Back to Blogging

Hopefully that will be the case. I don't really have any excuses for why I haven't blogged all this time. It really is a simple thing to blog. It takes like no time to get on line and then all blogging is is writing about life and posting some pretty cool pictures. At first I was going to try and explain why I did not blog for so long and all the reasons I came up with were pretty stupid. That said, I won't get into detail of why it has been four plus months since the last blog. I may keep this one short and sweet and just move on to being a blogger again.

Four months, quite a long time. The last post I was being reflective and was all ready to conquer the world a couple times over. I will say that I have had good moments and some bad moments these last four months. At times I have been able to recapture the feeling of my last post and be super motivated. Other times I have been bored, complacent, and not as driven as I'd like to be. I have been in this cycle for a while. I feel I'm once again motivated and hope it lasts this time.

I thought that the best way to approach this new post was to start with some pictures of the last four months and add some info on top of that. To start, the end of the Ecuador trip.....

Marsha, Erica, Charlie and me up on the top of the Mountain overlooking Quito. Erica I knew from New Zealand when I traveled there last Spring. Charlie and Marsha were in Erica's Spanish school/homestay and while I was in and out of Quito I'd meet up with them for some adventures around Quito. The best of the moments were laidies nght at Bungalow Six in the Mariscal and dancing till my knees hurt. I do miss those nights.




Me in the Cuyambe River in the Amazon Basin in Ecuador. There weren't too many photos of me from the 4 day trip to the Amazon so it is not the best of the best of the pictures. The beauty of the Amazon is hard to capture in a picture. It was a great trip living in bungalows, relaxing to the sounds of the forest at night, and touring with some new friends on the trip.

Overall the trip to Ecuador was fantastic. The people I met were the best part of the trip. I wish I had spoken Spanish well enough to communicate with the locals more because I defnitely missed out on learning more about the people and culture of this country. As it is, the travelers I met and hung out with and traveling with my friend Angie made the trip so much fun. I want to go back to South America at some point. However, I imagine it could be a long time before I get back there as I have so many other countries ahead of any in South America. Maybe this will give me time to learn some Spanish before getting back that way.

After Ecuador I headed home and had a month back in the states. In that month my Sis had her first baby. Abigail Grace Boissy was born September 22, 2008. She is absolutely adorable and I can't wait till I've got more time at home to see her and the family again to hang out. During the time home,I visited all the famly once again and had good times with all. During the month, I was in a bit of a rut or funk as I did have very little to keep me busy. I was just waiting for October to come and my flight south to Antarctica.

Back in Antarctica. I got back October 15 and it has been the fastest two months I can remember. The above photo is from the top of Observation hill looking out to Mount Discovery on the last sunset of the year. It was about two weeks into the season. As it was last year, the ice has been a very good thing for me. On the plane ride down it felt like I was coming home. In some ways the ice really is my home right now. It is the place I have spent the most time at in the past year. Being able to see your good friends every day just adds to this feeling.

Audrey and I on the top of Ob hill at the last Sunset.

Another picture up at the top of Ob Hill with my friend Kris. This is her firfth season and this was her first trip Ob Hill. I was privledged to be part of her hike up the hill.



A view of my space in my room of 155. The room is shared with three other guys. My friends Kris and Lisa decorated the space and surprised me with the new layout. It is an absolutely awesome design. Just to clarify (because I feel it absolutley necessary), the fabric on the wall is not purple, it is actually blue but for some reason it looks purple in this picture. My friends decorating the room was one of the nicest gestures I've been given as this is my home for four months. To be able to go home and be comfortable and not have to look at ugly walls and ceiling tiles is huge.

A Shuttles Thanksgiving. A look at Thanksgiving dinner with a majority of the Shuttle Drivers. A great Crew and a great dinner. Hanging out with this group fills the void of not having any family around. Last year it was very special to have Deb and Matt down here, especially during the holidays. Now that it is just me the friends I've got made Thanksgiving a great experience.

Shuttles picture for the 08-09 Season. With 12 of 18 drivers returning from the year before, life in shuttles has not changed all that much. It is a great group of people to work with. From Joe and Bill in the over 70 group and friends like Taryn, Kris, and Audrey to work with it is the best job on station.



