The Albatross Monument… A terrible curse A thirst had begun. Sir Francis Drake discovered the place where the Atlantic and Pacific meet in the most savage and fierce scope… The Drake can be a tranquil and silent place, a shimmering sheet of glass with reflections of clouds. Cold blues with ripples of turquoise disappear to the ancient horizon, windless and fresh, sunny and warm. The tranquility is broken only by chirping birds as they forage on the plentiful food. The soaring albatross, the great wanderer, is always close by… It’s a magnificent passage – rivalled by nowhere… “Day after day, da... read more

Hello from the bottom of the world! This trip was my third voyage to the icy realms of Antarctica and it was yet another amazing trip… I fail to see how anyone could ever be disappointed with a trip down here… It’s an amazing place! Even the adventure of just getting to Antarctica is incredible. Crossing the dreaded Drake Passage, one of the world’s most turbulent and stormiest stretches of water, and being followed by some of the great albatrosses is exhilarating. The moody skies, the howling winds and the swirling seas are just part of getting here. It’s part of the journey… And so is getting chased by Argentinians… It all started when we arrived at the Argentinian base of Almirante Brown. The plan was to climb to the top of a small peak and ... read more

Mighty, glaciated mountains towered from the ocean. Massive, vertical cliffs rose from the depths and mighty glaciars spilled through every valley. This was the welcome I got from Antarctica! "I am in Antarctica" I said to myself! It's an amazing place! I stood in awe on the continental mainland and looked around. I was completely surrounded by jagged peaks soaring more than a mile into the sky. Giant rivers of ice, several miles across spilled through every valley. The emptiness, loneliness and remoteness of this place is overwhelming. It has an icy strangeness ... It is like nowhere else! Antarctica is 99.6% covered in ice! It is the coldest, windiest, driest and most mountainous of all the continents. It's also the least visited and has no permanent human population. It is difficult to comprehend the scale ... read more

South Georgia has several abandonned whaling stations along the eastern coastline. All of them (except Grytviken) are closed to visitors because of airborne asbestos and the high likelihood that they'll collapse, and as it is generally windy, there's a good chance of a flying piece of debris whacking you. They are in spectacular settings! Surrounded by formidable mountains and huge glaciers, these stations are now relics of the brutal whaling industries of yesteryear and are havens for the abundant wildlife. We explored a beach and valley near Stromness and had countless close encounters with penguins and seals. The fur seals at Stromness were quite protective of their resting areas and we all got charged at and growled at multiple times. It was great fun! On Christmas evening we arrived at King Edward Point (KEP), the administrative ... read more

Hello everybody... So, I got on a ship, the Sea Spirit! I have a contract with an expedition company to go on several Antarctic voyages... I will talk more about my roll in later blogs but first I'll introduce my first taste of the South Atlantic... The MV Sea Spirit cruised out of the Port of Ushuaia, through the Beagle Channel and into the open waters of the South Atlantic Ocean followed by an entourage of seabirds. Cape Petrels and Great Shearwaters circled above the wake of the ship, snatching up fish scraps and other tasty food while the mountains of Tierra Del Fuego were consumed by the ocean. It was amazing to watch the continent of South America disappear... Early the next morning as we slowly chugged across the big blue sea, we were treated ... read more