TIME: 19:00
I spent another day in preparation. Practiced my talks and checked my gear and repacked again. Once on board the ship, there will be no opportunity to drop by the nearest REI for a pair of gloves.
I also ran by the neighborhood grocery story for some bread and water to get me across the Drake. "The Drake." That's a simple word that can strike of bit of fear in me. The Drake or more correctly the Drake's Passage is the little body of water from South America's Cape Horn to the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was named after Sir Francis Drake although he had enough brains to avoid it altogether and sneak around the horn via the Straights of Magellan.
The good news is that the 500-mile crossing is the shortest distance between South America and Antarctica. The bad news is that it is considered the roughest water in the world. There is no significant land anywhere in the world at that latitude. The circumpolar current can really race around with no land to block it. It lies between about 56 and 60 degrees south latitude. It's not uncommon to have 40-foot seas and hurricane force winds there. Sailors feared this area and said, "below 40 degrees there is no law, below 50 degrees there is no God." Sailors also dubbed this area the "furious fifties" and the "shrieking sixties."
The really good news is that I know what lies on the other side. I will put up with some discomfort to visit the magnificent Antarctic Peninsula and its incredible wealth of wildlife.
I can't wait
06 November 2007
05 November 2007
Ushuaia, Argentina: Preparation Day
TIME: 17:00
WEATHER: High clouds with intermittent sprinkles
TEMP: high:46°F low:37°F
SUNRISE: 05:38
SUNSET: 20:55
Today was spent in preparation. Rechecked all my gear. Worked on the onboard presentations I’ll be giving and gazed out the window at the harbor all too much. The highlight of the day was seeing an Andean Condor during one of my harbor-gazing episodes.
The Andean Condor is a big...really big...vulture. With its four-foot-long body, 33 lbs weight, and a wingspan of over 10 feet it looked for all the world like a turkey vulture on steroids. Turkey vultures have a wingspan of only about 6 feet, weigh a mere 3 lbs, and lack the white neck collar and wing markings of the condor. Because of their heavy weight, these enormous condors prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort. They live along the Andes Mountains as their name suggests but also along the pacific coast of South America down to Cape Horn where Ushuaia is...and where I am gazing out my window.
I thought I should start preparing you a bit for our trip to Antarctica. No one had ever even seen the continent until 1820. The first landing took even longer. It wasn’t until just over a 100 years ago that the continental beach was marked by human footsteps when Carsten Borchgrevink lead a British expedition there. Imagine that! Just over a hundred years ago, humans first landed on the continent of Antarctica.
No one owns Antarctica. No country has claimed it, no sovereign rights are imposed upon it, and there is no president and no currency. It has no native populations and no permanent residents. It is not carved up into countries, counties, and cities. It is the world’s largest, wildest, and greatest wilderness. By the international Antarctic treaty of 1963 it is a place of “peace and science.” Military activity has been banned on the continent forever as well as all things nuclear: nuclear facilities, testing, and the storage of nuclear waste.
The Antarctic is enormous -- unbelievably vast. It is about the size of United States and Mexico combined but with a summer population of about 4,000 hardy scientists and support staff. In the winter the number drops to only 1,000 really, really hardy souls.
The Antarctic Continent is a place of superlatives. It is the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Lowest temperature recorded on earth - Vostok station -89.2°C / -128.6°F
Average thickness of Ice: 1,829 m / 6,000 ft
Highest Mountain: Mt. Vinson - 4,892 m / 16,050 ft
Average wind speed: 37 kmh / 23 mph
Maximum recorded gust: 248.4 kmh / 154 mph at Mawson Station
Average summer temperature at South Pole: -27.5°C / 17.5°F
Average winter temperature at South Pole: -60°C / -76°F
Despite containing 70 percent of the world's freshwater and 90 percent of the world's ice, much of Antarctica classified as a desert, with the annual snow accumulation over much of East Antarctica being the equivalent of less than two inches of rainfall.
Too many facts and figure for one day. I just wanted you to get a feel for the magnificent wild place we will be visiting. If you would like more information on Antarctica there is a wonderful education site you can visit aptly named Cool Antarctica. Visit it at: http://www.coolantarctica.com/index.html
I’m going to wander into town and find myself a nice dinner. The Argentines sure know how to cook.
