“Inspire team, Inspire team, inspire team! Wake up! It’s 6 o’clock in the morning, get your gear on and meet Rob on the deck!”, Adrian, better known as “Jumper” announced.

Saturday morning… whole team is on the deck, ready to rock ‘n’ roll! We entered into the icebergs kingdom of Antarctica! Sea, ice, sea, ice… and penguins. It’s an amazing day on Antarctica – icebergs all around, cold sea, cloudy sky and silence… silence which makes me feel so small and unimportant. Looking all around, I start feeling enormous respect to this unique place on the Earth, respect to its greatness and outstanding beauty, and respect because while I’m enjoying, I also feel fear in my bones all the time… Antarctica will show you all its gorgeousness, but could kill you in a minute. Here, at the end of the World, nature is a leader of the game; we, humans are just following the rules …

For the first time since we started the expedition, this morning we went onshore in zodiacs (rubber boats). We have visited Brown Bluff Island, and as we were approaching the island, I could see a huge number of penguins on the coast.

It’s so beautiful to see these creatures, free, running around in their natural environment. They look so happy here… Spring just started on Antarctica, so it’s a time for some kinds of penguins to start making couples and mingling. If you did not know, here are some facts about penguins:

There are about 17 different kinds of penguins all around Antarctica, but also in some areas of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  Penguins spend most of their lives at sea, except when molting or rearing young. The wings of penguins are reduced in size, stiff and flat, which makes them no flying birds, but an amazing swimmers at sea.

Penguins generally feed on prey captured near the surface, either close to shore or near the edge of pack ice. In Antarctica, the larger species feed primarily on squid, while smaller species feed mostly on krill, with some fish and squid.

Most of the penguins nest in colonies. For some of them such as Gentoo and Adélie penguins, mingling period is during the spring/summer time. They are making couples, and both sexes share in incubating the eggs and feeding the young. Incubating period usually lasts 5 to 6 weeks. The two largest species, the Emperor and King penguins, make no nest at all, and since they require more time to raise their young, they lay their eggs in winter so that chicks can be fledged by the end of summer.

Two kinds of penguins that we saw this morning are Gentoo and Adélie penguins. Besides, we saw couple of seals, laying on the beach and napping after the feast.

In the afternoon we passed near Esperanza, Argentinean scientific base, saw huge icebergs all around and Orka whales… and desperately trying to catch them by our cameras.

Tonight we continue sailing and moving to the Trinity Islands … Tomorrow, early in the morning we go onshore again, keep on discovering penguins, seals and other species of Antarctica…

Aaaa, sea sickness! I did not puke at all, but constantly I feel so weak and not capable to walk. I went up for the breakfast and after 5 minutes I was in bed again… I took a seak sick pill and was sleeping for hours again… I feel and look totally drugged.

Rob and Daren (doctor) came today to visit me… Rob said: “Enjoy in bed, you have all time of the world to think about whatever you want. What was the last time you had two days only for yourself?” Hahahaha, humor always helps in hard situation, but it’s good point I must say…

Since I came back from Germany to Serbia, I did not stop for a day. So many things to sort out for the expedition, hunting for job… Last one month was really dynamic, unforgettable and beautiful! I’m happy to be back in Serbia… it’s a feeling of rediscovering, reintegration, happiness and fulfillment.

Ah, it’s so hard to stay focused on the screen, so hard to write anything… ship is rolling left-right, my stomach is rolling too , we’re closer and closer to Antarctica and by tomorrow afternoon we should be there… I’m listening nice and relaxing music, thinking about people I love and miss in these moments… I know, I know it’s only couple of days since I left, but in moments of loneliness I just can’t stop thinking about them, thinking how much I care about them and how happy and grateful I am for having them in my life…

