Journal

The city of Punta Arenas was one of the key stops for early explorers as they followed by Magellan Passage around the tip of South America - and also as a starting / finishing point for many of the early Antarctic expeditions. The town square has a huge monument dedicated to Magellan

Magellan in Punta Arenas square
Magellan in Punta Arenas square

According to legend - rubbing the toe of the one of the figures on the base of the statue is said to bring calm seas in the Drake PassageStrait, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between Tierra del Fuego and the South Shetland Islands. Located about 100 mi (160 km) north of the Antarctic Peninsula, it is 600 mi (1,000 km) wide. - the open water beyond Cape Horn that is legendary for huge seas and wind. To be sure - everyone on the expedition has given the toes a good rub, but for extra measure I recruited young Jose and his brother Sam to come back and keep it going while we're enroute - can't hurt!

Jose and the toe
Jose and the toe

There's also a wealth of information and history about Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition. It was from here that the successful rescue missiont that brought the crew back from Elephant Island in 1916 was launched. So in my hotel at the Jose Noguera - this is the main hang-out!

the Shackleton Bar
the Shackleton Bar

This is where I sat and read some excerpts from Shackleton's Endurance journal last night - while Mrs. Chippy enjoyed a glass of milk on the bar

Chippy on the bar
Chippy on the bar

Check out the picture from the wall - signed by Shackleton's brother

pic on the wall
pic on the wall

Here's another modern watercolor from the wall - this one showing the launching of the James Caird on which the legendary 17 day voyage from Elephant Island to St. George's Island took place.

watercolor of the Caird voyage
watercolor of the Caird voyage

Here is some reading the Mrs. Chippy is enjoying while we're here - another bit of Endurance voyage history

Mrs Chippy has a good read
Mrs Chippy has a good read

This is the British Club in Punta Arenas - where a party welcoming back the Endurance crew after their rescue was held in 1916

British Club
British Club

This is the plaque on the building

British Club plaque
British Club plaque

And here are a couple of the latest Antarctic explorers that I've run into while cruising around town. Teacher Ute Kaden from Texas and Valentine Kass from the National Science Foundation are with us on the Oden! Look forward to telling you more soon once we're under way.

Ute and Valentine
Ute and Valentine

Details
Author
Allan Miller
Date
Expedition
Oden Antarctic Expedition 06

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Comments

Tue, 12/12/2006 - 07:04

Allan Miller

I'm so glad to hear that you are reading about Shackleton's expedition - as you can see from my post I love Antarctic history - and probably other than the Amundsen / Scott race to the pole in 1912 the most engaging story would be the Endurance expedition and their struggle for survival.  It is so cool to sit here and just ponder what it must have been like 100 years ago.  As we head across the Drake Passage starting tomorrow - I am also sure that it will add a whole new perspective to the voyage of Caird - when Shackleton sailed a tiny wooden vessel across the same wild ocean.  Our Captain is concerned about the seas and wind right now - and we're in a 300 foot icebreaker - but even a huge ship is no match for the strength and power of weather and ocean! As for the ice pack - it is clearly showing signs of retreat in recent years especially in the collapse and change of ice shelfs such as the Larsen which broke up just a few years ago.  But the huge impacts on sea ice are really being seen in the Arctic - where scientists have observed a reduction in the average size of the pack of over 10% in the last 20 years.  There are some great NASA websites that you can find if you'd like to see some images from space of sea ice and other global phenomena - the site ishttp://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Thanks for following our trip - we should depart from Punta Arenas in about 4 hours so  I'll be able to tell you first hand about the ice in just a few days.  Allan

Mon, 12/11/2006 - 07:42

Miller

Have you had any boat problems so far?

Mon, 12/11/2006 - 11:39

Miller

Hi,We hear by way of the grapevine that you are waiting in Punta Arenas for filters.  These must be important to hold up an entire expedition.   What are they for?  WCA 4th graders are reading Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World.  We learned that Shackleton entered the region in December of 1914 very similar to the time you will be arriving.  He wrote that the ice pack was farther north than it had been known to be previously.  What is the ice pack like this year?  Has global warming had an impact on the ice pack?

Mon, 12/11/2006 - 11:39

Miller

Hi,We hear by way of the grapevine that you are waiting in Punta Arenas for filters.  These must be important to hold up an entire expedition.   What are they for?  WCA 4th graders are reading Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World.  We learned that Shackleton entered the region in December of 1914 very similar to the time you will be arriving.  He wrote that the ice pack was farther north than it had been known to be previously.  What is the ice pack like this year?  Has global warming had an impact on the ice pack?