100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

-
Image
We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
Post a Comment
-

I wish I could upload more photos. I have so many photos and videos all in higher resolution. I was on top of Mt. 1882 today for about 4 hours. We were successful getting everything optimized to make internet access available to the scientists at Lake Bonney. The photos here show some penguins on Monday taken by a co-worker, me on top of Mt 1882 today, a gargoyal rock on top of 1882 today and a picture that my coworker took of the helo letting me out on top of 1882 with a 12x zoom (also today). It was a long way down. The equipment is right next to the lip so we can get a clear shot on 900 Mhz. We bent the yagi antenna down a little bit to help the path. You can see Mt. Coates in the background when you know which mountain is called Coates. After tomorrow we should be done with the dry valleys region of Antarctica for a while (until something breaks again). We will be moving on to the Penguin rookeries and the deep field camps.

I took a short video of my coworker talking on the phone on top of the mountain. I have been laughing just thinking about it.

I have an early launch tomorrow in the A-Star to get back up to Mt Coates. It should be a quick trip.

I believe you cannot drink enough water in Antarctica. With the activities I am doing staying hydrated is a challenge even if your weren't on the driest continent. Antarctica is the highest, dryest coldest continent on earth. I drink a minimum of 4 liters of water a day + other fluids. I worked out last night and the sweat just boils off you even when it is below zero F. It is a dry, dry place.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Caribbean Trip Christmas 2025

-
Image
Before this trip I couldn't spell caribbean... It's a weird one. We didn't have a lot of time for this trip as usual. Other things in life besides travel to get done, like work. We planned Punta Cana Dominican Republic, Domenica, and Antigua and Barbuda. Our visit to DR was shortened by a cancelled flight on Liat Airlines. Our first flight on Liat we were at the ticket counter for 3 hours. There were only 3 other passengers on an Embraer 145 which holds 50. We learned in Dominica that Liat is short for "Leave Island Another Time". Or as I used my very limited Russian swearing vocaulary "Blyat" or "блядь". You can hear this word many times watching car crashes in Russia on Youtube. It is normally compounded with many other intensifiers. Of the three countries we liked Domenica best. It reminds me of Maui without all the tourism and people. Parts of the island might be the densest jungle I've seen. This pic is a improptu ...
Read more

Winter in Georgia

-
Image
We had some snow. It wasn't as bad as Florida or the Gulf coast. It is still a novelty when we get snow that lasts for a couple of days or more. I have absolutely no issue driving in it having spent most my life in Upstate NY, but the other drivers are another story. We are prepared here not to have to go out anyhow. I took a couple of pics of where the milk and bread was supposed to be in the grocery store before the storm hit. Just a toilet. However, it is the first one I have put in that works lower that the sewer line. It pumps up. Works good. It was a long time coming with all the other projects I have in flight.
Read more
-
Image
I just received a Medal from the US Government for Service in Antarctica. Certainly, it isn't every day I get a medal. It is one of the few medals that the federal government gives out to civilians. I am not sure what to do with it. Maybe I can find an old Webelos uniform to wear it with (not that I could possibly fit into it). I would like to get back to Antarctica again someday. Early next month I am giving a presentation called "Aviation in Antarctica" to the Atlanta chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Tuesday I am headed to Dusseldorf Germany, The Netherlands, and Denmark. I will be spending next weekend in Copenhagen. I hope to rent a bicycle.
Read more