Snug in our final harbour of the trip, we all gathered in the cozy saloon of Elsi, and sat down to watch the final video compilation of our trip in the Antarctic. James Appleton, our tireless photographer and videographer, dimmed the lights, pressed play, and let the images draw us in.
We sat in stunned silence, as the images that flashed across the screen replayed our trip before our very e
yes. The dramatic light at dawn and dusk, orange hues reflecting off glaciers, icebergs, and steep snowy slopes. Images of lazy seals sleeping on icebergs, unconcerned of our presence. The penguins, as curious as ever, sauntering by us in their unusual gate as we ski toured past their colonies.
We re-lived our epic kayaking day in Paradise Harbour. The day started in a dense fog, the moodiness of the light dramatized the white glaciers against majestic rocky peaks, barely visible through the fog. As the paddle progressed, the sun came out and the whole of Paradise Harbour was revealed before our eyes. Mountain ranges, glaciers, icebergs of all kinds, a rumble to our left as an iceberg rolled. Paradise Harbour is aptly named.
The next scene filled us with excitement as we watched a skier descending a long slope with seracs on one side, crevasses on the other, and the bluest of oceans a backdrop to it all. The skier descended to the very edge of the snowfield, and came to a graceful stop just before the ocean waters.
The whale experiences we had while on trip were fully highlighted by drone footage of humpbacks lunge feeding. Their giant mouths filling with hundreds of tons of water, their jaws expanding to incredible size! Watching them lunge, roll, dive, and swim was to behold the greatness of the natural world.
Images of our sturdy sailboat, Elsi, plying her way through bright sunshine, dense fog, in the pre-dawn hours, and anchored safely in harbour brought feelings of warmth and coziness to us all. The thought of warm meals, warm cabins, and hot showers was an incredible luxury in the wilds of the Antarctic.
As the short film came to an end, each of us lost in our own memories of the trip. The physical challenges of skiing and kayaking in such a place, the thrill of new sights and sounds, the hominess of our sailboat. Fully satiated on adventure in the Antarctic, but wanted to experience it again – we watched the film again.