Sorry about that. Check back in a week or so and until then,
Happy turns,
Andrew
Monthly Archive for November, 2008
Page 2 of 2
Huh. There were many things to consider on a trip like this, such as crevasses, staying warm, avalanches, etc., but it never occurred to me that the boat would never even leave the dock and Quark, the tour company, would just cancel the trip, which is what has happened. It seems hard to believe.
After being a day late, we sat around and waited for progress reports, which were always “soon.” At a final meeting, one of the Quark representatives got up and said that in the process of trying to fix a seal water had gotten into the main engine compartment and now instead of a small repair, it was going to be a huge, multi-day affair and thus the trip was cancelled. This is a HUGE disappointment for all involved, but none more so than for Doug Stoup and Karyn Stanley who have spent the last year organizing the trip. To actually be on board and ready to go, the get shut-down is almost too cruel for words.
About a third of the people (myself included) are going home, another third are hanging around in Patagonia and some others are jumping on to another cruise ship to Antarctica.
Bummer!
Our Ship has come in… but it is not going anywhere, at least not very fast.
After getting all excited and tucked away on the boat, we woke up yesterday morning to see that it was still attached to terra firma. Bummer. As one of the first trips down to Antarctica of the season, as well as being the sister-ship to the Explorer (which sank down here last year), the Argentinean inspectors are going over the ship’s systems with a fine-tooth comb and have delayed the ship for 48 hours. So far. This is drag as part of the allure of this trip was that it was fairly short, at least by Antarctica terms, so the delay of two days puts a real crimp on the agenda. Still, plans are being juggled and between everyone having a flexible schedule and positive attitude, things will work out.
Since we spent last night at the dock, we had an onboard Halloween party which was a blast. Chris Davenport looked disturbing as a School Girl, there were pigmies, monsters, a few penguins, and the Finn’s dressed as themselves, which was naturally scary.
To pass the time, I’ve come back into Ushuaia and am hanging out at a chocolate shop, which is a dangerous idea – strong coffee with a slab or two of handmade chocolate on the side.
To help pass the time yesterday we got out for a few turns behind the town and tried out our roped travel systems. The teams are broken up into groups of four with a guide, Our group consists of Gregor Wilson, Kellie Okeneke, Scott Fennel and Sam Bass, all of whom are a blast to ski with.
