I woke up early and started to try and figure out if we could get anything to eat today despite everyone saying the restuarants and supermarkets were closed we suceeded! I went to pick up my bag at the youth hostel that had lost our reservation but didn’t make it that far as there was a corner store open. So I purchased a few eggs, coffee, juice, a tomotoe and headed back to the hostel to cook up a breakfast. Rob was up so we had two eggs each (which is such a luxury after KEP) fried with some bread and 1/2 a tomotoe each (again very tasty!).

Time for me to talk to my family in Bermuda who sent me some great pictures of the kids enjoying their presents. I sent them King Edward Point BAS hoodies and some other little presents.

We then headed out to see if we could find a place for Christmas lunch. The hostel with my bag was doing a christmas lunch but wouldn’t let anyone outside the hostel eat there so we jumped on the metro and headed for the park which has the zoo and Virgin Mary. We bought some grapes and banannas from a street stall and gorged ourselves they were so very tasty. Rob tried to use the payphones to call home to no avail – Skype really has changed the way you can communicate.

So we walked in the searing heat up the hill to the summit with the Virgin Mary and a nativity scene.
Rob wondered who the guy was lying behind the three wise men and the cow. I decided it was a shephard who had passed out from the heat!

This is me looking and feeling like a lobster today I thought I was going to die of heat not very christmassy. Hopefully this will not be the case in Argentina in two weeks when I start climbing Aconcaqua! We sat on the steps at the foot of the Virgin Mary and burn our bums on the rock as it was that hot.

My arm isn’t long enough for good self portraits so the Virgin Mary is missing her head. I think this holiday would be better in black and white so I didn’t look so bright lobster red in all the photos. Next stop was a restuarant for dinner which was quite expensive for steak, chips and salad but it was good food. Back to the hostel for talking to friends and family then a relaxing evening and early to bed. Oh and of course listening to the Queen’s speech online.

Hope you all had a wonderful day with tasty food and the presents you wanted.

Well I have been here less than 5 hours and there have been all sorts of adventures.

First thing was a citation for entering Chile with an apple which I had forgotten was in the bottom of my bag! I talked my way out of a fine but it meant 45 minutes in a room in the airport while Rob waited for me. Lots of paperwork later where I was told to sign things that were written in Spanish – not really advisable seeing as I çan’t read spanish! The man who was to decide my fine was sitting at his desk on facebook and I was given a warning and a fistful of paperwork! Merry Christmas 🙂

Next thing to deal with was the bus we had booked to pick us up wasn’t there so we jumped on a local bus which was 10% of the price. I am lucky to be travelling with Rob who is carrying a very large bag of mountaineering equipment for me. BTW it is boiling hot here 85F. From where the bus left us we got a taxi which of course over charged but being christmas eve couldn’t be bothered with negotiating. We walked into the hostel and were told that the reservation we had made with the actual lady behind the desk by email a month and half ago had been screwed up and there was not room at the inn!

She gave us some crap instructions to another hostel which is actually nicer (without the pool though!) the same price and has rooms for the time we need so here Rob and I are. It has a great outside seating area with fairy lights.

After leaving our stuff at the hostel we took off to the Plaza del Armas to see if there was a midnight mass at the Cathedral which I had been told was the case but everything is completely closed up and the streets are empty. After about a 6km hike we are back in the hostel. All we have eaten all day is crisps and chocolate I am looking forward to my steak dinner we booked on Boxing Day. Slightly jealous of everyone back at base who are at this moment at the church in Gytviken and then will have a wonderful day on base eating great food tomorrow. However, they won’t have the wonderful company of Rob 🙂

It was a wet and windy day so not a good one for a walk to Pembroke Light. Instead we visited the Reverend Hines and his wife at the Deanery and did a bunch of emails. So not an exciting day really.

There was a speed shearing competition at the local pup which Ken took me to.

The shearing was such a big event they closed off the street!

Then dinner at Leigh Anne’s (one of the rat team) with the rest of the guys that came back on the Pharos. A very tasty dinner of fishcakes, salad from the garden and squid curry.

