Where Blue Lives

I went back to the place where blue lives. It is as far south as you can go, where the world seems white, but is blue deep down. The ice and the snow make Antarctica seem white at first, but when you get a glimpse of the world underneath, through the icebergs you see floating everywhere, or on the sides of the glaciers, you can see the purest and the deepest blue. To me that is a sign that blue is the colour of the world underneath, like the world you can find under the surface of the sea. That big white continent hides the ultimate blue somewhere deep down inside, it is part of the mystery.

The south can bring out the best in people I have seen. People are rendered speechless. Some can sit for ages on deck looking at the scenery, or can kneel down on a beach to try and ocmmunicate with a penguin. This year we sailed through the Lemaire Strait on an extremely misty day, you couldn't see the mountains on either side. You could see the icebergs in the water, and the Crabeaters and Leopard Seals resting on them. You could feel the silence, and it was the most impressive thing to me.

Some people underestimate the south. They start planning their next holiday even before they come into port, and that sometimes frightens me. If Antarctica becomes just another holiday destination, then what will be left of it in 10 years time? How many people will go and simply mark it as another distant place to visit? On some trips we have the dreamers, the people who always dreamed of travelling down to the continent, the quiet ones you slowly have to prise
away at the last landing. They will take the continent with them. Like I do, I guess.