Students' Inspire Antarctic Expedition 2008

Last night I got to do the thing that I had been looking forward to the most on the expedition: camping on Antarctica. We landed at Dorian’s Bay and hiked up to the crest of a glacier to make camp. At first it was all fun and jokes and then we saw the black clouds of a storm fast approaching us from across the bay. Suddenly it was a mad scramble to pitch the tents and make snow walls to act as blocks against the howling wind. When we’d set up our campsites I snuggled into my sleeping bag and bunked down for the night. I was warm and toasty all night in my tent. When I woke up in the morning the sun was just beginning to rise. A little ways off from our camp site there was a huge, craggy mountain that the sun was coming up behind. The first rays of light made gold and pink and purple clouds that seemed to be shooting out from the mountain. The sight was absolutely breathtaking to see. Later this afternoon the expedition members did another landing at the Argentinean base at Paradise Bay. Paradise Bay is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic continent, and I have to say I that I don’t disagree. Enormous, rocky mountain sloping right into the water and hanging glaciers encircle the entire bay. We had a Leadership on the Edge workshop at the base of a mountain, where we presented our strategies for creating environmentally friendly and sustainable energy programs in our businesses, schools and homes. After the workshop we hiked up the glacier to a snow slide that a few of the leaders had made. I slide all the way down the mountain on my stomach. It was great fun and I successfully managed to pack a large amount of snow down the front of my pants. That’s all for now. All my love to those at home, I’ll be seeing you guys soon!

This has been such an amazing trip so far that I don´t even know where to start. I´ve been trying to describe what I have experienced on this expedition so far, but it just seems like there are no words that could do justice to the beauty of Antarctica. The rawness of this place is what makes it so alluring. I almost feel like we are trespassing, like we were never really meant to see this landscape that is solely ruled by nature. Yesterday I stood out on the deck of our ship and watched the sun break through a slice of the clouds. The far shore was lit up, and it was like the white of the mountains were on fire. I think also that it is the people who I am with that have made this trip as remarkable as it has been. I have met so many unique and wonderful people in the few short days that I have been here. Every day I learn something new from them. The obstacles that these people have overcome to be here and to accomplish their visions to preserve Antarctica´s pristine environment are truly inspiring. I know that I will walk away from this expedition with a new view of the world and myself. My love to everyone at home. I can´t wait to share with you what I have experienced

3月17日南极之旅第五天，七点钟醒来之后洗了一个澡，又倒下睡了半小时直到Peter的inspire team, Inspire team喇叭响起。 脱下了登山鞋，换上了沙滩拖鞋，抓地的感觉更好了。冲了杯咖啡，给看见的人打了个招呼，不过早上不愿意说更多的话，找了一个单独的沙发坐下。回头看向窗外阳光一片灿烂，船一路朝南航行，西方有淡淡的彩虹。海鸥跟着船尾绕行，以为会捡到剩食，如其他游船一样。 早餐多了橙汁，吸取了昨日的教训没有因为各种美食而不顾肠胃的消化能力。和昨日的感觉绝然相反，没有昏昏欲睡。一切感觉正常，似乎身体也适应了这艘船的节奏。 从14日下午六点启程，已经在Drake Passage航行了约38小时。海浪还是非常温柔，Ushuaia在慢摇的节奏之中稳步前行。据说前几次航行在这条通道上时，风浪异常大；去年有几个日本的成员，在甲板上被摇得够呛。甚至Ushuaia号从南极返回的路途也不轻松，当我们刚上船时问船员这些，他们只说了一句“不要提了(don’t mention it)”。 早上的briefing，Peter给大家显示了卫星预测的未来几天的风向，虽然不能保证完全靠谱。他也回忆了下曾经的几次经历，总结来说，我们到目前为止一切非常顺利，被祝福着。（We are all blessed）。今天接近中午会缓缓驶向比较平静的海面，冷流和暖流会在某处交汇。 Ushuaia船上的一个负责人Bernice给大家讲了南极旅行中，要避免对那里的自然生态系统的干扰。中间休息时刻(11:40 am)发生了今天第一件激动的事情：鲸鱼出现了。 船长在广播里通知大家这群正在季节活跃期的动物的方位，大家一涌而出，纷纷掏出照相摄像设备，靠在船舷各处，等待鲸鱼冒出海面的那瞬间。大约据船两三百米远（允许我尽准确的描述，在一望无际的海面上没有任何参照物）不时冒出喷泉般水柱，然后很短暂地能看到鲸鱼背鳍部分露出海面。广播中介绍这是第二大类鲸鱼（到底是什么名字，只有回去才能查到了）。为了方便大家观看，船也稍稍朝向喷水方向偏向。很遗憾接近平静的海面之后，天气微雨，照相机效果始终黯淡。 摆脱了晕船的困然，还有另外一个小小问题：用餐时间太过频繁。感觉早饭之后不到一小时又是午饭，午饭不久似乎就是晚饭。中间还有小吃餐点，实在找不到饿的机会。看来计划南极之行减几斤肉的计划很可能失败。 午饭的甜点很迷人，奶油黑巧克力冰淇淋和罐头桃肉。品尝不到一半，今天第二件激动事件出现了：冰山！ 午餐时间还在纳闷，为什么感觉船稳定在海面一处呢？原来船前方遭遇了第一座冰山。对于大多数人来说，这肯定是人生中的第一座冰山。和海水接触那一层冰蓝色最明显，阳光照下的一面也呈现这种色彩。记下了时间：2008年3月17日下午1点10分。 在药片作用下忍受了几十个小时的昏沉航行，冰山的出现无疑给大家以及强心剂。等待着Ushuaia号上面70多位乘客的还有更多的惊喜。 越朝目的地前行，海面越平稳，只能感觉到上下微微起伏。不能再坚持逞强汲着拖鞋，鲸鱼和冰山的热情还是不能抵挡实际接近零下的，略微阴沉的天气也开始飘着雨点。 下午2点40，乔治王岛出现在船左侧，离岸附近也能看到漂浮的冰山。随着不断在平静海面上行驶，乔治王岛身影也逐渐变得清晰，最先看到的是覆盖着冰的大陆。 穿过了历史上阻拦无数探险先驱的Drake Passage，南极！南极！我们几乎就要到了。此次行程第一个目的地E-Base就在乔治王岛（中国长城站也是）。明天早上八点半成员中第一批志愿者将登陆，我也报名了其中。罗伯斯旺和已经在那里生活了2个多星期的其他6个成员将在俄罗斯的观测站迎接我们。 接下来踏上南极陆地的行程仍然未知，因为需要根据天气情况而定。3月17日的航行是一个好兆头，愿能继续下去。我们各自的神都在祝福着我们。

Today was a day of firsts. In the morning I got to see my first pod of whales. At first only the spray from their blowholes was visible, but they soon came near to the bow of the ship, and I could see them as they came to the surface of the waves. Shortly afterward I got to see my first iceberg. It was truly an awesome sight; a huge, craggy peak of ice rising out of the blue waters of the Antarctic sea. And finally, today, I got my first view of the continent of Antarctica, King George Island. The island seemed very far off, shrouded in mist, almost invisible, but as our ship sailed further inland the beautiful shores and icy cliffs of Antarctica loomed out of the fog. Tomorrow we will go ashore for the first time. I am excited to see what awaits me, and what Antarctica has in store for me. This has been an amazing journey so far, but it has only just begun, and I am sure that there is much more in store to amaze me.