Reaches Antarctica! Unbelievable Journey Begins || Pole to Pole Ep.9

So friends, once again, welcome to Cycle Baba’s channel. They say that if you truly desire something with all your heart, you will surely achieve it. And we achieved it — Antarctica.

At this moment, we are standing on the fifth-largest continent in the world — Antarctica. Welcome to this continent of ice. For the past four days, we were being tossed around in the ocean. It has been four days since we left South Georgia, and today, on the fourth evening, we finally reached here.

The sea was very rough. The waves were extremely high — in many places, waves of 6 to 7 metres. The route we travelled is the same route once taken by Sir Shackleton when he crossed these 6-metre waves to save his companions and reached South Georgia in about 15 days. We came through that same route, and at this moment, I welcome you all to the mainland of Antarctica.

We have come deep inside the Antarctic Peninsula. When we started from Georgia, we were at 54° longitude, and now we are at 64.5°. That means we have moved almost 10 points further south. It feels absolutely amazing. It is cold, but the weather has improved slightly and is calmer now.

So, let’s go. Our zodiacs are ready, and we are also ready to go.

Let me tell you a few facts. The total area of Antarctica is about 1.24 crore square kilometres. Even if you combine India, China, and America, they would still fit inside it. And one more thing — during winter, its area almost doubles because the surrounding ocean freezes.

The maximum recorded temperature here has gone down to –89°C, and in some places, it has been even colder. And if anyone wants to experience extreme winds, Antarctica is the place to be. Sometimes winds blow at speeds of up to 300 km per hour. There is a complete wind circulation system in the Antarctic region, which I will explain later in the video from inside the room.

Right now, our zodiacs are ready to take us to the island. We are about to take our first step here very soon.

Behind me, you can see a huge mountain on one side and another on the other. It feels as if there is a swing of ice and sea hanging between these two mountains. At the moment, there is a lot of ice. Sometimes, during summer, this route opens up, but right now it is completely covered in ice.

We will go to that side where our zodiac is heading. Our first landing will be at Two Hummock Island, which is coming up shortly. Some people have already gone there. There are penguins, and they are going to do photography with them.

For the past four days, there was a very strong storm, so we were not allowed on the deck at all. We had to stay inside our rooms. Now, the moment you touch the deck, it feels sticky with salt — salt everywhere.

So welcome. I just feel like taking my first step on this island. My heart is racing with excitement. Our zodiac is ready and has come to pick us up. Before going, we have to follow strict procedures because this entire area is protected. You cannot walk here with dirty footwear.

Maybe tomorrow we will also remove our shoes somewhere, and I will show that to you as well. So, wait and watch.

Finally, we are about to take our first step on Antarctica. I am extremely happy. The excitement cannot be explained in words. It feels incredible.

And yes — finally, we have taken our first step on Antarct

Our first footprints are now on Antarctic ice. Welcome to Antarctica.

Behind me, the mountain you see is 2 million years old, with a height of 670 metres. This island is called Two Hummock Island, and you can hear the penguins making their “pee-pee-pee” sounds. Because of these sounds, when the British first came here in 1955, they named this place Palmer.

The island is about 10 km wide, suspended between two mountains, which is why it is called Two Hummock. The place is incredibly beautiful. Coming to Antarctica feels like a dream come true.

We will see many more things in the next two to three days. And yes, I made a mistake — my microphone got twisted, so this video is being recorded for the fourth time. The audio may not be very clear because the mic cover is missing, but it’s okay.

Let’s move upwards. People ahead of us went first and made this path. This is the first landing of the season in this region of Antarctica, especially for the 22–25 day tour. We have already completed 16 days, and it feels like time flew by.

The temperature is around –2 or –3°C, but it feels like –20°C. We are freezing. Even inside the gloves, it feels extremely cold.

Despite all this ice, Antarctica is actually the driest continent in the world. Humidity here is around 1%. Because moisture is locked in ice form, there is no humidity. That’s why Antarctica is also considered the largest desert in the world.

About 98–99% of Antarctica is covered with ice. It looks stunning. There are so many facts, which I’ll explain later.

Look at the penguins — they are fighting with each other. This species is the most mischievous and very noisy. That’s why the place got its name.

The view from the top is breathtaking. When sunlight hits the glaciers, they turn crystal-clear blue — absolutely beautiful. The rocks you see are millions of years old.

There is our cruise ship in the distance. Look at how difficult it is for the penguins to climb — they keep slipping back due to the ice. They have to go up to their nesting area.

Fresh snowfall has just happened here. Around 500 people from all over the world visit Antarctica each season, mostly from Ushuaia and Chile.

In winter, temperatures drop to –70 to –80°C, and this region records around –60 to –65°C. During summer, days become very long. Right now, it is already 7:00 PM, and the sun has still not set. In January, there is almost 24-hour daylight.

In winter, there are polar nights, when the sun does not rise at all for nearly three months — complete dark

Now we are heading back. The landing is complete. The place is truly beautiful — no doubt about it. The microphone issue slightly affected the mood, but overall, it was an incredible experience. 

