The idea to see Antarctica, I bore more than a year. It all began in his childhood with his beloved tale "The Snow Queen" and - as the magic of a lullaby for the night - "Antarctica" Vangelis.
Whether that Andersen's possession of the Queen in the Arctic, in Lapland. Listening to Vangelis in the dark, I always "saw" Gerda, wading through the snow blizzard to the ice palace, where the captive Kai tried to collect from ldinok word "eternity". In my mind it all came together in the alluring image of a distant continent, and I only waited aware that this is it - time to see Antarctica. I thought that there just are not coming as a regular holiday - to relax, have fun or to "correct" health. People who had been there and mostly outlining his thoughts in English, called the Antarctic trip once in a lifetime journey - «trip of a lifetime." And of Antarctica said: "Some back different» - Returns the change. And then, feeling ready for the revelation, which is intended to change something in my life, I met in Antarctica.
Optimal Travel to Antarctica - expedition cruises. It cruises with a healthy dose of extreme sports, adrenaline and travel, where everything is unpredictable (depending on weather, ice conditions, the mood of the local fauna) and at the same time safely. That's it! Program designed in such a way as to make the maximum use every opportunity to study the Antarctic most closely and fully. Wherever possible, the landing in rubber boats, "Zodiac," where land can not be - committed boat trips on the same "Zodiac." In addition to these pleasures on board in excess of lectures, master classes and presentations on various topics: nature, history, features photos and more.
Antarctica offer "a different sauces . It does not sound romantic, but it is clear: a large selection of ships (offering, in turn, the abundance of different comfortable living conditions), slightly smaller choice of programs and routes. There are programs, fixated on something specific - birdwatching, flora and stuff, but it's not for me. I want everything, but for a reasonable price, so stop at the so-called "classical Antarctica - South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. "Sauce" becomes smaller, but now you must choose a ship, and it is no less important than the choice of programs. In Antarctica, offer to go to native Russian expeditionary vessels and icebreakers, on yachts, cruise ships, expedition ships luxury and even sailing. Immediately "dismiss" the big cruise liners - the more people, the harder and longer to organize the landing or excursions to the "Zodiac" and less likely to interact with lecturers and members of the team, meet interesting people. Looks like I found the "golden mean" - "Expedition" along with deluxe - forwarding with udno luxury "Corinthian II».
Cruise starts in Argentina, the southernmost city Ushuaia. This place is called "the edge of the world." What's that, and the amount of time and effort that takes the road here, fully justifies the title. But it is - another story, and not about Antarctica, which, incidentally, looking ahead, it is even worth the sacrifice. Ushuaia - lovely town surrounded by mountain landscapes. To explore the city closer did not have time; of the attractions to visit was only a few souvenir shops. Expeditionary research spirit, apparently, are already included, because even during a short shopping time to make a discovery: the half souvenir crap Ushuaia is designated as the above "End of the World", and the other half - the gateway to Antarctica. " End or beginning? ("For always end means the beginning of something new" - ushuayskaya philosophy.)
And here I am on an expedition ship luxury "Corinthian II». The best characteristics of the atmosphere "Corinthian" is, perhaps, the Russian name of the cruise program - "In Antarctica, in a tuxedo." This, of course, figuratively - in a tuxedo none of the passengers during the cruise has not been noticed, though such a dress code would be to "Korintiane" "in the subject" - the atmosphere has. On board the ship has a library, Internet center, beauty salon, fitness center, whirlpool, elevator, a club with large panoramic windows, live music, daily updated fresh flowers and fruit in the cabins, marble bathrooms, free wine at lunch and dinner and much more. However, in the program as time and promised to "fine Antarctica in a decent frame. Framing really worthy - there to see Antarctica.
Drake Passage - as the beginning of the terrible tale: there is almost always restless, and testing of the storms is prepared for almost all visitors to Antarctica. We have just entered the strait, and the general nervousness already in the air. Worried passengers nervous doctor and expedition leader evasive promises: «After Drake everything will be OK» («After Drake everything will be fine"). That's a fatal optimism. Alas, we were no exception. Well - at least you can reassure yourself that have experienced difficult conquest of the polar distances. Incidentally, earlier, when the vessels were still under sail, to overcome the Strait was considered a difficult test for the mariners. And because every sailor who has made such a transition, had a right to be in the left ear earring - a symbol of the Marine maturity and courage.
