http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Antarctica , Antarctica en-us Wed, 14 May 2008 01:05:57 BST Wed, 14 May 2008 01:05:57 BST nmnm http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Amundsen-Scott-South-Pole-Station/blog-272985.html A pale light seeped into the cramped bedroom from under the door. There was just enough light for John to see Patricia's pale drawn face if he were to have looked. But John didn't look. John stood stiffly in the middle of the room hands on the back of his desk chair staring out the window into the blackness. What are we going to do now he asked. After a moment Patricia nearly hidden be http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Amundsen-Scott-South-Pole-Station/blog-271271.html HELLOBOLDhahahahka list 1 list 2 list 31 dfgfgghg2 rttyuuuuu qwert asddff http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Amundsen-Scott-South-Pole-Station/blog-269895.html There is something reassuring in the effort still required even today to visit Antarctica. Yes daylong scenic flights from New Zealand and Australia have been an option for the wellendowed of pocket for a while and now equally wellheeled tourists will be able to fly in to Australiarsquos Casey Station. But this does not get you to the incredible sights sounds and silences that we had b http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Ross-Sea/blog-265693.html When I started writing up this trip I envisaged three blogs one on the trip south one on the Ross Sea and one on the trip north. If yoursquove followed the last monthrsquos scribblings in any detail or simply kept an eye on the blogsrsquo titles yoursquoll know this was a somewhat optimistic initial assessment. Everyone who has been before says it takes a surprisingly long time to http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Ross-Sea/blog-265680.html This is a Love Marriage not an Arranged Marriage I spent my junior year abroad in the Indian city of Madurai located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Whereas in America my dirty blond hair and unspectacular looks often made me feel unseen in India I stood out. Every time I walked down a crowded road children and adults alike would stop and stare. I was an outsider no matter how much I http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Amundsen-Scott-South-Pole-Station/blog-261642.html If stepping ashore at Cape Adare was magical walking down the gangway and straight onto a vast plain of snowcovered sea ice which stretched away to the distant foot of the Campbell Glacier was breathtaking. Wersquod spent the first few hours of the morning on the bridge or out on deck watching incredible scenery unfold around us. As we breakfasted the ship rounded Cape Washington and the si http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Ross-Sea/blog-257858.html ldquoExploration is the physical expression of the intellectual passion. And I tell you if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression go out and explorehelliprdquo Apsley CherryGarrardI celebrated the second anniversary of my leaving the ratrace of a City legal career by setting foot on the Antarctic continent for the first time.I woke that morning http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Ross-Sea/blog-257210.html Breaking through the pack ice into the Ross Sea was far from a foregone conclusion. Aurorarsquos previous trip in January had not managed to do so and we spent an extra couple of days battling this ice ourselves venturing as far east as the dateline and using helicopters for recce flights before we found a path through. Once through and into the Ross Searsquos polynya a recurring area of http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Ross-Sea/blog-257194.html Hallo allemaal.Allereerst bedankt voor al jullie reacties leuk om te lezenWe hebben ondertussen twee sneeuwstormen overleefd maar nu is het weer koud 15C en zonnig.Na een dag in het ondergrondse winkelcentrum 30 km winkels en eettentjes hebben we een film gekeken op Imax formaat The Spiderwick Chronicles een sprookjes film. In deze bioscoop waren wel 20 zalen maar druk was het bepaal http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-255174.html The crossing back lead us into an early false sense of security. Day one was beautiful sunshine calm seas and penguins swimming around us to keep us entertained. This lasted most of the night and we slept well. Sometime after breakfast on the second day though it started to change and the swell gradually increased. By mid afternoon we were riding 33 ft waves which duly resulted in mos http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254351.html Deception Island is made up of the rim of a volcano which is hidden under the surface of the water. We arrived very early in the morning in the twilight and the mist. Our first stop was in Whalers bay where until 1931 the Norwegians had a whaling station it was quite eerie seeing the old whaling boats buildings and large whale oil tanks appearing from the mist. We took a walk along the bay a http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254143.html Today we took our first steps onto the actual mainland of Antarctica. In slightly higher winds it was pretty cold despite our ridiculous number of layers. Here we saw a few fur seals some skuas and gulls and yet more penguins not that we were complaining at all the penguins are