Went for my first sail today since August 2010! Was worried I might forget what to do 🙂 Rob and I are staying at Sally Poncet’s house in Stanley. Sally is a legend she has an amazing history of work in South Georgia and the Peninsula she is still in South Georgia working on the rat project. Ken Passfield picked us up off the ship he also has a long history of work in South Georgia. He was one of the government officers in 2002 and has a 30 footer here in Stanley. He took us off sailing last night on Pouvenier to Kidney which is a rat free tussock covered island 8 miles out from Stanley. It is a government run nature reserve that few (even Falkland Islanders) know about and the only way to get there is to have your own boat.

The most special time on the island is at dusk when the sooty shearwaters return to their burrows. I have never seen anything like it except maybe when I was in Dubai and saw the cormorants return to roost in the Musandam.

We left the dock at 5pm and with the wind behind us took off through the narrows with jackass penguins porpoising in our wake. BTW they are called that because their call is like a donkey! Out past the patrol ship and oil supply ship and round a small point into an anchorage amoungst the kelp about 100m from shore. We let out 30 meters of anchor all chain but with a windlass to hoist it back up thank goodness.

Ken got the wood burning stove going and it was cosy in the cabin he also cooked up a delicious dinner of local steak, potatoes and salad. The sun was starting to set as we finished dinner and the shearwaters were starting their nightly circling of the island. The behaviour goes back to skua predation however, now there are no longer skuas around so really it isn’t necessary.

We jumped in the dinghy and were soon surrounded by 15 or so curious sea lions (similar to furries but with a slightly different shaped head) that escorted us to shore. The sea lion males on the shore were massive bigger than our fur seals on SG. Two trips later got Graham (rat eradication helicopter engineer), Rob, Ken and myself ashore.

The tussock is amazing it is higher than SG it towered above even Rob and Ken said it could get to 3m tall.

There is a little hut with four bunks which researchers use. The island was packed with wildlife – tussock birds, steamer ducks, thrushes, white chin petrels etc. We headed across the way to Dixie Cove to see if their were any penguins in but the beach was empty which Ken found a little unusual. Back past some tussock mounds which had caught fire in WWII and never regenerated but with many new small plants collinating the earth.

There are shearwater and white chin burrows all over the place one has to be careful not to put your foot down a burrow!

We sat down looking over the water at the sunset and boat at anchor next to a few burrows and watched the 10,000’s of shearwaters circling above our heads. The air traffic control must be amazing 🙂 After quite a while one by one they came into land quite ackwardly. You just hear thump thump thump as they fall out of the sky and skurry into their burrows. One mistook me for a tussock mound and hit me on the head on its way home!

Before it became totally dark we headed back to the boat and motored back to Stanley in a rain squall. What an amazing day which did alter my view of the Falklands!

Dad and I on the Going to the sun road Glacier National Park, Montana

We stopped off at Logan Pass which is on the Continental Divide and listened to an interesting talk by a ranger. I might have my figures very slightly wrong but here goes…

The earth is covered with 75% water. 2-3% of that is fresh water. 90% of that fresh water comes from glaciers providing us with water to use. The glaciers are melting. Of the 100+ in Glacier National Park in the late 1800’s there are only 25 left and those are set to dissappear by 2020. With this change in climate many species will be adversely impacted. One within the park is the ptargmigan which is a gamebird. They change their plummage from white to brown so they blend in with the snow in the winter and rock in the summer however, the change is triggered not by temperature but by the amount of daylight hours so they will be in trouble.

Anyways that is the thought for the day brought to you by RYM!!! So basically people conserve water and look after what we have!

My mother and I with a neighbourhood dog! on a paddleboard on Flathead lake MT

The two weeks since I got back from Hawaii have been crazy catching up with work and friends and getting ready to leave again for 16 months to South Georgia. On tuesday morning after only 2 hours sleep I jumped on the 4am airporter and flew to Kalispall Montana to surprise my Dad who is travelling with my mum and their friends for his birthday. So I have 4 days hanging out in Glacier National Park to get my fill of trees and spend time with the family. Followed by 3 days in Colorado visiting my cousins and Uncle. Time to do the rounds of all the relatives as I won’t be seeing them till 2012! It really is a very beautiful place here the water is crystal clear and the lake water is warm enough for a swim.

