The Adventures of Teddy. ‘Teddy, Monkey, Bunny and Noodles are four friends who live in a lovely place called Green World. But lately, Evil Cloud has been covering the land, making it difficult to live and play. Teddy, who once journeyed to the South Pole, recalls a magical land called Antarctica. “It is a land of peace” Teddy tells his friends, “it’s cold and beautiful.” “Oh my goodness gracious me” gasped Monkey. “Gosh golly” piped Bunny. “Holy macaroni” yelled Noodles. So they decided to embark on a journey together to the land of ice in the south. “But Antarctica is a far and distant land, so how will we get there?” Monkey asked, as he chomped and slopped at his over-ripe banana. “Fret not.” Teddy squeaked, in a cackling rasp. “We will obtain a ship – ... read more

Federico Gargiulo wrote a book, ‘Walking on Fire’… It was a book of adventure and courage, as he, and two others walked for more than a month around the remote and fairly unknown Peninsula Mitre on the far south-eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego. Their adventure had them wading across rivers in storms, scrambling up unnamed peaks, getting trapped by the tides and running out of food. A harrowing tale of how three young men, just out of college, had a desire to head into the wilderness to explore the magnificence at the edge of the world… Federico (Fede) is originally from Rosario, Argentina, but has lived in Ushuaia for about twelve years or so. I work with Fede - he is the historian on board Sea Spirit. One sunny afternoon on deck 5 aft, Fede, ... read more

Footsteps on a Forest Floor. “To the south we had a scene of savage magnificence, well becoming Tierra del Fuego. There was a degree of mysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep intervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of forest. The atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale succeeds gale, with rain hail and sleet, seems blacker than anywhere else. In the Strait of Magellan, looking due southward from Port Famine, the distant channels between mountains appeared from their gloominess to lead beyond the confines of this world” Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle, December 17th 1832. The area surrounding Ushuaia is stunning! I had a week between contracts so off I hiked into the vast emptiness that is only a few minutes from town. I spent a full day in ... read more

…Pebbles and Squabbles… I arrived at the world’s most southerly city at the bottom end of Argentina after a twenty-odd hour journey from Miami. The sun was shining and the mountains of the far south were dazzling! I rested and took it easy, at least that was my plan, until I saw a Dragoman Truck!!! For those who do not know, I used to work for Dragoman, driving overland trucks from London, England to Cape Town, South Africa via all the national parks, historic sites and major cities en route! From Salzburg to Istanbul, the Syrian ruins of Palmyra, Jordan’s Petra, Cairo’s Giza, the whirling dervishes of Sudan, the Mursi of Ethiopia, animals amok in Kenya, Tanzanian Islands and Malawi’s highlands. With thousands of Zambian kwacha and hundreds of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars we bribed our ... read more

Bye bye and hush-a-bye - can you see the swans fly Half asleep in bed I lie - half awake with half an eye. Hey ho and well-a-day Over the hills and far away That's where the little children stray To find the lambs at play. Icelandic lullaby. The Denmark Strait was clearly upset at us! We were thrown around the ship for one last time as we chugged towards Iceland. We had an unscheduled landing at the whaling station of Suðureyri, in the Northwest Fjords, mainly to get a break from the rough sea, but also because we were on an expedition, so the unexpected is to be expected. The station is a stark reminder of the dark age of commercial whaling in the oceans. It's a haunting view from the shore as the red ... read more