WEATHER: High clouds with intermittent sprinkles
TEMP: high:46°F low:37°F
SUNRISE: 05:38
SUNSET: 20:55
Today was spent in preparation. Rechecked all my gear. Worked on the onboard presentations I’ll be giving and gazed out the window at the harbor all too much. The highlight of the day was seeing an Andean Condor during one of my harbor-gazing episodes.
The Andean Condor is a big...really big...vulture. With its four-foot-long body, 33 lbs weight, and a wingspan of over 10 feet it looked for all the world like a turkey vulture on steroids. Turkey vultures have a wingspan of only about 6 feet, weigh a mere 3 lbs, and lack the white neck collar and wing markings of the condor. Because of their heavy weight, these enormous condors prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort. They live along the Andes Mountains as their name suggests but also along the pacific coast of South America down to Cape Horn where Ushuaia is...and where I am gazing out my window.
I thought I should start preparing you a bit for our trip to Antarctica. No one had ever even seen the continent until 1820. The first landing took even longer. It wasn’t until just over a 100 years ago that the continental beach was marked by human footsteps when Carsten Borchgrevink lead a British expedition there. Imagine that! Just over a hundred years ago, humans first landed on the continent of Antarctica.
No one owns Antarctica. No country has claimed it, no sovereign rights are imposed upon it, and there is no president and no currency. It has no native populations and no permanent residents. It is not carved up into countries, counties, and cities. It is the world’s largest, wildest, and greatest wilderness. By the international Antarctic treaty of 1963 it is a place of “peace and science.” Military activity has been banned on the continent forever as well as all things nuclear: nuclear facilities, testing, and the storage of nuclear waste.
The Antarctic is enormous -- unbelievably vast. It is about the size of United States and Mexico combined but with a summer population of about 4,000 hardy scientists and support staff. In the winter the number drops to only 1,000 really, really hardy souls.
The Antarctic Continent is a place of superlatives. It is the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Lowest temperature recorded on earth - Vostok station -89.2°C / -128.6°F
Average thickness of Ice: 1,829 m / 6,000 ft
Highest Mountain: Mt. Vinson - 4,892 m / 16,050 ft
Average wind speed: 37 kmh / 23 mph
Maximum recorded gust: 248.4 kmh / 154 mph at Mawson Station
Average summer temperature at South Pole: -27.5°C / 17.5°F
Average winter temperature at South Pole: -60°C / -76°F
Despite containing 70 percent of the world's freshwater and 90 percent of the world's ice, much of Antarctica classified as a desert, with the annual snow accumulation over much of East Antarctica being the equivalent of less than two inches of rainfall.
Too many facts and figure for one day. I just wanted you to get a feel for the magnificent wild place we will be visiting. If you would like more information on Antarctica there is a wonderful education site you can visit aptly named Cool Antarctica. Visit it at: http://www.coolantarctica.com/index.html
I’m going to wander into town and find myself a nice dinner. The Argentines sure know how to cook.
04 November 2007
Ushuaia, Argentina
Look at a map of South America and you will find Ushuaia on the very tip of Cape Horn -- just about as far south as one can get in the world. In fact, Ushuaia touts itself as the southernmost city in the world. It’s a modern tourist town of 60,000 people that has become the major jumping off spot for Antarctic expeditions.
Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra Del Fuego. Spectacular to fly into, the town is on the southern edge of the island and is wedged between the Martial Mountains on the north and the Beagle Channel on the south.
The town was originally settled by the British as a site for a penal colony. The place was remote and wild and escape impossible. These “forced colonists” built many of the town’s original old building.
Absolutely spectacular to fly into, the area is a rugged landscape of jagged snow covered peaks that drop abruptly to the Beagle channel. The plane is forced to do a gradual descending spiral over the Beagle channel then lands neatly on the runway next to the water. Looking up to the mountains you see dense dark green of the Megellanic subpolar forests where you can find endemic trees of the area: Winter's bark and hard log mayten and several species of Nothofagus.
I’m staying at Posada del Fin del Mundo (hotel at the end of the earth) a fine old world style bed and breakfast that is heavy on the friendly manner and exceptional service. Located in the residential part of town it is a welcome respite from hustle of the main tourist area.
Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra Del Fuego. Spectacular to fly into, the town is on the southern edge of the island and is wedged between the Martial Mountains on the north and the Beagle Channel on the south.
