Penguins Go Viral

Penguins make me very happy, and giggly, apparently. Travelling to Antarctica to witness them at home was an amazing experience. I took loads of video of these amazing creatures to keep the memories fresh in my mind. I also thought I would share some of them with my family and friends. I've managed to upload one video onto YouTube, as that's all I've found the time to post so far. Apparently, one was enough. My Penguin Fun in Antarctica video has gone viral, 36000 views this morning. Those views are bringing some attention. I've just signed a contract with a UK based management company to help me license my video and see it's potential out in the big bad world. It's beyond crazy to think people out there are loving the antics of these Gentoo penguins, possibly jumping for their lives, as much as I did at the time, and still do every time I watch the video. So, before you have to pay me to view this, click on the link below to witness the magic of Antarctica!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2GqVK_dvS80" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Buenos Aires

This poor city had no hope of wooing me after the charms Antarctica poured on, but I gave it a chance I promise!

Our final night on board the Clipper Adventurer ended at 330am with the lights of Ushuaia in view. The next day began at 630am, with a 530am wake up call from one of the crew members (he doesn't remember making it). Needless to say, I was knackered and depressed. We killed a few hours in the Ushuaia posting my new parka and winter gear home to Canada. (I'm just waiting to see if I beat it home!) The airport had a bit of a going away party air about it as the place was packed with the passengers from our boat. We all crashed once in the air and the 3.5 hour flight is a bit of a blur. Arriving in Buenos Aires meant the final goodbyes and it was all a bit too much. Once I arrived at my hostel, I hit the shower and bed.

My first day in the city was spent attempting to change my room situation. I had the top bunk in a tiny room with 3 stinky, snoring boys. I would have managed it, but the voyage across the Drake Passage had left me rocking and nearly falling out of bed twice made it impossible to survive the top bunk! Once that was sorted, I hit the pavement to see what the city had to offer. The first thing to hit me was the heat. After the cold of Antarctica, the 30 plus degree heat was overwhelming. I walked and walked and in one day, felt I had seen all the sights the city had to offer. It was a little disappointing. I enjoyed seeing Eva Peron's Pink Palace, the seat of government actually, where she made her big speech to the people. However, even that was smaller then I anticipated. I was very happy to be back in bed and looking forward to meeting up with 3 of my friends from the Clipper the next day.

Buenos Aires perked up for me when I met up with Tanya, her mum Olena and Olena's friend Pam. The Aussies and I spent the entire day together, checking out where Evita is buried, enjoying a market, an al fresco lunch and walking all over the city once again. We finished our day with a very expensive, but beyond amazing Argentinian steak! Once back in my bottom bunk bed I was exhausted, but happy.

Sunday meant a lie in as I waited for the trio to make their way over to the San Telmo barrio I was staying in. It was the scene of the biggest street market I have ever seen, at least 12 city blocks! The ladies abandoned Tanya and I after lunch for a nap. We walked the miles of stalls and did a little shopping, mostly indulging in Tanya's earring collection! It was a great day, but once again I had more goodbyes to deal with so I went back to the hostel a little down. 

Monday I visited a barrio called La Boca. Paint a building in bright colors, load it with tourist tat, and put tango dancers in front of it and they will come. I sat for an hour and watched touts take cash from silly tourists wanting a picture with someone who can dance. It was laughable, but enjoyable. The heat and a migraine kept me in the basement of the hostel for the afternoon. I was done and Buenos Aires had failed to capture my attention. I don't like to say that about many places I've visited, and it doesn't mean I'll give up on Argentina, but it just wasn't for me. No harm in seeing it though!

The Magic of Antarctica

It turns out there is at least one place on this planet where you can actually get away from it all. It turns out this place has stolen my heart and soul and I would do anything to head back there as soon as possible. It turns out there is magic at the bottom of the earth, and pure joy can be found with every moment spent in Antarctica. 

As I sit melting in the heat of a Buenos Aires summer night, I can't help but feel homesick. I'm used to that feeling, but not used to missing a place I've only spent 10 days of my life in. With no Internet, no telephone, and no television, one could be worried about being bored. However, it's amazing to actually be a part of the life taking place around you. There is nothing to miss with the loss of these luxuries of life when the thrills this continent has to offer are never ending. To think when asked why I would spend that kind of money to travel to a place covered in ice, all I could think to respond was "it's my last continent." Well it was, and I clearly saved the best for last.

