Three hours early for a domestic flight? Glad I heeded the advice. Flying from Chile’s capital city? Folks it’s a hot mess. Check in, dropping a bag, clearing security. 2 hours 45 minutes. Friendly & professional but just a select few working. No criticizing our TSA, been schooled.
4 hour direct flight, southernmost city in Chile. Touchdown, bag retrieval. Last hour more turbulent as winds off the Andes pushed our small plane side-to-side – still, clear open skies in Punta Arenas. Nodded to a taxi driver holding a sign marked $10,000. Assumed Chilean currency & piled in. Hotel Diego de Almagro por favor. Room key, smile, nod, sorry no español.
Nuff time for an afternoon run. Layered up, 10 mile out-n-back. Best way to see a new city. Hugged shoreline (no getting lost). Ran ‘long the Strait of Magellan, where oceans Atlantic & Pacific meet. WOW! Strong gusty headwind, rough rolling surf, even summer season.
No ear buds, eyes alert to traffic and dogs. Packs of them street-roamed. Strangely, most wore tags & collars. They’d chase, I’d walk. They’d sniff, I’d slowly ease myself back on pace. Eyed them use crosswalks, watch for cars – this their town. I’m the tourist.
Day 2 Highlights: Ocean shots, statue pics, a famous shipwreck. Newest landscape addition – giant city sign dedicated just the day prior, anticipation of next year’s 500-year Magellan anniversary. AWESOME timing, short tenth-mile from my hotel digs. FAAANNNNTASTIC!
White Continent meet ‘n greet tomorrow. Crazy excited!
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- Punta Arenas bound
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- Chilean home digs
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- Tripulantes Goleta Ancud Monument
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- 500 años anniversary
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- Gobernacion Maritima
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- summer season calm
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- YIKES!
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- Lord Lonsdale Shipwreck
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- 10 mile out-n-back
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- southernmost city in Chile
Chilean Telenovela
Pinch me. NOT-A-DREAM. It’s ANTARCTICA DAY.
Pre-dawn Thursday, clothes still cover my bed. One carry-on, one backpack. That’s all I’m bringing.
Micro-spikes, yes. ARGH – something’s gotta go. Another Sophie’s Choice disposal from the pile AGAIN.
Been waiting for this day – this LIFE ADVENTURE – a full year, 12:15am New Years 2018. Been blogging ‘bout the day since April 2012. DREAMIN’ of Antarctica since that first National Geographic pull-out map (circa 1978).
Denver to Dallas, Dallas to Santiago. Airport hotel/rest/shower/treadmill. Punta Arenas tomorrow.
Day One Highlights:
Weird onion burger, double fries, agua con gas (bubbles). Gonna/hafta become a quick-study of Spanish. 5K treadmill run(s) before/after/in-between narcoleptic lapses. 85 degrees, sunny & HUMID in Santiago. Expect an abrupt temperature nosedive Friday, seaside lodging on South America’s big toe. So…is it everything you hoped? Heck yeah – and then some. Stay tuned adventurers.
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- Bienvenido a Chile
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- Arturo Merino Benitez Airport
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- Crocanty (2 thumbs up)
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- posh digs & treadmill 5Ks
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- Punta Arenas tomorrow
Antarctica DAY
Food TV Chile & Discovery
ANTARCTICA.
All-consuming now, every waking moment between New Years & January 10th.
Pup nursed to health. Pumping in a ton of work hours. Everything outta the fridge. Packing – repacking.
One carry-on, one backpack. That’s all I’m gonna carry. Solo adventuring, self-support. Not counting on multiple costume changes [while] camping bottom of the World. Holy moly – this is really happening!
Monday. SWAG day. First glimpse at my White Continent Team.
No participant names, only city and state – like a page from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Houston, San Diego, Ft Lauderdale, Chapel Hill NC, Greenland NH – and me, Louisville COLORADO. ALL got a GOLDEN TICKET.
Penguin countdown just 3 days more. Tick, tick, tick. Crazy excited. ANTARCTICA!
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- penguin countdown
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- SWAG day
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- GOLDEN ticket holder
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- Antarctica SUMMER ❄️
…in your swag box you should have the following items:
One Navy Patagonia Fleece pullover jacket with WCM logo embroidered on front and back
One Navy Gilden T-shirt with WCM logo screen-printed on front and MA logo and tagline on back
One Navy Gilden T-shirt with PAM Logo screen-printed on front and MA logo and tagline on back
One Marathon Adventures 26.2 oval car magnet
One 2019 WCM round car magnet
One Columbia backpack with 2019 WCM logo embroidered at the top
Three 2019 WCM luggage tags
Two Marathon Adventures luggage tags
Two Marathon Adventures round patches
Two Marathon Adventures round stickers
Antarctica SWAG day
Colin O’Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica With Final 32-Hour Push
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/sports/antarctica-race-colin-obrady.html
The final miles of a nearly two-month race across Antarctica — a lonely effort marked by long days, short nights and stunning endurance — ended Wednesday with a sprint to the finish.
In what could go down as one of the great feats in polar history, the American Colin O’Brady, 33, covered the final 77.54 miles of the 921-mile journey across Antarctica in one final sleepless, 32-hour burst, becoming the first person ever to traverse Antarctica from coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided by wind.
O’Brady’s transcontinental feat, which took him an actual total of 932 miles with some zigzags along the course, was remarkable enough; but to complete the final 77.54 miles in one shot — essentially tacking an ultramarathon onto the 53rd day of an already unprecedented journey — set an even higher bar for anyone who tries to surpass it.
“I don’t know, something overcame me,” O’Brady said in a telephone interview. “I just felt locked in for the last 32 hours, like a deep flow state. I didn’t listen to any music — just locked in, like I’m going until I’m done. It was profound, it was beautiful, and it was an amazing way to finish up the project.”