I found that if seasickness is not groomed and pampered, sparing himself, and if possible at all to ignore, then transferred it much easier. Go out on the open deck - have heard that if you focus the mind on static objects or the horizon line, it helps with motion sickness. Here are just a loneliness watching the horizon lecturer ornithologist. Conversation. Turns out he is not a "lull" sea-sickness, and quietly saying goodbye to one of his "dream" - to see the Antarctic convergence zone. Such a complicated name means place of the confluence of cold Antarctic water masses from the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. The difference in water temperature is very small: in summer it is reduced from five to nine to one to three degrees in the winter - with three or four to minus one. But the quantity of plankton at the same time increases dramatically, and all around me. For some half hour the number of birds jumping from a couple of dozen to several thousand. Alas, the storm all living creatures are obedient ": both men and poultry ...
with another speaker, a marine biologist, I'm talking during the landing on the island Elephant in the group South Shetland Islands. Islands are so called because they lie on the same latitude as the Scottish Shetland Islands in the north. The island telling title: Elephant translates as "elephant", is home to a large population of elephant seals. The island is surrounded by jutting out of the water of small volcanic cones, but he covered with ice, except the tops of mountains and steep cliffs along the banks. At first glance, sea elephants, to put it mildly, not very pretty, they have no touching and peculiar grace of their terrestrial namesakes, and a short trunk resembles cut pylesosny hose. By the nature of a sort of good-natured elephant phlegmatic - lie motionless or sleeping at some distance from the sea. On the other sounds they paid little attention, so they can get near them. However, as humans, unpresentable appearance does not exclude the inner beauty, which I am strongly convinced lecturer - a marine biologist Ivica Malich. Originally from Croatia, he pretty well says in Russian and has long been studying the "life of elephant seals. I suddenly noticed that Ivica very similar to their wards, although the charm he can not refuse: the "elephant", as well as at Ivica, kind and very intelligent eyes, though, and lazy.
... On the landing is given only two hours. A little further from the coast is home to several hundreds of chinstrap penguins, or in English chinstrapov (chinstrap). In chinstrapov - strip under the chin (chin - the chin, strap - a strip, tie), as if holding an invisible sombrero on his head. And read that Soviet sailors called chinstrap "cops" for a black band across the throat, resembling the strap of his cap.
Pretending place for observation point for the penguins, with half an ear listening to explanations leader. Took a fancy to a pair of touching with the baby, sit close by and froze, pretending that I am - a panorama of the Antarctic, and entirely harmless. Possible in order to lull the vigilance of penguins, sitting motionless mind sparing some of the photographs undone and reassuring himself that the time has e residual.
Meanwhile penguins obviously become accustomed to my presence and continue to do their own thing. Mother is sitting on a nest of stones, and the little usual settled somewhere under her belly. He is warm and cozy. Papa Penguin touchingly solicitous. As an exemplary family man, he reinforces the "home" by placing stones in the nest. It looks like this: find the stone, takes it in his beak, and it is not clear what criteria defining worthy of stone to be part of their nest or not - or throws it away, or puts a carefully under pingvinihu. Examine all the surrounding stones, active father decided to take a walk to the coast. Of course, he had noticed the neighborhood of the unknown bright yellow substance (the color of my jacket Expeditionary), was unceremoniously watching their family. Until now it was not up to me, and now he pretends that he wants it in the direction where I sit. The trajectory of its path includes the location of my boots. He climbs onto one of them jumps down and busily going on. Then I noticed that on the coast are a string of other penguins. And in the same direction, slowly and as if afraid that they will not get something very necessary. It turned out that they're going to dive - in a very specific place. Sorry, the penguins do not ask what it is they both liked ...
Island field, which we explore in another wonderful morning in the Weddell Sea, just above the Antarctic Polar Circle. The field is of volcanic origin, and its "Surface" is often raised by more than a thousand feet. Island Golf - the most popular in the Weddell Sea "maternity home" Adelie penguins. About 100 000 breeding pairs of penguins here to acquire offspring. If we consider that each couple brings at least one child, this tiny piece of the lava is home to approximately 300,000 penguins.
