Farewell to Antarctica

Tonight we are leaving the Antarctic continent behind after six wonderful days, starting a bumpy ride across the Drake Passage. What were my impressions, firstly the isolation and lack of human impact. In six days we saw just two research stations and three other small ships. We saw no roads or motor vehicles of any kind. Around forty thousand people visit Antarctica every year that is less than the population of Scarborough. I feel immensely privileged to have been one of those forty thousand. At times I had no connection with the outside world.

The last afternoon epitomised our visit, I went kayaking again, and the site chosen was about three miles away from the ship so there was an absolute sense of isolation. Then suddenly there was a rumble and part of a glacier calved. At the same time just above the kayaks an Antarctic tern glided across the sky. All this against a background of pristine glaciers spiralling off the mountains to end abruptly at the edge of the bay. I am sure I will bore many of you when we return home, but it is just too majestic to describe adequately.

This photo of a penguin chick sums up the best memory. This was not taken with a zoom lens but from about three feet away. We were blessed to share the environment of these wonderful animals.

 This was posted a little late as internet coverage was poor last night. However I can confirm that the ride across the Drake was a little bumpy!