December 23, 2009. After having been deprived of the colors in the landscape, the return toPunta Arenas(Chile) surprised me with its little houses in a multitude of pastel shades. The Laurence M. Gould docked at 8 a.m. today, and the long pier got even longer on my sore ankle. It is a bright day in Punta Arenas today, and the members of the expedition are lost among the parks and bars of the center. It is time to buy the legendary virgin wool hats in this part of the world, and visit the cheerful stalls of earrings and scarves and rings that mix with the wonderful smell of the chocolate shop in front of my hotel. Punta Arenas is a friendly city, and it is truly the gateway to theAntarctica. Here the Chilean Antarctic Institute has a large building in the main square, as if to emphasize this importance.
Thepaleontologistsship Laurence M. Gould say goodbye to the rest of the group before leaving for the Punta Arenas airport. They are somewhat frustrated because the ice covered all the territory they were planning to explore. Hence, they failed to find mammalian or dinosaur bones that could contribute ammunition to the theory of how Antarctica was once part of a wildlife corridor between Australia and South America. Next time, they promise themselves, the trip will have to be made in January, when the ice that covers the Antarctic islands has melted a bit more.
Thegeologiststhey were much luckier because the correct “geology” was exposed for sampling. They collected several thousand pounds of stones. They will have enough work in the coming months studying to see if the rocks on that side of the sea, or on this side in South America, have the same polarity, the same geomagnetic orientation, to show that they were ever joined.
We of the team ofbiology and climate changeat Palmer Station, we are simply in love with Antarctica as such. And Antarctica is indifferent to all of us. Hisbeautyit continues to be lethal. No matter how many comforts and high technology we carry: the White South is like a thug who disguises himself under a veil of beauty and seduces you. The crew of the Gould sometimes say that they have had enough of Antarctica, that they will never return. But they end up doing it. Because in Antarctica “no” always means “yes”.
Angela Posada-Swafford
Review the entire Antarctic journey of our most intrepid reporter in our Special “From Antarctica”
