South Orkney Islands. Orcadas Base

March 29, 2015

It was a bright and sunny day.

Our expedition ship dropped anchor next to Laurie Island (in the South Orkney Islands), which is home to an Argentinian Antarctic base.

The travelers pile into the Zodiacs and make their way to shore.

There are beautiful glaciers all around.

We are here.

The travelers disembark and take a bunch of identical photos of penguins.

Sorta like this.

Unfortunately, no one wants to show the real truth. And the real truth is that penguins are actually quite unpleasant up close. They stink and poop all over everything in their vicinity.

And here’s Orcadas Base, cozily tucked away at the foot of a cliff.

Everyone immediately attacks the lone penguin who was just minding his own business.

The seal also gets meticulously documented.

This is one of the most interesting Antarctic bases: it was established in 1904, and some of its historical features have survived to this day. For instance, the remnants of the very first hut have been roped off and left untouched.

The century-old planks continue to sit out in the open air.

The present-day base.

They paint everything—and not just the buildings—orange here for the sake of visibility. Otherwise, you’d never find the stakes and guylines under the snow.

The living quarters and mandatory directional totem pole.

The gray dome has a radar antenna inside.

Traditional commemorative plaques (huge numbers of these can be found on every Argentinian monument, crypt, memorial corner and so on).

At the other end of the isthmus is another old part of the base, built in the 1930s.

It doesn’t look like anything fancy from the outside. Just a regular insulated barracks.

But inside, it’s like a cozy country house. Wood really does seem to be the best material for human dwellings.

Artifacts of everyday life continue to be carefully preserved here.

You could sit down for lunch right this instant!

An equally ancient stuffed bird surveys the antiquities from above.

A fish in a jar looks on with blind eyes from the shelf.

The base is situated on a very narrow isthmus of the island, so you can walk to the opposite shore in about five minutes.

More seals can be found sprawled out here.

There’s a cemetery here as well. It’s already quite populated.

The base from a different vantage point.

One of the hallways.

The bar where the station’s residents while away the harsh winters.

I’ve never seen a flush button on the side of a toilet tank before.

Space is tight at the station, so a small chapel has been set up in the same room as the electric switchboard. God helps those who help themselves.