My Story with Antarctica- It was all about nature

It was all about nature
4/3/2012

(Day Four)

It was another cloudy day. The temperature was 2 degrees. Our plan is to hike in the Petermann Island for 1 to 1.5 km. Again: Layers, Layers, Layers. We have to keep our bodies warm and dry when hiking or riding the zodiacs. It was windy and chilled. My hands were frozen as my gloves were not waterproof. Our driver this time is Angela, a nice woman with courageous and passion to the Antarctic. I was shivering of cold but amazed how Angela was standing in the boat confidently with open hands to the wind and chilled water.

We drove between the icebergs and enjoyed their natural shapes. The water lines mixed with the shades reflected the blue color between the shapes and created a sort of mountain shapes. I could see bridges, highways with innovative designs, some green color shades in this corner and that and a splendid structure with no man hand. It was all about nature.

Then we had a brief from Robert about the “Leadership on the Edge” program. Robert said that leadership is about keeping the wheel running though things may not be up to plan. Following that, Susan who is a geologist gave us a nice presentation: “A Geologist in Antarctica following the Skackleton’s footsteps 100 years later”. It is not Susan’s first time to the Antarctic. She gave us facts and results from her last visit and heighted some important points about the differences between 1914 expeditions and today’s. People were more interested in minerals and economical resources.

The Antarctic ice equals 60 to 70 meters raise in sea level if melted. Isn’t it important to preserve the last wildness on earth?

My Story with Antarctica- “Survival Night”

“Survival Night”

3/3/2012

(Day Three)

In most days, I find myself walking up from my sleep and trying to hold tight the dream I saw. Sometimes it works well, however; it fails most. Today I woke up with a full picture I mind. I pulled myself out of bed quickly. I was afraid that the picture feds away and leaves me with the little tiny memories that may not be at all true.

Blown away with Antarctic Glaciers and ice bergs, I stood in the Deck amazed and fully taken by the wonders of the whiteness everywhere I look. The sky uniformed white and had a glimpse of light from the hiding sun. I was alone, united with the silence and the little talks of the ocean with ship. My frozen fingers tasted the meaning of being in the Antarctic. I made my prayers and wishes feeling the calmness of such gorgeous place.

It was a full day activities. We had our mostly awaited presentation about the “Penguins” by Berna. It was interesting to know their types and diversities. The most interesting part was about the chicks and how amazingly they are raised up differently between type and another.

Then, the inspiring and dream’s chasing team: Mechael and Youe in their presentation about their journey “Cycle for Water”. Twenty months ago they started their challenging mission to cycle from the Arctic to the Antarctic for raising water awareness. They faced many challenges on their way. Lack of experience, physical readiness, lack of support and the journey tough way did not step them back. They kept cycling and speaking about water wherever they reached. Incredibly, they made their way to reach Ushuaia a day prior the “Sea Spirit” departure.

Part of our journey to the Antarctic is to learn “How to Tell A Story”. Jhony one of the dedicated 2041 team is a professional and high sense photographer. He doesn’t only capture rare and fantastic pictures, he lets his pictures talk. That what his photos said to us on his behalf. He briefed us on the techniques and gave us tricks and tips to capture our stories and keep them holing the moments we saw forever. Jhony’s photos told us his story and passion to adventures and uniqueness.

We had our “Survival Night” briefing on how IAATO (International Antarctic Tour Operation) and the Zodiac procedure. Then came the awaited time to ride our first Zodiacs to get a closer look to the icebergs and glaciers in the Melchior Island. What an overwhelming experience. We dressed heavily as advised: Layers, Layers, Layers. Our Zodiac driver was Shane, an incredible person who loved Antarctica and holds a great care for it. He drove us to Island and took us around the magnificent icebergs. With the boat going up and down and Shane’s question: Is everyone alright? We scream with motivation and enthusiasm: Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa. Laughing when the water hits our faces and clothes and happily breathing the fresh air of this precious place. The icebergs with their spectacular shapes and bluish reflection on the sea water. It is amazing how fresh water touches with sea water in every corner of an iceberg, yet, they still remain original and separate. There were some magnificent shapes with water paths built wonderfully to end with small water falls in some places.

Though Shane has been 160 to 170 times to the Antarctic, the wonder of this place is still accompanying him. The happiness of seeing the Humpback whale finally today after these many times was shining from his face and words. I was lucky to be in his team today and share his amazing feelings.

I was waved away with this beautiful, tremendous and outstanding place. What a great day it was.

