The Southernmost Bar in the World
Vernadsky Station: Home to both the hole in the ozone and a nicely stocked bar
Follow our 2007 Dream Trip Contest winner through South America and Antarctica. And don't forget to enter our 2008 Dream Trip Contest. The prize? A $25,000 trip (designed by Wendy) to the destination(s) of your dreams."
We Zodiac back to the Ioffe at 6:30 a.m., freezing after shedding our synthetic skins. I feel bad for the people who didn't camp. They really missed out I have to say, and the temperature was fine while we slept. I've had colder nights in Philly.
We cruise to Vernadsky station, a former British meteorological base turned Ukrainian science center in the 1990s. This is where the famed hole in the ozone layer was first observed back in the 80s, and it is also home to maybe the more famous Southernmost Bar in the World.
We get a quick tour led by Gleb, one of the scientists, and we see the labs, kitchen, sauna, workshop, and gym. The walls of the latter are lined with torn out pages of "gentlemens" magazines featuring women from all over the world with nothing on. After this, we are led to the shop where we can get our passports punched with a little penguin stamp and buy postcards. Then, it's to the bar.
The "V" in Vernadsky is for vodka
A great little spot. Cozy. Nice views of the surrounding Argentine Islands. And of course a nice selection of homemade and name brand vodkas. All in the name of science, ladies and gents. I do my part for the advancement of mankind, and it's good!
Then we set off for Wordie House, a British base set up to monitor possible German sub activity back in the day. This place was left pretty much as is, and has all sorts of strange antique machines and weird canned goods inside, including a large tin of mashed potatoes, which I never knew was available that way. Due to fine weather we are able to do a bonus Zodiac cruise, and so we zip around the Yalour Islands and Waddington Bay.
Freshly ground coffee, 1941
Rusty spuds
In addition to the ice menagerie, there are more Leopard seals. We also notice ski tracks high up on one of the glaciers, and as I looked at these through my binoculars a crackle came from Natalie's radio and clued us in. There was a British Antarctic Survey team on a ten-day geological expedition and they were looking for a weather report. They had seen the Ioffe when they stopped to set up camp. I located them way up in the white: tiny red specks moving about where the glacier met with rock.
Back on the ship Arlene and I go up to the top deck as the captain turns the Ioffe around and we start sailing north. We are headed once again for the Drake Passage. I check the rum supply and all is OK.
The happy hour drink is Bloody Marys with that grated horseradish Paulee promised me, and I buy the bulk of his supply.
After a dinner of salty kangaroo meat there was the second ice cream buffet of the trip. Have you ever seen people at an ice cream buffet? The scene is sort of like a UN food drop. Very ugly. Somewhere beneath the fistfights, shootings, and stabbings were lumpy scoops of frozen delights, cherries, and whipped cream. We waited til the dust cleared and the bodies were removed, and managed to score some chocolate and something purple.
Arlene gets a patch from Doc Andy to help with seasickness. Coming out, my only reaction to the Drake was a sort of irritability, tiredness, and spacey feeling. Doc says the side effects of the patch may be irritability, tiredness, and spacey feeling, so I decline.
We must be beat, because we lay down around 9:30 p.m. and do not move again until 7:30 a.m. the next day.
The Ioffe framed by an iceberg
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Beautiful shot of the ship thru the iceberg.
Posted by: FatherofCANE | January 29, 2008 at 09:13 AM
Photos are amazing. After this trip, must update your web site.
Question - how was the Scotch selection at the V? All blends, or were there Single Malts?
Posted by: FatherofCANE | January 29, 2008 at 10:10 AM
hello
i am not sure about onboard selection because i came prepared with a Speyside single malt called Aberlour.
i know they had some blends, but i think everything decent was $10 or $12 a pop. i thought everything would be quite expensive, so picked up rum, wine, and champagne in advance. but....beer, wine, and basic brands were only $4 each at the bar, which is surprisingly low considering the location and lack of options. thanks for the comments and cheers...gene
Posted by: moongoober | January 31, 2008 at 09:57 AM
fatherofCANE-
sorry but i just realized i misread your question and that you were referring to the selection at the Station, not the ship. anyway, i don't know. i concentrated on vodka.
Posted by: moongoober | February 02, 2008 at 08:50 PM