You Never Felt Cold
Janet Kuypers
2/26/24
Layer multiple socks under boots; don’t forget
The few layers of pants and shirts (and, of course, a
Sweater on top); then adorn yourself with a headband,
Hat, scarf, gloves, and jacket, + an outer coat that
Protects your good camera while you hold your
Weatherproof camera for the ride on the rubber
Boat in case anything catches your eye while you
Take your only scheduled trek to Danco Harbour.
Finally disembark. (I know it’s just a rubber
Dinghy, but with that much gear on, this is the
Only word that adequately describes the tumult of
Getting out of a tiny inflatable to step onto ice.)
So... then they tell you to walk up that mountain
To photograph more penguins... but it seems that
Every other step leads to you sinking three to four
Feet into this otherwise impenetrable wall of snow.
After twenty minutes of struggling you’ve made it
Barely twenty feet, and you’re thinking, there’s
No way you’ll make it to the top of that mountain
Before everyone says it’s time to leave. These
Penguins seem to surf along the ice, but they know what
they’re doing — you’re just an immovable, bundled ball.
So, you turn to the “captain” that was manning
That dinghy and say “No, I’m not going to
Make it up that mountain.” They look at you,
Then say, “Okay, then why don’t you just
Walk fifty feet that way and see all those other
Penguins jumping into the Southern Ocean...”
Well, that sounds like a novel idea, and you
Don’t have to remain hip-high in snow to do it.
Waddle your way over. Assess the best place to sit
So as to not disrupt the usual single-file line of
Penguins making their way down the mountain to
This one spot to jump into the Southern Ocean and
Porpoise their way through the ice-cold water. They
Group at this one spot, wait, reposition yourself
So that your elbows can support you while you
Try to catch just the right angle of all of these
Jumping penguins — without scaring them away.
After two + hours of contorting yourself into different
Positions while repeatedly trying to get just the right
Photo, that’s when you hear them say, ‘It’s time to go...’
That’s when you realize that this entire time laying,
Sitting on the ice, oddly enough, you never felt cold.
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