Iceberg ahead! And for a moment I was with Jack and Rose on the Titanic, although in broad daylight.
A huge block with almost perfect sides floated and moved across the frozen sea.
Better than watching a movie is living it, and the amazement at that mass of whitish turquoise ice floating in the salt waters was transformed into words and the movie I had in mind was quickly expressed. “Titanic!”
The happiness was enormous. There is some enjoyment in experiencing the non-tragic scenes of the movies; not tragic.
From now on the view would transform into shades of white and ranges of blue. Both on earth and in heaven. For a long time we would not see any green, except some gray tone of a stony terrain.
We made a kind of “bunker”, with the scientific delegation, in the front part of the command room. Cookies and a hot drink were waiting there, as well as cartography, and the promotion of curiosity with everything that was there: Radio equipment, command consoles, and a large glass view.
The ARA Bahía Agradable used to be a “cement” ship – I have not found supporting information about it – from the former USSR (Neftegaz 71) that was sold along with three others to Argentina. The tongues said above the notice that he had come as a replacement source for the others.
And there it was sailing on icy waters for which it had been specifically retrofitted.
An old remnant of that operation in the former USSR as, to my knowledge, an oil and gas exploration vessel, was a hammer and sickle that were printed, although worn by time and the sun, on the bridge. It had clearly gone unnoticed until now… Good reception from the “comrade ship.”
An acquaintance, Bella, one afternoon in May, a year later, had great concerns about skin care because of what she had heard about Antarctica. In his black sunglasses that reflected my face that fall while we were talking, I remembered when I had to make mine, with magnification, from the sun, and prepared to carry not only the sun’s rays, but also the reflection that arises from each point of the continent. Be it its waters, ice, icebergs, snow or glaciers.
That evening – although there was little night – I took some sunscreen out of my bag to smear the exposed skin, the sensitive areas.
And after waiting a little for absorption I decided to go outside again. With my black glasses, which the optician in the Flores neighborhood had had specially made. In my preference, the more the clothing covered from sun exposure, the better; even with a protector on.
Although the Argentine Antarctic Institute provides all the necessary materials to work and live, the fact of myopia and astigmatism made it difficult to see with the glasses and goggles that they provided without optical materials with magnification.
With some unlocking of handles, knobs and hinges, we opened the iron door that led to the outside of the ship when a cold wind blew in strongly. On the roads surrounding the command bridge, all those who had climbed into Base Frei were mating, taking photos or simply appreciating the landscape.
In the midst of the laughter and indistinguishable conversations, someone commented loudly: “Whale.” And a beautiful cetacean posed on the horizon.
Our first hours already contained many memories and anecdotes.
Carlini, our first destination, former Jubani Base, was just over an hour from Villa las Estrellas – about 25 km. We were expected to arrive around 8:30 p.m. at night, but during the day. With a cloudy day, we slowly approached the Base. To our left on the road we had been able to navigate in sight of the King Sejong Korean base.
Carlini Base is in Potter Cove south of 25 de Mayo Island, overlooking the Bransfield Strait that must be crossed to reach the Peninsula. It was established in 1953 and brings together a large part of the Argentine scientific delegations in summer due to the diversity of studies carried out there. I understand that in the summer there are more than 100 people settled.
Dinner had been called ready. Although only those of us who would continue the journey to Base Primavera and San Martín would do it; those who got off at the next stop would do so at their work base.
Although I don’t remember, and had not taken note, that we had eaten, we did so in the non-commissioned officers’ mess. Very similar to the dining room on the Perfect Storm ship with all its wooden furniture, a TV in the back -although it was a small room-, and access to the hallway and the kitchen.
To get there you had to go down several flights of stairs, which even though the boat didn’t move much with the tide, if you weren’t holding on to the railing, you would tilt from one side to the other.
Let’s talk about boats and seasickness: Here I am going to tell you a little about our history. You don’t feel the movement of the boat much, even when you sleep. Although there are those who broke down like the base cook, and required some medication to carry out the trip.
Dimension it as a small ship that is altered by waves and the like.
Days after getting off the ship, already at its final destination, it was felt at times that the floor was moving, as if there was a constant earthquake. Something that we talked about in amazement at the base and that the cook also felt despite having passed the days after the boat. Like a remnant of having gotten used to the movement of the boat and that the body has incorporated it even on land. Not at all unpleasant, the rocking was felt even walking in Primavera’s kitchen…
In the end, we went to say goodbye to those who were getting off at Carlini. The zodiacs left little by little carrying scientific delegations and their luggage.
There was already a line waiting to board the boats that were leaving.
Of the 70/80 that we had climbed, only 20 remained (of which 10 were military). There was an unsatisfactory emotion at that moment, of emptiness; perhaps because many acquaintances stayed, like Ingrid, or another researcher I knew from the Institute. Maybe because I had not yet joined the new work team with whom I would live the rest of the campaign. Hard to describe… but I can still feel the “Empty Nest” of that afternoon. Uncertainty was beginning and someone I knew was missing to make it more bearable.
There, with laughter and waving hands in the sky, we said goodbye to the last Zodiac. With a deep inhalation that drowns out some anguish, I went up to the bridge where the round of mates began. It was already 9:30 p.m.
Having done the logistics in Carlini, we left for Base Primavera, knowing that we would arrive after approximately 24 hours.
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