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Oh wow, everyone!
Last night, I slept like a rock under a glacier under three feet of fresh snow! My icy bed kept me well insulated against the cold and some rumored snoring from across the island! The clouds started thinly this morning, and I had a sneaking suspicion that there would be some Antarctic sun by afternoon!
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I got up to wander, not really sure if it was 7:00 AM or 3:00 AM, because it never really got dark! It turned out that I was right in between! That gave me a good hour and a half to enjoy the scenery before we had to pack up and return to the ship. That was one of the best parts of this trip, the opportunity to sit and soak in Antarctica!
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The camping group packed up the sleeping bags, and I knocked down my ice shelter, because you can’t build something on Antarctica and leave it standing, unless it’s a research base. As luck would have it, right after breakfast, we were on our way to one such base!
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Almirante Brown Base is one of Argentina’s 13 Antarctic research bases and one of seven that are only open in the midsummer months. That meant it was closed today! No matter, though, because the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and there was plenty for me to do!
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There was a 276-foot hill to climb, and since I am such a fan of high places, I hustled my way to the top and even broke a sweat doing it! With all that sunshine, it was actually pretty darn warm! The black, white, and blue view of Paradise Bay from the top really lived up to its name, and the warm sun had made the snow perfect for packing, which gave me an idea!
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As quick as a penguin hopping ashore, I built up Señor Castorieti once again! He was surprised to see me here at the opposite end of the world from where I saw him last, but when he realized he was in the land of ice and snow, he leapt for joy, and we frolicked about on the hillside!
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As always, I asked Señor Castorieti for his wisdom from the world of ice. I was very excited that he would be in a place where ice and snow wouldn’t melt. I had even heard reports that the sea ice was getting thicker around Antarctica! Señor Castorieti turned somber and revealed that sea ice forms from fresh water, which is lighter than salt water and freezes more easily. The reason there is more sea ice than ever is because there is more fresh water melting off the glaciers into the ocean than ever before!
As he told me this scary tale, the heat of the day and the rock on which he was lecturing took its toll on him. Before I could interrupt or pack any more snow on him, all that remained of the snowbeaver was a lump of ice and three Antarctic rocks. Poor Señor Castorieti!
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With Señor Castorieti back in the mystical realm from which he came, I traipsed back down to the base to see what I could see. There were plenty of Gentoo penguins waddling back and forth and lots of skuas waiting for scraps. The buildings here are all pretty new, because the base has been through a lot of changes!
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This was originally an Argentinean naval base when it opened on April 6, 1951, which is why it takes its name from Admiral William Brown, father of the Argentinean navy. It shut down as a naval base in 1960 and reopened on February 17, 1965 as the most complete Antarctic research facility of the time, under the watchful eyes of the Argentine Antarctic Institute! The base burned down in 1982 and was rebuilt as a summer-use only base. Over 100 research papers have been published thanks to the findings of this base’s teams!
The sun didn’t last long after the Zodiacs took us back to the Ortelius for lunch. Clouds rolled in, and the wind began to howl just in time for my last scheduled Antarctic activity: mountaineering! Two groups of us put on crampons, picked up an ice ax, and strapped onto a rope for a trek up a glacier!
The hike to the summit was only about a mile, but I learned so much about mountaineering safety, how to carry the rope, and how to use the ice ax. It wasn’t too difficult, but the wind really did start to howl toward the top. The view was not to be beaten, though. I could see all of Paradise Harbor from both of the bases we visited to Leith Cove where we camped!
It was a fitting end to this Antarctica trip, not just for the breathtaking views, but also as a reminder of our place in the world: tiny specks tied together, making our way up into a vast, mysterious unknown! Shortly after we returned to the ship for a celebratory barbecue, the fog rolled in and shut out the White Continent for the last time!
Weighing anchor!
P.S. We hit another storm on the way back across the Drake Passage, and I very rarely got out of bed. It was awful! So, I’m going to spare you the details of that and skip ahead 5 days, past the 3-day crossing, the day of Solstice shopping in Ushuaia, and the day of travel north to my next destination: Rio de Janeiro! See you there!
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Stop 8: Paradise Harbor, Antarctica |
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