) as well. Leopard of the Antarctica is a lonely rider, just like leopard from the jungle. Sometimes it can jump into the boat.
Even being a real predator, on the iceberg it seems just posing for the cameras.
Leopard seal
Here's Argentinian Research Station made of a few shacks. The territory it occupies is not available for touristic purposes. All the research stations in Antarctica are trying to posses the piece of land. The guide tells us that in one of the stations the child is born as a first citizen of Antarctica. The British research station has a post office.
Beside this stations, icebergs are the only architecture here. We are not allowed to come close because they're so unpredictable. They can shoot up the piece under the water very fast. The nature is fascinating and scary at the same time. That's probably making Antarctica so special. 
Day fifth: I feel the coldness of Anyarctica at Pleneau Bay, an iceberg ally or graveyard for icebergs. Unlikely the ones we saw a day before, this icebergs are grounded on the rocks underneath the water. For some of them it's possible to se the bottom part. The ice layers make them differently shaped. A holes inside get a blue colorfrom the reflection of the light. Zodiac is crashing the ice like those big ships specialized in ice crashing.
Again, seals find this bay as a perfect place to take some rest. This time is a Weddel seal with a lot of spots all over the body, not so aggressive to people and more often a pray of killer whales and leopard seal. In order to make the love nest, male scrathces the iceberg with the teeth making a hole inside.
While one group is watching the icebergs the other one is on shore watching penguins. In the afternoon will be the other way around. Since I'm in the boat I can't wait for the afternoon to come. That's the reason for coming here, to see this cute birds that don't fly.
Port Carcot is a penguin territory. For the first time, I set the foot and walk on the Antarctica.
Here are two kinds of penguins: Gentoo and Chinstrap which are closely related, almost always together. For Chinstraps is typical to build the nest so high, almost impossible to reach. Sometimes they want to jump into the boat to protect themselves from seal. Gentoos build their nest much lower therefore they are a pray for some birds. What cannot be seen in tv about penguins is the specific smell of feather, droppings and dead chicks. I hear them calling each other. When walking they look like a grumpy old people. They can walk a lot. Some of them are heading to the top of the mountain. On their way down the mountain they just slide down on their bellies, just like in cartoon. I wish I had such a body isolation. The chicks are waiting to be fed. They are so piggish that they want to cheat other parents to feed them. Chicks are bigger than parents, partly because of the fluffy feather partly because they it eat a lot. Until they change the feather they are not suppose to go in the water. They have they own path where the tourist are not allowed to walk. It's a regulation to keep the distance about two meters.
To call it a night we take a cruise around Lamaire Canal. It's snowing like there's not enough snow already. All the mountains look higher and bigger than in the morning. If I just poked into the layers of snow will it all crash or stay firm as it is. Of course, I'm crazy but not enough to try it.
Day sixth: There are several penguin colonies on Couverville Island. A lot of chicks are waiting for the parents to come and feed them. Some of them will never make it because of birds hunting them or parents leaving them. It's hard to believe this cute creatures struggle to survive but that's the way nature works.
South Polar Skua is the worst enemy on the land not only for penguins but for other birds like shags or petrels. This bird is not too big but is equally dangerous in the air, on the sea or on the land.
Sothern Giant Petrel
The afternoon cruise takes me back to the shore with a slight difference than one in the morning. This time chick penguin gets curious and approaches me. I give my glove to bite a little bit. It tries it for few times realizing that the glove is not appropriate food and it keeps going. At least I have a moment of intimacy with one of them worth all the money I've payed.
The whole group is climbing up to the the mountain to get a penguin's eye view on the glaciers. Climbing the trail makes me feel just like penguin. I take a look at the glaciers and there's a big piece of threatening to end up floating in the sea. I can here the sound of tearing apart and the fracture is getting bigger. I'm heading to the top but I keep my eye on it, if it happens I don't want to miss it. Actually, I'm able to sit here and wait for years, if necessary. The higher I get the stronger wind blows ice on my face. This is real Antarctica feeling.
The red color of the rocks is a combination of fungus and algees. Also, with the firs signs of sun, the snow gets red or green because of the algees.
Once more we get around the bay passing by seals. Beyond the boat are blue-eyed shegs or cormorants, the only flying birds that I appreciate because it protects penguins, a kind of. This birds form the nests close to penguin's nests. With the big and sharp beak they protect whole territory from skua as much as possible.
While we all stare around, whale comes up to worn us it's a time to get back on the ship or I'll need to get defibrillated from coldness.
It is a day full of surprises and I feel my mission is almost completed.
Day seventh: It's 4.30 am and a I wake up just to make sure I'm in Antarctica for real. I check the camera, photos and videos, everything is there. Soon after, I hear the wake up call and I need to get ready for the tour on Zodiac. We're going to Deception island. Here's an active volcano, the last eruption was recorded around 1970. Fur seals are swimming around occasionally taking a peak on the visitors. We are not allowed to come close because they can bite. Some of the penguins are here but not many. I see also some signs of life here, now designed as a Historic Sites.
Here was a Norway whaling station and later a British base, a part of British meteorology survey. The condition of this buildings is a consequence of the last volcano's eruption.
As we cruising around Whaler's bay there is a beach full of Fur seals. At this time of the year they are not mating. The youngs are playing around around and according to the kind of game it's obvious they are preparing to defend a territory one day. They are almost the same size of an adult female. This is polygynous specie, male can have several females on the mating territory. Males are significantly bigger and heavier than females.
The color of the rocks comes from iron.
Now, we're on the way back with the last stop on South Shetland Islands. This is the coldest place I've been so far. Even it's a sunny day, the wind is so strong that my hands freezing even if I wear gloves. Plus we're all wet from the ride on the boat. While cruising around, the leopard seal is spotted near the penguin's colony so we're waiting to see if somebody's gonna get a nice lunch here. One of the penguins goes in the water but notices the seal and fast goes back. Nothing happens so we go to the shore. The island we landed is the first green surface we've stepped on this trip full of gentoos and chinstraps. This is the place I need to use all my senses to get the real feel of the Antarctica: to listen, smell and observe. Penguins are engaged in regular activities and the skuas are flying so low, almost need to watch my head. It seems nobody's cold here except me.
The last to be seen is group of Orca whales. The top predators in Antarctica, eating everything all the animals I mentioned so far. Their brain structure is similar to human's. They have strong family and emotional connection, complex hunting and communication techniques. Their biggest enemies are humans: overfishing (less food available) and hunting or capturing.
Summary: On the way back, the weather conditions are perfect, we're back before the schedule so I'm enjoying the last moments on the ship. I am thinking about Antarctica and this unforgettable experience for past few days even if I saw only 0.5% of it. It didn't last for long but all the great things don't. To be hosted by penguins, seals, whales doesn't happen quite often. I will never forget this silence interrupted only by natural sounds. In order to fit here, there are some rules to obey: speak easy, keep the distance, fallow only certain trails and it's for your sake, too. The golden rule is: do not compete with the wilderness- it always wins. There are a lot of people never came back trying to gain the power over Antarctica. This kind of piece gives the opportunity to find out about yourself qualities and flaws. I've found out about my self that I will never stop exploring. There's no certain age or physical condition that can stop me. Every place I see just makes me hungry for new adventures. As long as I feel the wind in backs, I will let it take me as far as it can.
1 comment:
Neverovatna si!!!! ;)I sjajan putopisac <3
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