We
had a simple farewell party last night. The expedition crew, dressed in blue
semi-formal attire, mingled with the guests and thanked everyone. Captain
Mariano informed us about tomorrow's agenda and Jonathan Zaccaria presented a
slide show on the highlights of the week. It has been a great adventure for
everyone. We stayed a while and chat with the crew and guests. From the party, we sought out the Filipino crew and posed for pictures. They took good care of us, and we were very grateful. Can't help but feel sad for them; next day would be another Christmas Eve away from their friends and families.
On the way back
to our cabins, I saw the notice on the bulletin board: "Sunrise - early.
Sunset – late."
When
we woke up, the ship was anchored at the outskirts of King George's Island. We
could see the buildings on the beach. Captain Mariano gave the instructions to
board the Zodiacs at 945AM. Up to an hour ago, he was still waiting for the go
signal from Frei Station that we could fly out today. Everything depended on
the weather. The sky is clear and the wind was favorable. We're going home
according to schedule.
Our
plane had yet to land when we arrived at the beach. This gave us time to visit
the Russian Orthodox Church on the hill. It was a chapel, technically, with
space for only four of five people at a time. The altar was gold-plated and had
Byzantine style icons. It had a solemn feel to it. I imagined it at
night, illuminated only by candles, wind howling all around.
From
the church, Rhodora and I walked downhill slowly. For Jason, Jesse and Juliene,
it was a chance to slide again. Jason turned to Jamie and asked him if he could
slide down. Jamie said, "Hell, I would." Jason picked a spot and
jumped at the chance. Juliene asked Jamie, "Is that safe?" Jamie
replied, "We'll see what happens to Jason." It was safe, of course.
And fun! Our fellow guest from Hong Kong joined our kids and went down sliding,
too.
It
was a one-mile hike to the tarmac. We've done this route before, but the ice
was thicker this time. The hike was a bit more exhausting. A new group of
tourists, totaling 55, all of them Americans, came down from the plane and met
us. We gave them thumbs up and wished them well. While waiting for our plane to
get ready, we posed beside a snowman and later, with the flag of Antarctica. We
waved at the Filipino crew loading the luggage and beckoned Ruslan Eliseev to
pose with us for one last picture. Then we boarded the plane en route to Punta
Arenas.
I
haven’t mentioned that no country owns Antarctica. There were seven claimants,
but in the end, they all agreed to give up their respective claims.
I
remember the words Chief Seattle said when white men offered to buy his
ancestral grounds. He couldn’t understand what the offer meant, couldn’t
believe such an offer was being made. “The Earth does
not belong to man; Man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are
connected like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth,
befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely
a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
Goodbye,
Antarctica ...
No comments:
Post a Comment