Author: awaywiththebirds
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Antarctica East 2026
Jan 12-13: Seadays We officially crossed into Antarctic waters early on Jan 12, at 67 deg 10 mins S, 171 deg 30 mins E, and celebrated by hoisting the flag.(It was also a good way to test our clothing, gloves and hats in minus 2 degs… probably colder with windchill factor) And now I am…
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Antarctica East 2026
Jan 11, Seaday Ok, firstly a weather report…..it has been as calm as anything. We have been really lucky because the cruise immediately before this one faced 7 metre waves. It’s also not that cold yet …we haven’t reached a minus temperature but expect it will be minus in a couple of days. Currently our…
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Antarctica East 2026
Jan 10, sea day James, in answer to your question, I reckon age range is between 60-80. And guess what…while the submersible is on board, it may not be able to operate if there’s too much ice. Also the ice may mean that the polar plunge may not be possible (you can imagine how devastated…
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Antarctica East 2026
January 8-9: Seadays Today (Jan 9) is a significant day (not just because it’s Martin’s birthday ) in Antarctica history. In 1907, Shackleton organised the first of what would be three of his own Antarctic expeditions. He named it The Nimrod Expedition and its aim was to reach the South Pole. Although it failed to do so, Shackleton…
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Antartica East 2026
Last time I visited Antartica, it was the Antartica peninsula which you can see is in the top left hand corner. This time , I am visiting the Ross sea area which is at the bottom of the map. The Ross Sea region is the world’s largest protected area and is widely considered as the…
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New Year’s Day 2026
January 1, 2026 Even before the day arrived, it was mired in controversy. The invite from Sara noted it was the Year of the Fire Horse—which means we’re supposed to charge boldly into the future. This was immediately challenged by Phil who claimed it wasn’t the year of the (wood) horse until Feb 17 –…
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Can the Stans handle the Merck girls (minus 1)?
October 8: Last day – Almaty I previewed our lavish hotel yesterday, but wanted to share some of its expansive breakfast…and these are just the pastries! Am not sure why camels milk belongs in the pastry section….. Also, if you need a gold bar or some lovely furnishings for your yurt, this is the place…
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Can the Stans handle the Merck girls (minus 1)?
October 7: On to our final Stan Long travel day today as we travelled from Karakol in Kyrgyzstan to Almaty in Kazakhstan ( our final and 4th Stan). Leaving Karakol, we headed towards the mountains….more amazing scenery Also found some more Russian bus shelters… often on these bus shelters you see children playing happily (to…
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Can the Stans handle the Merck girls (minus 1)?
October 6: Around Karakol First stop today was a beautiful wooden Russian Orthodox Church. Now remember, some time back, I told you about squinches…well I didn’t realise that squinches aren’t just found in mosques but also in many other structures such as this Church. The squinch in this church is covered by a panel in…
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Can the Stans handle the Merck girls (minus 1)
October 5: On the way to Karakol Well we learnt two new professions today: how to erect a Yurt and how to catch foxes and other wildlife with a golden eagle. First to yurts…. We watched an installation of one, which took around 30 minutes. Could this be the solution to our affordable housing crisis.…