The endless space engulfed our beings. We were not so much alone as alone with ourselves. Our colony of less than two hundred floated nearby but the comfort and sustenance it offered seemed of little importance now. Even the sounds of human voices or the quiet engine throb evaporated into the vastness, seemingly absorbed by illimitable distances in all directions.
We were miniscule, a tiny colorful speck in a world of blacks and whites. The latter two words have no meaning here. Neither refers to a monotone but a kaleidoscope of hues. Glacial arrows and horns stretched ebony fingers skyward. The fresh clean color of snow softened their edges. Beneath us the silver backed mirror of the sea drew our sights into its mercuric void and alternately tossed back reflections of a garden of icy forms, all variants of white. Glimmering in sunlight, smooth milky sides like the finest of silk in gentle draping folds, a tower of compacted ice, a fragment of the endless continental shelf, loomed above. Seemingly illuminated from within, a turreted castle of ice appeared a gelled blue as it glided by.
Today, blessed with calm seas, some of us chose to be alone and savor the taste of the wild. WE KAYAKED IN ANTARCTICA!