I’ll show you more things as we move ahead. We are also going to see whales and such. We saw many of them on the way.

We’ve reached now. At the moment, the sea is calm, so you don’t really feel it, and anyway, it was parked very close — just two to three minutes away.

Finally, I found it. Thank you so much.
Guys, I’ve got it — look at the mic. This is where it had fallen, and because of this, the whole plan got spoiled. Thank you so much, brother. Actually, when I was putting it here, it fell right there.

So now, we have come back to our room. Let me show you what all we wear before going out.

First, I’ll take out this mic.
These are the gloves. I wear a small inner glove inside as well. After that, this comes. Then comes this one. Open this. A cap. Then this is a monkey cap. I’ve taken a special Columbia cap.

After that comes the life jacket. Let me explain the life jacket to you as well. So this is the life jacket. I’ll show you properly.

Normally, it has two systems. On one side, if you open it, you’ll find this. You can open it, blow air into it, and then close it. On the other side, let me show you — if you open this side, there is a cylinder inside. You can see it here. This is the full cylinder. If you pull this hard, air will release from the cylinder, and the entire life jacket will inflate automatically, which can save your life.

Let me close it back — it’s actually quite a problem to close it properly.

So this is my number — 52. This will be my number throughout the cruise. I’ll use the same number everywhere. You can think of it like a roll number in a classroom. There are 80 people in this class, and I am roll number 52. I’ll complete the entire 20-day expedition with this roll number.

There is also a whistle attached. Where did the whistle go? I think I opened it one day. You can blow the whistle as well. And there is another one — this one is for the zodiac. And this one is for emergencies. If the ship overturns or nothing is available, or if you have to go into the emergency boat, then this is needed. They tie this to you, and it also has a whistle.

Let me show you one more thing here. This is a light — if it gets wet in water, it starts blinking. It’s made of radium so that rescuers can spot you from far away. It is worn around the neck so the head stays above water. Though here, it doesn’t really help much — if your ship sinks here, you’ll die within 20 minutes anyway because of the extreme cold.

Now I’m opening the main jacket. This is the main jacket. Its weight alone is about 4 kg. We wear this on top so that the cold affects us less — at least the upper body stays protected.

Inside this, I’m wearing three layers — one, two, and another one inside. Three layers.

Now let’s talk about the shoes. It’s very difficult to take them off. These are rubber boots. You have to wear these because your hands and feet freeze so badly in the snow.

Now I’ll show you the most important part. On top of Zara trousers, I’m wearing this. This is my thermal wrap. Then another sock. This is the second sock, then the third sock. And for the lower body, these are windproof. One layer here, another here, and one more underneath — four layers in total. This is how you normally have to be packed.

Anyway, the more love you give, the better it is for me. I don’t need support for this journey. I need support for Argentina to Alaska. That journey is going to be very difficult. The route I have chosen is the reverse — normally people start from Alaska and go to Argentina. I am starting from Argentina and going to Alaska. The winds will be extremely strong. So let’s see — your love will keep coming anyway.

So finally, I’ve returned back from the zodiac to the cruise ship. As soon as I came back to the cruise, the first thing I did was take a bath, because it had been three to four days since we could bathe properly. The cruise was rocking so badly due to waves of 5 to 6 metres. If you tried to get up, you’d feel nauseous and end up lying down again.

I slept right at the back of the ship — inside the bar area — for two nights. My condition became really bad. Now today, it feels like we’ll finally get some proper food.

So now we’re going to eat dinner. The food on this cruise is simple because this is an expedition cruise, not a luxury cruise. After four days, even the crew has felt some relief because when the waves are strong, cooking becomes very difficult.

One day, they simply called us out and gave us just a burger — nothing else. Inside the burger, there was a little spinach and some other stuff. It was enough to fill the stomach, but still…

Today, I’m really hungry, so let me show you what kind of food we normally get here. I haven’t been showing food in the videos lately because these are historical, luxury-style videos, but food does matter.

So today’s dinner is: cream of potato, carrot and ginger soup. And in the main course, there is some vegetable patty — not sure what exactly. And rice pudding — at least we’ll get something like kheer today.

This is our mash. Thank you so much.
Yes, yes — that penguin stays white. It’s the only penguin that stays in the same place.

For dinner, first we get soup. Normally, what we do is add garlic bread into it, add a bit of butter, and eat it. Indian food is not available here, so we manage with this. Bread works like roti for us.

They give small portions, but it doesn’t really fill you up. So I try to eat properly from the first course itself. Otherwise, if nothing else comes, I spread butter on the bread and eat it dry.

Alright — here comes the main food. The main course has salad, black beans — like kidney beans, rajma. And this is soya — a soya patty. Everything is made from vegetables and cheese. And these are carrots.

So that’s dinner done. At the end of dinner, they gave us a very nice rice pudding.

Look — it’s 9:00 PM, and the sun still hasn’t set. Let me show you. And look at how the ice is floating in the water.

So friends, we’ll end today’s video right here.
[Laughs]

Until then — stay happy, stay busy, stay cheerful, stay healthy.
Jai Hind, Jai.