Tuesday, November 17

Six in the morning….Mountain’s air is really making its impact on me. I had very nice sleep, woke up energized and got ready for today’s hiking with full gear on. One hour later we had very strong breakfast and later on I met with my team in the lobby of the hotel. All expedition members are divided into several teams. My team’s name is “Amundsen” and it’s 7 of us – Turkey, India, Germany, Netherlands, Vietnam, China and Serbia. We’re hiking the glacier together and it’s extremely important to stick together whole way to the top…

Start hiking we’re passing through different landscape –from muddy and rocky area to the deep snow. Weather is surprisingly nice, without wind and sun is showing somewhere through the clouds… We’re climbing Marshal’s glacier above the city of Ushuaia. Robert Swan says that you don’t need to go to Antarctica to become fully aware of global warming. Marshal’s glacier is one of the many examples in the world. In only 20 years it’s pulled back for over 300m into the mountain. This is one of the effect in Argentina, but what’s happening in my country, what are short term and long term effects for people in Serbia, regarding the nature, energy resources such as water, oil, air, ground, etc.? Can we affect those issues in a positive way? Some of the questions came on my mind today, while we’re climbing the glacier. But I will not stop myself here, thinking only about the questions, I want to find solutions, I want to encourage other people to start working on their ideas, not related only with the environment, but in general. Why? Because there is no government’s job to make changes, it is responsibility of every individual. The worst we can do is sit and wait that someone else will do our job.

Landscape, view, air, everything today, on the top of the glacier looked beautiful. I wish it will look even more beautiful for future generations.

Later afternoon we got the safety brief for tomorrow’s ship embarkation towards Antarctica. All team feels excited and with a bit of fear in the bones… Drake Passage is waiting for us to go through, the roughest and one the most dangerous seas in the world. Let’s see if it is going to be Drake’s Lake or Drake’s hell…

With deep thoughts in my mind, I’m going to pack everything for tomorrow, and enjoying the evening in typical Argentinean dinner (read: JAGNJECE PECENJE ;p).

I’m not sure if I will be able to send you any updates before we come back from Antarctica, but be sure I will make hundreds of photos and video clips, and continue writing the diary as well. So once we’re back in Ushuaia, I will update you!

I wish you enjoying your activities during following days and making every moment special, and for myself and Antarctica Expedition team, I wish an amazing experience and calm sea. J

Worm hugs from Ushuaia!

Sunday, the day which reminds me on relaxing, laziness, afternoon lunch together with beloved persons, watching family movies and evening napping. Currently I feel almost completely the same; just the conditions around me are quite different now…
It’s about 2 p.m. and I am approximately 11,500 meters above the ground, somewhere over the West coast of Africa, on the plane to Buenos Aires. Sunday lunch is just ended here… Pretty strange, isn’t it? I hear passengers’ voices around, snoring, many different languages, with Spanish as a dominated one. 
It was a bit lazy morning about 4 a.m. where I went to the Belgrade’s airport to catch the flight to Frankfurt. It has not been showing the signs of an adventure and somehow I was not aware that my journey is starting as of today, journey to South Pole!
Last couple of days I was feeling excited, energized, motivated and a bit afraid of the unknown, new challenge I let myself in… I was thinking about the current situation where I can’t observe everything happening around me from the distance, like from the third person perspective. Why? Because I am living that experience, and the feeling is incredible and scary, but I am sure this is the right way to gain life experience and to learn constantly…
Early beginning of the day and reality slapped me over my face – adventure is started! In fact, adventure began since the moment I became a part of this expedition, it just has new dimension right now…
Flight Belgrade-Frankfurt was delayed half an hour, and I have only one hour to catch the flight to Buenos Aires. Just before the landing to Frankfurt I got the information from the crew that I should take “next” or better to say evening flight to Sao Paolo, and then from there somehow continue to Buenos! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! It’s unacceptable not to make it, because I will be late for the expedition then!
Finally Frankfurt! My flight to Buenos takes off in 30 minutes. Plane doors are opened, and I started running through the airport. My God, it’s so huge! People all around, custom control, taking off the jacket, laptop from the bag, police lady who is following the regulations of course and just does not care because I will miss my flight. She’s checking me, checking my shoes, asking me to go back and go through the doors again….Aaaaa! I think I wanted to slap her! Finally she finished, I’m grabbing my stuff, running, running, running, and eureka! Huge cue is still there! But, where is my mobile?! Oh, Mici, you don’t think?! I left my mobile at the checking section, and now don’t have time to go back… Anyway, what a hell, I hope I’ll find it in “Lost & Found”
What’s next? I’m sure something even more crazy and unforgettable… Nine hours more to Buenos, and there Lucila is waiting for me. I met her in Germany while I was on internship in DHL. Knowing her, there is no sleeping tonight, and tomorrow morning I’m flying to Ushuaia, final destination before starting the journey over the Drake Passage to South Pole.
“Ice Age 3” is starting right now…. I’m going to watch it, and trying to catch some sleep here on 11,500 meters above the Atlantic Ocean…

