Being home

After a long journey via drake passage, Ushuaia, Buenos Aires, Madrid and finally Düsseldorf, it was nice to come home, especially when there were flowers, invitations, letters and Makro Cash & Carry post waiting for me...

Antarctica was a great and unforgettable experience, where I personally changed a bit.  "One´s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." Henry Miller. 

That's it!

It is so crazy...we awaited this expedition for so long and now it is already over! This morning we left Ushuaia for good. We're now sitting at the airport of Buenos Aires and just had our first sunbath of the year at incredible 26°C. Slowly but surely we realize that our trip is now officially over. It will definitely take some time to recapitulate the entire expedition and reflect on the wide range of impressions we gathered. So you will certainly hear or read from us soon. But for now I'd like to resume our last days on board of the Sea Spirit. 

Day 15: Drake Passage - Reflections

Day 14: The Antarctic Peninsula - Goodbye Antarctica

Goodbye Antarctica...

Our last day in Antarctica started very early. Even before breakfast we all went on the roof of the ship to see a huge iceberg. This iceberg apparently broke up from Antarctica. It was 50 m high above the water surface. And 320m long underneath the water surface. This breaking up is also due to the climate change.

Let`s have a look at King George Island!

The largest island in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula is King George Island. However it is famous not just because of its size. It is also the location of many research bases and one of them is the 2041 E-base. This education station is the first in Antarctica that is built with sustainable products and run on renewable energy. Robert Swan lived there for two weeks, solely using renewable energy, and the point he makes is if you can run a home in such tough weather conditions solely with renewable energy, you should be able to do it everywhere.

DAY 13: The Antarctic Peninsula - Visiting the First Education Base in Antarctica

Throw caution to the wind...

Every day on this trip, we experiment different moments. As a team, on your own, sometimes in very difficult conditions, or even just in a meeting group... a part of the expedition is to learn how to get out of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves.

Day 12: The Antarctic Peninsula - Polar Plunge

DAY 12: The Antarctic Peninsula - Cruising along ice shelves and following whales

Day 11: The Antarctic Peninsula - Extreme Camping

Camping in the cold...

Everybody was very excited about the camping trip... well almost everybody. It´s a unique opportunity to join Robert Swan and his team leaders on an overnight camping trip on the Antarctic ice surrounded by seals, penguins and whales. This trip was already postponed one day because of the bad weather, so tonight would be the night!

Day 10: The Antarctic Peninsula - Cuverville Island - Hiking on the Edge

Day 10: The Antarctic Peninsula - Cuverville Island

Cuverville Island 64°44'S 62°37'W

"Team Inspire, Team Inspire, Team Inspire: there is a whale on starboard, one o'clock".  This announcement woke us up this morning. So the first thing I did was to watch outside of my window (fortunately our cabin is on starboard side and at the bow of our ship) while I was brushing my teeth. And I saw him, breaking the surface.  I can't remember the last time I had such a spectacle while brushing my teeth. That is really a good thing about Antarctica..you always get to see something new! Like the morning, when we went to Cuverville Island. 

Petermann Island 65° 10'S 64°10'W

 "If you tell your friends you are going to visit Antarctica, they will expect you to get cold - and to see penguins" (Lonely Planet)

The Antarctic Peninsula: First landings or how to get ready to leave the ship!

"Unreal"

6.30 am, the first announcement of the day by Jumper: "team inspire, team inspire, team inspire, wake up, wake up, wake up!  I want to see everyone on the bridge"

Adrian Cross - aka Jumper, ex-member of the British forces, he is our safety officer during the expedition. Full of energy, great communicator, he is driving everyone with one word "safety" and organization into our team. We went outside and the view took our breath away.

This second day was full of unexpected adventures.  We had our second Zodiac trip and also did our first steps on the land. We experienced what the team members call the real Antarctica: storms, waves, high winds, hurricane and the spectacular discover of nature with penguins, seals, seabirds, icebergs, ...when we are surrounded by this unknown land, frozen, hostile, where there is only the diversity of the nature and the silence, you realize that before to get a control of our environment, we need to hear, to see, to understand, to be patient. Using all our senses is essential.

For any changes we want to engage, we have to act for the true reason. Joost and Mickael, two members of the expedition from the Netherlands, have shared with us an example of their story. 20 months earlier, they decided to cycle for water. They started their trip from Alaska all the way down to Ushuaia. They travelled over 30,000 km with a bike in bambou to show the issue of preserving the most important resource in the world and help people who can't get an access to clean water.  They have implemented two projects during their trip: one in Colombia and Bolivia.

This experience is full of inspiration for each of us. In our daily life, in our daily work, the most important is to believe in what we are doing.

Day 9: The Antarctic Peninsula - Penguins at Petermanns Island

Day 9: The Antarctic Peninsula - Rough sea at Lemaire Channel

Day 8: The Antarctic Peninsula - First Zodiac tour

Arrival in Antarctica!!!

After spending two days on the Drake Passage we finally arrived at the Antarctic Peninsula in the late afternoon. There was lots of excitement about the first iceberg, because the memory of your first iceberg will remain with you forever.  The ocean looks totally different now we are surrounded by floating ice sculptures...  

