Antarctica 101

* this entry from 2/12 *

Albatross can spend a decade at sea, flying and sailing on 10-12 foot wingspans; rather than using their muscles, they use the energy of the winds. Seabirds have a kidney like organism to excrete salt from their bood which is dropped from a tube in their nose. Some birds can live sixty years or more. Grandparents of these birds are witnesses to the voyages of Shackleton and Scott. The Ornthologist continues his lecture, speaking faster than my pen can scribble. No member of The Expedition Team is able to hold a pencil and help write.



Lunch



1520 Hernando de Magellanes and his quest to find a westward route to the Indonesian Spice Islands, 1578 Sir Francis Drake and his pirating, 1769 James Cook crosses the Antarctic Circumpolar Current... the Historian continues his lecture.



Afternoon Tea




Water slides back and forth across the golf green deck, raindrops spot my glasses. Over the ship's starboard side, the midnight blue water swells like a breathing belly, inhaling & exhaling. The ship leans from right to left. This Drake's passage has been labeled a rare "Drake's Lake", a 1 on the scale of 10 being bad. Interconnected oceanic currents make this area one of the roughest waters in the world. In the distance a gray mass peeks above the water's surface; white foam surrounds it. (Later someone informs me that it was a whale's fin.)







Dinner




Histograms, exposures, thirds, angles, and light. The Photographer pairs his presentation with a projector slideshow of incredible photos.




The time nearing midnight, a brain full of interesting information to take with me to sleep.

Cabin 405


* this entry from 2/13 *

We're 5 mins South of 60° and past the Antarctic Convergence, a natural boundary defined by a drop in sea-surface temperature where the cold Antarctic Surface water meets with the warmer sub-Antarctic waters. It's 7:30am and I've awoken officially in Antarctica. The ship is pitching and it feels much colder (the Team Leader mentioned 2° to 4° C). Out the circular porthole of our room, the ocean looks ominous with sea spray splashing and the sky, an overcast gray.


posted on the bulletin board -- winds charted via the Beaufort Scale


Minke, Orcas, Humpback Whales, Glaciers and Mountains, Gentoo, Adelie, Macaroni, King, and Emperor Penguins .. the lectures continue


In the evening, a 1-in-4 part documentary about Edward Shackleton begins. Seated in the corner, I listen, inspired by this man's tenor and dedication to his men and their lives.