16 December
by Amanda Rodrigues AlvesYesterday we had the most beautiful sunset. The water was completely still around the boat, it look like we were in an immense lake. There were small icebergs all over and there were a few clouds in the sky. The sun was setting almost in the south and it did around midnight. We saw a seal lying on an iceberg and it looked like it was waving at us as it floated past. We had a bit of red wine at the top of the boat and we also saw a group of about 7 to 8 whales feeding against the sun light. It was pretty cold because we were approaching 65º south which is inside the Antarctic circle already, but there was almost no wind so we could enjoy the scenery. It is really a great privilege to be here, this world is truly full of amazing places.
65º South also meant we entered the domain of King Neptune and one of his friends came on board last night to let us know that today we had to go through an initiation for trespassing into his kingdom.
In the morning we had a competition of tug of war between the different groups on the boat. Crew, women scientists, men scientists, the truck drivers, the helicopter pilots, the ships officers, etc. Everyone was sure the truck drivers were going to win. They are all huge men, but very unexpectedly the men scientists won. It was good fun specially our girls team.
So came the afternoon and the so called initiation started. I asked to be out of it because I knew it involve being dunked in cold water and I really didn't feel like it. Once excused I went to the top deck and could film the whole thing happening. The three brave I-TASC men were laying on the helicopter deck with a few clothes on together with everybody else while Neptune was convicting them for small crimes and sending them to be dunked. Thomas' crime was to have brought Jacques Cousteau films on board, a known enemy of Neptune. They dunked Thomas in the freezing water (it was being pumped from the sea into a small pool) about 7 times then they threw a couple of eggs and flower on him and a paste made with left over food and let him go. Following Thomas went Adam, who was convicted of sitting at the Captains table, but he looked quite relaxed and even helped some other guys to clean up. Last but not least it was First Born's turn, he was convicted of being a stow away on the boat since his name was not on the list of passengers. He is listed as Ntsikelelo Ntshingila. He came out of the pool looking pretty cold and apparently will have a lot of work to do cleaning his dreadlocks.
While all that was happening we were going through a lot of ice, it was snowing a little also and again a little seal floated past us on an ice floe. This morning with the wind the temperature was -20º C, so I cannot even imagine how cold they were feeling during this initiation.
To complete the festivities, as they say, we had a Braai (barbeque) out in the cold and now we are going to drink some wine to try to get warm and play some cards. We've been on this boat for 10 days now and maybe tomorrow night will reach the continent and the time for playfulness and naps will be over and our work in this frosted pretty white place will begin.
16 December 2006
by Ntsikelelo NtshingilaThe day started very well, missed breakfast as usual and had lunch but what was bugging us all was the initiation that was going to happen at 2:00pm today. Anyways my headaches were better and I did get a bit of relief from the pains and from the nose blockage. After lunch I went again for a little nap and got to prepare for the initiation at about 10 minutes before 2. Adam and I dressed very warmly and head for the helideck. People were already lined on the floor(it was snowing and freezing outside). Everybody got dunked and splashed with eggs and some very bitter sauce was put in everyone's mouth. Some were angry but I was very cold and my hair was so dirty that the voodoo mixture couldn't wash off. I had to hit the shower 2 times trying to get it clean, no matter how hard I tried to get it clean there was still a mixture of the flour left on my head.
After that crazy initiation we went for a braai outside at the helideck, but since I'm vegetarian I was not happy with the food they prepared for the vegetarians, but the meat eaters enjoyed themselves. There was an amount of meat that could make a whole cow there and everybody was getting extras. Everybody had free drinks and wine and enjoyed themselves.
I had some garlic bread, some baked beans, gravy and some salad for lunch which I did not enjoy very much because the kitchen guys did not go out of their way to make everybody satisfied this time. The guys were very happy to have Rasta as their initiation victim. Adam ordered some gin and tonic and some wine to get some heat after the initiation. He managed to get some recordings of the boat going through and breaking the ice, you can actually feel the boat when it goes through the ice, it creates some sort of up and down vibration and it slows down a bit. I left some people at the helideck still having more meat and some consuming lots of beer. Overall this is the day everyone is going to remember...a very weird day.