Oliver Wyman's Inspire Antarctic Expedition 2008

If I have to use only one word to describe my take on the trip so far, I would choose the word “unusual”. I don’t usually climb up (read, scramble up) a mountain for 4 hours to see a glacier, I don’t get knocked around on a boat with complete strangers for twelve days, and I definitely do not go to freezing cold places and actually look forward to it. But here I am - enjoying every minute of my trip to Antarctica! Every minute I am awake that is… Most of us are on seasickness pills and patches, which knocked us out completely on the first day, or in the better cases - turned us into walking zombies. I was physically awake only for meals and lectures (which in fact occupied most of the day). Mentally I have no idea where I was, but I made an enormous effort to pay attention, especially to the lectures on what to do if you fall out of the boat (surprisingly, there’s more than the usual “float and pray” technique), how to avoid being bitten by a seal (stay as far away as possible, duh) and what not to do to a penguin even if you have a chance (to my disappointment the list of Don’t-s includes running around and chasing their babies).

So far I managed to ask almost every one on the ship about their names, occupations and countries of origin. I also managed to forget it all right away. I blame it to the pills (against seasickness, that is). I am not sure what and whom to blame for my 6 hour detour in El Calafate (I got off the plane at the wrong stop - yeah, no comment…). But I will have enough time to contemplate and make up a story that doesn’t make me look as silly and loopy as I really am.

So, yesterday most of us spent our free time sleeping on and off, and making sure to jump out of bed on time so as not to breach a Bronco 5 (that’s the rule that requires you get to the designated place 5 minutes before the start of an event; otherwise Jumper gives you a harsh, reproachful look, and believe me, you don’t want that - you will need an anti-freeze to get your blood flowing again). Although we were considerably out of it, we managed to take advantage of a few great lectures on the history and wildlife of Antarctica as well as a presentation on climate change. We also managed to stay lucid for long enough to have a few improvised but resourceful conversations on environmental awareness.

Today was more eventful than yesterday, partly because most of us are actually awake. We saw our first whales (mostly the steam coming out of the water and the occasional back or tail), our first iceberg (it’s amazing how many pictures one can take of a block of ice and still be excited), our first land on the horizon (which included a stunning glacier), and our first penguin! Throughout the day we had more lectures and discussions on the effect of climate change on the environment and our role in protecting the fragile eco-system. The peak of emotions, however, was reached when Robert Swan and his companion (the one who looks like a good-natured Castro (yeah, an oxymoron…)) arrived on our ship and surprised us all at dinner. Robert walked around smiling and greeted everyone as if we all were old buddies of his. Now we are all psyched about getting on the shore tomorrow and visiting the e-base! This will finally break the cycle of eating, sleeping, listening to lectures, and crowding on the sides of the boat to take pictures of the slightest change on the horizon.

Now it’s time for bed. We would all need a good rest before the start of yet another unusual day.

Where are you right now as you read this blog? I know you are not 640 miles south of the southern most part of South America at the edge of Antarctica. If you were here in Antarctica I’d probably know because fewer than 150,000 people have ever visited this continent since its discovery. In some ways you’re the smart one, or at least the more comfortable one between the two of us. The small ex-naval ship that carried our expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Antarctic just finished crossing one of the most dangerous shipping routes in the world—the Drake Passage. People prepare to die when they make the crossing because you have to have luck on your side that another ship will be close enough to assist if you get in serious trouble from 70 foot tall waves called “rollers.” These waves literally circle the Southern Ocean with nothing to block their progress—including our little ship. However, we had a charmed passage (nothing to embellish into a death defying saga yet), one of the smoothest crossings the captain has ever seen, and yet nearly 20 of 75 people were seasick at one time or another during our two day crossing. Sound fun yet? But hey, you add to that same crossing the opportunity to see a) rare fin whales feeding with their offspring, b) Guntu penguins swimming curiously around the ship, c) a 10 story tall, turquoise-colored iceberg emerging from the mist dead ahead of the ship, d) albatross gliding for hours behind the ship on 9 foot wingspans, and finally d) the sight of seven members of the 2041 expeditionary team waving and welcoming you from the top of their e-Base home at Bellingshausen Scientific Station on King George Island, and it makes you feel like your are beginning an incredible learning adventure. It is snowing lightly tonight (St. Paddy’s Day) and a storm is moving in. Yet tomorrow we go ashore for 10 hours of hiking and working in -5° Fahrenheit weather with a wind chill factor of -20° or more. Stay warm for me won’t you? I’m counting on the memories of countless words of best wishes from family, friends, colleagues, and clients to keep me warm. Plus all the survival gear that I can possibly layer on and still move. We’re limited to a single paragraph for each entry, so I’ll stop now and write later about subjects like the very high probability of slipping on deep layers of penguin poop when stepping onto an Antarctic beach. I feel your envy already!

This morning there were birds flying all around the boat. Petrels, Albatross, and even Chinstrap Penguins resting in the open water. We sighted our first humpback whales this morning - a tremendous rush – only to be even more blown away when we sighted our first iceberg! It was so close that it seemed as if you could practically reach out and touch it. A pristine, splendid white mountain floating in the sea. Breathtaking. It was hard to grasp that it was even real. The day continued to amaze. We arrived at Bellingshausen around 6pm, after cruising by a tremendous glacier and seeing our first penguins!

I’ve been so thankful that we had such a calm crossing of the Drake Passage. We lost about 10-15 people for about 48 hours due to seasickness, but I am happy to report that I wasn’t one of them! We’ve been passing the time with basic activities, such as talking, playing cards, putting golf balls in our lounge, and attending brief lectures on climate change and local wildlife. We’ve also started shooting a remake of “Titanic”….minus the sinking part of course. It’s amazing what you can come up with to pass the time when there are no TVs to watch and you feel too sick to read!

I’ll sign off for now, and will hope that I have another blogging opportunity before too long. A special hello to everyone at Oliver Wyman, especially the NA EA Team. Marylou…give Boo a kiss for me! Hi Mom!

Eric’s initial thoughts on climate change…

I live in Los Angeles, and our battles with climate change center around the tremendous amount of pollution that is created by our auto-centric way of life.