It's about time

I figured that my life is taking so many strange twists and turns of late that it's about time to put fingers to keyboard and blog it up.

For those not aware I am about to embark on what many would call the journey of a lifetime. Indeed when recently I stated that I was going on a journey I was asked if it was physical or spiritual - I replied probably both.

I am off to Antarctica and Patagonia on a six week journey of exploration.

We (the BF and I) will be traveling to Buenos Aires in Argentina then flying to Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America before boarding a ship and heading into the vast southern ocean in search of the vast southern land.

The decision to take this trip was anything but planned. We very seldom plan anything holiday wise, it tends more to be a case of where is the best airfare to somewhere new and off we go. This trip is much the same in it's inception. We have been talking of Antarctica for a while now and one day I did a little research and decided to book something.

We are traveling with a company called Polar Cruises aboard the MV Ushuaia for a 12 day trip to Antarctica. She is a smaller ice strengthened ship with a maximum of 84 passengers. The thing that held the most enticement about this ship was the word "zodiac" (not as in star signs, as in inflatable boats - think Jacques Cousteau). We have the chance to step away from our mother-ship and onto the Antarctic peninsular itself, an exciting prospect for an avid photographer.

Did I mention that I like to take photos? No? Well that is kind of what this journey, and indeed this blog, is all about.

I am an avid - actually no, more obsessive than avid - photographer. It is what I do for work and for fun which means in the end that my work is fun (if that makes sense).

This trip for me is a way to test my camera and my eye against the wilderness that is Antarctica and Patagonia. An opportunity I relish. Do I sound too dramatic? Well if so then I have achieved what I set out to achieve. All of the photos that I have seen from the places we are going are dramatic and I thought I should try to impart that from the very beginning :)

Anyway - I have just digressed.

After we return from the icy south we are doing a whirl wind action packed trip through Patagonia; Argentina and Chile, trying to fit as much as possible into a fairly short span of time. There will be much excitement about what I have seen and done and much moaning about how I should have gotten fitter before trying to tackle the Andes with my camera and tripod and heavy feet.

For those that wish to join me on this journey I welcome you and your comments.

It is my intention to keep this blog going while I travel (where internet and computer hire permits).

I plan on not only relating my travel stories, such as they will be, but also some of the photographic experiences I have and the things I learn.

I hope you will come along for the ride.