Blues and purples

All of the photos on this page were taken on the same day in the same location. The variation in color from one to the next shows the range of effects that light, cloud, distance, time of day, and falling snow can have on images. At first, I found the eternally blue light on ice distorting and disorienting, but this is the color of the place and most everything in my memory has an indelible wash of shades of blue.

We did a morning landing on a barrier beach; an open channel along the side allowed access to the lagoon at the front of the glacier. I tried out the new waders, walking in the lagoon among the icebergs until my hands no longer worked. After lunch, we went again to a different spot on the spit where the icebergs were clear, aquamarine. It was cold and snowing but there was no wind and it was spectacular.

After an hour or so, the Zodiac picked us up and we motored across the lagoon and along the glacier face. The water was like mercury, calm, flat, and reflective in the fading light. The icebergs were beautiful shapes and the water surface was trying to congeal. There were thunderous rumbles from deep within the glacier. The textures and colors are so unimaginable, blues and purples I’ve never seen before. Sarah said she had never seen the glacier this way, the clouds and snow gave the colors new intensity.

We started moving before dinner was done and motored through the night, north. I “helped” with the 0200–0600 watch as we sailed. Fill in the logbook; do the rounds. I didn’t go into the engine room – that seemed impossible. The water was pretty rough and I had waves of nausea – I was fine and then felt terrible, fine, and then terrible. At one point, I stood at the rail and threw up what little was in my stomach and then was fine again. The 1st mate (Marijn) was on when I started and switched with the 2nd mate, Annet, his wife, at 0400. The time went remarkably quickly, and the light was beginning as we were released at 0600. In time for breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep before I started the watch at 0200; that left me pretty wasted and with a sleep-deprivation hangover.

The residents are doing presentations during the trip. The first group went the other night. Kristin is a novelist for young adults – fantasy kick-ass girls. She had her first NYT bestseller 10 years ago but she looks like she is ~35. Christina was a publisher, and now is working on a book about climate change. She is also an artist and is drawing the maps for the book – on seaweed. Andrea is writing a book on Barents, the explorer who “found” this land. She has two previous books, including one on concentration camps across time and continents. Isaac does city murals. Starting with graffiti, he now has a crew that does public murals on commission for cities all over. Very intimidating. Not the people, but their accomplishments and the paths and personalities that have taken them so far.