First sights

Day 2 onboard MV Ushuaia and today was an exceptionally good day with sights of many things that I never seen before in my life. By early morning we were already in Antarctic waters and soon we spotted an iceberg floating freely in the ocean. Above the water level, it had the size of a 2 bedroom house, with 2 floors. I heard someone say that only ten percent of an iceberg is visible above the water level. We also spotted 6 whales playing around our ship and then disappearing behind the ship. Our captain was nice enough to steer the ship in a way so that we can have a good view of the whales. By early evening we spotted the first Antarctic land mass, with glaciers, many small ice bergs, and few penguins on the beach. The expedition leaders promised us a better view in the coming days. But, I felt like I had the million dollar view already.

Once we pulled into the bay across the Bellinghausen station, Robert Swan, who spent the last couple of weeks on the E-Base in Antarctica relying solely on renewable energy, came on board for a surprise visit and to welcome everyone. He met with everyone and then left the ship soon after that for the E-Base. We will be all going to the E-Base tomorrow morning for a guided tour. That will be followed by some manual labor around the E-base (digging, cleaning, replenishing supplies, etc) and a two hour hike to an area near the E-Base. We are advised to wear 4 layers of clothing to combat the cold. The temperature hovers around -10 C, but the wind-chill factor makes it even colder. To further complicate the matter, the weather forecast says the temperature might drop further and winds might pick-up more tonight. It has already started to snow and sleet outside. I can’t believe I am still ecstatic about leaving the comfort of the ship, go on land, and expose myself to the cold weather for over 10 hours. My own insanity sometimes baffles me.