March 25th At sea, bound for Ushuaia


Our final day at sea, the first leg of our journey home near completion and so far so good. Beth-Anne and I are stunned. What just took us one day and one night on the Prince Albert II, took us 6 and half days by sail boat, a little over a month ago, just in reverse. Have we mentioned our gratitude for this extremely convenient (and comfortable) way in getting to Ushuaia.

Alas it is the last day for buffet lunches that comes with a choice of 8 desserts, the final five course dinner with dishes so deliciously and artistically presented it feels destructive to eat it.

My bags are packed and having only eaten two weeks worth of food during the expedition they are still bulging at the seams and remain obnoxiously heavy.

This update will be the final one I send to Dean via sat phone, soon I will be in the land of Internet and telephones so I look forward to reading your comments, seeing Deans creative touches to my blog and being able to catch up with my family.

I pulled out pen and paper today and started to scribe a 'Things to do' list, already planning how to approach my reality of what awaits me back at home. I began to feel a little overwhelmed as my list grew but at the same time I sensed excitement when imagining the opportunities that also awaits.

When completely immersed in the planning and preparing of an expedition, it is easy to forget about the challenges that come afterwards. I will be coming home to a hefty debt that will need to be attacked immediately which will require me to start work as soon as I return, therefore a juggling act will be taking place. I'm eager to start writing my book which will entail research and time, there is a film to produce and presentations to create and begin showing. It is important for me, while the experiences are fresh, to start the process of turning this entire expedition, with all its unexpected hiccups into a story I have imagined telling for over 3 years. As I go through this process I am excited about the doors it may open and opportunities that may arise from my South Georgia journey that will live on although I am thousands of miles away from that paradise.

A golden hour in paradise
saturated in an amber light
and prospering in the incessant sounds
of curious critters in constant debate.
Mounds of tussock are crowned with Fur seals
and every pebbled beach is thronged by Kings.
Elephant seals dominate with their massive frames
as they loll about cooling their bodies with polar-chilled sand.
The ceaseless polar breeze, like an encore, exposes the jagged peaks
revealing the forbidden heart of this isolated sanctuary.
Soon to be tarnished by the succession of flurries,
these treasures are devoured by the clinging grasp of fog and cloud.
Valleys of glaciers carve their way seaward,
depositing ancient ice into the clumsy arms of the unforgiving sea.
Rivers run wild with snow melt as they unleash the silty sediments
offering freedom to the historical earth.
Like a time-lapse film the sky condenses seasons into a single moment.
A storm stored in sooty-like clouds
impose on the suns freedom
causing the contrast of bright and dark to stir my insides.
And within the skies embrace
the company of feathered friends fill the air with graceful strokes
as they brush past tops of ocean swell and sweep by sea stacks
that rise sheer and stark.
Here I sit overlooking the bay, freckled with islets that are
home for nesting Albatross.
The sun slithers low, descending behind shadows
of the surrounding guardian peaks, leaving a trail of golden light.
My heart flutters as an Albatross flies overhead and
goosebumps form on my covered skin as this provoking scene stands before me.
For a moment, the uncertainty of my return fills my mind
yet my heart beats with no boundaries and speaks the truth.
I will one day return to this forbidden land and
be embraced by the powerful arms of South Georgia once again.