Dispatches Nov 17 2001 —> Oct 29 2001

Dispatches Nov 17 2001 —> Oct 29 2001

	Nov 17. Gold River
	Tierra Del Fuego is not for everybody. The barren land is plagued by ever-present cold winds, today gusting 40 knots. Low bushes and grasses dominate the rolling landscape, once inhabited by Fuegian Aboriginals. Powerful Albatross and other birds glide above the rough seas. It's a harsh wilderness, but it offers a rugged freedom and gold. We found the Gold River after a few hours car ride. No luck in our pans but then we didn't try hard enough. In the late 1800s a gold rush started here. The miners worked in the spring and summer, sometimes even the winters. They found up to 1 kg/2lbs of gold a year but the average was 500 grams/1 lb. They lived in tin huts with roofs covered by grass for isolation. Today the miners still work under the same conditions. They average 1-2 grams a day and make around 7000 US$ yearly.

	Nov 16. Goodbye Paradise, Hello Gold
	The DC3 still sits in Punta Arenas and so we are off to Tierra Del Fuego tomorrow for some gold panning. We'll take a car ferry over the Magellan strait and then drive up the Rio del Oro - the river of gold. There are still gold miners around and we hope for some old fashioned adventure. We have moved out of our beloved cabanas by the sea, packing all the stuff that makes any place around the world our home: The wind chime, the candles, the vase for Star Gazer lilies. If you think that's unusual, just wait for the pics of our tent at Christmas. We have received a remarkable letter from Korea. It is from a certain Mr. Lim, with careful instructions: Please place expedition rubber stamp (!) on letter and mail back to me from the South Pole. This man collects envelopes from Antarctic Ports of Call. We will oblige, of course (except for the stamp). But we had no idea there were mailboxes at the South Pole.

	Nov 15. A room with a view
	"Organized bus tours to Patagonia. Private windowed cabin." This bus of travelers arrived at our place today. We remembered a book written by a Finnish writer about a team of suicide wishers that decided to get together and commit the task in the warmth of each other's company. One was a bus tour organizer and so the party went off to kill themselves in a "suicide bus." The trip however turned out so pleasant, that the end task became subject to severe procrastination. Of course, it was all fiction and this bus has no connection to the story... Lack of means doesn't prevent these travelers to see more. A friend wrote us today on the subject: "Suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance builds character. With character comes hope, and hope suggests that anything is possible." Such as us getting to the ice. The DC3 is still stuck in Punta.

	Nov 14. A Telegram
	"I hereby notify you, that I have turned my ship around and head for the South Pole." That was the content of the telegram that Amundsen sent Scott when he learned that the target of his original journey - the North Pole - had been conquered. He turned his ship the "Fram" (Forward), hoping to instead become the first at the South Pole. Scott had planned his South Pole expedition for quite some time and wasn't happy to receive the news. Amundsen won the Pole, Scott died on the ice. The evidence of great adventure is still visible around this outpost to Antarctica. There are the services of the local "Whiskeria Las Vegas" or the "New dimension" night club. Adventurers have always found the dough they needed and even more often lost it all, with no regret.

	Nov 13. Passages
	We met with Paul Landry from Iqualit in Canada, a North Pole expedition veteran. We picked his brain for the North Pole. "Keep the rifle outside the tent, or the condensation will kill it when you need it. Carry a flare, that will buy you time if the bear comes up behind. And here are some useful knots for pulling sleds over rubble." Next it was Jako, the weather man.There were the Katabatic winds, the Cirrus clouds, the cloud levels, the Coriolis effect and the Drake passage for good measure. In an hour we'll meet with Damon, our friend from last year. Somehow, this is a small world. And for you Marek; time wasn't on our side. We hope your journey is the greatest of them all.

	Nov 12. Or is it eleven?
	We got the news on another plane crash in NY just as we went to the "lavanderia" with our laundry another sunny day in this fisherman's outpost of nowhere. "Uno otre", - another one - said the laundry girl, nodding towards the small tv set. There, we watched our home town on fire for the second time. The rest of the day we did the final weighting game and finalized our choices. In the pic, there is a MD player, a mobile for scale and the discs we'll carry - recordings of 15 books and 8 hours of music. We put the sleds on the scale for ultimate judgment. Incl fuel, Tina will be 110 kg/240 lbs and Tom 120 kg/250 lbs. 6000 kcals each/day and 25 kg/50 lbs of tech. In the polar world, that's simply excellent.

