Introduction:

In my mid-twenties, I promised myself that I would visit all 7 continents by age 40. I kinda thought that would happen naturally, without any special effort on my part. Alas, I now find myself precisely age 40, and I've only been to 5 continents!


So at the end of 2007, I booked a flight to Argentina, the most common jumping-off point for voyages to Antarctica. I've scheduled about a month to find a stand-by berth on an expedition ship. I depart Argentina on February 7, 2008, for Melbourne, Australia. If all goes as planned, I will celebrate my 7th continent on February 10. And if I'm not too hung over, I will celebrate my 41st birthday on February 11. In Spanish, they call this timing "justito." I'd call it "cutting things close." Welcome along for the ride!


A note regarding photos: if you have trouble viewing the slide shows, try this alternate link: http://picasaweb.google.com/travelinsider .


Monday

Tuesday January 1, New Year's Day on the Drake's Passage:

The ship has started to roll substantially, now that we are in Drake's passage. My seasickness patches seem to be doing a fine job. But it was very, very difficult to get to sleep last night. I tossed and turned till after 40m. Perhaps I will get better accustomed to the sea and have better luck sleeping in the next few days.

Grabbed a chocolate croissant and coffee in the galley, since I slept thru breakfast. Will need to be on an early schedule in Antarctica, so trying to catch up on sleep before we get there.

NYE was fun, but really mellow. The ship provided free Champagne for everyone. Shane our expedition leader gave a few toasts in the bar galley. I was actually up on the top deck, outside, watching our exit from the Beagle Channel, and our entry into the Drakes Passage and the Southern Ocean. Absolutely amazing.

Posted by Michael McColl at 16:35

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