The Last 48 Hours – by Bhaskar
14 Dec 2023.
After all the excitement at Port Lockroy, and taking a brief moment to send off a few postcards to loved ones from the one British Post Office there, it was time to head further south via the Lemaire channel. The last few days in Antarctica have been breathtaking but nothing had prepared us—the passengers on Ocean Tramp—for what we were about to experience. My words will no doubt fall far short of painting a true picture for the reader but bear with me while I indulge in this futile endeavor. As our boat made its way along the channel, we were towered on both sides by vertical mountain cliff faces and ice walls. The sheer size of these mountains on both sides of the channel invoked awe unparalleled to anything I have experienced before and would easily humble most works of fantasy. It was a passage to a new world and all of us stood on deck marveling both in excitement and reverence. Before long we were visited by a humpback whale, our escort of sorts through the channel ensuring our safe passage. This was the first time we saw a whale on this trip and so the crew and passengers alike were ecstatic softly cheering every time it surfaced and every spray from the whale’s blow. After admiring some more magnificent icebergs and saying adieu to our whale friend we finally arrived at Port Charcot.
At Port Charcot, we were immediately welcomed by numerous penguins, mostly Gentoos, who remarkably seemed to queue in almost a single file from the water all the way up the mountains. Someone joked that it was the line for coffee at the penguin convention. Yes, we are quite a nerdy bunch on this trip and it did get a few soft chuckle. But more on penguins later. After a short respite it was time to get back on the Zodiacs to go visit the “Iceberg Graveyard”. Sounds menacing but in reality it was quite the contrast.
A combination of certain ocean current patterns and shallow sea level meant that many icebergs had made their way to these parts only to find themselves grounded. By this time you would think we have seen too many icebergs on this trip already. But this was something quite different, remarkably so. These massive icebergs almost seemed to have been chiseled into incredible shapes adorning amazing shades of blue. The two zodiacs took us really close to these magnificent natural sculptures as we admired them both standing tall above water as well as hiding away for most parts under the crystal clear still waters. The Zodiacs chartered their way through this remarkable garden of ice losing each other for brief periods only to serendipitously reunite again at an unexpected turn. From honeycomb like patterns to tall pillars and in one unique case what seemed like a massive heart cutout into the iceberg, these beautiful sculptures resembled less a graveyard and more natural pieces of arts at an exhibition. Even the sun came out with a sliver of blue sky to celebrate this beautiful moment with us. Our way back to the boat was punctuated by several groups of Gentoo penguins that swam and jumped and dived around us, unperturbed by our intrusion into their domain.
After a hearty lunch on the boat, we got back on the Zodiac and headed to shore to see some more penguins. We walked up the snow paralleling the single file in which the penguins seemed to have gathered always maintaining adequate distance from these little creatures both out of respect for their natural environment and also in light of recent worries of Avian flu outbreaks in Antarctica. From these safe distances, our cameras clicked away as we watched massive number of Gentoo penguins, sometimes punctuated by an occasional Chinstrap penguin and the odd Deli penguin. We walked up the mountain carefully avoiding the “Penguin highways” connecting the rookeries to a view point overlooking the Français cove. The packed ice in the cove merging with the beautiful background of more magnificent glaciers and icebergs was a sight worth several moments of deep admiration. A few of us then started on a longer hike through heavy snow covered grounds up the mountain to visit another view point which also boasted a cairns built during a historic exploration to these lands. The breathtaking views somehow seemed to manage to keep outdoing themselves, every one more remarkable than the last as we enjoyed a whole 360 degrees view of the island. A short hike down the mountain and a quick Zodiac trip back to the boat and it was time for us to enjoy another sumptuous dinner and head out for our next destination. We made our way through the Penola Strait already overloaded with the sights and experiences earlier in the day. But Antarctica was not done with us for the day yet.
As we made our way through the strait surrounded by more breathtaking views of icebergs all around us we were suddenly welcomed by two humpback whales. The magnificent beasts unbothered by our presence, may be even enjoying the audience, kept rising to the surface and diving back leaving us with breathtaking views as their bodies arched and their massive tails flagged up into the sky, exactly as one may have seen on a postcard but rarely expect to witness in real life. It was probably their feeding time as they kept jumping out with massive gaping mouths, leaving us the witnesses with gaping mouths in awe of our own. Three little penguins stood on an iceberg admiring the view of the whales with us, or may be plotting their escapes from these hungry beasts.
Leaving our whale friends behind, we finally arrived at base Vernadsky, an Ukranian research station, late at night. While the passengers were mostly exhausted by the adventures of the long day by this time, the crew worked hard to secure the boat in the ice filled waters. All was well and safe, and as the passengers made their way into bed the crew worked hard further into the night to ensure all was in order for the following day.
The next day (today), we woke up to a brilliant blue sky and what by Antarctic standards may qualify as a nice “warm” day. Few of us got on three inflatable kayaks and went off to explore the Antarctic waters in a different way. Making our way through icebergs surrounded by poster-perfect views of Antarctic mountains in the background and serenaded by the sounds of crackling ice and splashing waves on the rocks, this was a kayaking experience like none other.
After some delicious risotto for lunch, we were invited for a short visit to the Ukrainian base where our generous host gave us a quick tour of the research station and regaled us with both interesting facts about the base and life on it as well as stories of annual celebration of the mid-point of Antarctic winters traditionally celebrated with everyone on the base going for a quick dip in the frigid polar winters, weather conditions be damned.
Back on board, as I write these words sitting on my bunk and hear the crew and passengers in the public galley sharing laughter and in high spirits, I feel humbled by everything we have experienced in the last 48 hours and feel above all a deep sense of gratitude for the beauty in this world that surrounds us and our responsibility towards it.