Karl and Kara in Antarctica (really)

First up, just to clarify, we are currently alive and back home. We had no internet on the trip so the blog was written then but I'm only getting around to publishing it now. I only realised yesterday that this may be confusing when we met a friend who thought she was hallucinating because clearly we were still deep in the Southern Ocean. Sorry. Day 18 – It's Tuesday today, which is weird 'cause yesterday was Sunday. So I guess we must've crossed the dateline. One guy on board missed his birthday, which would have been Monday, so he gets a reprieve from entering his 50s. Well today was just absolutely bloody fantastic. We're at Ross Island. Now if you know your Antarctic history and have read all the explorer books (like I have) this is wildly exciting, this is where all the action happened, where all the big expeditions were based. All the landmarks here are so familiar to me – Mount Terror and Mount Erebus (volcanoes named after Ross' ships who...

Day 10 – the first of several days "at sea". Yes, yes, I know we're at sea for the whole month but this means we're really really at sea, won't be seeing any land, won't be stopping anywhere, zero chance of stepping off the ship. First we travel through the Bellingshausen Sea, named after a Russian who was one of the first to spot Antarctica back in around 1820. Then through the Amundsen Sea, named of course after the great Roald Amundsen of first to the South Pole fame. And finally to the Ross Sea, named after the man who first explored this area in arounnd 1840. The Ross Sea is where all the exciting stuff will, hopefully, happen and where there's lots and lots of interesting things to see. In the meantime, life at sea..... Well much like back in the Drake Passage, on the first couple of days of the trip, it turns out that long boring days at sea are actually so busy you're in danger of not having time for your siesta if you're not careful...

Day 5 and woke to calm seas, sunshine, icebergs everywhere and views of the Antarctic Peninsula. Absolutely stunning, steep, dark mountains that look alot like the Andes. That's because they are the Andes – the same mountain range extends down the western edge of South America, then curves out into the Drake Passage (underwater) as the Scotia Ridge, occasionally popping up as Islands like South Georgia and South Orkney, and then continues (again getting above sea-level) as the Antarctic Peninsula. We sailed down a very narrow channel (the Lemaire), dodging ice, spotting seals and generally gazing in awe at the beauty. Our Captain puts on his serious face as he picks his way carefully through the ice. Then we went ashore on Pleneau Island. Now this "going ashore" business is actually quite an undertaking. First, dress up warmly. Then join the others waiting to go ashore. Then get into a zodiac (that's me in front on the port side) And...