"The land looks like a fairytale" Roald Amundsen

The weather was cloudy and misty but that didn´t stop us from exploring in inflatable rubber boats called Zodiacs. It is really amazing to cruise among spectacular ice shelves and observe seals near the surface. We all felt very close to this great environment.

Day 7: Drake Passage

Day 6: Ushuaia - Drake Passage --- Boarding

Drake-Shake or Drake-Lake?

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best! With these words in mind we embarked the "Sea Spirit", our new home for the next 11 days. Ready to face the next challenge of our journey: the crossing of the feared Drake Passage. As always in life you have to pay a certain price to get what you want or where you want. And we were ready to pay the price. Under certain conditions...But first we had to pass the Beagle Channel. 

Day 5: Ushuaia - Glacier Challenge

Let´s have a barbecue in Ushuaia!

Last night we had our first dinner all together at the shore of the Beagle Channel. WOW LOOK AT THE VIEW! There will be our barbeque...

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best

Tomorrow we will board the ship heading to Antarctica.

We are all really excited to start but also scared to get seasickness.  The Drake Passage is certainly earning its name as one of the Most Treacherous Seas on Earth...

Robert Swan told us today that if we think we will become sick, it will happen. A part of it is in our mind. So I convince myself that it won't be a problem! Always "being positive".  This feeling is very strong here especially in our team group. During the last 3 days, I shared great times with other people who inspire me by their stories, their energy, their bravery.  We went hiking for quite a long time (10 hours in less than 3 days!) to get to know each other... It is only the beginning of our journey, but since the beginning, I keep thinking that communicating with each other (without phones or computers, with language barriers...) and sharing our experiences is really important to move on the right way.

The ship will leave at 3pm, so we have time to pick up last minute supplies. We are unsure of the communication capabilities on the ship so updating the blog may prove to be a challenge.

To Hike!

Today we faced our first challenge. And guess what? We survived. We made it to the top of the glacier as one team and we are really proud. Some parts of the hike were really steep and slippery. I know I already mentioned it yesterday but now I can speak from my experience. 

Day 4: Ushuaia - First session with Robert Swan

To hike or not to hike?

When I was sitting next to the fireplace, I heard one of the team leaders of 2041 joking about who would survive the next day. His words are still in my mind. Should I be scared? Should I quit? I won't quit but I would like to tell you that I might not survive....

5 tips to go on an expedition to Antarctica

Today the "Leadership on the Edge" program has officially started with a team introduction and an information session about the Expedition.  Here you will find the top 5 things for us to remember:

1.       LAYERS LAYERS LAYERS (dress like an onion)

2.       Drink minimum 2,5 liter water a day (the air is very dry)

3.       Put always sunscreen and lip protectoin on (there is no Ozone layer at Antarctica)

4.       If you fall out of a Zodiac: cover mouth and nose  

5.       Branco 5 (be on time, even 5 minutes earlier)

BTW: Thank you all very much for the comments, highly appreciated!

Ushuaia: Day 3

Ushuaia and Martial mountain range...

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and the closest to the Antarctic Peninsula. The city lies on the shores of the Beagle Channel, sheltered from the strong northern winds by the Martial mountain range.

Guess who wanted to discover these Martial mountains this morning? Of course, the Metro-girls!!!

This first hike was a great test for our boots and hiking skills. After a firm hike we had some amazing views of the Beagle Channel and the Martial Mountains.  On Wednesday we will try to reach the top of the Martial Glacier with the other members in teams...

Our first evening in Ushuaia!

Sometimes you have to fly around the world to end up in a pub drinking beer with people from all over the world...

Journey to Ushuaia: Day 1 + Day 2

On cloud nine

How I got my luggage and myself into Antarctica?

Friday I packed my bags to go to Antarctica... What a challenge to go to the South Pole with only 20 kilos. But I always try to have in mind "He who would travel happily must travel light" as Antoine de Saint Exupery once said, but still... As you can see, I succeeded, but I was totally relieved when I saw this beautiful bag back in Ushuaia. YEAH I have everything that I need!

Never take a shower in the morning!

How the Finns protect themselves from the cold and what we can learn from them.

A good preparation is very important when heading to Antarctica. This includes not only good equipment but also the knowledge about the appropriate behaviour in this area. The blog entry below resumes the 5 things you should keep in mind when you are exposed to the cold. 

My essentials...

Interesting travel facts about Antarctica!

"Oh, you're going on a ski trip!"

My valentine-present @ Antarctica!

LOOK LOOK LOOK what I got for my Valentine...  A Ski Mask!!!

Now I'm completely ready for the Antarctic weather! Do you see the likeness with Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour?

How to prepare for Antarctica?

Cool, shopping for Antarctica! Will we look like onions or oranges?

Welcome everybody!

Last wednesday we had the opportunity to go shopping for the Antarctica Expedition 2012 at a big store for outdoor equipment in Köln! Audrey, Nathalie and I (The Metro Antarctica Girls) had lots of fun & warm moments. Dressing up for Antarctica is fun but a store with normal temperatures, does the body temperature rise quickly.

Cool!?

Equipment for Antartica