icebergs melt, their fresh water mixes with
the surrounding salt water. Divers are less
buoyant in fresh water than in salt water.
So, as we swam, we had to adjust our
buoyancy levels by letting air in and out of
our drysuits. Sinking too fast would cause
our drysuits to squeeze tighter around our
bodies. Needless to say, we didn’t want to
waste a lot of time going up and down
when we could be enjoying the dive!”
“The fur seal pups swam close to us
while the adults tried to chase us away. As
natural predators, the leopard seals were a
little bit aggressive, but they were extremely
graceful in the water. It was like watching
a ballet. After our dives, we took off our
scuba gear, climbed on the icebergs and
played like kids on a playground. We had
a ball throwing each other into the water,
although the birdwatchers on the trip
would have liked it if we’d been less noisy.”
“Whale watching was spectacular. At
one point, we saw about 250 humpback
whales. Some were so close, the captain
stopped the ship. They were ‘spyhopping,’
popping up to get a good look around, and
then swimming under the ship. They didn’t
seem in any hurry to leave. We also saw a
blue whale, a fin whale, and southern right
whales. Near South Orkney, a pod of orcas
closed in on some minke whales that were
busy feeding on krill. The orcas were skilled
hunters, no doubt hoping to enjoy a meal
of Minke tongue.”
“My new favorite bird is the wandering
albatross. It has an eleven-foot wingspan
and goes out to sea for seven years at a
time. While onshore, we visited their
nesting grounds where the chicks were
waiting for their parents to return with
food. They are truly magnificent birds.”
“Antarctica is constantly changing.
Different parts of the polar ice cap are
growing and shrinking all the time. We saw
many different types of icebergs including
massive pillar icebergs that were ten miles
long, and jutted 150 feet out of the water.
Antarctica has its own sounds, too - the
wind, the waves and the glaciers calving.
And of course on land, the penguins chat-
ter, whistle and trill while the seals bark.”
Inspiring Others to Travel
For readers interested in Antarctica, Laura
recommends Alfred Lansing’s book,
Endurance, Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage.
During a lecture on the Plancius, Laura
learned that Shackleton enjoyed poetry, par-
ticularly the work of Robert Browning, and
he often quoted verses to his crew. Growing
up, his family’s motto was, “Through
endurance we conquer,” which inspired the
name for his ship, the Endurance, and cap-
tured the spirit of his life’s work.
“Throughout history, people are
remembered by their ability to lead others
through times of great challenge or failures.
Shackleton could never have imagined the
legacy he left for all of us today. He’s even
more of a hero to me now that I’ve visited
Antarctica.”
Not one to sit around and reminisce,
Laura already has plans for a fall trip to see
the Great Whites from a shark cage, and
then go on to Tasmania for more diving
and hiking adventures. As she likes to quote
from the Weather Channel, “It’s amazing
out there.”
Explorer Ernest Shackleton’s wife
Emily had these fitting words
engraved on his tombstone in
Grytviken:
“I hold…that a man
should strive to the
uttermost for his
life’s set prize.”
– Robert Browning
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2016
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