We were extremely lucky that the weather held off long enough this morning for us to land on Cape Horn. It was both exhilarating and moving, especially the beautiful monument to mariners from all over the world. While we waited for the boat to take the pilots home the wind … Continue reading
Europa travels slowly between the hills and islands of the frayed western end of the channel between the Atlantic and Pacific. The pilot squints at his screen on the bridge, scrolling through references, checking every detail. His concentration doesn’t waver as crew step in to watch the radar show where … Continue reading
We came in to this tiny town on Isla Navarino this morning and had a fine walk in the woods. Moss and mistletoe clamber over the beech-like trees, the mud underneath is deep and clean and the sun shone mightily. It was not very Antarctican but beautiful. A bit like … Continue reading
We are not on the watch system yet so we, the voyage crew, enjoy the luxury of a long night to sleep. Last night (Monday) we were sailing, the engine off at last, and I could hear the water rushing past the hull. Around 0300, I woke up, and realised … Continue reading
Day 2 is calm but very wet We left Punta Arenas about 2200 on Sunday night. It was both exciting and subdued because a lot of us were quite tired by then. It had been a really warm day but by about 1800 it was getting cool and of course … Continue reading
Punta Arenas reminds me of small towns in New Zealand. It has the neat rectangularity of Invercargill and the bright colours of Napier. The town shares the light with Bluff, on the south point of South Island. Even clouded and raining, the air is that particular southern oceanic grey, brighter … Continue reading
The squall’s timing was perfect. There she is, at anchor in the Magellan Strait, off Punta Arenas. Continue reading
There are stations and bases scattered across Antarctica, spread very thin and mostly around the edges. These are places, with form and function: . I’m avoiding the word settlement because the Treaty doesn’t allow permanent settlement (which is a good thing). The term placemaking gets bandied around in my … Continue reading
The sun rose over Uruguay and Argentina as we descended into Buenos Aires. Now they are cleaning up the plane: those of us getting back on for the last leg to Santiago have to take all out hand luggage into the air-conditioned, chain-stored, echoing corridors of transit-purgatory. I have quite … Continue reading
It was a great send off! The hangover – well not so much. The military precision of leaving at 1300 slipped, but I was away by 1315. And five minutes of that was hunting for my kindle. Lots of people asked for an outline of dates last night. I’m going … Continue reading
