Hello from the End of the World!
Except for the Inca ruins in Peru, I haven´t had the sense of history here in South America that one gets traveling through Europe. That is until I reached this southern tip of the Continent. The Straights of Magellan, the Drake Passage, the Beagle Channel (named after Charles Darwin´s ship) immediately invoke images of the first adventurers to explore our world and circumnavigate the globe. This adventurous spirit is infectious and makes me yearn for the lands beyond - the island of Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctica Continent. This yearning builds on my childhood dream of stepping on each of the Earth´s seven continents. Ever since I first turned a globe upside down, I´ve imagined myself traveling to this distant point of land and jumping the straights to the ¨land of fire¨, then crossing the Drake Passage to the frozen ice cap at the bottom of the world. And now, here it is, like a giant snow cone machine just across a busy street on a hot summer day. So close, yet still a challenge to reach.
Today, I take my destiny in my own hands. Doug and I part ways - Doug continued on to Ushuaia, and I booked a flight to Antarctica, the last unspoiled frontier on the planet. The itinerary includes sea elephants, penguin colonies, and antarctic research stations but we´ve been told that everything is subject to change as the weather is very unpredictable and take off and landing times can change instantly. The guide for the trip is a gnarly, Nordic/Viking looking man with a weather beaten face and a long elfin beard and, for some reason, this look inspires my confidence in the trip. As of now, all signs are a ¨go¨ for a 9:00am take off tomorrow. We will get an update tonight at 8:00pm and another first thing in the morning. I´m excited about to this trip to what I´m sure will be an alien world and will write again when I return from the land of ice and snow!
Except for the Inca ruins in Peru, I haven´t had the sense of history here in South America that one gets traveling through Europe. That is until I reached this southern tip of the Continent. The Straights of Magellan, the Drake Passage, the Beagle Channel (named after Charles Darwin´s ship) immediately invoke images of the first adventurers to explore our world and circumnavigate the globe. This adventurous spirit is infectious and makes me yearn for the lands beyond - the island of Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctica Continent. This yearning builds on my childhood dream of stepping on each of the Earth´s seven continents. Ever since I first turned a globe upside down, I´ve imagined myself traveling to this distant point of land and jumping the straights to the ¨land of fire¨, then crossing the Drake Passage to the frozen ice cap at the bottom of the world. And now, here it is, like a giant snow cone machine just across a busy street on a hot summer day. So close, yet still a challenge to reach.
Today, I take my destiny in my own hands. Doug and I part ways - Doug continued on to Ushuaia, and I booked a flight to Antarctica, the last unspoiled frontier on the planet. The itinerary includes sea elephants, penguin colonies, and antarctic research stations but we´ve been told that everything is subject to change as the weather is very unpredictable and take off and landing times can change instantly. The guide for the trip is a gnarly, Nordic/Viking looking man with a weather beaten face and a long elfin beard and, for some reason, this look inspires my confidence in the trip. As of now, all signs are a ¨go¨ for a 9:00am take off tomorrow. We will get an update tonight at 8:00pm and another first thing in the morning. I´m excited about to this trip to what I´m sure will be an alien world and will write again when I return from the land of ice and snow!
Punta Arenas, Chile - Pretty Damn Far from Anywhere
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