Its Marie here in King Hakkon Bay in South Georgia, the name conjures up
memories of the many versions of the most incredible survival story
ever.
We are brothers and sisters united in our dreams, there were many who
had tears in their eyes on our arrival today.We see our first
icebergs,our first elephant seals-but from a distance. the Traverse
party are just about able to go ashore-the weather worsens, and the rest
of us have to stay put – it is too dangerous to try boarding the
Zodiacs. Wind of 50 knots, snow sleet, rain.
We see albatrosses,seals, penguins on the beaches. Our first glaciers.
the crew play a DVD of the Shackleton story – we sit silently, holding
our dreams close.
One man tells me he has dreamed of this since he was seven years old..he
is in his late 50s.
Everyone has a story-they are all special,all wonderful.
And so we wait. It may be tomorrow before we can land. We have realised
one thing – all that expensive polar gear was needed, and we need every
piece. It is too cold to spend long on deck,but we do anyway,we have
waited so long to see this day. Just to breathe the same air that
Shackleton did – to see Pegotty Bluff, where the James Caird finally
came to rest, and we wonder all over again – how did they do it?