A Barbeque in Antarctica

Word spread quickly as an ice flow among the passengers that dinner this evening was going be an outdoor, summer barbeque on the Expedition's spacious deck on the stern.  "They must be kidding us, right?!", I chuckled to myself.  The ship's staff has a wonderful sense of humor, and considering the temperatures the last few days as we move farther south each day, passing 64 degrees South, have dropped close to 20 degrees Fahrenheit with winds at times up to 30 knots, no WAY that was going to happen.  It must be a practical joke, and a very good one at that.

An early morning Zodiak excursion after breakfast allowed us a full hour of touring an expansive, glorious harbor surrounded by colossal, snow-capped, sawtooth mountains all around us that pierced the skyline in excess of five thousand feet or more. Schools of happy penguins frolicked and "porpoised" (yes, they are excellent swimmers!) all around our boat curiously as we leisurely cruised past numerous and massive glaciers, irregularly-shaped icebergs and enormous snow caves.  At one point, we stopped to inspect a swarm of wiggling krill, the pink shrimp-like organisms eaten by baleen whales by the billions, who were feeding off the microscopic algae underneath the smaller icebergs in our path. Suddenly, a thunderous crack from high above signalled the onset of an avalanche from one of the peaks nearby, and our driver quickly cut the engine to allow us to experience the sound of the cascading snowbank, roaring at first and then slowing to a gentle whisper of snow crystals as it came to its conclusion. For a moment, we all sat in awe, speechless at the natural wonder we had been privileged to witness.  Stunned, we all let out a collective sigh and a group "Wow!".

From every direction, I could hear the clicking and beeping of digital cameras, my own included, as we all feverishly captured the magnificent grandeur of Antaractica all around us.  At one point, Andrea, one of our team leaders who hails originally from Austria, instructed the Zodiak driver to shut off the engines, and requested that we all stop and take a rare break from our photography, just to experience the unique serenity and unparalleled quiet of the continent.  And for five entire minutes, we sat silently as snowmen, drifting with the gentle waves, some of us closing our eyes, breathing deeply, simply letting the beauty, the still, the spectacle and the pristine purity of the Ice World surrounding us sink into our souls.  For me, it was one of the most special and memorable moments of all thus far.  I soaked up the absence of any sound and the presence of this natural wonder of the world. Andrea reminded us to take time to return to our God-given senses and put down the technology and snazzy, distracting gadgets of modern life. It was magical.

Later in the day, we sailed into aptly-named Paradise Bay - one of the most exquisite and breathtaking scenes we have seen to date into a small, quiet harbor to one of the only settlements in the region.  The place is called Port Lockroy, a tiny World War I camp set up in 1914 by the British to intercept signals from the Chilean and Argentine government.  Three passengers aboard the Expedition were being delivered to the camp at Port Lockroy as part of the United Kingdom Antarctic Historic Trust to work on restoration of the camp, abandoned in 1962 and soon thereafter falling into disrepair, and to help run the small museum and post office the Trust has established there.  Michael, Cat and Claire, brave and rugged (perhaps crazy) Brits, will be overwintering in Port Lockroy for six, long, frozen months living in the three small huts on the island, which is also home to a colony of nearly two thousand penguins.  We toured the fascinating, little museum and gift shop, and many of us bought postcards to be mailed from Antarctica. (Mom and Dad, watch your mailbox!) 

Back aboard the Zodiaks, we returned back to the comfort of the Expedition.  As our rubber sea chariots neared the imposing, red, white and blue Expedition, our home for this incredible tour, the familiar smell of charcoal wafted through the crisp, frigid air, and the sounds of Reggae music punctuated the silence of Paradise Bay.  It smelled and sounded like....a summer barbeque!!  And sure enough, when we finished stripping out of our boots, snow gear, life jackets, parkas and heavy gloves and climbed the staircase the led us to the deck stern-side, we were treated to a feast of ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, potato salad and all the trimmings of a Fourth of July party with Caribbean tunes to create the right ambiance for such a summertime party.  "I guess they weren't kidding!", I had to admit to myself.

The astonishing juxtaposition of summer in the Antarctic provided a memorable meal, a ton of laughter and fun, and a dinner to remember forever for all my shipmates aboard the M/S Expedition.

                                                    Summertime, and the living is easy.