Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 7

I was asked if I had any monkey products… …It took my mind took a few seconds to register… Monkey problems? Money problems? Monkey products? Excuse me, what, I’m sorry, what was that?… “Oh yeah, there’s been an increase in illegal monkey products crossing international borders recently.” Said the border official at London, Gatwick. “Well that sounds a little weird.” I replied. “Products are coming in from all over the world nowadays, especially Asia.” The official responded. “Wow! I did not know that.” With a baffled expression I’m sure? I assured him that monkeys weren’t native to where I’d just been, and even trees were quite the rarity in the frozen north. I also checked to see if my belt was made of leather rather than gibbon. I didn’t mention that I’d eaten a banana with ... read more

Thailand was just a long stop-over for me, a few days relaxing and getting used to things like tropical heat in a comfortable environment. A couple of days in Bangkok, a day in Lop Buri, (a military town that has a famous monkey-temple) and a few days on the beach at Koh Samui (an island in the Gulf of Thailand)... read more

After returning to the ship after our polar swim we headed away from Deception Island for Elephant Point in the Lower Shetland Islands. Unfortunately we hit high winds so were unable to do our last landing there. They took a zodiac out to test the waters and see how the landing site looked but it was really bad out there. Then the captain took us to the other side into the bay to see if we could land at another location but it was equally bad. So we headed to the Drake. I was fine on the Drake coming down except for lack of sleep with all the rolling but on the way back it kicked my butt. I made it to the lecture about the race to the south pole but then got really dizzy ... read more

After a great couple days in Ushuaia (pronounced without the h) we boarded the Expedition ship and set sail on the Beagle Channel about 6pm last night. When we got on the ship we headed to our cabins to get our luggage squared away and then up to the deck for some safety lessons. We were broken into 4 groups which will be our life boat team if anything were to go badly. The lifeboat is covered and has food to last for a week in the event of an emergency. We were also introduced to our full emersion suits which would make us look like red seal. The kayakers also will wear these so hoping to get a picture of them. :-) This is a very international ... read more

I have been marching confidently through my countdown to my trip to Antarctica and then....squealing brakes...find out I can only have 33lbs in my checked and 17lbs in my carry-on luggage. What? Wah? How is that even possible? A two week trip to a place where I can't conveniently drop by a Target or Nakumatt, or a Tesco for toothpaste or to purchase a replacement suitcase? I mean, I'll be on a ship in the true land down under so have to be prepared for anything! I have methodically purchased everything with a mountain of gear growing by the day. I even have a whistle as instructed. A whistle you ask? Yeah, me too! What is the reason for this whistle? Will I have to blow it when I get caught in a waddle of penguins ... read more