Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 16

Apologies for the break in continuity......! Feeling better this morning.......breakfast is good: ham & eggs, and ham & cheese croissants - yep, they're beginning to feature more and more in the daily diet...... We head out into Cusco and visit the Inca Walls and wander the narrow cobbled streets where the relentless street hawkers ply their crafts in pursuit of the tourist pound. At every attempt we buy water and when we can, Coke Zero.....even if the sell-by dates have always expired. We visit Inglesia de Santa Domingo, a church from the middle ages and then set off to find the main railway station that we remember Palin arriving into Cusco via. We struggle, even though our map is current and despite several attempts by John......"donde esta l'staticion"......I'm sure that's how Raul taught me to say ... read more

Long journey. 24hrs from wake up to head-down. Landed in Newark, new jersey at 12:30 EST at gate C125. It appears that USA is no longer a "free" country after all, as we had to pay our $14 EST immigration charge before leaving uk. And after a very warm send off by the airline staff and much thanks and gratitude for flying their airline, we joined the queue marked "aliens". We checked out at passport control, collected bags, cleared customs..........turned left after the double doors...........re-checked the bags, queued for security scanning........had to practically get dressed again, queue for passport control, and run to..................gate C125 where a rather familiar air raft was waiting to run a service to lima, Peru. The staff questioned why we were running late............and I nearly...........but Denise restrained me. We took our seats ... read more

With our winter setting in, and the sea ice beggining to form, the penguins around Mcmurdo/Scott Base will soon walk, slide and swim to other places, the Emperors with their shiny new coats of feathers will head SE to their rookeries, to breed all through the polar winter, in horrific weather (for a human anyway). What Natures' purpose in this ritual is I dont know, survival of the fittest maybe? The smaller, knee high animated Adeleis breed over the summer, complete their molt and head North to warmer climes, out to sea, to the edge of the winter ice pack, to stuff their little faces in preparation for the next breeding season. After a summer of very few penguins, the sea ice blew out, and suddenly we were awash with them! They are fun to watch ... read more

"The Danks - Sold Me Out" "Radiohead - The Reckoner" "The Doves - Satelites" I wasn´t sure what to expect while on board the Antarctic Dream. I had heard various opinions about the boat, the trip and the staff. The only constant was that the scenery was friggin amazing. So I decided to board the boat with an open mind and try to leave any expectations behind. That´s a lie, I had high expectations! I thought I might be stuck on board with 70 or so old rich people from around the world. I was worried that it would be early nights occupied with book reading and solitaire. I was a bit nervous to meet my roommate, hoping for someone around my age who didn't snore, smell and would be nice and relatively normal! Well, to ... read more

"James Mercer - Journey Through the Past" My Antarctica trip started with a long bus journey from Puerto Natales all the way down to Ushuaia. The boarder crossing from Chile into Argentina was a breeze with only a quick 20 minute delay. The Land Of Fire is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of 48,100 km2 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn. The fairy trip from the mainland to Tierra Del Fuego is quick and if you have a keen eye you may spot some dolphins jumping around the fairy trying to get a glimps of the people! Antarctica ... read more