Antarctic Log

Cox & Kings' Latin America Product Manager Mark Crosby recently went on the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica. Here are his thoughts:

"If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it." Andrew Denton.

It’s hard to write a travelogue about a cruise to Antarctica without it sounding over-exaggerated. I could go on endlessly about how each day brought something different, each day there were surprises and each day threw up so many superlatives. So what I have tried to do instead is come up with a list of memories that I am sure will live with me forever. Sometimes they’re obvious, sometimes a little more personal. Please feel free to add your own comments and experiences to the list…or get down there yourself and make your own memories.

· Leaving Ushuaia down the lovely Beagle Channel. To port lies Argentina; to starboard, Chile. As the evening summer sun shines on green hills, we make introductions and enjoy dinner and wine as the signals disappear on the mobile. The real world will not exist for 10 nights.

·Trying to keep my eyes on the horizon in the infamous Drake Passage as the ship pitches and rolls slowly south, it feels like a roller coaster. Here the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet and a strong cold wind truly blasts the cobwebs away. I was concerned about being seasick but the worry disappears when a royal albatross flies so close to the ship I can touch her. The albatross follows, gliding behind and across the ship for hours and is a marvellous distraction from the endless ocean.

· A lecture on geology turning into a full-blown debate about the environment and whether tourists should go to Antarctica. One passenger declares that she would persuade people not to go to Antarctica, in order to preserve its pristine state. Another replies that you would probably do more damage to the continent everyday, just staying at home.

· The thrill of my first foot on the actual continent of Antarctica. The crew have done it hundreds of times before but they know what it means to us and they build the anticipation wonderfully.

· Taking far too many photos of the scenery and wildlife. Everyone is amazed at how animals survive in these places. The penguins are always entertaining, the birds come so close to the ship and there is always a member of the crew poised in case of a whale alert.

· Having a few beers listening to some of the crew play Chilean folks songs (with a few verses of the Beatles thrown in) and looking out of the window to see the sun shining on an iceberg. It’s 2 o’clock in the morning.

· Posting a few postcards home with Royal Mail stamps and paying in sterling at Port Lockroy. This is an old British base which has been restored to serve as a research station and museum. The union flag flies in a surreal location against beautiful white mountains and close to penguin and cormorant colonies. It was at this station that the research began which led to the discovery of the hole in the Ozone layer.

· Visiting an old whaling station is an eerie and fascinating reminder of the days of early exploration in the high latitudes. One of the crew has a football, so we manage a kick around on Antarctica - another unique day.

· Skirting the Antarctic Circle. The ice is too thick to proceed further, it is bitingly cold and the wind is high. It is here I realise a journey to Antarctica is not just a holiday, it’s a true adventure. Later in the season the guides say they will travel across the circle. We travel on land close to the circle where the snow is horizontal. I shelter on the rock and stared across the wilderness. Barely two feet away from me an Adelie penguin stops to take a look then continues its comical waddle toward the horizon.


· Hearing fascinating lectures on geology and wildlife and also the history of exploration to Antarctica. Then going for tea on deck, looking out into the wilderness and marvelling at how those early explorers like Shackleton, Amundsen and Scott and their teams managed it and how they must have felt. It is not until you get there that you appreciate the immenseness of the unforgiving, and beautiful, wilderness.

"No person who has not spent a period of his life in those 'stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole' will understand fully what trees and flowers, sun-flecked turf and running streams mean to the soul of a man." Ernest Shackleton

· Swimming at Deception Island, a collapsed volcanic caldera into which ships can navigate, albeit with great care. The waters in the bay are hot springs, and on the shallow shore you can bathe in the waters. Swim just 3 metres from the edge however and it’s icy cold. At least it’s good to get a true appreciation of Antarctic waters, and is probably good for the skin or something.

· Heading north back up Drakes Passage at around 1 am and the sun is slowly setting, although in early December it never truly sets. As it sets in the West I can see the first glimmers of light coming up in the East, a bizarre experience.

· Getting back on dry land after a wonderful journey, with a satisfied smile on my face.

I travelled on the Antarctic Dream, a new Chilean vessel specialising in cruises in Antarctica and Patagonia. What I enjoyed about this was that it was a small ship (maximum 96 passengers) so there was more room for flexibility with the itinerary (essential with the unpredictable weather conditions of Antarctica) and we were able to stay longer ashore than passengers on larger cruise ships. There is an excellent international crew but the majority are Chilean. I found this a nice touch especially as we departed from South America and we were able to eat Chilean food, drink Chilean wine and cocktails and one evening listen to Chilean and Spanish songs played on an old guitar by the ship's naturalist and the crew. The passengers were also a cosmopolitan mixture; from all over Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Australia as well as Britain so it led to interesting dinner conversations. I was impressed with the experience and assurance of the expedition team and lecturers. They were always helpful, always ready to share a story and we all trusted them completely to get the most out of this once in a lifetime experience. The guides are all also very attuned to the environmental impact of travelling to Antarctica and ‘green issues’ in general. They have a convincing argument that controlled tourism to the continent and the ability to pass on knowledge and enthusiasm will be more beneficial to the environment than closing it off completely. Then, not only scientists, but the whole world, will be able to see the fragility of the continent and its wildlife.