The town was originally settled by the British as a site for a penal colony. The place was remote and wild and escape impossible. These “forced colonists” built many of the town’s original old building.
Absolutely spectacular to fly into, the area is a rugged landscape of jagged snow covered peaks that drop abruptly to the Beagle channel. The plane is forced to do a gradual descending spiral over the Beagle channel then lands neatly on the runway next to the water. Looking up to the mountains you see dense dark green of the Megellanic subpolar forests where you can find endemic trees of the area: Winter's bark and hard log mayten and several species of Nothofagus.
I’m staying at Posada del Fin del Mundo (hotel at the end of the earth) a fine old world style bed and breakfast that is heavy on the friendly manner and exceptional service. Located in the residential part of town it is a welcome respite from hustle of the main tourist area.
03 November 2007
Take off to Ushuaia
Traveling by air seems to be equal parts magic and luck. It is pure magic that one can load themselves into a “tin-can-with-wings” and fly across the country in just a few hours. The luck part come in where you need everything to go right – with no weather delays, no missed connections, and enough precious luck to keep every thing mechanical working properly. Today was not a lucky day… but it sure could have been worse.
I left Las Vegas at 7:15 am 3 Nov and flew to Forth Worth, Texas. We pulled up to the gate and the plane broke. American Airlines rushed around and found another plane about 4 hours later and continued to Miami with 10 minutes to spare so I could time to make my 8:30 PM flight to Buenos Aires.
The Buenos Aires plane broke but could be fixed in a couple of hours. Arrived Buenos Aires with an hour to spare only to find the flight to Ushuaia was boarding 45 minutes early. Somehow it all worked out and by 1:40pm local time, Nov 4, I arrived in Ushuaia having flown nearly 9,000 miles in just over 44 hours.
Clothing list:
Light weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Waterproof Bibs -1
Heavy weight Windstopper Fleece Pants -1
Pullover Fleece top – 2
Long Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 2
Short Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 3
Light Weight Fleece Jacket
Pants – 2
Sock Liners - 3 pair
Heavy Socks - 3 pair
Regular Socks – 1 Pair
Rain Jacket – 1
Rain Pants – 1
Cold Weather Parka -1
Medium Weight Gloves – 2 pair
Heavy weight Gloves – 1 Pair
Glove Liners – 2 Pair
Fleece Neck warmer – 1
Fleece hat – 2
Thin Lightweight Ski Mask -1
Ski Goggles -1
Trekking Poles – 1 pair
Arctic Sport Muck Boots – 1 Pair
Yak Track Pro – 1 Pair
Sleeping Shorts - 2 pair
Cotton T-shirt for sleeping – 1
Equipment List
Leatherman Tool
Watch
I left Las Vegas at 7:15 am 3 Nov and flew to Forth Worth, Texas. We pulled up to the gate and the plane broke. American Airlines rushed around and found another plane about 4 hours later and continued to Miami with 10 minutes to spare so I could time to make my 8:30 PM flight to Buenos Aires.
The Buenos Aires plane broke but could be fixed in a couple of hours. Arrived Buenos Aires with an hour to spare only to find the flight to Ushuaia was boarding 45 minutes early. Somehow it all worked out and by 1:40pm local time, Nov 4, I arrived in Ushuaia having flown nearly 9,000 miles in just over 44 hours.
Clothing list:
Light weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Waterproof Bibs -1
Heavy weight Windstopper Fleece Pants -1
Pullover Fleece top – 2
Long Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 2
Short Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 3
Light Weight Fleece Jacket
Pants – 2
Sock Liners - 3 pair
Heavy Socks - 3 pair
Regular Socks – 1 Pair
Rain Jacket – 1
Rain Pants – 1
Cold Weather Parka -1
Medium Weight Gloves – 2 pair
Heavy weight Gloves – 1 Pair
Glove Liners – 2 Pair
Fleece Neck warmer – 1
Fleece hat – 2
Thin Lightweight Ski Mask -1
Ski Goggles -1
Trekking Poles – 1 pair
Arctic Sport Muck Boots – 1 Pair
Yak Track Pro – 1 Pair
Sleeping Shorts - 2 pair
Cotton T-shirt for sleeping – 1
Equipment List
Leatherman Tool
Watch
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