Farewell Antarctica!

Well, as they say – all good things must come to an end.  After a week that has been jam-packed full of spectacular, genuine once-in-a-lifetime experiences, it was inevitable that the end of our time in Antarctica would come and it would be time to wend our way home.  The next two days would be spent heading back over the Drakes Passage, so they had a different rhythm from the rest of our time onboard – still plenty to do, but obviously no excursions or landings to get ready for, so we sadly had to return our rental rubber boots and waterproof pants.  I spent most of the first day editing pictures (we are invited to submit our top 5 for the guest slideshow on our final night) and trying to catch up on my blog (I’m soooooo far behind).  One activity that was mandatory was a briefing about the disembarkation procedures for Tuesday (boo) where they went through what to expect for the return journey, once we’d left the ship.  There were still a couple of educational lectures that we listened to in our cabin – I think because I spent so much time staring at a screen today I ended up feeling a bit queasy during the afternoon.  Even though the Drake was pretty calm, we were pitching and rolling a little bit (Captain had given us a talk on the ship’s design, including the stabilization system – he’d said that if we didn’t have that, we would have been moving around about 14 times more than we are!!).  I would DEFINITELY have puked my guts out in that case – but as it was, I finally succumbed to the tiny patch gang and put on a little scopolamine sticker behind my ear which did the trick!

We had three lectures today – one on plankton, one on the whaling history of the region and one on the Extreme Ice Survey (which I mentioned in a previous blog with the Chasing Ice documentary).  This has been an incredibly impactful endeavor documenting through time-lapse photography how glaciers all over the world have changed with time (you can read more about it here http://extremeicesurvey.org/) .  Even though the original founder, James Balog, has moved on to other endeavors, Lindblad has committed to funding the cameras that remain in Antarctica, photographing the glaciers and collecting important scientific data.  Feels good to know that some small part of our tourist dollars are going towards supporting these efforts.

The other fun activity today was that the ship’s crew (once more ably managed by Patrik) opened up some of the private areas ship for us to have a look round and go behind-the-scenes.   I’d asked earlier in the week if I might be able to have a look round the kitchen, but sadly it was not included on the tour – but we did get to check out the laundry room (which we’ve been availing ourselves of every day!), the engine room, the controls room and the “garage” where they store all the zodiacs and kayaks.  This area is directly below our cabin and we got used to hearing the loud metallic “CLAANNGGG” when they would open the hatch door, first thing in the morning for an operation, so it was really interesting to get in there and have a poke round.  As you might expect, everything was spotless and organized perfectly – not one paddle out of place!   And – yes – in a surprise to no-one, there were also some edible treats laid out for us in the laundry – lots of delightful little pastries (the pastry chef Sage is an evil genius) as well as some savory hor d’ouevres.  I don’t think I have been hungry for one single minute since I stepped onto the boat.  My pants are significantly tighter (maybe the laundry shrunk them?) and  belly rounder than it was 10 days ago – but worth it!!  Every single mouthful has been delicious and I will happily hop back into my regular routine of eating mostly vegetables when I get home so I’m not stressing about it too much!!  I do now finally understand it when folk who go on cruises say they come back 1-2 dress sizes larger – its very easy to see how that can happen, even when you are going to the gym or choosing the “lighter” options for lunch.  I think you would probably just have to skip meals in order not to gain any weight at all – and that just wasn’t gonna happen on this trip!!

Dinner was pretty quiet and most people seemed to retire early, fairly soon afterwards.  Presumably, people are using the time to start their packing – but also maybe to conserve their energy for tomorrow night and the Grand Finale!

Day 2 of our Drake’s Passage continued with nice calm waters, even when we were going round Cape Horn so I am extremely thankful for how lucky we have been with the weather on this trip.  Talking to some of the naturalist guides during our various operations, they said that the previous week’s trip had had some miserable weather – cold, windy, foggy and very snowy.  I can appreciate how some of those hikes and excursions we did would be way less enjoyable if you were constantly battling against the elements!   As we got further away from Antarctica and closer to Ushuaia, the temperature warmed up enough such that folk were having lunch sitting on the outside decks!  The only one mild regret from this trip is that we didn’t have longer to explore and appreciate all the outdoor areas of the ship (other than the hot tub and igloos) – I feel there are whole sections of the ship I didn’t really spent any time in!!  (partly also cos our cabin was so lovely, we didn’t feel the need to!).

In the morning, we had a very interesting talk from Maya about protecting the world’s most important ocean (spoiler alert: its the one we’re on right now!) and the history behind the formation of the Antarctic Treaty and the organization that governs tourism in the region, IAATO.  I confess I was not aware of either organization before this trip and I’m heartened by the fact it exists as it represents collaboration between countries that is pretty much unheard of elsewhere.  As you might not know anything about them either, here’s some info on both the Treaty and IAATO.

https://www.ats.aq/index_e.html

The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded to by many other nations. The total number of Parties to the Treaty is now 57.

Some important provisions of the Treaty:

• Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only
• Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end… shall continue
• Scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available

IAATO: Since the beginning of the modern Antarctic travel industry in the 1960s, the number of visitors to Antarctica has grown from a few hundred to 50,000 each year. Recognizing the potential environmental impacts that such growing numbers of visitors could cause, seven private tour operators conducting expeditions in Antarctica joined together in 1991 to form an organization with safe and environmentally responsible travel in this wild and delicate region of the world at its heart.

Today, more than 100 Antarctica-bound outfitters are members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Together we have established extensive procedures and robust guidelines that ensure appropriate, safe and environmentally sound private-sector travel to the Antarctic: regulations and restrictions on numbers of people ashore; staff-to-passenger ratios; site-specific and activity guidelines; wildlife watching; pre- and post-visit activity reporting; passenger, crew and staff briefings; previous Antarctic experience for tour staff; contingency and emergency medical evacuation plans and much more.

