Antarctica '09

When I set foot on the Antarctic continent at Brown Bluff on the morning of February 1st, I touched my 7th out of 7 continents. When I traveled to Brazil to visit the falls in Iguassu I set foot in a 40th country...I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to visit all parts of this wonderful planet we call Earth, our home...the more places you visit, the more you realize the consequences of our actions on our environment, especially when visiting the more remote areas where civilization fails to disguise the damage...and the Antarctic is taking a beating.

Antarctica has an ecosystem where everything is interconnected. When a component of the system is affected, the whole system suffers...For example, when ice is not thick enough, krill (small shrimp) reproduce in smaller quantities as there are not enough organisms for them to feed on. Less krill means that certain types penguins like the Adelie penguins who only feed on krill have less food to feed on and ultimately their population is affected... Everything is connected and if we are not careful, the next generation will not have the opportunity to see this majestic corner of planet...in my case, even if I want to go back one day, I do not think our cats, Ana and Sheena are particularly interested, but I am sure for many of you who have children and grandchildren, interest must be a bit higher…so I leave you with this thought...IF WE DON’T TAKE CARE OF IT, IT WON’T BE THERE FOR ANYBODY TO SEE ...

I managed to publish a daily blog of the expedition.  If you want more details on our daily activities or would like to laugh a bit at some of the amusing passages I inserted in the blog, I invite you to take a look...

Click here to access my blog of the expedition

I have finally completed the triage of my photos.  I invite you to take a look at the slideshows I have put together of the various stages of our great journey...Enjoy!

Slideshows of the expedition:

Santiago

From Ushuaia to Elephant Island

Brown Bluff and Devil Island

Deception Island and Mikkelson Harbour

Danco Island and Booth Island

Detaille Island and the Gullet

Perch Island

Port Lockroy and Useful Island

Cape Horn to Ushuaia

Iguazú

Buenos Aires

For more details about Antarctica, click the following link:

Wikipedia article on Antarctica

For more details about Chile, click the following link:

Wikipedia article on Chile

For more details about Ushuaia, Argentina, click the following link:

Wikipedia article on Ushuaia, Argentina

For more details about the itinerary of the expedition to Antarctica, click on the following link:

Details on the expedition to Antarctica

For more details about Argentina, click the following link:

Wikipedia article on Argentina

For more details about Iguazú Falls, click on the following link: