8th March 2017, Day 4

Imagine the purest freshest coldest air brushing your face and entering your lungs. Look down and you see the cleanest water on which the ship's wake paints unreal shades of blue. Look afar and see a landscape emanating all the beauty blue-black and white can muster. Hear the great majestic whooshing of the wind, just barely audible above the constant grinding of the ship's engine.

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The first of the Zodiacs being lowered into the water. The Zodiac is a hardy and highly maneuverable inflatable motor-boat that is favoured even by many military groups. It comfortably fits about 12 people, 6 on each side. Thanks to the Zodiacs, we were able to get close to whales, cut through thin sea ice, and generally zip around across the humongous bays we visited.

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Already we were mentally mapping the island we were about to hop into. I was on the deck when someone with a superzoom camera exclaimed "penguins, penguins everywhere". (Okay fine, those weren't the exact words he used.) If you look closely at the "teeth"-like patterns along the length of the grey cliff, those are all penguins, hundreds of them, our unofficial welcoming party!

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So let's take a moment to talk about science, scientists and Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 established that Antarctica would be a protected place that no one country could claim, colonize or (most importantly) exploit, and that only activities promoting peace and science were allowed. As of 2016, more than 50 countries have ratified the treaty. In this sense, it has been one of the most successful international treaties in history, perhaps second only to the Paris Agreement ;)

Countries therefore "claim their stakes" on the continent by setting up research bases. But think of it this way - as beautiful as Antarctica is on a calm day, it can turn into an unforgiving inhospitable place on a whim. This is not a place that cares very much for human comfort. It is also relatively hard and expensive to reach.

My point is that the scientists who work here are not just enticed by the idea of a winter holiday; they have to brave the cold, the solitude and the potential dangers, usually for months on end. Some even spend 6-month dark winters at the international base at the South Pole itself (where no other animal lives), rightfully earning the nickname of "Polies".

This is the kind of people scientists are: their passion gives them strength to do things that you wouldn't typically expect from the "nerds" and "geeks" that pop culture likes to caricature. These are the people who spend their time in some of the most inhospitable and inaccessible places on Earth making measurements that improve the lives of all humanity, only to get thrown under the bus when armchair bureaucrats don't like the data, the truth, that they work hard to illuminate. How is this fair, and why does the world feel so topsy-turvy sometimes?

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Without further ado, we suited up and set off. According to some guidelines to minimize human influence on the land and wildlife, there were a couple of simple but important rules.

1) Whatever was already in Antarctica stays in Antarctica, and whatever wasn't already there should never be left behind. So we weren't allowed to take souvenirs from the place, nor leave/drop any of our belongings behind when we left.

2) The 5-meter rule. While the safe distance may vary depending on the species, we were expected to keep at least 5m away from the animals; and this includes the reach of selfie sticks. If the animals feel safe and comfortable enough to come towards you, that is fine however.

3) Despite the ship's manifest of 200 people, only 100 people were allowed on land at any given time to ensure minimal noise and disturbance to the animals at the landing site. The rest would do a Zodiac tour first, and later the two groups would switch.

There were of course other rules as well, but these were the major requirements.

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I ended up doing the boat tour first. As the Zodiac zipped across the bay, I felt the fresh and cold wind in my face, conclusively reminding me I wasn't dreaming. Even while on the boats, we quickly got close to the wildlife! First up, one of the most iconic symbols of the Antarctic - penguins.

Here you see a pack of Gentoo penguins sizing up the "yellow penguins" passing them by. If they were as fascinated by us as we were by them, they didn't show it. No change in activity, no movement, not even a cry of acknowledgement. Penguins just seem to... stand around while they're on land. I wonder what they're thinking?

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How can you identify a Gentoo?

They have a white band that surrounds the eyes, connected over the top of their heads. So it really looks like they're wearing white headphones.

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A fur seal resting on the rocks. Despite having flippers for legs, I observed them moving at surprising speed on land at times. They eat mostly fish and krill, and stick in small groups.

