Team members say

So far the journey was so good, it is incredible! The last two days were full of amazing experience. On March 18 we landed on King George Island at the Russian base of Bellingshausen, the location of E-Base, where Robert and his team of six had spent the last 17 days living solely on renewable energy. We were detailed by Robert’s team on how they used recycled materials and equipment to construct and maintain the buildings, discussed the use of solar and wind power, and then we helped a bit to get the E-Base ready to operate in an unattended mode during the forthcoming winter by taking the expedition gear down from the base to the shore. Read more

After 2 days in Ushuaia receiving tons of information about the climate change, the importance to preserve Antarctica, and the polar experiences of Robert Swan and his team, we went to the sea heading for Antarctica on board of MV Ushuaia.

As the crew members commented to us, so far we have been lucky to have the Drake Passage being very calm, although without such a comment many of us probably would not think so.

All the presentations, team work sessions, and talks generate more and more anxiety to see Antarctica with our own eyes, and just imagine our feelings when today we have finally come to see our first whales and our first iceberg! We’re sure that the experience of seeing the iceberg for the first time, and especially so close – like within an arm’s reach – would definitely remain with us forever.

Andrey’s initial thoughts on climate change…

The need to do something about climate change is driven by common sense. Climate change is truly everyone’s problem, at the same time; everybody is a part of the solution. If we are set to put the things right, every person will have to make the contribution, so every individual has to begin with himself using the common sense, e.g. Switch off the lights when you don’t need them (not only at home, but at the workplace and anywhere else as well!), do not leave appliances on standby, unplug mobile chargers when we aren’t using them, do not speed in the car. I know that I know little about the possibilities to make my personal contribution to this end, but one thing I’m sure about is that I have to increase my awareness about the possible controls.