The extraordinary Antarctica Cruise in Paradise Bay provides a glimpse into a sanctuary of this mysterious land. Hyperbole is the grand fashion for this “Lady in White.” After all, she is the coldest, driest, windiest, highest (average elevation) continent on Earth. Overall, its ice sheets cover about 98 % of her landmass, averaging 1 mile thick, contributing to 90 percent of the world’s ice. As an Acupuncturist-at-Sea, I cruised through Paradise Bay and love sharing its highlights. So, read on to learn about this mystical adventure.
Gondwanaland Before Continental Drift
Her ancient tundra was not always isolated. Almost 170 million years ago, she was a part of the supercontinent, Gondwana, drifting down from the northern hemisphere. However, time cannot separate the ancient lineage of memory, in existence with her Gondwanaland’s (supercontinent before continental drift) counterparts: Australia, New Zealand, Africa & South America. Her, overall, holographic memory of the universe resides in every cold inch of her vast ice fields of existence.
Antarctica Cruise in Paradise Bay
I enjoyed the northwest Antarctic Peninsula from our deck in the month of January. Firstly, we cruised south from the intriguing Falkland Islands, off the southeastern coast of South America, crossing the moody Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctic Peninsula. Then we passed the South Shetland Islands in drizzling cold, enduring a windchill that bites your skin.
The lingering blue icebergs began to introduce us to the ancient remains of our remote destination. Surprisingly, we spotted alongside our ship, hundreds of Gentoo penguins, porpoising, in and out of the water across the open sea. Overall, this was exhilarating to watch the harmony of these birds, synchronized in an energizing dance with the sea. Thus, the colony of penguins awakened me to what seemed a surreal dream, that we were indeed approaching Antarctica.
A Dreamworld Cruising Antarctica’s Paradise Bay
The highlight was cruising in Paradise Bay, on the northwest edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. This area is a spectator’s dream due to its sequestered location, sheltered from the continent’s heavy winds by Anvers Island to the west. During our visit in January, the weather was slightly overcast with sunbreaks and comfortable temperatures around 40 degrees F. Then, after crossing the blustery, cold and rainy Drake Passage, the serenity of this sparkling cove was startlingly peaceful.
Overall, I was captivated by the shimmering reflections, amidst interludes of ice castles and snowy winds of white. The calm waters were a mirror to the beautiful cloudscapes and white mountains, inspiring an interwoven painting of both water and sky. I felt inescapably frozen in time, to witness the custodian for 90 percent of the earth’s ice. In this cold dream, I felt a haunting cloud linger, with a warning not to trespass upon its surreal solitude, entitled to be insular from foreigners. The exquisite mystery inspired me to write more poetry than prose to reflect on this experience. Lastly, I conclude with my prose-poem written in the hyperbolic style for the “Lady in White.”
Antarctica: “Lady in White” – A Prose Poem
There’s a lonely countenance to the “Lady in White.” Her pristine and infinite silence seduces all trespassers into a white vision of divinity. Frost bites from her icy stare, aloof and at home in extremities of noon darkness and midnight sun. Eerie quietude suspends as a twilit dream, lingering over a frozen desert, with snow as ancient as the earth. Thoughts freeze into oneness from the cold scream of silence, enveloping the mind into a deep trance of tranquility.
Frigid air breathes through vacant winds in time, luring all senses into a strange wasteland of beauty. Her glassy waters reflect the tundra as a dreamscape to surreal lands, with glacial-blue icebergs drifting in solitude. The sun’s obscure rays softly glow, as mountains submerge the sky into ghostly snow. The frostbitten muse of the “Lady in White” dances into a crystal horizon with no footprints. Her wan shadows haunt the clouds with wings of a soft mirage…
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