	Nov 11. DC3 has left Canada
	The DC3 left Canada yesterday. The plane will pave way for the Ilyushin taking us to the ice. The DC3 will first drop some staff that will clear a runway. We'll need about 9 days of good weather from now to get on the ice. The plan is that we won't even stay in Patriot Hills this time. Once on the ice, we'll switch to a Twin Otter right away and fly straight to the coast. We are gearing up seriously. Training is increased, stoves tried out, final gear counted and packed. It's a balance, what to bring, what to leave, everything is on trial. Carry too much and the journey will be slow and hard. Bring too little and the trip will be dull. We must do our choices - just like in life itself.

	Nov 10. Saturday Night Fever
	Even though we are at the end of the earth, Terrae Finnis, some things never change. The school girls around here all wear modest school uniforms in daytime. Or, they would be modest that is, did the girls not pull up the skirts, against all protocol. And considering we are at the windiest point of the continent, there is much cause for distraction around town. In the night however, especially on Saturdays, the schoolgirls transform into Patagonian Cinderellas. With native Indians for ancestors, they resemble a mix between Heidi from the Alps and Pocahontas. The picture was taken at a local pageant pre-shoot and the girls wore evening gowns for the shots. After however, they changed into slick hipster skirts and string tops just like any Soho chics would. Well, family ties are important around this small town of Punta Arenas. Mothers are highly valued and so the future moms will even get their own private parking spots!

	Nov 9. Moment of Truth
	Still no news on departure for Antarctica. We are waiting for a DC 3 that yet hasn't left Canada, we are not really sure why. Instead, news reached us from Sweden on a corrupt journalist in the company of a famous climber, together feeding twisted news to the world, yesterday getting revealed at last. For a long time, it seemed that they would get away. But as the song says, one never really can: "So what have you got at the end of the day, What have you got, to take away? A bottle of whisky, and a new set of lies."

	Nov 8. Training on the shores of Magellan
	Tom's birthday and it could hardly be better. Summer is racing South by 46.7 feet a second. It's getting warmer and millions of ocean creatures are heading our way for the annual summer fiesta at Antarctica. Soon, the plankton will boil the ocean and the marine life will play of joy and abundance. We have established a home, an office, and a warehouse and now we have also staked parts of the beach as our very solitary gym. The tires were already there, any size we wished for, and we got some old hemp rope from the local "Ferreteria" to tie into them. Our special trainer Jose is with us in spirit on the loudspeakers, blasting "Ultimate Antarctica", his music recordings made for us. "Eye of the Tiger" is of course just one of the adrenaline promoters. The deep blue waters of the Magellan strait is a reminder of the historic drama and adventure that has taken place around here, most only 70 years ago. We feel very fortunate to be allowed a part of it. Happy birthday, Tom.

	Nov 7. Advanced Base Camp
	We spotted this place already last year. First there was the seals and black Dolphins frolicking in the waters. Then, on the shore, a restaurant with great views of it all. Next we saw the cabins. Wouldn't it be great to play the Antarctica waiting game in a place like that, we said to each other? And as life surprisingly often grants wishes (thus one should be careful of what one wishes for) here we are! We are all alone, the season not yet up in Puntas. One cabin is our private quarters, the other our "officina" and new warehouse for our sleds imposed by the arrival of even more fuel drums into the "Parcelas" already crammed spaces. So we found our precious but battered home-to-be some final peace, with ocean view! The cottages are 40 US single and 50 US double. Heat and electricity, but no TV. No plans yet on departure for Antarctica, but tomorrow there will be a slide show at ANI.

	Nov 6. Farewell, dear friend
	We took Andreas our longtime, faithful companion, to the airport and then we were alone. We swapped the luxuries of civilization for the luxuries of nature by renting a basic cottage with an unparalleled view of the ocean. Tierra del Fuego is on our horizon when we wake up in the mornings. We have a plan to bring ice home for a friend from the South Pole. We will refreeze it into cubes and serve it in a shot of whisky. Whether time is on our side or not, this expedition is for you, Marek. The afternoon brought wonderful news from America. I want to go to the beach, Tina said, to find a rock by which to forever remember this day. She found it. With the heart in it. Her mom had placed it there. It's coming to the South Pole. 2 oz, 56 grams.

