Under Down Under 1

So I left office early today for last minute packing up and generally to get into the mood for my vacation. This is something I have planned for a long time and finally I'm leaving for Antarctica tonight!

 

There's Shanks, Shalini, Smita and me - 4 of us going on this trip which'll take us to KL - J'burg - Capetown - Buenos Aires - Ushuaia - Antarctica & back with a detour to Iguazu Falls thrown in. For Smita and me, this was one of the 10 things we wanted to do before we had kids (the other few being going to Everest Base Camp, climbing Mt. Kinnabalu, Conducting a Summer Camp for kids, taking a sabbatical from work etc.)

 

There are 3 things I'm looking forward to as the time to board the flight comes closer -

1. Vast, uninterrupted, undulating, imposing Snow all around. I love the purity and stark beauty of Snow and hope there is no place better than Antarctica to see this in all its glory

2. Life on an expedition ship. These are Ice breakers or Ice strengthened ships brought down from the erstwhile Soviet Union for carrying curious passengers like us to Antarctica. If you've read Ernest Shackelton, you'd know that getting to this southern most continent takes a lot of cutting through ice packs and it was always fraught with dangers. But with these ships, its now easier and more manageable. I hope we don't get caught in stubborn ice packs and are able to get to and get back from Antarctica!

3. Setting foot on Antarctica. This has to be special. To be actually standing on the last frontier of landmass on Earth, take a whiff of pure air and look up at the gaping Ozone hole should be one amazing experience.

 

 

There are also 2 things that are running at the back of my mind:

1. Sea sickness. Don't know whether I'm prone to it or not. Don't know whether any of us will get it or not. But I just hope that the Ocean and us are long lost friends - we take to each other with nothing but joy. Shalini is going to get some patches to ensure we stay normal but hope we dont need them much beyond the torrid Drake Passage.

2. The Cold. Ya, we are carrying layers and layers of clothing. Am sure the parka provided by Quark expedition would be great, but I want to be able to move about my arms freely, be able to maneuver my Canon 400D without the hassle of two layers of gloves.

 

The icing on the cake promises to be the detour to Iguazu Falls and the stop over at Cape Town on our way back.

 

I'll be writing regularly to keep my travelogue updated. Do post any questions about the place and I'll try my best to answer via words and pics.

Cheers to Under Down Under!