There are so many reasons all of us should be traveling to Antarctica. First of all is the pure silence generated at night when all are asleep and only the stars are out. Second for me, was the fearlessness of the wildlife. They are as interested in us as we are in them. In fact the sight of about 100 people climbing ashore dressed in matching yellow parkas and waddling from the layers of clothing would cause any wildlife to pause, and most likely, give a little chuckle. Third are the pristine glaciers untouched by anything but the native wildlife. They go on for miles and miles and can be blinding in the bright sunshine. Fourth is the unadulterated fun to be had zipping around the Antarctic waters in tiny, but stable zodiacs, following the path of gigantic whales or tiny penguins. Fifth is the people you meet on the journey. It takes a special kind of adventurous person to actually take the step to head down south, deep south and explore an such a special area of the world. Making friends, and sharing the bond of visiting this place will keep a lot of us in contact for the rest of our lives. The question I now have is why wouldn't you go to Antarctica?

We had a pretty extraordinary trip. Our expedition crew were all thrilled with how well our journey went. They were quick to tell us not to brag too much as there's no way they would be able to reproduce it all again. We were blessed with amazing weather. We had sun for 5 out of the 6 days we completed our landings. We only missed one landing due to 60 knot winds that made anchoring our Clipper Adventurer icebreaker impossible. We had only a few flakes of snow one day. To be honest, it was almost a bit disappointing to miss out on the freak blizzards we were continually warned about! (I can only say that now that we're no longer there and we didn't miss out on anything!!) We had an amazing captain who has been navigating the Antarctic waters for 40 years and was willing to try anything to give us an incredible adventure. He even took us through the Lemaire Channel, continually breaking ice and dodging huge icebergs so we could enjoy sunset with hot chocolate and Bailey's on deck with an amazing view. We were also so fortunate to visit 4 research stations! We made it as far south as Vernadsky, the Ukrainian station where the men had been there 11 months with no resupplies because the ice was too bad. They were so happy to see us and the cigarettes we brought, we all got free vodka shots! We toured two Argentinian bases, one inside and one just the area around it. As well we made it to Port Lockory, the British base on the Peninsula. We were saddened to hear of a Brazilian base burning down and losing people in the South Shetland Islands, just after we had been there. It is a dangerous life those researchers live. We were lucky to have a few crew members who had lived at some of the stations and could fill us in on what life was really like living in Antarctica.

For me the epic part of the experience were our encounters with the wildlife. Our first landing in the South Shetland Islands took my  breath away and left tears rolling down my face. It was almost too much. We landed on the beach and there were penguins everywhere! And they were curious. One jumped right into the bag we were supposed to put our life jackets in. Some went about their business while others approached for closer looks. Our 3 metre rule to keep away from the wildlife only works if they can measure as well! I have a bruise on my knee from one overly friendly guy who wanted to know what I tasted like. We stumbled upon huge elephant seals on that island as well, only to be told they were babies at 2 years old and told how big they can really get!!  


From there our excursions continued to get more exciting in terms of wildlife. We had one amazing day that started at 6am as our zodiac discovered Ocras who seemed to be chasing Humpback whales. We watched from afar, but when the Humpback saw us he must have seen an opportunity for a diversion and came straight at us. As we barely recovered from him heading under our zodiac and resurfacing on the other side, giving us a wave and a splash, we turned and realized the orcas were following. We were very up close and personal as one came under the boat and took a good look at us leaning over the other side. The action was literally all around us. Taking photos at this point was impossible, but no one can take that experience away. We watched for hours and our marine biologist, Jimmy, explained that it was a pod of 80-90 Orcas in the area hunting penguins. They don't usually eat Humpback whales, but had come upon about 15 of them and so decided to play with them a little. The penguins in the area were panicing and I have video of loads of them trying to jump on an iceberg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GqVK_dvS80&context=C341872aADOEgsToPDskLX5ldTN5KvvosTfAZ-wGN7

In the afternoon of this amazing day, as we were still trying to recover from our whale experience, we found leopard seals. These creatures are amazing, and deadly, second only to the Orcas as hunters in Antarctica. We ran into a few playful ones during our excursions, and have some thrilling underwater video of them trying to chew on the zodiacs and figure out what we were up to. And the seals were everywhere! Fur seals, Weddel seals, Elephant seals, Crabeater seals. They were amazing to watch as well. Some were rather aggressive. Most of us were always quick to give them at least their 3 metres!  The bird life is also plentiful, even in the Drake Passage with no land for two days! The birds can be massive or teeny tiny little creatures. My favorite landings were always when a number of different animals were just chilling out together. 

