This is a long overdue post, not written at the peak of my form but written nonetheless. We arrived in Japan late last evening, Tuesday March 26 after 18 hours of flights, delayed flights and washing-machine turbulence from Toronto to Osaka via Tokyo. This trip, one to which we have excitedly looked forward, was preceded by 2 1/2 weeks in Portugal. We returned from that trip last Wednesday, unpacked, did our laundry and prepared to leave on Monday for this trip to Japan. In the interval I celebrated my 80th birthday…

This post is the first of its kind for me, as you’ll see in a moment. 

I’m not sure if I mentioned it in my posts from Tanzania and South Africa last December but as we were settling into our airline’s seats for our return trip home, V said to me, “Well, we don’t have to do that again” presumably in reference to the number of trips that we have made to Africa over the last 10 or 11 years. I think Italy was calling to her and, in fairness, some relaxing time in Europe is long overdue.

And yet, and yet….

Some assorted pictures of the Antarctic region, predominantly South Georgia Island but some sea and landscapes. Hope you enjoy…

I write this from my hotel in BA after a couple of days rich with incident as our Victorian predecessors might have said. I’m writing this in haste as I’m leaving shortly for the airport and my flight home but I did want to post an update before I left…

We have spent the last three days on South Georgia henceforth referred to as SGI. I am writing this a few days later as internet access is very hit and miss. The island is about 165k long and 35k wide. For the most part the island is mountainous, snow covered all year round and the habitable portions are somewhat flat areas between the sea and the foot of the interior mountains…

We sailed from Danco Island in the morning and arrived at Paradise Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula in the early afternoon. Paradise Harbour/Bay is one of only two usable Harbours for passenger boats in Antarctica. The bay is surrounded by sharply-edged and heavily glaciated mountainous peaks and massive domes of snow covering the whole landscape…