	Nov 5. Leaving Patagonia
	After yet another dazzling day, black volcano beaches, white snow clad mountains and glittering emerald lakes we take farewell to Patagonia and drive back to Punta Arenas. We stopped at a mysterious secret gateway into a mountain. Stepping through the gate a beautiful little shrine appeared embedded in rainforest surroundings, the sound of running water filled the cave. After a moment of contemplation we jumped into the car and went on our way. Tomorrow Andreas is flying back to Sweden. We will meet again in January after the expedition - seems like ages from now.

	Nov 4. Glaciers and house pets
	Making friends easy to Rock, the local dog and Torres, the cat. Drove the dirt roads in rain, the Torres embedded in clouds towering above. Andreas had never seen a glacier and suddenly we had the most awesome ice wall running out on a black beach just off the road. A flat reminder of the Everest icefall. Went through the equipment list for the North Pole expedition. Floatable sleds, dry suits for swimming and updated technology it all has to be planned well in advance, even though Antarctica is what is really on our mind. Patagonia brings back the days of early explorers. Surrounded by Disney-like colors and untouched wilderness, we reflected over the poem by TS Eliot: We shall not cease from Exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time (pic Shackleton)

	Nov 3. Torres del Paine
	Oh, lovely Patagonia. Every expedition has its own little paradise, a place for rest, beauty and color. A place to go and fuel up on the wonders of the world before the hardship enters. The rock, snow and ice of mountains or Arctics are hard on humans and so we look for a garden where to smell some flowers. Patagonia is that place for Antarctic journeys. We took the rented four-wheel drive through gates marked rally and that's exactly what we got. We drove through rivers, over black beaches, mooed at cattle, watched llamas chew away at grass and awed at soaring Condors. Andreas made cartwheels and finally we ended up at a hostel on an island inside the national park. We are surrounded by turquoise water, the peaks of Torres just by our breakfast table and an almost Japanese style garden for us to smell for a while.

	Nov 2. Puerto Natales.
	Three hours from Punta Arenas is this picturesque little town marking the entry to Torres Del Paine, the most beautiful part of the Patagonia mountain range. The town holds tiny houses and white clad peaks mirrored in fjord like waters. It could be best described as a mix between Alaska and Norway. The small tin-houses are painted in bright colors and rows of well groomed trees line the streets. We use sat phone and wearables for transmissions from our castle-like hotel.

	Nov 1. Done!
	At last, the final little piece was stuffed, marked and organized. We went to the warehouse for a last round of packing. As we arrived however, we faced trouble. Our neatly packed sleds had been stacked on top of each other, with all kinds of stuff thrown around them. This is pretty serious, because every small detail counts on a polar expedition. A broken stove, a missing tent pole and we are in trouble. Scratches will accumulate snow and make pulling a very heavy task. Well, we are from NY City. Pretty quickly we cleared the space, and this time we white taped the area. Tomorrow, we are off to Patagonia for a few days of R&R; and catching up on mails.

	Oct 31. Very much to do
	Today we had a lot to do. Screws and screws every where. Tomorrow Tina will do a dispatch again.

	Oct 30. Darkness and Light
	One of our audio books is about a man who has a genetic disorder that leaves him dangerously vulnerable to light. His life is filled with fascinating rituals of one who must embrace the dark. It will be interesting to share his story whilst in the eternal light of Antarctica. As for now, we have big tech and power days. All gear is tested and tested again. Which is good for each time new surprises pops up. Yesterday we dispatched over sat phone and wearables using instant publish software. It worked but only after we climbed the roof of the hotel to get connected to the satellite. Seems that the flight out is delayed, and so we take our time to go over stuff. We push the limits of the tech, mounting HMD into eyewear, installing Bluetooth and voice. Andreas is with us and we'll take the opportunity to make some plans for the future and catch up on the more than hundred e-mails. We might even do a few days in Patagonia together before the Ilyushin takes us away.

	Oct 29. TEST
	This is a test transmission using a wearable 500 MHz computer, sat phone and ExWeb off line Global publish editor. This is setup number two for mobile instant Antarctic dispatches and pics.