01.05.11
Posted in Antarctica2011 at 2:30 pm by rachel
Not much news to report today. We’re still at sea on our way to South Georgia, on the second day of our three day crossing. Both of us are still doing well even as the rocking of the ship has increased a bit. Even so, I put on a scopolamine patch yesterday just to make sure I continue to do well.
The ship’s lecture series started today. Henry went to a lecture on the geology of Antarctica, I went to a lecture on the history of earlier Antarctica exploration and knowledge from Hellenic times forward, and then we both went to a fantastic lecture by Tim Jarvis this afternoon.
Jarvis is planning to recreate Shackleton’s epic voyage in the James Caird (a 22-foot wooden boat). He will do this using all of the same clothing, food, and materials that Shackleton did.
Shackleton and his five men launching the James Caird from Elephant Island, 1916.
What Jarvis is doing is, in a word, insane. He explains that he’s doing it in order to spread Shackleton’s message, that we humans cannot solve our global problems by acting as individuals, but when we work together we are capable of besting insurmountable odds. He plans to use footage from his journey to draw attention to one global crisis in particular, which is also particularly relevant to Antarctica: global warming.
He remarked that his journey will not be without irony. Shackleton did all that he did in order to save his men from Antarctica; nearly a century later, Jarvis is undertaking the same journey in the hope of saving Antarctica from men.
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01.04.11
Posted in Antarctica2011 at 6:30 pm by rachel
Finally got these processed! Here are some photos for our day-and-a-half in Ushuaia.
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Posted in Antarctica2011 at 1:13 pm by rachel
We just got back from visiting the bridge of our ship! Though we’re not allowed to take photos of the interior/living areas of the ship, photographing the bridge is ok. Here are a few:
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Posted in Antarctica2011 at 12:09 pm by rachel
We set sail at 8pm last night. Around midnight, we exited the Beagle Channel into open ocean.
When we woke up this morning, the ship was rocking gently. Neither of us have very good balance even on shore, so we’re having a bit of trouble walking down the halls in straight lines. We’re feeling fine though, and neither of us has had to take any motion sickness medicine yet.
We were introduced to our expedition crew this morning. They’re an amazing collection of scientists, historians, and explorers who have built careers in the Antarctic region. They have a combined 500 expeditions of experience in Antarctica, so we are in very good hands.
This is day 1 of 3 full days at sea before we reach South Georgia, so this will be our view for awhile:
The view from our room just now.
Not bad, eh?
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01.03.11
Posted in Antarctica2011 at 4:26 pm by rachel
We’re finally up and running with internet connectivity in our cabin aboard The World!
We arrived yesterday evening, and our time since then has been spent schmoozing, fine dining, and exploring Ushuaia. We set sail for South Georgia at 8pm tonight (in just about 3.5 hours).
More pictures are coming later, but for now, a brief study in contrast:
Henry with a ship similar to the ones Shakleton and his crew used in their 1914-1916 expedition, after their main ship broke up.
Rachel with our ship, The World. Ours is better.
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Posted in Antarctica2011 at 3:19 pm by rachel
[wrote this yesterday, didn’t get connectivity until just now!]
I’m writing this from the domestic airport at Buenos Aires as we wait to board our flight to Ushuaia. The check-in scene was crazy:
Chaos at the airport! Good thing Henry had the hotel check us in online.
Below are some photos from our walk around Recoleta this morning. We stopped for lunch and I had a “steak sandwich”, which was weirdly between a burger and shredded beef in texture. After finding 6 closed pharmacies, we found one that was open and successfully bought Henry his over-the-counter medicine. Haven’t found him clip-on sunglasses yet, because no opticians have been open. We’re going to try that again tomorrow (a business day, finally!) in Ushuaia.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 11:01 am by rachel
just walked 10 blocks stopping every 50 feet to look for open WiFi. Should have internet on the ship by tonight. All’s well! We even found clip-on sunglasses for H.
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01.02.11
Posted in Antarctica2011 at 10:29 am by rachel
It’s morning in Buenos Aires. We slept well (almost 10 hours each, though my 10 hours was not contiguous, probably because of that awesome nap). We had breakfast in the hotel and I had some coffee and am now feeling both lazy and UNCOMFORTABLY CAFFEINATED, which is an odd feeling, so we’ll probably go out walking again and look for the “central area” soon.
I’ve been reading At the Mountains of Madness in preparation for our landings on Antarctica. I should read more Lovecraft, I think – I’m really enjoying this! Next up is the less fictional Endurance: Shakleton’s Incredible Voyage, which Henry is already working on.
Today we fly from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, which is the port city in Tierra del Fuego where we are meeting the ship. Here’s a map:
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01.01.11
Posted in Antarctica2011 at 3:00 pm by rachel
After my epic 4 hour nap, we went exploring. Most of the city is closed today for New Year’s, though as we get into the evening things are starting to open again. One of the front desk guys at the hotel told us that most restaurants and bars were open until 5am last night, so won’t open today until 8:30pm. I’m getting the feeling this town parties pretty hard.
We found a street fair a few blocks from our hotels with lots of artist/crafty stuff. Then we sought food. We ended up getting some pizza at an “Italian” place, which was the only kind of food which was open. It was good but weird: really piled high with veggies (mushrooms, hearts of palm, onion, and egg).
Here are some pics from our walk:
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Posted in Antarctica2011 at 8:04 am by rachel
We’re here! After 17 hours of travelling, we’re in the “Ella Fitzgerald” room of the Melia Recoleta Hotel in Buenos Aires. Most of Buenos Aires is closed today, so our agenda is 1) showers 2) naps 3) find food. My schedule also includes 1.5) update the blog, which is now done… nap time!
PS: Happy New Year!
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