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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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End
of the Earth by Celia Talbot "This is the ultimate Antarctic voyage. In the spirit of the great Antarctic explorers, we'll partially circumnavigate the continent, sailing from the tip of South America through the Antarctic Peninsular. along the great continental ice shelf to the Ross Sea and New Zealand" - Cruise brochure We left Gatwick on 25th January and flew to Buenos Aires where we spent a day of sunshine viewing the spacious city, visiting the Caminito District which is the Artists' quarter with multi-coloured painted buildings and many intriguing artefacts on display. Our guide was a great admirer of Evita Peron so great emphasis was placed on an enormous mausoleum (the death equivalent of a 5-star hotel) in which her remains now rest after having been brought back to Argentina. We had an appetising dinner at a pavement cafe but, since the Maison did not accept credit cards, my companion was taken (with escort) to the nearest cashpoint to obtain local currency whilst I remained at the table (my first experience of being held hostage). The following day we flew down to Ushaia in the Tierra del Fuego where, after a brief look around the small town - a somewhat bleak port almost entirely dependent on its proximity to Antarctica - we boarded the Marco Polo. Although the ship can carry around 1000 passengers only 455 were taken on this voyage as 23 days at sea without being able to refuel etc in port makes this essential. All waste has to be frozen and carried back with the ship. Also strict rules about ecology in Antarctica require a manageable number on shore excursions which are in groups of 14 taken in small inflatables called zodiacs. Life on board is very comfortable with fabulous food and I'm sure most people eat too much. There's a 5-course breakfast, 5-course lunch and 5-course dinner, not to mention elevenses and afternoon tea and midnight snacks. Anyone hungry in between can phone room service. My friend and I were in a bridge group and we played most days unless the shore excursions took precedence. There were many other organised activities on board. The scenery was fabulous but we were a few days before we got ashore. The first planned shore excursion to Half-Moon Island had to be cancelled on account of rough seas and high following winds. We were all outfitted with bright red Antarctic weight parkas (so they could distinguish us from penguins! - it's a pity it's too warm to wear them now we're back home.) Our first trip ashore was to Port Lockrey (the Argentine base) with Paradise Harbour in our view. Parties were made up in four different colour groups numbered from 1 to 7 (that was the number of zodiacs available). A landing party was sent ashore to provide a landing place (in some places this had to be cut with saws out of solid ice - on one occasion the landing party used these to build an igloo). This made an enormous impression and is quite an adventure. Dressing is quite a business as we had to have over-trousers and knee-high wellingtons with lots of other warm things. Two pairs of gloves and a yashmak type hood made filming quite a problem. There were plenty of helpers to put life-jackets on us and get us on and off the zodiacs, and we all quickly grasped the sailors' handshakes. At Port Lockrey we talked with some Argentine officers, saw wonderful ice shapes and colours both on the land and in the water and many, many penguins. The stench of them was overpowering and as we returned to the ship a boot-cleaning and removal operation ensured no traces were taken back. The Captain could not navigate the Lemaire Channel from North to South on account of' heavy seas but eventually did so from South to North and said this was the first time in four years that he had got through. Captain Eric had a wonderful sense of humour. Over the P.A: system we would hear "Whales on the starboard side at 2 o'clock". Everyone rushed and there would be another announcement "Could some passengers please return to the port side or we shall be listing". We proceeded through the Bellingshausen Sea and the Amundsen Sea and had only 27 days in February as we crossed the International Date Line and omitted the 7th - going straight from Sunday to Tuesday. Then the Captain had to disappoint us over shore excursions; on one occasion we were taken floating on the zodiacs for- an hour allowing impressive views of the seals, the icebergs and floating ice. Several days were spent going through the Ross Sea in view of the Ross Ice Shelf. It is like an enormous flat iceberg hundreds of feet high and 200 miles long. We were told it covers an area the size of France. Soon we were in the middle of pack-ice. The ship carried its own helicopter to reconnoitre ahead and find a path through the ice. Great slabs of ice jostled one another as far as the eye could see and the limit of visibility usually came with groups of icebergs. One could spend hours studying the incredible shapes in which they are formed and checking if they were going to calve. There would be a large crevasse or they would appear top heavy on account of underwater thawing and eventually topple over and split up. The most hairy moment was when the ship was slowed to about two knots and we were watching a show in the Theatre, but the grinders on the bow sounded louder. We did experience some high seas; the Captain spoke of 23-foot waves (the highest I've experienced) but assured us they were accustomed to 100 ft waves in the area. I spent only one day in my bunk. Our next shore excursion was due at McMurdo Station, the American base. There was however, heavy ice formation. The Captain radioed the American icebreaker and asked if they would be prepared to assist but got a negative, so there was considerable disappointment, and no doubt one or two American Senators heard of this. However, the highlights of the trip were yet to come. We landed at Cape Evans where, along with the incredible scenery, penguins, seals and birds we were able to visit the hut which had served the fated Captain Scott's Expedition and to see the Memorial Cross for those who perished there. A day or two later we visited Cape Royds where we also saw Shackleton's hut. There were skeletons of dogs on chains outside where they had been shot on account of the hurried departure. It was very moving to be so close to the history of these courageous men whose assets were primitive compared to the comforts of the present day. The New Zealand Government keeps these huts in the historic condition and the shipping companies pay $25 for each visitor in order to help maintain them. Later we visited the Italian base at Tierra del Fuego where we were greeted most hospitably and given date-stamped cards and brochures although the base was to be vacated for the winter 2 days later. It is monitored from Italy except that one building is left open in case of mariners' emergencies. On arrival at Christchurch in New Zealand we visited the Antarctic Centre and were pleased to find that the briefings we had received on board ship had been second to none. After this
we spent a week in New Zealand and one in Sydney before returning to the
UK, but that's another story. First published in VISA issue 35 (winter 1999). Originally published in Elders, the newsletter of Senior Citizens SIG |