I have literally thousands of photos. Maybe one day I'll get around to sharing them. I can honestly say though that there is no way any amount of photos or video will be able to capture even a fraction of what I've experience during my time in Antarctica. (There are even a a number of party photos that can't be shared ;) Believe me when I say it was pure magic. And I won't rest until I can get back there and experience it all again!

Here I Go Again, On My Own...

3 sleeps until my next I head off on my next great adventure. It turns out that blogging about all my travels is harder then I thought it would be. I guess I just want to experience it while it happens. Since my last post I said my goodbyes to Australia, experienced the F1 Grand Prix in Singapore, spent some quality time with friends in Vancouver, had an unforgettable 5 days in Las Vegas and returned to London for an emotional 3 week visit.

I do need to say a few words about Las Vegas. It was my first trip and it won't be my last. Up until now I have resisted the bombardment of advertising and recommendations from friends to head there. An adult's disneyland held very little interest for me. However, a friend asked me to join her for the National Finals Rodeo and having just lost my Dad, who was the biggest rodeo fan, I felt the desire to be there for him. I was not disappointed. Vegas was everything it promised to be. It was a major release for me. I was intoxicated for 5 days, and for someone who doesn't drink that much, it wasn't surprising that recovery took 2 full days once I returned to Canada! My friend had to return home after 3 days for a funeral so I had 2 on my own. I wasn't worried, nor did I need to be. People are so friendly in Vegas, but even more so when they discover you're on your own. I didn't have to buy myself a single drink for those 2 nights, nor was there a fear I'd sober up! The rodeo was brilliant and having cowboy eye candy everywhere you looked was an added bonus. I'm not sure I can go back to Vegas without the cowboys! I even got to attend the American Country Music Awards and see some of my favorite acts live.  It was bliss, pure and not so honest. I'm already looking forward to heading back and now completely understand why all my Canadian friends have been heading there regularly for years. I might skip the beer and shots at 430am in the airport on the way down though, or maybe not. I will definitely be wary of dancing with drunken cowboys after I lose one shoe. I wonder if my toe nail will have grown back by the time I rock up the strip this December?

So, that said, I've recovered and am ready to head out traveling again. A long two day journey will see me arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina, the end of the world, as it's considered. Then I will board an ice breaker for the epic journey across the Drake Passage, prescription anti nausea medication in hand, and onto my last continent, Antarctica. For most of my life I have had a dream of visiting the penguins at the bottom of the earth and very soon that will be a reality for me. I might very well be at the pinching myself stage of my life.  Obviously I would love to be blogging and emailing and facebooking while I'm there, but satellite Internet doesn't seem to be in my price range so I'm thinking the 10 days at sea will have to be summed up once I return to Argentina and find a little wifi somewhere.


After Disembarking from the ice breaker, I'll be off to Buenos Aires for a bit of steak and Tango. After a few days on my own, I'll head to Peru for a tour of that amazing country. Once I've experienced Machu Picchu and all Peru has to offer, I'll make my way to Ecuador and join a tour that will take me to the Galapagos Islands and another of my life long goals will be achieved. Then it'll be back to Canada to attempt to take it all in.


As one can imagine the logistics of these 6 weeks are a bit of a challenge. 2 days left to get organised and I still haven't figured out how the clothing required to survive the Antarctic cold, the heat of a Buenos Aires summer, the warmth of Peru and the humidity of the Islands will fit into my one little suitcase and weigh under 23kg! With each trip I do learn more about what I need to survive on the road, so I know it will happen by Friday morning. I just like to stress about everything before heading out. It's just my way.


My hope is that with this trip I will continue to learn a little more about myself as I see the world and cross so many experiences off my bucket list. Hopefully I'll even blog along the way!