Song end, trip over, final race run.
Adventurer Last Supper. Dinner, awards, heart-tug goodbyes.
Marathon tally 140, continent count now SIX. 16 months ago, was asked what would motivate after 100 marathons. After Moscow, after Dublin, after 50 States.
Antarctica ❄️ DREAM realized.
Friendships made/bonds formed bottom of the Globe – gonna leave a HUGE hole.
LAUGHS, shared stories, PENGUINS, every inch of Punta Arenas, brass toe of Magellan.
Jorge, Paula, Emilio, Dan, Jeff, Gloria. I heart each of you ❤️
Last nite. Last walk. Midnite along the ocean.
Katya. Will miss you most. Customs Control, 2 weeks ago, Santiago. Thanks friend, thanks for saying hi 🙂
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- Adventurer Last Supper
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- HALF award, TWICE
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- circle of FRIENDS
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- photo BOMB’d (again)
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- Punta Arenas goodbye
Happy SUNSHINY day, our last on Antarctica.
Day START? a LOVE of LIFE Antarctic dip. Just the feet – but yikes! Let’s ya know you’re ALIVE! Gotta/hafta/MUST DO. Icy, FRIGID, C-O-L-D!
Plenty o’ time for a grounds walk of both Chilean & Russian Research Stations.
Chilean Station: Chapel visit (Santa María Reina de la Paz), asked/learned ‘bout Brown Skuas (dirty-brown sea gull cousin/feed on penguin chicks/bunch during my run).
Russian Station: Eyed the Island’s beautiful Orthodox Church from afar. Some got an inside tour, some not – hurry, hurry up, wait. My circle stayed trapped at a makeshift Russian gift store (room inside a modular container). Handful of maps & bobbles, cash only – I bought a $20 lid. On vacation/no regret. Antarctica purchase.
Day Highlight: walkabout at a nearby penguin colony. Russian air boat, Russian driver. Life jacket readied. Greeted by a resident chinstrap when boarding. Bird swam up, waddled inland amongst us (as if on queue), value add/all part of the show. HA!
So much LIFE, too little TIME. Day ago I ran 30+ miles.
Legs remembered 🙂 Gracefully fell in & later back outta our rubber raft. No skillz, no moves. Up, over, THUD, REPEAT. LOL> Balance nada. Good laughs.
Boat ride – AWESOME. Penguin walkabout – AMAZING.
Gentoo Penguins: Beaks brightly colored, bigger than either Magellanic or chinstrap varieties. LOVE LOVED. Luckily, arrived day after the BIG MASSACRE. Leopard SEAL NatGeo style kill. Penguin flippers still littered the beach. Surviving adults collectively tended a nest of 7 adolescents (assume, most newly orphaned). Circle of life.
Boat return, another graceless plop on shore, hurry up & wait.
Da plane, da plane.
62 runners now FAMILY. Jokes, stories – GREAT ENERGY. ANTARCTICA LOVE PARADE continued Chilean late nite. Dinner, more laughs. Nearby bar. Some really poor life choices, whole lotta memories.
Goodbye White Continent. 2019, I was there.
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- LOVE of LIFE dip
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- icy Arctic CELEBRATION
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- Russian Orthodox
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- Población: 29
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- Antarctic SUNSHINE 🌞
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- PENGUIN excursion
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- curious Chinstrap
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- Gentoo penguins
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- adolescent NEST
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- colony SURVIVOR
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- 🐧❤️
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- da Plane, da Plane
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- White Continent goodbye
Antarctica CAMP (Day 2)
Warm DRY clothes. Hot SALTY Cup o’ Noodles; Ramen never tasted sooo good. Huddled an hour with Support Staff inside our Prep tent, before joining Lin for her final 2 short laps. Lady ran in SLEET last year, day’s multiple White Continent finisher. STRONG!
3 to a tent (Antarctica on a Budget). Overnight’d with 2 other Americans, Jeff & Dave. Quiet, respectful, neither snored & THIN. Three guys sharin’ a two-man tent; body size is KEY. We could maximize space (they decided): 2 campers positioned north-south, 3rd runner sleeping opposite direction. Yep, middle passenger. Short straw drawn.
Head at the open flap (tent/broken zipper). Wore EVERY piece of dry clothing packed. Those items I couldn’t physically peel on, I tucked over my head.
Grumble, grumble? long rambling rant? Heck no. I’m SNOW CAMPING in ANTARCTICA. Unbelievable. No words BIG ENOUGH for this life-imprint.
PRECIP blew in after midnite. Half-asleep, remember our flap blowing wildly & what I thought was rain. One eye open, wrapped a shoe ‘round the whipping tent appendage (quick MacGyver fix), shook the snow off my head-covers. FULL Antarctica EXPERIENCE! Cold, SUPER TIRED. Why the heck did my tent mate need a light?! Notta flashlight.
3 A.M. ☼ DAYBREAK. Tap tap tap of sleet, Antarctic summer wonderland.
Good a time as any for a ‘white pot’ moment. Urine emptied into the appropriate can (full-on glamping folks/no hand sanitizer either/don’t be jealous). Staggered back to my sleep mat. Zipped in/secure, DRY belongings piled high, cat-napped 2 hours more.
CAMP frosted white, morning in Antarctica.
Generator blaring, strong smell of petrol. Breakfast brewing. Opted for a walk-about (‘nuff Ramen yesterday).
More than I could have ever imagined. And C-O-L-D ❄️🐧❤️
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- CAMP overlook
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- 3 strangers; two-man tent
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- 2 hours nightfall
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- SNOW camping ❄️
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- DAYBREAK
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- 3 A.M. ☼
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- White Continent morn
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- Antarctica SUMMER
Antarctica CAMP
