Returning to Ushuaia...

following a terrific 18 day long voyage to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. The guests will depart tomorrow and the ship reprovisioned, welcoming new guests aboard later in the day with a return to Antarctica.

Rejuvenation, not retirement...

is a more positive way of thinking about my new focus in life. Here I am in Gold Harbour on South Georgia celebrating this wonderful exploration of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

Bertrand Glacier and me!

Bertrand Glacier and me!

Sedimentary sandstones consisting of a series of stacked turbidites.

Sedimentary sandstones consisting of a series of stacked turbidites.

Expedition staff member Ingrid Nixon, who took the images of me shown above.

Expedition staff member Ingrid Nixon, who took the images of me shown above.

Telefon Bay on Deception Island...

was the site of phreatomagmatic eruptions in 1967, 1969 and 1970. Since then, a glacier is advancing into one of the maar craters formed during the explosive eruptions.

Another day at the office at Whaler’s Bay in the Deception Island caldera.

Another day at the office at Whaler’s Bay in the Deception Island caldera.

Brown Bluff is a volcanic structure...

that erupted beneath a thick glacial ice cover, technically termed a “tuya.”

(Click image to enlarge.)

Descending hikers from a vigorous glacier hike on the south side of Brown Bluff.

Descending hikers from a vigorous glacier hike on the south side of Brown Bluff.

Kevin Clement, Shirley Metz and yours truly. Shirley is the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982.

Kevin Clement, Shirley Metz and yours truly. Shirley is the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982.

Point Wild on Elephant Island...

is where Ernest Shackleton’s men waited patiently for rescue for nearly five months on a lonely rocky platform. Today, a monument stands honoring Captain Pardo of the Yelcho who ultimately took the men off the remote island.

Sir Ernest Shackleton wrote the final entry in his log...

on the evening of 4 January 1922, as his ship lay anchored in the Grytviken harbor on South Georgia. Sadly, later that night he succumbed to a heart attack and died in the place he loved most. I used an astronomical charting program to determine, for that night at that location, the star he likely saw was Sirius, the brightest star in the evening sky.

Page from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s log book, courtesy Scott Polar Institute.

Page from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s log book, courtesy Scott Polar Institute.

grytviken night sky 4 jan 1922.jpg

Allow me to quote Shirley Metz...

the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982, and one of the members of the expedition staff that I will be joining soon, from recent email correspondence with her:

I always find it amazing that, on a day such as this, all the components of a 3-week expedition that have been in the planning process for at least 2 years, are now in place.  

People are flying from all directions towards one pinpoint of a destination - Ushuaia, to board a ship that many have never seen. Some are complete strangers while others have known each other for years - but all are with the single purpose of exploring the most mysterious and fascinating place on the planet. 

In 3 weeks time, most of us will travel back whence we came. However, all will be smitten and changed forever by our encounter with the magical spell of Antarctica.  Our lives are forever changed. It is an affliction for which there is no cure. The only hope is to struggle in an attempt to return, somehow, and in whatever fashion, be it beyond the grave, to be held captive, once again, by Antarctica's icy grasp.

Oh my, I've thought this thought for over 30 years but never put it in writing...