Antarctica represents a more profound manifestation of international peace than any other place in the world – managed for six decades through the Antarctic Treaty’s unprecedented global cooperation of more than 50 countries, and formally designated a “natural reserve dedicated to peace and science.” IAATO sets the standard of best practice self-management in this extraordinary region, demonstrating that first-hand, environmentally responsible travel is possible in remote and precious wilderness areas. Our focus on safeguarding, management and education promotes a greater worldwide understanding of how very special Antarctic is – and of the importance of assuring that it remains as pristine and as majestic for future generations as it is today.

https://iaato.org/about-iaato/

We also had talks from the onboard photographer Dan about taking photos in difficult conditions as well as from the Expedition Leader Jamie who joined together elements that we’d heard from other naturalists about the threats to Seabirds and the Marine Ecosystem.  He encouraged all of us to get involved in some way – whether through choices made about how to live more sustainably at home, to organizations that we could involved with (or uninvolved with – depending on their stance on various issues), to good old fashioned donations and monetary support.  It would be very hard to be on a trip like this, exposed to the splendors of the natural world, and then not want to do something to help preserve it .  In a few weeks, we’ll be receiving a post-voyage packet of information from our journey – this will have the daily expedition reports, the menus, shared guest photos as well as further information about how to get involved and contribute.  I’ll post a follow-up blog once that all arrives.

Afternoon tea today was a special treat as our amazing chef, Sarah, ably assisted by Patrik were cooking up Swedish pancakes in the C.Greens restaurant.  I was expecting them to be some form of potato rosti -type deal (which would have been YUM) but they were actually little mini crepes/English style pancakes, made from batter.  Served with fruit compote or dulce du leche ice cream, they were delicious!!  As the sun was shining and it was a balmy 45F outside, I ate mine out on the deck, accompanied by a Nice Cup of Tea.  Perfection.

Duly bolstered, I could put it off no longer and had to start packing.  There was some excitement and commotion as a pod of fin whales were spotted off the bow of the boat – unfortunately I no longer had my telephoto lens with me (had to give it back to Fiona, sadly) so I didn’t manage to get any decent pics, so instead simply enjoyed watching them and being in the moment.

And then, it was time for our final gathering together in the Ice Lounge for our nightly recap and a farewell cocktail hour with the Captain.  Both he and other members of the crew gave little speeches and it actually felt a little emotional – there is something very special about having shared so many incredible experiences with strangers who had become friends over the past week.  I’d exchanged contact deets with several people who I though it would be fun to stay in touch with (Hi, Emily! Hi, Samantha! Hi, Pelin!) – I’ve met cool folk on vacations that I have kept in contact with, so we’ll see if that happens this time!   It was also nice to be able to show our appreciation for the staff who had looked after us so completely during our time on board – including a tiny Filipino lady called Jovy who had been responsible for servicing our cabin.  She is a fucking legend (for reasons I will detail in a separate blog post) so I made sure to get my photo with her.   During the cocktail reception, the little blue flag that had fluttered from the bow of the ship outside the bridge all week was auctioned off to help a former crew member who was battling cancer, to help pay for her treatment – it would have been an amazing souvenir, but after the bidding went past $1500, I bowed out!!   Helped, I’m sure, by the copious amounts of adult beverages that were being served during cocktail hour, the bidding just kept going up and up, until there were just 2 people left.  The final bid that secured victory? – an eye-popping $4500!!!   (which I’m sure is tax-deductible, but even still…..)

Aside from all the lovely farewell speeches and auction excitement, the other reason we were all there was to watch the guest slideshow, where we would finally get to see the photos our fellow explorers had been taking all week.  We had been asked to submit our 4 favorite photos plus a bonus 1 picture of a fellow passenger (or small clown) and then the photography team had stitched them all together into a slideshow, enhanced with some carefully chosen music.

It was wonderful.  We have seen and experienced so much during our time here in Antarctica, that to see it all at once again, through the eyes (and lenses) of your fellow passengers, was on the verge of being overwhelming.  Even though I tried to keep a stiff upper lip throughout, it was impossible not to feel profoundly moved and for the lip to quiver ever so slightly.  Clearly I’m getting way more sentimental in my advancing age – but I defy anyone to watch the slideshow and not get swept up in the wonder and joy that you can see shining forth from everyone in the pictures (don’t worry – I will include the link to the guest slideshow – plus a final compilation of all my favorite pictures in a separate blog post).  One of the expedition team had mentioned that its not until you get home that you start to feel the real impact that Antarctica has on you – I think they might be right.

Then it was time for our last dinner on the ship, after which everyone retired back down to the Ice Lounge to party our asses off, one last time, accompanied by the “house” (or ship, I suppose) band called the Shackletunes.  It was so much fun – everyone was up and dancing and having a ton of fun – and yes.  I did go up and perform a song!  I went up there and sang “Don’t Stop Believing” and crushed it! (according to ManpanionTM).  It felt awesome to blow people’s minds (“wait…what?  who’s up there singing right now??”) and it also felt like a little bit of validation and closure following the disaster that was our Woodland Creatures gig at the Village Club fundraiser show a few weeks ago (sound problems were so bad, we couldn’t actually finish our set).  I only did one song (leave the crowd wanting more, right?) and so after enjoying the accolades for a little while afterwards, we finally headed off to bed around 11pm.  We have an early start to a very long day in the morning -but what a way to finish off what has been a truly spectacular 10 days.  I’m going to be thinking about this vacation…. sorry, expedition…. for a very long time to come.

I hope you have enjoyed the ride too.