Patience is the name of the game
22 Nov, 10 - 17:36     

So….we have been in Punta Arenas, Chile, since the 5th of November. We were due to fly to Antarctica on the 12th of November. It is now the 22nd and we are waiting for the phone call that will bring us to the famous and merciless Antarctic continent.

However, in spite of our concerns, we have managed to maintain our spirits by keeping ourselves busy with our diaries, our excursions and trying out experiments to perform when we’re on the ice. To put things in perspective, we are stuck in Punta Arenas, in a relatively cosy bedroom with amenities available instead of being stuck on the icy continent as many have been, including, most famously, Shackleton’s men. In fact, Shackleton and Punta Arenas are very closely linked. The ‘Union club’ in Punta is where he planned the heroic rescue mission of his men who were trapped on Elephant island for over a season. Tim and Lisa spent a few hours exploring this building which hides so much Antarctic history.

The map depicts the routes of the ships Endurance (going in}, James Caird {lifeboat out} and Aurora (the support team ship), and the planned trans-Antarctic route of the British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1914–15.

Key:
Voyage of Endurance(red), Drift of Endurance in pack ice (yellow), Sea-ice drift after Endurance sinks(green), Voyage of the lifeboat James Caird (dark blue), Planned trans-Antarctic route(light blue), Voyage of Aurora to Antarctica (orange), Retreat of Aurora (pink), Supply depot route (brown).

Furthermore, Apsley Cherry-Garrard [from Scott's team on the Terra Nova Expedition], said "For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organisation, give me Scott; for a Winter Journey, Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amundsen: and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give me Shackleton every time” (excerpt from his book The Worst Journey in the World.

On a more sweet note, gadget-girl Lisa has been working hard in linking up all our communication devices via Bluetooth in order to smooth out all file sharing and transfers. We have in our possession multiple mobile phones and 2 computers ready for the Antarctic. It will be very interesting to see how they perform in Antarctic conditions. Also, we have continued our physical exercise regime and Lyndsay and Roussel have been learning new skills like playing the guitar.

Patience is a virtue that we all must learn in order to achieve our goals.
Many unforeseen events may take place in our lives, and it is how we deal with them that also defines who we are.
And patience, is a good place to start.

Farewell, until next time,

Roussel

{picture description from wikipedia}