We’d been sailing through Antarctic seas for three days and describing things is still a bit beyond us. (Sam wishes his cousin, John Pyeatt, was along to add his expertise. He’s had more experience of the region – through his meteorology – than we have).
In any case, Antarctica is a sort of blank screen on to which people project what they want. When Sam first saw it, he recalled the stories of Edgar Allan Poe (yes,
that Poe) and H.P. Lovecraft’s quote “at the mountains of madness.”
Mary thought that it was beautiful, but her northern upbringing left her with few delusions of what it would be like to live there – winter might be one long snowstorm/blizzard. Of course, that is something that some of you have been enjoying back home! ☺
Most people seemed caught between the “pristine Antarctic” (have they looked at their wake?) or the “cute little penguins” approach.
The one thing we
can tell you is that you won’t disembark – regulations governing the cruise limit that to
smaller vessels and groups. So if “stepping on shore” was your be-all and end-all, you should be prepared to pay $4,000 each for that flight!
Viewing the scene from the ship is a good – and
cheaper – second choice, though one subject to a crapshoot. The weather and visibility can be great or they can be foul. And if you don’t have binoculars or a good zoom on your camera, you’ll miss seeing most of the penguins – at least as
Individuals.
We had a contingent from Palmer Station come aboard and make a presentation followed by questions, although it became obvious that they were there to give us
very simple answers while the audience was trying not to ask dumb questions. The real story behind this seems to be those guys and girls are hungry and there was good food to be had on the ship!
Much
more useful was the commentary of our ice pilot, Captain Toomey, who has been in the business a number of years and who has a great grasp of the history and stories of the region – it’s almost like listening to yarns told by an “original settler,” as his connection with the region goes back some time.
The main thing to keep in mind about visiting is that plans
will change – the weather put us through a number of course iterations (the ice pilot had Plans A, B, C, D … we managed B or C) – so be happy with whatever “gift” you receive. Neither of us could really get into the “Antarctic worship” of some of the passengers – pristine it’s
not, but just like everywhere
else it has its very special attractions and we can see why, for some, it would be the high point of the trip.
And Mary must add that lest you get the wrong idea, we are delighted that we were able to go and see it. It is quite beautiful and amazing in its own unique way.
We’d been sailing through Antarctic seas for three days and describing things is still a bit beyond us. (Sam wishes his cousin, John Pyeatt, was along to add his expertise. He’s had more experience of the region – through his meteorology – than we have). 
In any case, Antarctica is a sort of blank screen on to which people project what they want. When Sam first saw it, he recalled the stories of Edgar Allan Poe (yes, that Poe) and H.P. Lovecraft’s quote “at the mountains of madness.”
Mary thought that it was beautiful, but her northern upbringing left her with few delusions of what it would be like to live there – winter might be one long snowstorm/blizzard. Of course, that is something that some of you have been enjoying back home! ☺
Most people seemed caught between the “pristine Antarctic” (have they looked at their wake?) or the “cute little penguins” approach.
Garrison Keilor's penguin joke:
ReplyDeleteThe man said to the pengin, "You look like you're wearing a tuxedo!"
Says the penguin: "What makes you think it might NOT be a tuxedo?"