10th January

I am sure some may be curious as to how things are going between myself and Adam. After many years of passing like ships in the night, we are now together 24 hours a day. So, here goes -

Great things about travelling with Filby:


Most pleasant company and always appreciates a good meal and a few drinkies. Above, Filby after drinking the bar dry

Looks after the money, (handy particularly in Chile where there are lots of zeros)

Very good at complaining and doesn't stand for any nonsense

Chief of Security, always on the lookout for thieves, bandits and gypsies

Very sympathetic to any ailment, apart from blisters which he insists should be burst immediately

Great technical assistance, handy on the internet and super fast at researching stuff, unlike moi

Most amusing imagination and exaggeration which helps pass the hours (apparently he has lost 6 inches from his waist during our trip)

Most patient with my love of bird spotting and phobias, which include arachnophobia and cluster phobia (fear of clusters, particularly of the fungal variety)

Above: My worst nightmare, a cluster of indian bread fungus found in beech trees everywhere in Patagonia - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Always willing to throw money at the situation to ensure we don't experience too much discomfort

Enjoys engaging with other travelers and doesn't share my, I´ve got enough friends attitude, which keeps things comfortable

On the downside:

Wearing pants for several days, if not longer

Continual advise on packing techniques

Requirement to allow plenty of time for transport connections, leading to hours/days unnecessarily spent at bus stations and airports

Smelly feet

Inability to have a laid back approach with any member of the service industry and general impatience, particularly with waiters.

Decision that he will not cut his ever-expanding barnet - he has already tried to knit his first dread lock

Due to laundry shrinkage, wearing trousers that reveal white ankle socks (not entirely his fault)

So on the whole, I cant complain. We are having a great time and although we both have brief moments of frustration, things are going well.

2 - 6 Jan - Ushuaia - Gateway to the Antarctic

Ushuaia´s modern history is short and uncomplicated. In a nutshell, its first European settlers were missionaries, who made peaceful contact with the native indians. The native indian population died from disease (small pox and measles) introduced by these settlers. In the early 1900´s a prison was built for Argentina´s most menacing criminals. A naval base established shortly thereafter and 2,000 Italian immigrants were employed to build houses for the navy personnel. Many stayed.

Today, Ushuaia is growing rapidly due to tourism. They have recently opened their first ski slopes and Ushuaia is the gateway for many trips to the Antarctic. We stayed in a guest house called, Posada del Fin Del Mundo (house at the end of the world), which was owned by a barking mad physcologist called Anna. I think she could have done with a counseling sessions in the mirror, but the place was nice enough.

The guest house was full of genuine scientific beardy weirdys, on route to the Antarctic, where they were leading experiments at a variety of research stations.

As someone that passionately hates the cold, tales of men that explored the Antarctic and endured temperatures so low that their teeth snapped off, intrigued me and led to some interesting reading on the discovery of the great, white, continent.

A little historic summary below (hopefully accurate, but don´t quote me):

1519 - 1522 Magellan of Portugal, during the first circumnavigation of the globe discovered Tierra Del Fuego. He was looking for ´the Southern Land´. He didn't find it but proved that Tierra Del Fuego was not attached to South America as previously thought, thus opening up a route from the Atlantic to Pacific that did not require navigation around Cape Horn.

1577 - 1580 Drake, sailing in the Pelican (later the Golden Hind) made 2nd circumnavigation of the globe and discovered Falklands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia and others, but the great continent was still undiscovered.

1768 - 1771 Cook, the widest ranging explorer that ever lived, found Australia and New Zealand, claiming for Great Britain.
1772 Cook in HMS Resolution and Adventure, penetrated further South than anyone before him, and although crossing the Antarctic Circle, again did not reach the Antarctic continent.

´Whoever has resolution and perseverance to clear up this point by proceeding further south than I have done, I shall not envy him the honour of discovery, but I will be bold to say that the world will not be benefited by it´ James Cook

This put off a good many explorers for a while, although Cook´s reports of seals and whales attracted the more commercially minded to travel south.

1820 Bellinghausen and Lazareu, during a Russian expedition made the first corroborated sighting of the Antartic. There were many prior accounts of the Antartic coast reported by sealers and whalers.

1831 Darwin arrives in Ushuaia on Tierra Del Fuego, in the Beagle, where he closely studies natives and described them as ´more beast, than man.´

1900 Scott of British Navy undertakes first of many courageous Antarctic expeditions.

December, 1911 Armundsen, Norwegian explorer, reaches the south pole. A near flawless execution.

January, 1912 Scott arrives at South pole, 35 days behind Armundsen. Scott and his expedition team are beaten due to inferior techniques (not using dogs, but pulling their own equipment on sledges), poor expedition planning (supplies ran out) and terrible conditions (blizzards pinned them down for weeks on end). Scott´s last diary entry was on 29 March 1912. A very sad and famous tale!

Today, no one country holds title over Antarctica. During many years of discovery, parts of Antarctica were claimed in the name of various kings and queens. Today many nations have research stations throughout the continent and treaties pledge to refrain from tapping into it´s natural resources. All efforts are being made to keep this huge continent, the 4th largest, ahead of Europe, fully preserved! I hope to make it there one day! Now, I must go and buy a book on Scott of the Antarctic.