Exchanging brick and mortar for water and ice
June 21st, 2011
Chicago Illinois USA 41 degrees 51′ 0″ N. / 87 degrees 39′ 0″ W.
Awaiting in Chicago O’Hare airport to board my flight which will begin my adventure to Finland, Russia, the North Pole, and Franz Josef Land. Much preparation has gone into me getting ready for this journey. Finished for now is my reading of polar lore and the gathering and packing of personal items. A peaceful aura engulfs me as there is now little I need do but rise and enter the plane when called upon to board. I am now in passenger mode. The real joy of travel can now begin.
To fill some idol time, I toy with my Iphone. This draws my attention to my 3 year old son Jovi who’s joyful image is transfixed as a photo which shows whenever my phone is turned on. How I miss my son. It’s been over 3 weeks since my wife Kerrie and Jovi flew to England so that Jovi may be looked after by my wife’s family while Kerrie and I are together on this North Pole expedition. Kerrie will be joining me in Helsinki, arriving from Manchester England. Separation from Kerrie has been manageable as we are able to converse via phone on a some what regular basis. Jovi though is still at that age where by his language skills lag far behind his ability to raise a smile in us with his playful manner and youthful exuberance. The void in my heart by his absence can’t be filled by a phone call. Thanks to modern technologies and advancements this expedition can accomplish in 15 days what years ago took 2 to 3 years to achieve. Separation from loved ones along with the unexpected is a part of polar travel.
One often thinks of past polar exploders such as Robert Peary and his assistant Matthew Henson as having to endure physical hardship. True they confronted harsh weather and environment to try to fulfill their goals but likewise there were also emotional struggles. Not surprising Peary and Henson developed relationships with Inuit women in Greenland outside their wives and girlfriends back home while in preparation for their quest to the North Pole. Both fathered children in those long periods of separation from their families back in America. With yet another 3 weeks before I am reunited with my son, I know now that being a polar explorer during the golden age of polar exploration would not have been my ideal calling. Separation from loved ones reminds me of a verse from Pablo Naruda where by he writes “love is so short, forgetting so long….my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.” The ability to be able to share with Jovi, for my life time, through stories, photo’s and video of his parents tale of going to the North Pole eases the time apart.
I am happy to have been able to fit in a leisurely motorcycle ride last night. As I rode I thought to myself that this may be my last night of darkness as I know it until I return home. Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Sound Of Silence” filled my mind “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again….”. With today being June 21, it’s the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The further north we travel the more we will be leaving our old friend darkness behind. Soon the day will arrive when we will sail with the midnight sun.
If your familiar with the riding of motorbikes then you understand why dogs love to stick their heads out of the car windows while driving. It’s while I ride that I feel I regain some primal olfactory sense that has been lost to us humans for ages. As I took in the fragrance of a pine tree grove last night, I thought to myself that like darkness our travel North will as well have us depart from trees. Our expedition will take us far beyond the tree line. It struck me that this trip will displace the world I’ve come to call home. The asphalt jungle we have created and live in will be supplanted by a vastness of a frozen tundra and iced seascape. I will be exchanging a world of brick and mortar for one of water and ice. As I rode and pierced through the roadway and wind with ease, we will soon be crushing through an arctic ocean of ice with 75,000 horse power aboard 50 Years of Victory (our ship).
No doubt Kerrie and I will be entering a new realm by reaching one of this planets most remote area’s. We will be leaving behind the streetlights, drive thru’s, woodlands, neon lights, and darkness we have come to know. In exchange we will barter to obtain a world foreign to us. With eyes wide open and my senses on heighten awareness I look forward to not only board my flight but enjoy this arctic adventure.
Helsinki here I come,
Giovanni Savaglio
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