Vernadsky Station

(Thursday Afternoon)

The afternoon landing was at Vernadsky Station, a “year round” base built by the Brits but later given to the Ukranians, who are doing a lot of measurements of the ozone layer. The tour was disappointing because we were in a large group and rarely heard what our guide was saying. But it was nice of them to give us tours at all, considering that in the Ukraine, they celebrate Christmas on January 6th... For them, it was Christmas day.

Some impressions... First, living conditions are very spartan in Antarctica, even on a “year round” base. Second, when living in close quarters with others, personal hygiene is very important (one man walked by me in the hall and I have to say I wouldn't want to spend an Antarctic winter anywhere near him). Thirdly, wintering in Antarctica leaves one with time on his hands. The Ukraines filled some of this time by building a still and we were treated to shots of their homemade vodka in their “lounge” at the end of our tour.

After the base tour, we were taken back to the ship the long way around in order to see a gigantic leopard seal up close and personal. He was basking on his personal iceberg, but our launch driver found a way to get his attention. He would pull up close and then rev the engine in reverse, and the seal would raise his head to look at us.

There were also four very brave penguins on the seal's berg, who found a spot above him and seemed to be keeping an eye on him ... a penguin version of an early warning system? One crept down a little too close and started sliding down the berg toward the seal. His panicky scramble to get back up on his perch was the comic moment of the day. Our tour guide Elizabeth caught this sequence... I'll post it here later.

One last point. Vernadsky's latitude is 65 degrees, 15 minutes South. This is our southernmost point but still almost 100 miles short of the Antarctic Circle... temptingly close, but the pack ice at Vernadsky just opened up in the past week. The Fram does have a cruise that goes farther but it is a two week cruise. Anyway, we have already experienced 21 hour days, and really no night... it's OK to head north now :-) Rob