ship's log - Part 3 -
Monday, November 22 For the first time since we arrived on the island, it has been raining continuously from dawn to dusk. Actually, it was not a bad thing for I was behind in my schedule. I had to plan a technical intervention to our radio relay, located in the middle of the island because I have noticed important radio transmission disruptions for two or three days. I assume the antenna is broken.
Tuesday, November 23 The wind woke up overnight and it has increased by the hour, attaining one hundred and thirty kilometers per hour around noon. It was a bad omen for tomorrow's mission. Nevertheless, I kept organizing it. At the end of my workday, I left the station. While I was going back to my bedroom, the wind suddenly tore my backpack that I casually held by one of its straps out of my hand. You should have seen me, rushing after it across the mossy and rock-strewn field that led straight to the sea! Fortunately, I caught it before it fell from the cliff into the sea. I ended up losing only my self-esteem in that matter.
Wednesday, November 24 Because I was worrying about the weather, I woke up at 5:30 this morning, in order to take a look at the weather forecast on the monitor. Given the not too bad predictions, Yvan and I departed at 7:30. After five hours of walking, we reached the radio relay.
On this island, weather can change swiftly. Indeed, all of a sudden, we had to endure icy wind which brought heavy snowfalls. You may think of smooth snow that cakes our countryside in France. Instead, try to imagine icy snowflakes that, like a gazillion needles, pierce unprotected parts of your face. Our sight was handicapped by our misted goggles. Although these bad working conditions hindered us from doing our job, we finally hammered out the repairs. We took a few minutes to check the radio, then, we hurried down the slope, hoping for calmer weather and milder temperatures.
We planned to spend the following two days in a comfortable shelter to get over our strain. It took us three hours to reach the end of the valley called "pointe basse", where we found the expected shed. It is leant against a mound that protects it from wind. A river snakes a few meters away. It provides drinking water and, if you like to bath in four-degree Celsius water, it also provides natural bathtubs dug in its bed by glaciers which covered the island millions of years ago. My entire body was sore. Yvan was no better, so, without consulting one another, we jumped in our beds still dressed in our wet, dirty clothes. Neither strident cries of night birds, nor the monotonous lapping of the river prevented us from falling deeply asleep.
Thursday, November 25 We slept until 9:00 this morning. It has not happened to me since I landed on the island. We got a solid breakfast and then had a wash in the cold river. Because we planned to come back from our hike late in the afternoon, we got some bread and takeout in our backpacks.
This area is one of the most appreciated spots of the island. If you climb the mound just behind the shelter, you come to a large windy, flat, grassy plain that is the realm of great albatrosses. Ten-inch high nests, made of herbs, mosses and scarce twigs - few bushes grow on the island - dot all over lightly rolling land. Some of the nests are occupied with a single chick. Others are still empty, but nearby, albatross couples display their glaring white breeding plumage with a majestic mate parade. Soon, cute fuzzy chicks will proudly sit enthroned. If you go down the river, you discover light-mantled sooty albatrosses, nesting along the rock faces of the cliff overhanging the ocean. You will never forget their melancholic calls that sound like torch songs. Today's destination was the biggest island's rookery. Roughly one hundred thousand subjects gather in a large bay the shape of a quadrant. To get this huge rookery, we waved across the river and climbed the steepness opposite the shelter. We followed for one hour a path across grassy hills up to a higher escarpment that, such an impregnable dungeon, protects a peaceful haven where umpteen species have been living and dying for ages. From above, we had an overview of the beach, which stretches out from the cliff, where the river throws itself into the sea, to an inaccessible, vertical, basaltic rock face. This beach ranges from grey sand where elephant seals are used to lounging for hours, to a rock-strewn area that gives natural protection against the waves' onslaughts. One hundred sea lions, as well as a little colony of noisy gentoo penguins, took up residence in a verdant, secluded place called "Japanese Yard". It huddles between the beach and the rock face.
