THE STILLNESS OF THE SEA
by Entourage Creative Director Lily Liebel
The quietness is what will stay with me forever… the only sound was a tiny bubbling and popping noise from the ice, the sound of ancient air bubbles escaping after having been trapped for millions of years. This is what we heard when we took a Zodiac boat out and had three minutes of silence and reflection in the middle of the Antarctic Ocean.
For two weeks at the end of December and for New Year’s, a group of 80 of us, all friends and family connected through two people, took the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica. Accompanied by a group of around 30 of the world’s expert scientists and marine biologists (including geospatial scientist and expert penguin-finder Dr. Peter Fretwell), we set off from Ushuaia, at the tip of Argentina, to travel quite possibly the farthest anyone has travelled yet into Antarctica, on board the world’s first and most luxurious polar expedition boat ever created, Le Commandant Charcot by Ponant.
Our Antarctic Peninsula expedition was organized by SEDNA, who believe the way we explore is as important as the destination itself. SEDNA is led by true explorer Nicolas (Niko) Dubreuil, who discovered the adventure of exploration at the age of 18 and never looked back; in 2001 he was saved by a Greenlander after a fall under the ice pack and adopted the Greenlandinc motto: “Only time and ice are masters”. With an expertise in polar and remote regions, and privileged relationships with local communities built over many years of genuine friendship and respect, SEDNA has carried out incredible expeditions, each one with their own unique story, from seeing the polar bears in the Arctic and the mythical narwals in Greenland, to expeditions such as ours in Antarctica.
The relative isolation of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica makes it an ideal area to study the effects and consequences of climate change on and for the ocean, sea, land ice, and biodiversity. The multidisciplinary and international team of scientists on board with us were able to conduct groundbreaking research on this trip, and we were able to benefit from daily off-boat excursions and post-adventure lessons to see and learn first-hand about the exceptional biodiversity of this area, including seals, whales (from the killer Orca to the minke whale), and the incredible array of Antarctic penguins, including the petrel, emperor, and Adelie, which my children are now proudly able to tell apart!
Daily activities were organized for us as well, including kayaking, snorkelling, camping on the ice, and the famous polar plunge (which yes, I participated in—it was one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced. I have never felt more alive, clear-headed, or energized in my life--I can see why plunge pools and cryotherapy have taken off as much as they have!).
The single most extraordinary thing I saw on the trip though were the icebergs themselves. Photos and videos do not do them justice; they are absolutely breath-taking creations, formed and changed over millions of years. The newer ones tend to be more opaque, but the truly ancient ones are as clear as glass; you find them as smaller pieces bobbing around the water, or hiding in the depth of a newer iceberg that has formed around it. I had always imagined icebergs looking like a children’s cartoon drawing, coming to a pyramid point on top, but the most incredible icebergs I saw were the ones that were perfectly square or rectangular shaped, and completely smooth; they looked like a Donald Judd sculpture, or like Christo and Jean-Claude might come and wrap them for an installation. They were extraordinary.
It's incredible how your eye and mind can quickly adjust to new surroundings. After we left the port, the hustle and bustle of the city slowly changed to beautiful and lush green forest, and soon enough that disappeared, too, and we were in the middle of the ocean, completely alone. Suddenly, appearing on its own, the first iceberg emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. Then another one, and another one, and suddenly we were surrounded by them, and it was magical. Yet very quickly, you get used to your surroundings, and it felt completely normal to be in the middle of nothing but ice. On our way back, it was quite shocking to see another boat, and then land, and then cars and people!
Truly the trip of a lifetime, incredible both for the scientists and explorers on board, with the work they were able to do and the discoveries they were able to make, and for us as a group, with what we were able to see and the experiences we were able to have, but perhaps incredible most of all for the children onboard, to have these deep-rooted memories and experiences that will last them a lifetime, and encourage them to think about the choices we can make and how we interact and help each other and the planet. I, for one, will never forget that first iceberg, or the complete silence, bar the bubbling of air waiting to escape from ice created millions of years ago.
