Warren: Why I came to Antarctica, part II

My original reasons for coming to Antarctica were to break from work, to spend time with my daughters Whitney, E.B, and to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting the seventh continent. One of the things I learned studying Scott and Amundsen was the value of a clear focused goal. It was one of the major differences between Amundsen and Scott in their race to the pole one hundred years ago and for those who do not know the story, it was an importance difference not only in who was first, but who lived to tell their story.

After visiting Antarctica I now feel like I have been living in a Bierstadt painting for the last 10 days. It exceeded my wildest expectations. The scenery is spectacular. We were able to see at least 15 species of birds; we made10 zodiac landings on the continent and islands surrounding it. We saw Antarctic fur seals, crabeater seals, a leopard seal, a Southern elephant seal, Ross seals and Weddell seals. Whales viewed were fin whales, a mother and calf humpback pair which played by our boat in Paradise Bay giving us a wonderful display and a nice pod of Minke whales. Our boat, the Exhibition, was very comfortable with a heavy emphasis on safety. Another of the cruise boats, the North Star, ran aground on the rocks and the Cecilia II lost power during a storm and was tossed about like a leaf on Niagara Falls. The Drake crossing while challenging was not as difficult as I is expected to be. The importance of relationships was a point I pondered before and after the trip.

There are at least four relationships which I've thought about during and after this trip. First, our personal relationship with God and nature. Second, our relationships with families. Third are relationship with others and finally my relationship with myself.

1. Spending this much time in nature gave me a chance to reflect again on man's nothingness in the universe. Looking out into the dark heavens at night, one again is struck by the expansiveness of space and the relatively small part of it we understand or know about. Seeing the large continent of Antarctica with almost no marks of man raises interesting questions about its development. Should it be left untouched or at some future day will we become so desperate for oil and other minerals that will begin to carve up the beauty that exists there?

2. Being with my daughters is one of the highlights of the trip. Both of them are gracious, adventuresome, bold and kind. This blog is a good example of their creativity. While they are wonderful travel companions I dearly missed my wife Maureen. From this time forth, our travel plans need to be inclusive of each other. I do not know if she would have enjoyed the cold and the constant bucking of the deep crashing seas but, it would have been great to have her here.

3. As the woman who had the appendicitis was leaving the boat I was emotionally touched by the relationships that we have with each other. To choreograph the emergency exit for her called upon the people on the boat to spend a little less time on the cruise, the crew toiled through the night to press the ship forward as quickly as possible, a pilot boat met her and transported her to shore where she was met by a four-wheel drive pickup that carried her and her stretcher onto a helicopter which in turn carried her to the hospital. Along the way people were focused on one individual. By working together her pain was reduced and perhaps her life was saved. Many individuals on the boat seemed to be going through periods of transition. Some were recently divorced, some had lost loved ones, some were at a transition period in their jobs and some were simply out having a good time. I heard a common theme in talking to individuals about the purpose of life. It was a question some had not thought about it. When they did, they found their own contributions relatively small.

4. It probably sounds rather odd to think about the relationship with oneself. However I did have time to reflect on many things during a trip relating to myself. I'm writing a five page history of my life and that has caused me to consider great blessings and with deep gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful life I've experienced. After talking with E.B. I've also been able to recognize that there have been conflicts, tensions, and in many cases resolutions to circumstances that had generally had a favorable outcome. I've also noticed that my beard is getting gray and my belly bigger. I'll leave the graybeard alone as being somewhat inevitable. But I have already resolved to tone up my physique as it is something I have more control over. As I reflected on how to present my life I debated presenting a happy Hallmark version or something a little bit more real. I have chosen to honestly reflect reality as best I can as that would seem to serve myself and future generations better.

What did I learn? I learned that penguins on land have no natural predators and therefore are actually rather fearless and the chicks friendly. As in many things in life when love conquers fear everything seems to go more smoothly. This allows us to walk among them without them running away. I learned that in order to dive deep into the ocean one must breathe very slowly. Like well practiced yoga, this slows down the heart rate and according to some we have only so many heart beats in life, therefore slowing the heart rates prolongs life. Whales have the capacity go down almost 2000 meters. There is an unproven theory that Sperm Whales use Spermaceti to change their bouyancy on the way down and as a flotation device on the way up. Whales use air bubbles to round up their prey then with mouths gaping wide swim up through the corralled fish and in one gigantic gulp complete their breakfast. Speaking of breaking the fast, many of the animals here go for as long as six months with out eating to complete their breeding cycle.

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It was wonderful to have full-time experts on board who answered many of my questions about rocks and how the landmasses and continents were formed. Naturalist lecturers gave presentations three times during the day about what were going to see, then after the landings sharing additional knowledge about the places we visited and the animals we saw.

A number of films were shown on historical characters, voyages and heroes who initially tried to conquer this challenging area. Shackleton, Scott, Amundson, Ross and Weddell are all individuals who can be criticized in retrospect but were brave and courageous in the thing they attempted to do. An additional benefit was having seals and seas named after them. Being in Antarctica provides a totally different perspective about the difficulties they faced, the severe weather, the loneliness and the harsh environment they were in. There were several days when it was cold, snowing and generally miserable (the day we went swimming being one of those miserable days.) That being said, we were there in the relative warmth of summer when the sun was shining at least part of the time. I am most grateful for this opportunity to have gone there. It was an educational and spiritual experience beyond compare.

The glacial ice is filled with compressed air. As the ice melts, the bubbles escape, so much so that it can sculpt the face of a massive iceberg. Yet in the still water of Paradise Bay you could hear the tiny bubble escaping from the ice. The ancient explorers called the sound “the small voices.” These small voices call me back and someday I hope I have a chance to heed their call.