King George Island. Part II. Artigas StationMapMarch 27, 2015 The average reader is accustomed to seeing only bright and sunny photos from Antarctica. So lets give the reader a dose of realism. ![]() One can just about make out the buildings of Uruguays Artigas Station in the fog. ![]() The welcome sign is painted a color thats visible even in thick fog. ![]() The signpost totem pole that no polar station can do without. ![]() Señor Artigas, after whom the station is named. ![]() A historical concrete mixer. ![]() Two principles are always observed in remote places such as these. The first is to paint buildings bright colors—so that theyre visible under snow. ![]() The second is to build them some distance apart from each other—so that not everything gets lost in a fire. ![]() There isnt anything particularly interesting here. ![]() Lets step inside the main barracks, where the club is located. Welcome messages in the languages of the islands other occupants greet us at the entrance. ![]() Im amazed that theres another country (besides Russia) where people consider varnished yellow wood to be beautiful. I dont care for it at all, personally—it always makes me think of a bathhouse or school locker room. ![]() An iPad! ![]() The Uruguayans live far from the other stations here, so they dont see any new faces for months on end. And our ship of itinerant retirees caused quite a stir. They were so overjoyed at our visit that they laid out three tables worth of cakes (although its usually the visitors who are supposed to treat a stations residents since the latter dont get to see things like, say, fresh vegetables very often). ![]() The polar researchers lead modest lives. ![]() Theyve assembled a whale skeleton out of sheer boredom. ![]() Its time for us to leave. The cook runs out after us to take a photo—who knows when hell see new people again. ![]() And on the following day, the sun came out and whales appeared. ![]() |
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King George island. Part II. Artigas Station
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