Blogs from Antarctica - page 54

The Argentine presence in the section began during the first decade of the 19th century; though some even affirm that it took place by the end of the previous century. However, navigators from other countries claimed the discovery of Antarctica for themselves. By the end of the 19th century the aid lent by Argentina to foreign expeditions, in particular that of Nordenskjöld, Gerlache and Charcot, was properly appreciated. This included the assignment of Argentine place names to Antarctic geographic features, such as the Argentine Islands, Uruguay Islands, General Roca, Quintana, and others. In 1904 the permanent occupation began with the opening of Orcadas Base on Laurie Island. Argentina WAS THE ONLY NATION to have an Antarctic base for 40 years until the British built a base on the same islands. Argentina bases its claims on ... read more

The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904 is widely considered as the most scientifically successful and definitely the most cost effective of all the early Antarctic Expeditions. Unlike most expeditions of its day, William Spiers Bruce kept his expedition to budget, there were no major accidents and no one died from scurvy, lack of food or cold. On our own journey to the Antarctic continent, we were attempting to achieve the same. The day we entered the office of our booking agent, Antarctica was an idea in the back of our mind. We were quickly convinced by the trip’s dossier and signed on for an 11-night voyage. This was a sizeable dent to our traveling budget - but when would we be in the southern-most part of South America again? Just after 4pm on 11 March ... read more

My time in South America had come to an end. All that remained was to gather my things and walk down to the dock. I flashed my passport to the guard in the passenger terminal and he checked my name off of a passenger list, scanned my bags and said have a nice day as he directed me through the glass doors that led to the dock. It was easy to find my way from there, because the ship that would be my home for the next seven weeks stood out like a brilliant beacon, a living monument to the past, amid a sea of modern vessels. I walked past a large icebreaker and came to a stop at the quay site were my ship was moored. I was greeted by a few of the crew ... read more

Hello again everyone, March already, where is the time going, well things are picking up down here, busy, busy and the work is still here also. Rothera base has a well-established football team, this being the BAS (boys and girls), who challenge anyone on base to a game, very competitive bunch I must say. Well because the Morrisons builders, which have around 21 people on site, obviously the BAS team wanted a match to show their supremacy, Aimo (site project manager), asked for volunteers from the site to play a match with BAS, on the 26th of February, giving us a whole week to prepare and get a team together, wow, not all want to play football, and we did struggle to raise the 11 men required!! But came the big day and it was very ... read more

Looking forward to this for ages and it defo didnt disappoint. Iguzu falls are the biggest in the world and share there border with Argentina , Brazil and Paraguay(although you cant view it from this side cos its run by smugglers and gangsters!!) We got to our hostel early which was recommended by everyone and even boasts a pool. Unfortunately the staff were complete morons(everyone at the hostel agreed so where its gets is reputation from i dont know???). We took about 2 hours to check i.e hand 30 pesos over and get bed sheets. And the English lads from BA took about 7 hours(no lie!!) so we were lucky. I know its only a hostel and im bitching about everything but Argentina is brilliant and the people are amazing, its always the few assholes!! Ok ... read more