Leaving Punta Arenas, late at nightIt was very quiet on the deck of the ship. There were lots of people there in the dark, watching the ship's crew work, but no one was saying anything except maybe in hushed tones. We could hear the water washing against the pier and the underside of our ship, a few bells, and the sounds of the sailors working, raising the anchor, releasing the moorings, watching carefully for anythng going wrong, and sometimes calling to each other in what sounded like Spanish. (Most of the sailors are Philipino, while the senior officers are British and Scandinavian.) The men on the Chilean warship docked at the other side of the pier were watching us, and one snapped a picture as the moorings were removed.
Leaving Punta Arenas, late at night
Watching the lights of Punta Arenas slowly slide away into the night, and feeling the ship begin to move into the darkness - the deep navy blue haze of the channel - was breathtaking.
I stood on the deck in the wind, looking ahead into what seemed an abyss of wind, light rain, and occasional whitecaps on the water becoming visible for brief flashes and then disappearing again.
Feeling the wind blowing through my hair as we began a trip that would ultimately take us to the coldest and most hostile waters on the planet was an exhilerating and deeply moving feeling. I felt like an ancient sailor or a passenger on an ancient sailor's boat as it began a journey into darkness and the unknown.
Even now, feeling the ship moving beneath us, powerfully and subtly, as I look out the window into darkness is wonderful. When night disappears and we're left with perpetual daylight, I wonder if it will feel the same?
I can forgive the other passengers for their lack of attention, and I can forgive them for their "visiting my seventh continent" mentality. I'm on this trip for myself, and it's going to be incredible, whether the other people feel it or not. I hope that ultimately they'll begin to feel the power of the trip we're making and learn respect for the spirit of the journey, and not just the simple accomplishment of visiting their seventh continent.