Today I did something I have never done before – went surfing. On top of something I rarely do which was take a whole day off 🙂 For a start I looked like a complete tourist with beach towels etc. I bought some surf shorts at the local charity store for $3 so I am all impressed with myself. It was fun as we spent an hour and half trying to catch waves and I got up on the board twice. Also caught a wave to the beach but just on my front. First time I had my weight to far forward and pitchpoled! It is something that will take some practice for sure and I think one that I will do in warmer climes than SF bay!

Sunday was a relaxing day thankfully after a 2:30am bedtime. Gus took me to his Grandpa’s farm which has been in the family for over 150 years. Large tracks of land around the farm are leased to farmers and there are five beautiful old brick houses around a courtyard. We visited a while with his grandfather and youngest brother it is good to see Gus so comfortable in his favorite surroundings.

Yet another tasty meal cooked by Gus’s mother of salad, meat and potatoes with fruit and ice cream. Northern French families typically have 4 to 6 children and Madam Motte somehow manages to look beautifully young having brought up five boys. Now all but one have left the nest she is doing her MBA!

An afternoon with a first for me – attempting to play golf at the driving range. My first attempts were feeble I totally missed the ball a multitude of times. Then I would connect with the ball and it would either end up flying high and left or rolling feebly several feet away. The way you are meant to hold the club was not that comfortable and I ended up looking like a baseball player according to Gus.

With a few hours to spare I had a tour of Lille city center in the rain, the high school, Gus’s old house before getting onto the Eurostar for my quick trip back to London.

On Friday I took the Eurostar to Lille from London it is a very painless if a little expensive way to get to France. From my door to my friends door in Belgium is 3.5 hours sitting either on a train or in a car.

In a typical French manner although I arrived at 10pm it was time to go to some friends house for dinner! Dinner was a simple and delicious a typical mountain meal. You are given slices of cheese which go in a special tray under heat and it melts. You then eat the melted cheese along with roast potatoes and sliced deli meat.

Saturday morning up early to get to our hunting hosts (Katherine and Stephan) house in time to help prepare for 25 people arriving for brunch. A simple delicious affair of cheese, bread, jam, ham, fruit, tea, coffee and hot chocolate on a beautifully decorated table with arrangements of hydraingas from the large garden. The house is in the middle of may acres of farmland which was sold separately from the house but the hunting rights remained with the house. The hunt happens twice a year so I was lucky with the weekend I had available to visit my friend Gus.


About 30 people join in including wives, girlfriend and children all acting as beaters. It takes quite a lot of organization with two vehicles, negotiations with the farmers whose land is being used and feeding the mass of people. There are the hunting dogs as well running around very excited at the prospect of finding some game. Everyone seems to be either family or friends who have known each other for many years – all welcoming to the English/American who speaks a very small amount of French badly! We hunted for 4.5 hours bagging about 52 animals – partridges, pheasant, hare and duck. Dinner was a four course feast lasting a few hours – coq au vin with potatoes and mushrooms, cheese, salad and the most amazing chocolate cake I have ever tasted (each bite a taste of heaven).

Check out the pictures from the hunt here.

Again another late night leaving for the center of Lille a picturesque cobblestoned city at 10:15 – I admit normally my bed time! The historic buildings were beautifully lit including the old stock exchange, theatre and a multitude of other building that thankfully survived the wars.

Oh btw despite the photo I wasn’t allowed to shoot so acted as beater and camerawomen as I don’t have a French hunting license and probably wouldn’t have got anything if I had attempted to shoot 🙂

After Como we drove over to Venice and stayed with the parents of a sailing friend of mine. I really liked Venice a lot especially running around on the water buses. Talking to people it seems like you either really like or really dislike Venice. So after a day and half wondering around very hot it was off to London for the night to stay with my parents and make an Italian feast. My little brother Myles surprised me by coming home a day earlier so that we would get to hang out. He is now getting ready for Navy interviews having spent the last 8 months on a super yacht fishing in South America.

Next stop was Mill Valley for the night before getting on the Quest 33 for the spinnaker cup down the coast to Monterey. Luckily we got in just as the wind was dying at around 3am. An off watch asleep and drive back to Mill Valley by midday for some time with my nephew and nieces before a week of work.

The Italian vacation was really great fun. The next 12 weeks are going to be busy with work and getting ready for going south the southern ocean!