We hear them long before the first penguins appear in our field of vision. Their cries, calls and responses (parents to children and parents of children) could be heard already on the boat and getting louder as we approach our island, "Zodiac." Before you see a penguin colony, we feel it: the wind brings a pungent smell of guano. Here they are - a few dozen penguins having fun on the floating icebergs: roll with them head-first right into the blue sea, "sling" out of the water on the ice ahead belly and again slide into the sea, frolicking like children in the school playground. They boldly swim alongside our boat - make circles, dive, using the wings as fins, which helps them to move in water easily and gracefully. On the shore we also met a lot of "adelek, and some distance from the shore, and beyond - as far as they" see "our binoculars, and even further. Somebody is sitting on nests on the rocks, others are walking in the snow, it's ridiculous swaying from side to side. There are those who manage to doze off amidst this general hubbub. Penguins are funny, though vazhnichaya, embraced his chest, their beaks show up at the sky, wide open. Stall pingvinyata are in various stages of molting. Some little sluts soiled food resulting from the beak of his gray-white, yet similar to the down feathers, and their "outfit" is now in pink. Most impatient rush to the water, pulls them from the watchful parents - as long as kids are not completely relieved her down on the adult plumage, they have no chance to escape from sea leopards, vigilantly control the colony, hoping to regale helpless penguin.
On the way to the Antarctic Peninsula crossed the Bransfield Strait. In tourist brochures call it "Mall of the iceberg". Set of ice giants arrives here with the flow from the Bellingshausen Sea. Icebergs attracted me even more wonderful than the Antarctic living creatures: a huge ice blocks, various fantastic shapes, and has pushed the surf gnawing deep blue caves and arches decorated with icicles. In fact, the Antarctic reality was even more generous to the paint than my imagination. The ice here is not only white, blue, blue, and purple, transparent. Is still pink, if its surface had settled watermelon algae. Caught even green icebergs. They are painted algae: if the ice is white, hence the iceberg recently overturned.
Antarctic Peninsula has a mountainous terrain. Many volcanoes, there are also active. Mountains in conjunction with the ice cap, creating incomparable in the beauty of the landscapes - and all this against the backdrop of clear blue ocean! We're heading into the bay Paradise (Paradise Bay). In tourist brochures Paradise is described as "a place with a name that reflects the essence of the phenomenon, and among the ten most popular tourist areas of Antarctica. Walk on "Zodiac" in this bay is included in the program of any expedition cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. Paradise affects myriad icebergs of fantastic shapes and colors. It is possible to meet with large whales. We go to the Chilean military Antarctic stations. It was opened in 1951 and named after Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla, the world's first head of state, visited Antarctica. Pleasantly surprised clean and tidy at the station - before the cruise I had heard stories of friends, was visited by some polar stations, where people are supposedly completely run wild, losing their human form. All guests issued card station. A separate building houses a museum devoted to the work station. Here is a small gift shop. And the place in which it has "obraztsovopokazatelnaya" station, she was "a match": a very picturesque landscape and the proximity of the penguin colony.
Later we visited another Antarctic station - Vernadsky on Galindez Island. Before 1996, the station owned by the UK, it is now controlled by the Ukrainian government. Galindez is located at latitude 65 degrees 13 minutes 67 seconds S, and is the most southern point, which we will achieve in our journey. Scientists have invited us to visit their labs, demonstrate scientific equipment. But frankly, visitors to imply here is not scientific research, however interesting they may be. The main attraction of Vernadsky Station - rumors of a wild and crazy bar on the second floor of the station. Best bar in Antarctica («The best bar in the Antarctic") appears on signs leading into the open room, lit by twinkling Christmas lights. Here the thundering disco music, young people have billiard tables "cut" into the pool. Bartender behind the bar pours vodka over the bar adorn wine glasses and ... items of female underwear. ("Give her bra - and drink for free"). Relaxing at the bar - this seems to be a completely new and unusual way to join the science, and, judging by the fact that few chefs station 2 hours before lunch, sat at the bar, it really works. Scientists are working here for 14 months. But winter in these places scary: constant darkness, wild and cold and strong wind. With such thoughts are particularly pleased to return to "decent frame" - a warm, cozy, luxurious "Corinthian." We return to Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia.
The cruise was so much more: penguins, seals, leopards and elephants, "slices" the elusive whale that managed to "catch" the eye (camera lenses, alas, and failed), icebergs, majestic Antarctic sunsets ...
Antarctica - not endless "glass" a desert, what I imagined.