Antarctica, the kingdom of the penguins

In January 2005, extremely fortunate circumstances lead us to Antarctica. The journey is long, the Drake Passage surprisingly quiet and we feel ourselves leaving everything familiar behind us and immersing ourselves in the world of Antarctica. Wherever we land, we are greeted by penguins. Whether gentoo, golden crested or chinstrap penguins – all are curious and unafraid of humans. And all penguins have something else in common: their colonies stink to high heaven! If you want to sit down on a stone and take in the bustle, you have to make sure that your chosen seat is really clean…

This natural spectacle is increasingly in danger. Because if the Antarctic ice melts, the food supply for the penguins will either disappear and/or change. They could starve to death. Just recently, a huge iceberg called A-76, which is a whole lot bigger than the island of Mallorca, broke off. If such an iceberg were to block the penguins’ path to their fishing grounds, they would also starve to death. In 2005, our fears were not as great as they are today. But we already knew then that we had to take more care of our planet.