Finally Buenos Aires!!!…and one hour waiting for the luggage… there is no luggage, it’s left in Frankfurt! Aaaaaaaa! I will not say “what’s next” anymore After long waiting, and writing down personal information to the airport staff, they said my luggage will arrive by Tuesday morning directly to Ushuaia…hopefully….

Leaving the custom zone and expecting Lucila to show up… but she is not there… I was feeling tired, and just wanted to go home, take a shower and sleep, but from other side thinking what should I do in case she is not there, without mobile to call… At the end after 15min she showed up! She was waiting for me two hours, trying to figure out where am I and what’s happening with me. What a happiness around!!! We have not seen each other since she left Germany during the summer… It’s incredible moment meeting friends again on the other side of the world! So many stories to tell to each other

Buenos Aires in an amazing over night, I’ll see tomorrow morning how does it look like over the day… Going to sleep now and tomorrow morning at 7.30 I’m flying straight to Ushuaia…

Last couple of days I spent in finalizing all the details about the trip such as flight tickets, finding required gear, buying small things like medicines, sweets, etc. that can be very useful at the South of the World…

Four days and my journey via Frankfurt and Buenos Aires to Ushuaia will start! It’s summer time on the South hemisphere right now, so literary I will go through all four weather seasons in two weeks – from spring/summer time in Buenos Aires (about 25C) to cold and snowy winter in Ushuaia and Antarctica (3 to -15C). How do I feel four days before the journey? Wow! It’s hard to describe, but in a couple of words – I feel super excited, full of positive energy and a bit scared, which I believe it’s a good feeling. Why? Once, one great person told me: “If you don’t feel the fear, then your dream or idea is not good enough!”

I would like to thank to all individuals, my friends, companies that supports me in this unique quest!!! BIG THANK YOU! I look forward to coming back from the expedition and to share all my experience, knowledge gained down there, and to show you all amazing photos and documentary movies. Be ready for rock ‘n’ roll

Besides, last week I have had the honor to participate on 40th years celebration of my faculty (FON) and to gain scholarship on Master studies as a support from the Faculty for the expedition. So from January 2010, I will start my Master studies and I am sure that in combination with the expedition and project ideas I have, it will be perfect opportunity to make positive impact and change in Serbia regarding the environmental protection and social responsibility.

Now looking on November 15… Hm… How will we communicate these 2 weeks?
I will not have regular access to this website or Facebook, so I would like to invite you all to follow me at:
http://expedition.2041.com/2009/
This is the Expedition page where you will be able to check daily updates from the Expedition members in section called “Wall”, post your thoughts and questions, and also to see our current location on the map. I will try to send as much updates as the conditions will allow me.

After the expedition, you can expect detailed information and updates on this website, followed with photos. Nevertheless, on this website you will find information about activities planned after the expedition.

I would like to invite you all to send me your thoughts, questions, ideas about environmental protection in Serbia and what can we do to make it better, more systematized and sustainable for future generations. Also, whatever would you like to know about the expedition, feel free to send me your thoughts and questions.

Good morning and wish you successful day!
Milena