“Broken bones” or dancing away under the midnight sun

The summer campaign is filled with opportunities to meet people from all over the world and hear colorful stories from previous Antarctica campaigns. The living room is small, which can lead to cacophonic scenes of different people simultaneously trying to play kicker, watch movies and read. Luckily, there are plenty of other places to escape to during the summer. The most convivial one is the Epica tent, the refuge of the glaciologists. It is a 500 meters walk from the station in the chilling cold, yet the cozy soirees by the gas stove make the effort worth it. Almost every evening, alternating people huddle around a few drops of Chartreuse, and for a few hours, it is as if we were in a mountain ski chalet. I love sitting in the corner, surrounded by people who have come to Antarctica so many times. I quietly listen to their accounts of years past. It is like I was there with them, as they bring to life overcoming all odds, fabulous ice core finds, technological feats on a harsh continent, epic scientific raids or once-in-a-lifetime visits to Vostok, the Russian station. Some nights are “themed” and get the biggest crowds; when Fabrizio cooks “polpo a la Luciano”, or when there are crêpes with sugar and a few drops of liqueur…

I also discover the exhilaration of dancing at the best club in town, la “Spacca ossa”. The name refers to one lively evening a few years back, and translates to “broken bones”…! The playlist does tend to be a little repetitive, but it is still lots of fun! The evenings end on a boisterous note with Italian folkloric dances; these always involve group accolades and a lot of ground thumping and chest pounding. After such intense efforts, and definitely feeling breathless, donning our polar suits and going back to bed in the late but nevertheless sunlit hours of night, with the sun glaring like it is noon, is surreal!

A few of the summer campaigners are gifted musicians and charm us with not only live gigs of guitar, flute and bagpipes, but also traditional folk dance lessons. We spend one memorable evening in the newly upgraded living room of the summer camp, swirling away to the music.

There are also more serene activities, such as watching movies, huddled under covers on mattresses flung on the floor of the video room. We have banned “The thing” until the middle of winter-over, but we manage to get through the whole series of Alien movies. Sunday afternoons are devoted to relaxation in the sauna. And Friday evenings are a videogame lover’s paradise, with more or less 20 people linking their computers to play.

We might not have an entertainment multiplex compound, but there are activities for all tastes!