I found them almost serpentine, showing off perfect curves even when bending and turning at weird angles. My guess is that the blubber that keeps them warm also makes them easy on the eyes.

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Also spotted a whole rookery of chinstrap penguins. Chinstraps are easily identified by the small line of black fur that separates the face and the underbelly.

Penguins look so exotic it's easy to forget they're birds sometimes.

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It is one thing to see such animals in a zoo, and quite another to see them in the wild in their natural habitat. We were close enough to see them clearly but it felt unusual that they weren't scared of us.

Sometimes I wish for a time when animals and birds aren't scared of humans, and don't hide from us. Perhaps it was like that a long time ago, and I hope it can happen again.

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In every direction a vista worthy of awe and contemplation. The engineer in me marveled at the fact that the ice wall at the water surface was easily tens of meters tall, while the artist in me counted the infinite almost-iridescent shades of white-blue.

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A pack of fur seals resting on the beach, next to a historical relic from the Heroic Age. You can make out 2 tiny Zodiacs in the distance (top left and right).

The Heroic Age, what's that? Time for a little history lesson. You can imagine that the existence of Antarctica wasn't always known to Man. James Cook in the late-1700s hypothesized there must be an ice continent to the south of Australia, but never actually reached it.

The first humans to land on the Antarctic mainland were Norwegians on a whaling expedition circa 1895. Once this feat had been achieved, it wasn't long before there was a newfound urge to explore this new land. Between 1897 and 1922, there were a series of expeditions that we now refer to as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Why was it heroic? It was a daring journey into uncharted, and because of the ice unchartable, waters of the Southern Ocean. Imagine having the equipment of the 1900s to navigate the icy seas, explore the dangerous icy terrain with its invisible crevasses, or spend the Antarctic winter on the mainland because the ice made sailing impossible! Brrrrrr.

Much of the equipment, like huts and tools and this boat that such early explorers used can still be found around the Antarctic coast, perfectly preserved by the cold.

While names like Amundsen and Shackleton might evoke proud feelings of human grit, determination and achievement, there is also a dark legacy humanity left on the continent, namely through the indiscriminate hunting of the wildlife. Let's talk about that at a later time.

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Penguins, penguins everywhere.

As cute as they look and act, if you want to see penguins in the wild, you must brace yourself for the unmistakeable smell of their guano. They flock in large groups, and they obviously don't have dedicated toilet areas. Considering that their diet is mainly krill and fish, the overpowering musk of amines is pervasive. But you get used to it.

Speaking of poop, the two white birds on the big rock (top middle) are sheathbills, and they are coprophagic - quite literally, they eat other animals' sh*t. The first impression might be disgust, but beyond that is an appreciation of Nature's unique way of recircling all its materials. There are no plants in the Antarctic, and food can be scarce at times. So it makes sense that there is a niche in this ecosystem to harvest what little energy is left in poop to the maximum extent possible.

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Wasn't kidding about their numbers.

Penguins are really cute to watch... but I must admit it felt weird seeing hundreds of birds just standing around, not moving for stretches of time. Could have been because the "catastrophic molting" they undergo is quite reasonably tiring.

Only on later reflection, it occurred to me that this feeling stemmed from my own fleeting attention span, spoilt for choice from the infinite sources of distraction back home.

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Ever noticed how a lot of marine animals have the same kind of body covering: dark on the back and white on the belly. Do you know why?

It's actually a brilliant camouflage strategy. While in the water, predators/prey from above would not be able see the back of these animals against the darkness of the depths, and from below, the white underbellies merge into the bright daylight. Neat huh?

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If you've ever wondered how penguins move on land, here's your answer. An adorable waddle. They can run too, and when they do, it's even cuter. But once they enter the water, they really start flying.

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Slowly but surely, the day was coming an end and we had to return to ship. My first landing in Antarctica was nothing short of magical, mystical, mind-blowing. Everyone was so reluctant to leave, and just had to take some time to soak in the magnificent sights one last time before nightfall set in.

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On to Day 5 of the expedition…