brilliant fun. The beach had thousands of small Bergy Bits that is the technical term trust me which was a sign http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254141.html Another day another thousand penguins. This morning we took the zodiacs to Port Lockroy which is both a large penguin colony and also a British base used as a secret wartime initiative to monitor German shipping movement. The war reached as even as far as far as the continent of ice. It is now a small museum post office and shop rolled into one where 3 British researchers and postmen and http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254139.html AMAZING What a truly spectacular fantastic awesome penguin party Today we landed twice on the continent of Antarctica firstly on Danco Island and then on Curverville Island in the afternoon.Arriving via zodiac onto Danco Island was unbelievable. There were simply thousands of penguins upon the hills and down to the rocky beach. Words donrsquot do the scene justice the place was completel http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254133.html Not going to write much here other than to say that the Drakersquos passage the sea between S.A and Antarctica sucks. We were actually really lucky with the weather and got through relatively unscathed but I think it is fair to say that we were all pretty pleased to reach the more sheltered waters around Antarctica. Amusingly all the passengers basically slept for 2 days having scoffed so man http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254132.html What a place We just got back from the trip of a lifetime simply amazing. The scenery and wildlife surpassed all expectations by some considerable margin. It really felt like we were out in the wilderness with our boat dwarfed by huge icebergs mountains and glaciers. The penguins are simply awesome creatures and we saw loads of whales seals and other sea birds as well. We have created sev http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-254009.html Finally the time has come for me to write the final instalment of this seasons work here on the Brunt Ice Shelf at Halley Research Station.I left you previously with the update written while we were waiting out the storm which ended up keeping us cooped up inside for just over 4 days. Day 1 was great a chance to chill out and relax catch up on emails watch a film and generally do nothing for o http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Halley-Station/blog-253418.html To set the scenehellipOur trusty vessel the Marina Svetaeva was an icestrengthened 1989 Polishbuilt Russianregistered 90metre passenger ship recently acquired previously leased by Aurora Expeditions. While not an icebreaker she was effectively only half a grade away and we can certainly now vouch for her icebashing capabilities in the careful hands of her skipper Kapitan Gena a http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-251199.html Antarctica. The windiest coldest highest driest continent on this planet. The amorphous and largelyignored white bit at the bottom of the map. The last place on Earth to be conquered by man. The obsession of nearlegendary explorers such as Scott Shackleton Mawson Byrd and Amundsen and the death of many who sought to push the boundaries of manrsquos survival. A land of 24hour dayli http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-251185.html Across the McMurdo Sound and about 50 miles north of here lies one of the rarest and coolest regions in the whole world... Even here in Antarctica where glaciers and snowcapped mountains are the norm this region is considered the holy grail of all research locations and the closest place on earth to the conditions we imagine might exist on Mars... The McMurdo Dry Valleys. Everyone eats their h http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/McMurdo-Station/blog-248866.html 11th to 21st February 2008 http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-248566.html I began my last update by explaining that I had time to write it due to being stuck inside because of 30knot winds and huge snow drifts. Well a few weeks down the line and it is time for another update only today it is blowing 50 knots outside and you cant see more than 2 meters in front of you A pattern seems to be appearing and the only time you get to sit down and write is when you canrsq http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Halley-Station/blog-247975.html Sorry for not poppin anything up here for awhile and thank you to everyone for the emails reminding me to do so. With a shakey internet conection and the numerous things going on at all times over here it's been challenging to keep this going but here's a quick recap...i'll try and include as many random details as possible. Went to Madrid. Very cool city. Has a park in the middle which used t http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/Amundsen-Scott-South-Pole-Station/blog-247634.html I just came back from a 10 day cruise to Antarctica on the MV Polaris. It was one of the greatest experiences of my trip.We started sailing through the Beagle channel which was quite nice and we saw lots of sea birds and a few magellanic penguins. Then we had two days sailing through the Drake passage which is infamous for bad weather and rough seas. Fortunately on the way down to Antarctic http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-247536.html