Oct 9
One year ago on October 4, with much trepidation and excitement, Laurent & I landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina with just backpacks strapped to our backs containing everything we would need for the next two years. I had quit my job back in New York, sold my car and many of my possessions and had no idea what the future would hold.
We left the Bark Europa and our Antarctic memories on January 19, 2013 when the boat harbored back into Ushuaia (check out the map if you don't know where that is). So where the hell are we now and why has it taken me this long to write about things that happened months ago??
It was almost time for our Antarctica trip! After 7 days trekking in Torres del Paine, we headed from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas (putting us even further south). We left for Punta Arenas on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day there too
So we made it back from Antarctica alive! No monster wave came and gobbled the ship up nor did I fall in some deep crevice at the top of a glacier. It wasn't easy at times being on the sailboat, we both got pretty seasick and sometimes we had to wake up in the middle of the night to do watches or steer the boat in the freezing cold but the payoff was huge. I experienced things I could only dream about and saw scenery and nature like I never have before. I felt like I was dreaming most of the time. And I promise to tell you all about it and share some photos too.
So today we leave for Antarctica. Even though I'm typing these words and in a few hours we will board the sailboat that is waiting right here in the harbor in Ushuaia, it still feels totally unreal. Not sure when the reality will set in. Perhaps early tomorrow morning when we begin our passage over that notorious Drake passage? I'm sure! I hope to not be too sick to watch over Cape Horn as we see the two oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific converge in a (hopefully) peaceful meeting!
I knew it would happen sooner or later. I just hadn't expected that it would be so soon.
Three weeks ago, Laurent went back to France. He spent almost a month here in New York and we diligently planned the trip and finished up this very website. We came up with a decent route for our trip, as documented in our last post. At the time, it made perfect sense. It was a concise route. It included all the things we wanted to see and at the right times of year. I thought this route to be pretty definitive. I knew it might change somewhat over the course of time but I didn't think that course of time would come anytime soon.
Infused exposures 