What I should have known before I started my trip!
Video: Antarctica 101, Google Earth
Post written: Raleigh, NC
October 13 to November 4, 2022
May 25, 2023
Blogger’s note
Maybe I can stop inserting these blogger’s notes. Stop explaining myself and just get started.
I knew so little …
Even after paying for my trip I knew very little about Antarctica. I read about Shackleford and the early Antarctic explorers. I read all the materials Muench Workshops, our photography tour group organizer, provided. I reviewed a variety websites – most importantly, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO, https://www.iaato.org). But even with this preparation I was surprised by how few facts of geography, treaty status, and on-the-ground conditions I understood before I boarded the boat in Ushuaia.
The reality of what I didn’t know was impressed on me as I listened to lectures and stories during the first 3 days of the trip. I didn’t understand beforehand the import of the Antarctica Treaty and related environmental protocols. These international agreements are why:
- the boat was boarded and inspected from bow to stern before we entered the “Antarctic Zone” (we needed more rat traps!),
- all clothing and equipment passengers wore or carried on landings was inspected,
- all boots were disinfected and sterilized before and after every landing,
- all landings were “wet” – our zodiac landing crafts were beached, we swung our feet out, stepped into the water, and we waded ashore.
All of this will be shown in later videos. This video simply provides the background, Antarctica 101, that I didn’t understand as I boarded the boat.
My introduction to Antarctica
(The maps and the picture of the South Pole are from Google Earth. The remaining pictures are mine.)
There is real video ahead!
As always, comments are welcomed.
Learned a lot from your video, Barry. so interesting to see maps and pics as you talked. Listening to your voice is much more interesting than just reading. Thank you.
I am very impressed by the beauty and isolation. I also enjoy your comments.
Thanks!
Hi Barry,
I’m getting an error trying to play your video. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Michael
Antarctica 101
Barry, I’m working my way through the parts of your Antarctic trip one at a time. The audio in this narration is great. You have eliminated the 55 gallon barrel effect of earlier clips by getting the microphone closer to your mouth. You are using photos in the video. Still photos are just as good as video clips in telling a story.
Like you, I made it only part of the way down the Antarctic Peninsula on my first trip, but I made it beyond the Antarctic Circle on my second trip. This is the video I shared with you on the DVD I sent before you went on your trip. I wish I could go again, the isolation, the remoteness, experiencing what the early explorers saw, but in the comfort of modern travel technology lessens part of the adventure, but we get a glimpse. I also read of the early explorations before going to Antarctica. Shackleton’s story is riveting. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard is a must read.
You can actually avoid the Drake Passage by flying from Punta Arenas, Chile to King George Island. But the Drake Passage crossing is at least half of the adventure of the trip to Antarctica.