My Story with Antarctica- My First Iceberg

My First Iceberg

2/3/2012
(Day two)

I woke up early morning excited to see my first sun rise in the in the “Drake Passage”. Little water drops touched my face and a double rainbow reflected on my eyes and took me away from the surrounding distractions. The sun rise was spectacular and unique, with a wavy shade of mixed orange hues.

Not as we expected, the “Drake Passage” was gentle with us and we crossed 600 miles of relatively smooth sea from Ushuaia toward Antarctica. Jimmy Watts gave us an exciting and interesting overview “The River of Krill” about the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica is such an incredible continent that holds some of the most world great species.

Then we had another informative speech by Berna. It was about the Wonders of the Ocean. We came to learn about the different birds that live in the Antarctic, their uniqueness and some about their life cycle.

Around 3:30 pm, we reached Antarctica’s water. The temperature was dropping down and it reaches around 3 degrees. “Team Inspire, Team Inspire, Team Inspire: Welcome to Antarctica”, the announcement that was made by Jumper, our rescue and safety champion. After a while, we all had to go out waiting for our first ice berg ever. Full of enthusiasm and eyes blowing of happiness and passion, we kept looking around in the wide sea trying to capture the first historical moment in our lives. The land was far away still, the cold wind was trying to go inside our “layers and layers” of Antarctic clothes and hit us with its stinging cold. Yet, we kept waiting, facing the wind, screaming for our first floating ice peace, albatrosses, penguins and seals, till we finally got prized by unbelievable but long awaited incredible view.

My Story with Antarctica- Good bye Ushuaia

Good bye Ushuaia

1/3/2012

(First Day)

I headed towards the “Sea Spirit” with a mixture of confused feelings. Completely excited, yet thinking of the big responsibility on my shoulders. I couldn’t cheer up like the others did. Perhaps it’s the peace and purity of white that I was imagining myself already surrounding by. I was fully taken by my own imagination and thoughts of where I am heading - the world’s last wildness.

The “Sea Spirit” is a marvelous ship. We all took many pictures of our new home for the next two weeks. It is a fast and prestigious cruise ship and we are lucky to sail in such a luxurious vessel. Everything is just fantastic about it: the neat rooms with their comfortable beds, the delicious food and mostly the unimaginable scenes from the decks and the bridge. What a terrific feeling to be in the middle of the sea, surrounded by water, where no land is there, no dust and no human beings other than us.

On the ship we had Robert Swan talking about his love affair with Antarctica. He spoke about his first expedition and how everything started with a dream when he was 11 years old. He was conveying messages on “how you lead yourself” and was insisting on not to give up on our dreams.

When Robert went to the Antarctic for the first time, there were more people had stood on the moon than that the South Pole. It is amazing how most of the time we don’t see the things we have and don’t realize how fortunate we are and how precious they are to us.

We crossed the “Beagle Channel” in the night towards the “Drake Passage”. The water of the Drake Passage is known to be the toughest in the world. Luckily, we haven’t faced heavy winds though we could feel the ship rolling through the waves. Some people fell sick and spent their time on their beds. I think this is all part of the Antarctic adventure. It is not easy at all.

The night was quite and I slept like a baby in my soft and warm bed, imagining the swing of my mother’s arms, safe and calm in the slightly waving sea.

My Story with Antarctica- HIKING IN USHUAIA

HIKING IN USHUAIA

29.2.2012

Today was the hiking day in Ushauaia. Our team (Amundsen) consists of 8 people from different countries and backgrounds. Our hiking capabilities were extremely different. Yet, we made it to the summit. We climbed the Mountain Glacier and saw the effects of global warming. The ice level is degrading every year. What a wonderful and terrific view. It is unfair to let it get destroyed by our irresponsible actions towards affecting the environment sustainability. Yesterday we had a training on how to manage climbing as a team. Today was the real team work day. We were left to hike all the way to the mountain attached to each other via a rope. Proper instructions were given to us by the 2041 team who were very much concerned about the layers we should wear. The Amundsen team was fantastic and did a real great job on the way to the summit and the way back as well. Though we were the slowest team, it was not at all our concern. We were not competing to reach, rather we were caring to get the best out of this experience and get the value of being one team. Leading and following was everyone's role. Our communication with each other to slow down, have water and snacks, break, go faster ,etc was tremendously amazing. On the way back from the top, we took another path. We hiked through the jungle. Peaceful and beautiful with all the surrounding trees, small water falls, the crunching dry leaves under our boots, the stars of the sun arms crossing between the trees, a serene and unforgettable view. Then we had a talk about sustainability and the megaforces. In the end we were given some instructions to get ready to our life time journey to the Antarctic by tomorrow by Allah's will. The communication from tomorrow (1.3.2012) onwards will be limited, hence my updates will be not that frequent and only when possible.