Team Inspire - inspired!

I have just returned to the MV Ushuaia from helping on the ¨de-camp¨ mission. My hands are frozen as it must be about 2 degrees. A group camped out last night on the side of a mountain and a most spectacular one at that. Some of us volunteered to help out with de mounting tents and packing up the site. We have a mixed group of experienced and not so experienced “expeditioners”. The boat is nestled in a bay surrounded by mountains which emerge from the sea almost vertically with snow filled valleys between them. Arriving on shore before dawn but with an almost full Easter moon it was such a beautiful sight as the sun was beginning to rise through a pink skyline. It was a clear night for the campers although it hadn´t started off that way with snow drifts and strong winds. The previous night we had been out on land we had cloud cover which had kept the temperature warmer than we would ordinarily expect for an Antarctic camping expedition. Perhaps that is also the effect of global warming.

Those of us left on the boat last night were treated with a landing to a Gentoo Penguin colony on a British base at Port Lockroy in the Gerlache strait. It´s hard to begin to imagine that over the years the number of explorers that have spent their winters and summers in such an isolated place. It is a certain feeling of vulnerability with few places to hide from the elements with the knowledge that even when the sun comes up it is still freezing cold. There must have been 200 penguins on this small island. They are clearly well adapted to these harsh conditions as they puff out their chests and stand face on to the wind. Standing about 40cm high they are just adorable creatures and showed no fear of us arriving in their space. It is understandable how they would be easy prey for starving humans stuck in this place. We leave no evidence of our visits to shore other than our footprints and to prevent transferring of bacteria we must disinfect our boots every time we depart and return to ship. The IAATA (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) has incredibly strict guidelines about what we can / cannot do on shore and that includes no eating, drinking or urinating. All that must be done on board our ship.

We have covered a great distance in the boat over the last 10 days yet have seen only such a small part of the Antarctic. We are still on the edge of the small tail that sits beneath Argentina and takes in the South Shetland Islands and the Graham Strait. This is a massive continent and doubles in size over the winter. The sense of isolation is somewhat surreal and you could think that little survives out here but we have been spoilt with Humpback and Minke Whales and Orcas breaching, Leopard, Crabeater and Fur Seals, the Skua bird and Antarctic Terns. The scenery is truly breathtaking and arriving in “iceberg alley” earlier this week with flat top icebergs 100metres in diameter and rising out of the water by 50metres was remarkable. The size and shape of the icebergs changed in Lemaire channel to resemble massive sculptures each with a unique patterning created by the varying weather conditions. Heading out on the IRBs enabled us to get close to these and to see the amazing shades of aqua blue. The older the ice berg the more blue it is. The waters here are so clear and the depth varies from 50 metres to 4 kms. There is some algae on the rocky shore and a reddish sea weed that frequents the waters edge.

We have just entered Paradise Bay and how appropriately named that is. Still waters surrounded by snow and ice covered mountains. We are about to go ashore for a leadership session – certainly its an inspiring place to listen and learn although a challenge for our presenters who have to deal with the major distractions of whales, penguins, avalanches and melting ice bergs.

Team Inspire is a merge of people from 25 nations and we are being truly inspired by the experiences and vision of our leader Robert Swan, the first man to walk to both the North and South Pole. Robert also dedicates himself to helping communities in Africa, students and young people around the world and inspiring World leaders at the 10 yearly Earth summits. What a story he tells and his passion moves people to get active on the issue of protecting this planet. I anticipate that each of us will leave this life changing journey with a greater sense of urgency that we must get more active around this pressing issue of sustainability. At the same time this has been an opportunity for most of us to consider our personal lives and to reflect on the choices we have made and can make in the future for our selves and our families.