Mark Crosby

Mongolia: The Last Great Wilderness

Far East Consultant Marie-Louisa Lowther travelled to Mongolia in June 2006.
The great beast of an ox pulls the sturdy cart, upon which sits a small replica of a traditional 'ger'. The president takes prime position on a frontal platform. The procession is led by more than a hundred Mongol horses which seem oblivious to the clapping and cheering. The cavaliers are dressed in traditional armour and costume imitating that originally worn by Genghis' great army.

This opening ceremony of the Nadaam Festival was the first real highlight of our tour. The Mongolian cultural highlight of the year, it is a 3 day festival which takes part at the beginning of July. It started in the 12th Century before the time of the great ruler. The festivities were banned during the Soviet era however the event began again once the Russians left Mongolia. It is a festival of three male sports: wrestling, horse racing and archery, to show who is the strongest and the best. Ultimately it praises their great hero.

Otherwise known as Chinggis, or 'Great Ruler', Genghis Khan lived from 1162 to 1227. A great warrior, his real name was Temuchu (iron man). Considered so terrifying, many cities surrendered upon mere rumours of his impending invasion, as his army trampled Asia and beyond. In 1206 he reunited all of the Mongol tribes to create one of the largest empires ever to exist. Today he lives on as a symbol of Mongolian independance and democracy.

After an introduction to the city we ventured into the vast great wilderness of Mongolia and the gobi desert for 8 days and nights, to ty to get a glimpse of the traditional nomadic way of life. 43 percent of Mongolians still live as nomads in gers which are easy to build, dismantle and restore. Camps are moved twice a year to cope with seasonal change. During the mild summer months nomads travel to flatlands near to a water supply, and in September to a valley or by a mountain to shelter from the harsh winter.

Tourist ger camps are designed to replicate this way of living to
a certain extent. Although fairly basic, the camps are surprisingly clean and comfotable, powered either by solar power or a generator. Collapsible cedarwood frames are covered by sheep's wool felt, with a central stove and carpeted wooden floor. In the evenings the Mongolian camp staff serve a hearty meal of grilled lamb and dumplings, and entertain with the haunting sound of 'hoomi' throat singing.

For the most part bathroom facilities are shared, but some camps are building 'deluxe' gers which have a self contained wooden cubicle attached to the side. In one camp we experienced an infestation of harmless beetles which took residence in our gers, they could be heard dropping to the floor in the night. After the rain there was a distinct smell of goat which in fact was the smell of damp felt. Minor distractions these were though. Nothing compares to waking up to see farmers herding their livestock, the lush green meadows beyond and vivid blue skies: a landscape which could resemble that of utopia.

The Gobi is a land of extremes. Decent rain only falls every two or three years, it can be well over 40 degrees in the summer and below minus 40 degrees in the winter. Storms of dust and sand are fearsome in spring. We travelled off road in comfortable jeeps, our experienced drivers seemed to have inbuilt compasses in their heads there were certainly no signposts. Our vivacious guide Ari, whose knowledge of the area was outstanding, enthused us all the way. Regular stops allowed us to enjoy the scenery and relieve ourselves. (There are no porterloos in the dessert, any modesty was quickly overcome out of sheer necessity). As we travelled further south the scenery changed and so did the wildlife. As well as sand dunes and red cliffs and arid desert we saw green valleys, steep mountains, small farms and nomadic herds. Yaks resembling big fluffy cows drank out of ponds as horses bathed in rivers and an ox and cart passed by.

Other unusual wildlife we saw along the way included bearded vultures (the largest flying birds in the world), enormous wild rams, ibexes, camels (an entertaining time was had when we had a chance to ride these), and the' takhi' horse. The only remaining breed of wild horse in the world, these were re- introduced into the Hustain Nuruu National Park during the 1960s after nearly becoming extinct. Resembling zebras without stripes, the animals are sandy coloured with black manes and tails, and look almost prehistoric.

Possibly the most fascinating of all the sights are the Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs, which were discovered in 1922 by American explorer Roy Andrews Chapman. The scenery resembles that of Arizona and here is one of the best places in the world for palaeontology. A red sandstone area, bones literally stick out and whole dinousaur eggs lie on the ground. A complete dinosaur model, the bones of which were all found at Bayanzag, is kept in the splendid museum of Natural History in Ulaan Baatar.

A few monasteries survived Stalin's purges. Remains exist in Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol empire. Originally one of the biggest cities on the original Silk Road, it was eventually completely destroyed and material from the ruins was used to build the fabulous Erdene Zu monastery. The beautiful Gandan Monastery in Ulaan Baatar also survived, since the Russians used it to stable their horses.
Mongolia has to be seen to be beleived. Mild stomach ache brought on as a result of drinking airag (fermented mares milk) and being stuck in the desert for an hour whilst our jeep was fixed all added to the experience. The rewards of the trip cannot be put into words. Now is really the time to visit, before the inevitable concrete roads and luxury camps appear.
Marie-Louisa Lowther