We met the first penguins on our way down an impetuous waterfall. It came as no surprise that we encountered them in this steep path. Indeed, they are astonishingly skilful, despite their Charlie Chaplin-like gaits. They firmly hang on to the soil with their sharp claws, and when they stumble over obstacles such as stones or roots, they hammer their mighty beak in the ground and straighten up thanks to a swift and strong push. A few meters lower, we fell in with two dozen female elephant seals which, ignoring us, kept basking in the sun. An old tremendous pasha discretely watched over its harem. The top half of its body was entirely scared, stigmas of its fights with reckless or bold pretenders. We left these quiet mammals, crossed the hundred thousand penguins' colony - we did not count them - and finally reached the Japanese Yard. We followed a tortuous track across dense bushes up to gentoo penguins' colony, hunched on a muddy scarp. According to the assumption: united we stand, divided we fall, they huddle together to protect themselves from birds of prey. Unfortunately, tenacious birds constantly harass them, and when they finally isolate one, they cruelly smash it into pieces. Nevertheless, this time there seemingly was no danger and they looked safe. We continued our trip and entered the fur seals' territory. It is a vast, verdant area, sprinkled with ponds. All around them, the young cheerfully frisked in fighting or chasing games. Female adults lazily stretched in thick grass, flippantly scraping their muzzle or fanning with their front flippers. Usually, they are shy and fearful, but they can get extremely aggressive, in case of danger or to protect their young. They use their ability to turn their rear limbs forward and move on all fours, so that they run as fast on rocky ground as on sand or grass. We were particularly prudent not to disturb them, especially males often more than five times heavier than the females.
The time went too quickly and late in the afternoon, as the sky was turning dark, we came back to the camp. We were tired and hungry but thrilled and exhilarated because of this unforgettable day.
Friday, November 26 We finally decided to go back to the base straight away. We took the road early this morning, and thanks to the pretty favorable weather forecast, we arrived in the middle of the afternoon. The ultimate in luxury, after several hiking days, is to take a long shower with warm water! For three days, we only washed in the bitterly cold water of the river. We did appreciate the comfortable civilized life of the base.
Saturday, November 27 This morning, we broke two records! It rained cats and dogs as never since I arrived on the island, and the wind attained 145 kilometers per hour! It was almost impossible to remain standing. We only stepped out of the station at noon for dinner. It stopped raining in the afternoon and the wind weakened a little. Tomorrow, I will move out of my current bedroom. New staff for the summer campaign will soon arrive with the next ship. We have to make room for them. I will occupy a comfortable bedroom in the radio station building; I will be closer to my workshop.
Sunday, November 28 I was lucky! Today the weather was quite sunny and I moved into my new "apartment" without getting wet. We took advantage of this nice weather to have dinner outdoors. Just after our meal, we went to the beach with the hope of seeing killer whales. We know they are chasing elephant seals in the neighborhood of the island. Unfortunately, we did not see the slightest fin.
Monday, November 29 Days have been going quickly. This one is no exception. I spent the evening in my bedroom. Sometimes we need to cut ourselves off from others. I listened to music and read the book I borrowed from our library.
Tuesday, November 30 The temperature has dropped hourly to around 0° Celsius. In the open air, the sensation of cold was even more intense. We had frequent snowfalls. There were April showers in November! With such bad weather, I could not work outside, so I puttered with a piece of furniture to equip my bathroom. It will greatly improve my comfort.
Wednesday, December 1 I spent more time in the carpenter's shop than in the radio station, but it was worth the effort. My bedroom is now quite comfortable.
Thursday, December 2 People who came to the radio station today, in order to send faxes or to call their families loitered with us in our bar, sipping coffee round the counter, babbling about nothing. These were privileged moments that we did appreciate.
Friday, December 3 If the workday was pretty quiet, the evening was lively, to say the least. It was Bruno's birthday! Bruno is in charge of power plants. No wonder he really is a key-man. Indeed, try to imagine life here without electricity! We ended up at daybreak in a Gene Kelly-like dance, in the rain. Singing and dancing in cold, heavy rain is a good means to sober up.
