A picture is said to be worth a thousand words, and with the addition of a few dozen more scrawled on the back, the postcard is as perfect a compromise as could be asked for. Sending messages by this almost forgotten form of communication may not be the speediest, or the most efficient, especially remembering that we are on a continent devoid of true civilization. However, for anyone that has doubted the dedication of today’s postal service they assuredly have yet to visit Port Lockroy. Also known as Base A, it was used as a radio communication base during World War II as part of Operation Tabarin. Today it is one of the most well known locations on the Antarctic Peninsula, preserved and run by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust in the summer season. After a flurry of stamping and last minute scribbles we leave our mail in the trusty hands of the four residents of the tiny base Goudier Island, fully aware it will be a month or two at the earliest before these words reach their destinations.
The rest of the day practically could have written itself, seas as flat as a page with lines of icebergs, punctuated with resting crabeater seals. This species of seal at one point was the most abundant mammal in the southern hemisphere before being supplanted by sheep, though it can be confidently assumed there is no threat to losing that title on their home continent. Pleneau Island is at the mouth of the spectacularly idyllic Lemaire Channel and made for fantastic Zodiac cruising amongst icebergs. This hulks of ice are carved by the wind and water to the point of picturesque fantasy, something an abstract painter might conjure up if only supplied with white and blue oils. Finally after a full day we were treated to a sunset of such magnificent quality to even attempt a description would be hubris. I tried to capture it in a thousand words with my camera and still fell woefully short.
