contrasts Hi to you both, happy New Year. Just looking at your blog makes me feel cold, what a contrast to the temperatures you normaly enjoy at Christmas. Seems like we switched places, we left out cold climate for sunnier ones this year and you did the exact opposite. Good luck to you both on your travels wherever you are right now! Sheila
Hola Claire y Dave, no necessitar preguntar como eres, tu ambo radiante de la mirada y pozo. Compartes tus recorridos abundante y son apreciados obviamente por muchos. La Feliz Navidad, te falta ambos!!
Wow, wow, and even more Wow! Wow, wow, and even more wow, Dave and Claire, you have surpassed yourself with this experience and your wonderful literary description of your trip there is so wonderful, it brought tears to my eyes to think that my son could be there amidst all that splendour. it was wonderful to hear your voice yesterday, even though it was a terrible line. Have a lovely Christmas together and we will drink a toast to you tomorrow.
love Mum XXX
Antarctica You know I'm going to ask it so here it is - how's the skiing? :)
I looked up some interesting facts about the area:
1. Antarctica is 1.4 times bigger than the USA, 58 times bigger than the UK.
2. Only 0.32% of the total area (nearly 45,000 sq Km) is ice free.
3. Antarctica has 70% of all the world's freshwater frozen as ice - and 90% of all the world's ice.
4. Antarctica was imagined by the ancient Greeks, but not even seen until 1820. The first time anyone set foot on Antarctica was in 1821. The first year-round occupation - overwintering - was in 1898. The South Pole was first reached in 1911.
5. 3 factors rule in Antarctica - cold, wind and altitude. Antarctica holds the world record for each of these three things. Lowest recorded temperature on earth - Vostok station -89.2ýC / -128.6ýF. Mawson station in Antarctica is the windiest place on earth. Maximum recorded gust: 248.4 kmh / 154 mpm.
White Xmas hi guys
sitting here in the summer heat I got goosebumps/goosepimples/gaensehaut = gooseskin (depending on your origins) looking at this. Not sure if was the icy images or the 'other wordliness'/beauty of the place that did it.
Have a great Xmas if you are even bothering to acknowledge it with so many other much more inspiring distractions on offer.
ciao, Colleen
happy christmas and an exciting new year hi Dave and Claire, an overdose of wonder - what an apt description. Thanks for sharing this fabulous experience. The photos were magic and the descriptions made me feel I was there too.
Wherever you are for Christmas our thoughts will find you and send you all our best wishes and love.
All well here, Graham and Monique
feeling beige Reading your traveblogs confirmed my feeling of being beige, but at least it is a comfortable beige - a trip to Chna sorted out a bried burst of colour! Best wishes for Christmas
Envy I should take this opportunity to wish you both Merry Xmas. Sorry I can't sent you those terribly expensive presents but I'm sure the postie just wouldn't be able to find you.
I'm really getting the urge to start travelling again as I watch you two make your way. Anyway, keep up the good work and keep safe.
Small is cool While browsing the other day we saw icebergs off the coast of New Zealand which were bigger than the Akademik Shokalskiy.
This has turned out to be a far bigger adventure than we expected. Looking forward to the next chapter of your trip to the ends of the Earth.
Where will you go next ? All this exploring ! where will you two go next ? Your journey is really remarkable, and you make it come alive to us poor beings who can only hold our breath until the next travelblog comes. Good luck to you on your next adventure, have a good Christmas- wherever you may be Mum XXX
happiness the photos and information are amazing.however being a person whose greatest interest are the battles of the red army 1941-1945.natural beauty is not a big deal. However To see both of you so happy and claire so well is more beautiful than the andes on the most clear day. Keep it up you pair and when you return you will be in line for the order of Zhukov 1st class to be presented at a cheap brisbane restaurant.love bob
what a wonderful place You two are certainly getting into some wonderful places, you are making memories that you will never forget.
looks like I'll have to come out and visit you once more before I retire just to spend a week looking at photos. love Mum XX
I cant believe I didnt subscribe Another great post. I would have liked to see more Temuco pics, but hey Im a visual person! I like your storied descriptions of the people running hostelerias and hotels. Why didn't I subscribe when I saw your first post "In central Chile"?? Foolish of me! ;)
Great Post! Such a nice post- the right balance of a short blog entry, perfect amount of great pictures and knowledgable local information! Love the pictures, very illustrative, I felt like I was there. I did go to Pucon/Villarica once in summer, but I think I would like it more in the off season spring- you guys gave me the chance to experience that! Thanks again!
WOW ! Wow, Dave 'n'Claire, What an adventure, How I wish I could see all the things you are seeing right now. I always longed to travel, but never had the chance when Iwas your age- tied down with a family, and now I'm too old. Please keep the photos coming, so I can see it all through your camera lens
OMG! OMG! Some of the best photo's yet! And that's saying something considering how good they've been so far. Snow! There's snow! Ski!
The views are magnificent and further down the mountain it looks so lush and what about that huaso - like something straight out of an adventure film. Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito are going to pop up in your next pictures for sure!
That picture of Dave outside the green tent with his arms outstretched showing off his man-boobies was so funny! Put a shirt on Dave! :))
Love,
Mark and Becky
Cheese Grommitt? You have the cake, I'll have some of that great looking cheese and we can both have coffee :)
It's great to read about Chile from your point of view, as before I new next to nothing about the country. When they were all off for Columbus day, were there any festivals? In all the films South American people are shown at noisy festivals all the time, so what's it really like? Do they hit the town square with their drums and whistles or flop in front of the TV like westerners do when they get a day off? The people you've met so far all seem so friendly.
Mark and Becky
Cool road signs Hello Travelling Will and Berry, great hearing from you again.
We saw some cool road signs in Fiji when we hired a car. One was an exclamation mark all by itself and another was a question mark. Even the locals didn't know what they meant. Maybe the authorities had ordered some road signs to be erected and the sign manufacturers didn't know what to tell the driving public so they just put punctuation marks.
Out in the country roads we also came across, painted in the middle of the road, a white arrow turning left. This was just before a left hand turn so we thought that was pretty normal. Our logic was shattered when we came across our first right hand turn and the arrow still went to the left! It turns out the arrow actually informs you to get into the left hand lane (rather than drive in the middle of the road like everyone did) before the next blind corner or the crest of a hill.
Thankyou for your very informative letters and photos - we love them.
Take care, missing you lots
Love Davo
thanks for the comments, Marcelo. fyi, the info on the shrines came from local sources (print, verbal). there are plenty of roadside crosses in australia, too, but i haven't seen anything as elaborate as the ones here.
Your blog just gets better and better. I am an avid follower of your progress. The photos are great too, especially the ones of Claire in the shower. No wait, sorry, that's her other website. Rob P
In July 2006, having packed up our homes and jobs, sold the children and robbed the bank, we left Australia for a year-long cycling and hiking (and mountain climbing) adventure, mostly in South America, via Cuba. Since then, we've been plotting how to do this again. Until it comes off we've made the most of what opportunities have come our way for smaller trips.... full info
Sheila
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contrasts
Hi to you both, happy New Year. Just looking at your blog makes me feel cold, what a contrast to the temperatures you normaly enjoy at Christmas. Seems like we switched places, we left out cold climate for sunnier ones this year and you did the exact opposite. Good luck to you both on your travels wherever you are right now! Sheila