Journey Impressions: Villa Las Estrellas

Villa Las Estrellas: Population approx. 0.008 million (2010)
Chile: Population approx. 17.7 million
Population growth (2016): 1.1%
People per km²: 24
Gross national income per person in 2014: 14.900 USD


06 February 2018, Punta Arenas / Villa Las Estrellas:

Due to the extremely poor weather forecast for the airfield on Antarctica, the airline, DAP, suggested that we went to visit condor farm instead. To start with, we thought this would be a farm with sheep, cows and perhaps a condor. Once we’d reached the farm after a 90-minute drive, two young women, who turned out to be owners’ daughters, came out to welcome us. They wanted to accompany us on a hike to a wide rock formation. However, it took another 10 minutes before we could set off because our Russian friends insisted on taking two bottles of wine with them. Which just goes to show that everybody has different needs.

After a short drive and even shorter hike, we reached an area with benches that allowed us to look directly at the rock face. Once we’d taken a closer look, we noticed about 10 to 15 vast birds circling over the rock formation. The two guides told us that this place and these rocks were something of a phenomenon in South America. At certain times, particularly during the Arctic summer, up to 100 condors gather here to dash into the caves in the rock, circle over the formation and relax from the tiring brood high up in the Andes. Nowhere in South America can you see so many condors at such close range. We were astonished to hear that and took fantastic pictures of the condors resting on the rocks and enjoyed observing the vast birds’ incredible flying skills. After spending about an hour gazing at them, we headed back, returned to the farm and said goodbye to the two young women.

We thought it was an impressive and exciting extra event that we wouldn’t have experienced if the weather in Antarctica had been better. Perhaps it was meant to be. Nevertheless, we hope the weather in the Antarctic will improve tomorrow.

Bye.


07 February 2018, Punta Arenas — Villa Las Estrellas:

After our yellow taxi with trailer had brought us to the Russian research station, we were received there by our guide for the next two days. He was called Jorge, but we called him George to make things simpler. He told us that we wouldn’t have much time in Antarctica and should therefore dispense with formalities and immediately set out on an Arctic stroll.

Once we’d put on the boots and warm jackets given to us and kitted ourselves out with gloves and caps etc., we set off. We walked over a lot of scree and had to climb down a whole mountain of scree. This was quite challenging, but we were there for the experience and not a spot of wellness. However, the elephant seals truly were wonderful. We saw several groups of these large animals on our hike. The lay there close together, making all sorts of noises and sunbathing. They had their eyes open or closed, sometimes bore their teeth, but all in all didn’t seem very interested in the human visitors to their holiday home. After all, it’s the Arctic summer here and even elephant seals have a right to a peaceful beach holiday.

You could have been forgiven for thinking that the penguins waddling around were acting as lifeguards. After an approx. three-hour walk, which was certainly quite exhausting, we were taken in our yellow car after supper in the Russian canteen to our luxury accomodation. This was adjacent to the Russian research station and was rented out to tour groups. Our accommodation had six-bed rooms, a communal room, a kitchen and a toilet, but no running water. We were very tired after the hike, so got undressed as quickly as possible and wanted to get some sleep. In addition to a mattress and pillow, each bed had a very small sleeping bag and not much space. Kurt didn’t want to get into this thing at all and undid the zip all the way round. Considering just how tiring our hike was, it was still lovely to be lying in bed. Our four Russian friends had taken the neighbouring room, so Kurt and I had the other room to ourselves. I’d fallen asleep after about half an hour. It could have been a peaceful night, but our guide suddenly came in quietly with his torch and it turned out he was spending the night in our room too. That alone wasn’t of course a reason to wake up. But when I was about to fall asleep, Jorge started to snore. Slowly but surely his snoring got so loud that our Russian friends said the next day that they weren’t able to sleep very well because they had heard snoring from the neighbouring room. Kurt was the only one who hadn’t heard the snoring. That was nice for Kurt, but Kurt had teamed up with Jorge in terms of snoring and it turned into something of a concert, comparable with the concert given by the elephant seals and the smaller sea lions. This was a concert that was only occasionally interrupted by a short intake of breath. This occasionally made me look up to make sure that whoever it was had continued breathing afterwards! At some point probably around 2 to 3 a.m. I did manage to fall asleep and woke up again at 6 a.m. To my enormous astonishment, the room was totally quiet. Nobody was snoring any more although Jorge was still lying on his back.

You couldn’t open a single window in our accommodation and the only fresh air (if at all) came through the door. The air in our room was awful and I’d say that the oxygen saturation was lower than in our plane at 15,000 feet. So I decided to get up early, make coffee, use our waterless toilet and walk to the Russian church.

Considering the number of icons that hung on the wall there, I could have had a detailed chat with God, but didn’t say a word. After walking for an hour through the little village, I returned to our luxury hotel. People had started to stir and we were all sitting at the breakfast table at 8 a.m. discussing day two.


08 February 2018, Punta Arenas — Villa Las Estrellas:

We had quite an agenda in front of us. After breakfast, we had to move to another station to get ourselves fully kitted out with waterproof survival suits. The plan was to take a dinghy over the icy water to the glacier whose icebergs were crowding into the water here. We’d got to know the driver of the boat the evening before during supper in the Russian station. Fitted with survival suits, we then met the driver of the boat and got into the dinghy. The driver of the boat increased the speed and after about half an hour everyone on the boat was wet. Most of the survival suits kept the water at bay and only one of our Russian friends had a wet bottom afterwards. With the amount of water spraying about it was of course counterproductive to use high-quality cameras that would be filled with seawater. The cameras were put in a plastic container with a lock. An hour in a dinghy surrounded by icy water and constant sprays of saltwater isn’t exactly a pleasure, but that wasn’t why we were there.

The icebergs were relatively small, but the glacier’s break-off edge was impressive. The place where our dinghy was sailing was only passable for two months of the year in a dinghy anyway. Otherwise a snowmobile would be the vehicle you’d need. Totally frozen, wet from head to foot, but delighted with all we’d experienced, we headed for the penguin colonies. The colonies consisted of young animals that were almost adults. The old animals were out and about catching fish to give something to the young animals to eat. Once these young animals have grown up, the adults feed them less and they lose weight. This means that fat is turned into muscles and feathers so that the young animals can then swim and catch fish themselves.

It was then that we noticed how cruel mother nature is. In our presence at a distance of about 50 metres, a group of skuas managed to separate one of the young penguins from the rest and chase it into the water and drown it until the animal no longer moved. The skuas then came and devoured the corpse so that nothing remained at the end of our half-hour stop. Only the bones were left.

After visiting the penguin colonies, we Antarctica visitors had had enough and were looking forward to the flight back. Our Russian friends then went to visit other Russian friends in the station and were given gifts that they were to take with them to Moscow. Kurt and I then took our wonderful taxi to the plane. Our Russian friends came about a quarter of an hour later. They had completely recovered from the tiring trip, were in great moods and laughed and jokes the whole flight back. Kurt suspected that several bottles of vodka had been passed over the table. Because such a change in mood isn’t possible without a little help.

Goodbye Antarctica. It was a cold, wet and tiring experience. The lowest temperature ever measure on the earth was minus 96 degrees in Antarctica.

We’ve also set foot on this continent and are more than just a little impressed.

Bye.