Thursday 4 December 2003
In the Antarctic!
Last night the first icebergs had just started to appear on the horizon.
This morning we awoke to find we were surrounded by them. I took about a
million photos but none of them really capture how stunning it was.
All around us were icebergs of all shapes and sizes. Tabular blocks of ice
the size of tower blocks, smooth blue ice the colour of Colgate minty blue
gel, immense archways of ice, snow covered bergs with penguins scattered
across them. In the background we sailed past the rugged snow covered peaks
of Coronation Island. It was like sailing through the Alps.
It turns out we arrived at Signy on the best day they'd seen all season.
Normally the place is cold and damp and covered in mist and fog but today
it was as crisp and sunny as I've ever seen anywhere. We managed to get
ashore for a while to take a look around the base and go for a short walk
around the coast. We walked across pristine white snow hills, I saw my
first Elephant Seals and we had a snowball fight before it was time to
return to the ship for dinner.
I think what made today so special is that for a lot of us, seeing the ice
for the first time made us feel that we've finally made it to the
Antarctic. After a year of planning and preparation we're finally doing it.
There's nothing like a block of ice the size of a football stadium to make
the whole thing seem real!
The photo below is a small part of a panorama I took. The whole thing is
made of 22 photos and covered half the horizon. This place is just too
amazing to fit into one picture.
Posted by simon at 7:12 PM