Located at the bottom of the globe, getting to Antarctica is not an easy job. Even harder ist to survive there – yet the white icy continent attracts visitors from all over the world and uniquely warms their hearts. I’m proud to present my ex-colleague and friend Dimitar Trifonov, who was part of the 5th and 10th Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica and reveals the unique life at the end of the world.

Tell me, how did you learn about the Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica?

I had an aunt who worked at the university and she told me they were looking for people for the expedition. I was 22 years old, I had never left Bulgaria before and decided to give it a try. I went to an interview with prof. Dr. Hristo Pimpirev, who approved my application and explained in detail the purpose of the expedition and the construction of a house for the Bulgarian base there. It all happened by chance and still happened. I was the youngest Bulgarian to set foot in Antarctica, as well as the 15th Bulgarian there at all. Everything was very exciting and I felt truly privileged.

When did you first go there and what were your first impressions?

We left at the end of November 1996, travelling by plane from Sofia to London and from there to Santiago, Chile, where we spent 2 days, and then to Punta Arenas – the southernmost Chilean city. Everything was new to me. From Chile we were able to buy supplies and arrange a merchant ship to carry them, along with the parts for the house to Antarctica. With the boarding of the ship began our adventure and the beginning of the expedition. I still remember the 10-meter waves that our ship wrestled with, and their rumble made the whole ship shaking. We had no cabins and slept in the sports hall, which was located in the bow of the ship, and there all these tremors were felt most noticeably. Our clothes were hung on the Swedish wall and during the whole trip they did not stop shaking. The ship passed through the Beagle Channel, the Strait of Magellan, which closely resembles a river, and Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet. The Pacific Ocean was not at all patient and quiet, but with huge 2-3 meter waves. Particularly interesting were the devices in the captain’s bridge, which showed that we are at a depth of 4000 meters. After the waves followed the ice, and between them whales and dolphins. The entire trip by ship lasted 8 days, and we caught seasickness since the 2nd hour after boarding. The surest remedy against it is to look at the horizon.

As we finally arrived in Antarctica, we had to put on some suits so we can enter into the icy water without freezing and stay in it for up to 2 hours. Without these suits in the icy water you can stay no more than 90 seconds, after which hypothermia occurs and man dies of frostbite. We loaded the supplies into a boat and headed to the shore,  but as there was no port, I had to jump into the water and pull the boat from there. Stepping on solid ground, I saw a seal on my right and many penguins on my left, and naturally the first question that arose in my mind was, “What the hell am I going to do here for four months?” Antarctica, however, turned out to be a real mental sanatorium, without haste, fuss and stress. The lack of almost any technique and detachment from the world makes you look at another more conscious way of living.

Tell us more about the life there, under what conditions did you live?

During my first trip our team consisted of 5 people – 1 radio operator, 1 doctor, me as a mechanic of the base and two who were there last year, and had chosen the location of the base and left a wagon. This wagon was our first home. It had a size of no more than 10 sq.m, and there were beds for 5 people, a kitchenette and a living room. It was like a camper, and our life was really like camping – outdoor toilets, lack of bathroom and hot water. Bathing was done by warming a bucket of water and watering. However, the toilet, although outdoors, had a wonderful view of the ocean.

Between November and April, when I was there, it was white night season and it didn’t get dark at all. However, the weather was not at all favorable, with 90% of the days raining, snowing and blowing wind. Sometimes the winds reached 160 km / h, but this did not prevent our work and we managed to build a massive house in 45 days, with our bare hands and scarce tools.

In the very beginning we went to visit the Spanish base that was closest to ours. It was easily reachable by water, or more interesting on foot by skiing, as the road took 2 hours and we walked tied to each other, as we passed through a glacier in which there were cracks. The Spaniards gave us two snowmobiles and gasoline, with which we were able to carry more easily the supplies, parts and medicines we carried from the shore to our base. Thanks to these snowmobiles, we managed to carry 20 tons of house parts in one day, and in the end we were all exhausted and we were dry only under the tongue.

The next day we started building the house, according to the manufacturers, it was very precisely made to the last millimeter. It turned out, however, that when the parts were placed, they had a gap of up to 10 cm. Back then there were no thermal panels and we put concrete panels and it was very difficult because we did not have tools to lift. We had to lift 90 kilograms of panels with our bare hands to 3 meters in height. On my second trip there, I spoke in advance with the Argentinian architects and asked them to make a crane to use. At that time, we also used a helicopter to transport the parts.

Your second trip was 10 years after that. What were the changes?

The changes were big – there was a separate room for the generator, as well as space for the snowmobiles. Our house already had a refrigerator (before we used to dig holes in the snow), a microwave, a sink for washing dishes, there were also beds (we used to sleep on stiff boards and sleeping bags on top), now there was also a library. There were many improvements in our base, but also a huge difference in Antarctica itself. The huge glacier, for example, that stood on the back of the house had melted and disappeared. There was another glacier nearby, in which a 30-meter hole had formed and continued to melt. The climate change that was only talked about in Bulgaria here was noticeably visible.

Describe a typical day in Antarctica?

On my first visit, as a mechanic, I got up before everyone else and was responsible for turning on the unit in the morning, which made the fen works and everyone else got up when the room was warmed. We prepared breakfast and then everyone took up his tasks. Every day we had a duty in the kitchen. In the evening we played cards or backgammon, and we had neither TV, neither radio. For 4 months, we had only 12-minute phone call per person. On my second trip, we already had downloaded movies that we played, and we were more persons, sometimes the number reached even 30 people.

Who are the other inhabitants of Antarctica, both humans and animals?

My life in Antarctica gave me the rare opportunity to explore the continent from the inside, not as tourists to have only 2 hours on the coast. I managed to touch the unique flora and fauna of the coldest continent on earth. We had a lot of funny moments with the birds, whose wingspan sometimes exceeded 2 meters, they came to the base, sometimes they even went inside, or worse, they tried to steal from our separate outdoor refrigerator. The penguins, on the other hand, changed their feathers and did not enter the water, which led to a loud noise on the shore.

Interestingly, penguins didn’t approach humans when they’re standing up, but once you lie down on the ground, curious penguins immediately surround you and start lightly with their beaks to examine you.

If someone decides to go to Antarctica, how would you advise them to travel and

The easiest way to travel is to start in Ushuaia, Argentina, where there is a sign that this is the End of the World. Right next to the port where the ships of Antarctica were departing there is a huge inscription “The End of the World and the Beginning of Everything” I remember how these words gave me chills mixed with the warm excitement of the upcoming adventure.

Another place where you can start your tour is the Chilean city of Punta Arenas, where a monument to Magellan is erected, and everyone going on a journey passes by and rubs their hands against the big toe, which brings good luck and luck to the trip. Among the main attractions of Antarctica are glaciers and unique animal that survive in the coldest and most unfavorable living conditions. The coldest temperature recorded on Earth was in Antarctica -89.2C (on July 21, 1983). Other cultural attraction here is the Russian church on King George Island, which has an active priest in addition to icons. On this island is the Brazilian base.