Feb 19

Today is a boat day. It is Feb. 19, 2009 and we aren’t leaving the boat today. It will be like this for a couple of days starting with today, as we are now on our way to South Georgia across the Scotia Sea from the Antarctic Peninsula. I woke up at 8:00 to eat breakfast. Then went to go see a movie about the early explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew and how they survived in Antarctica after being shipwrecked here for over a year. I also read a book about them during the past week, and it is the most incredible story of survival I have ever heard, made all the more real by actually being here and experiencing just a few minutes at a time some of the things they endured for months at a time.  After their ship was trapped in ice and they spent over a year floating on the pack ice over the ocean, Shackleton’s crew took to the ocean in three small wooden lifeboats landing on Elephant Island where they were then stuck for four months on the tiniest point of land exposed to the open ocean. They were trapped there until Shackleton came back to rescue them. Shackleton and five other men left with him from Elephant Island and navigated across 800 miles of the roughest seas in the world (where I am now) eventually arriving at South Georgia where there was a whaling station, which could send a rescue expedition.  But first, they still had to cross a mountain range on foot after arriving at South Georgia - they tried three times and then made it. No one died on their adventure. Shackleton was very happy.

            We had lunch, and then went to a lecture about “The Ice.” Jason (one of the staff members) talked about how Antarctica got here and about the glaciers. It was very fascinating. The snow never melts in Antarctica. It just piles and piles. Antarctica is just like a big desert. It is very dry, and has very little moisture.  But, because the snow that does fall never melts, over thousands and thousands of years it has created an ice cap that makes Antarctica the highest continent on Earth by far.  The ice cap on Antarctica averages up to two and a half MILES DEEP across the entire continent.

            Around teatime we arrived at Elephant Island. The waves were too big to go to the island, so ship just pulled up near the island. It was neat to see. The last time I came to Antarctica I got to land on Elephant Island right were Shakleton’s crew was trapped – it’s named Point Wild after the leader of the 21 men who stayed behind. I saw the monument that was on the island. It was amazing to think that men survived here for four months.

            Then we had a recap of our trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, which we have now left. The diving specialist showed us the videos he made - all of the underwater animals and plant life (which is the only place there is plant life in Antarctica). He also showed us the penguins diving into the water. It was funny to see all the penguins all jumbled up next to each other. It was fun to watch.

 

Bye for now,

 

Emily