The ice caves off of the Mount Erebus glacial tongue. The formation has not happened in eight years and I got lucky enough to to see and go down in the cave. The caves are by no means huge, just one good sized room. There are all sorts of great ice formations and with the sunlight coming in through the ice to light the cave it is one of the best sights I have seen. It is truly breathtaking.


A view of the roof to the ice caves. That blue coloring is for real and just amazing.



The parties of McMurdo. Absolutely the best. A lot of fun people being goofy and dressing up. Two more months to go and more parties to come. This photo is of the prom party a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Yes, that is me with my shirt open in the background. Luckily the pants aren't shown in this picture as they were crazier than the shirt.
Halloween at McMurdo. This is the biggest party of the year on station. That is me in a bathrobe in what is supposed to be a shower. I attempted to do the Karate Kid shower and it worked out pretty good. Thanks Chris U. for doing this a few years back and giving me some ideas on how to construct one down here. Friends Kris, Sharon, Kashka, and Patty in the picture.

Some nice kiwi girls decided to check out the shower. And stupid me kicked them out when the shower started to fall. I should have just let the thing fall and get trampled.

Overall the season on ice has been good. It has been a little different from the first year and I sort of expected that it would be. I keep extremely busy and feel that I'm busier this year than last. After working 12 hour days there isn't a whole lot of time left in the days. I play volleyball and soccer so that takes two nights of the week. In the free time I do have I hang out with friends, watch movies, have learned how to knit, go out to the parties on Saturday night, hike a little bit. I haven't had a whole lot of time to be on the computer or to read this year. I'm going to make a better effort to set aside time to get in touch with my friends off ice and to get lost in a good book. For work, I've been lucky enough that I've had the same schedule the entire season. I work the 7 to 7 day shift and there is a very good chance I'll be able to continue working this shift until the end of the season. Which means I won't have to be on nights this year. While there are benefits to be on nights I am really happy I won't have to go. A lot of my friends will be on days and it would be tough to be away from people I have grown even closer to this year. It is the midpoint of the season here with Christmas coming up soon. Last year the last two months was far better than the first two months. I'm not sure if that will happen again this year as the first two months of this season has been pretty good. If it continues like this it will be a great beginning to 2009.

Relection Time

I am killing a little bit of time before going on an overnight bus. I have got a lot of travel updates and stories to tell but will hold off for a little while on those as it might take a little longer to tell and I don´t have the ability to load pictures at the moment. It has been a really busy few weeks and a lot has happened. Today was a rainy day on the coast of Ecuador and while wasting away at the beach and at a restaurant to stay dry I got a bit reflective on the life I have chosen. It has been little over a year ago I quit my job and a pretty promising to see the world. I have no regrets at all. As I continue to travel and meet new people and hear each of their stories it reafirms my decisions to leave. There is so much to learn and and every day I feel like I am growing as a person. It may not be a huge change from day to day but I really believe each day I have had experiences that have shaped a part of me, that I am becoming more knowledgeable in areas of traveling, friendship, other cultures, and learning about other travelers and what motivates them and through that have learned a lot about what peoples passions are. I really enjoy meeting new people every day or every few days and haering a new story, a new perspective, and a new reason why they happen to be there at that moment. I am fortunate to be in a place where I can continue to travel and continue to take this path of enlightenment I am currently on.
At some point though the traveling will be at an end. The money will run out or I may just be tired and look to settle back down. For a little while I was thinking I never wanted to return to a real life. To me a real life meant going back to a 9 to 5 job or worse and living the same day and the same week over and over again. I have done only a little bit of thinking about what I will do at the end of my travels. At times I have thought of going into teaching, or applying for a job as a tour guide somewhere in the states, or even going to Antarctica for the next decade. I am not sure I ever have to really return to the 9 to 5 job but I will have to have a real goal and a destination in mind. Some of the people I have met recently on the trip have been extermely impressive people. They work as volunteers and travel and while not completely decided on the next steps in life they definitely have a strong and solid direction. I am still undecided on what the next phase of life will be for me. Traveling for the next two or three years and living in Antarctica just won´t be enough. I realize that I do want to have a home base for most of the year, will want the right woman to spend my time with, do want to have a family, will spend as much time with my friends as possible even if I have to sacrifice my own personal time (which is something that has been hard for me to do in the past), want to do something where I can work with others and make some type of difference on this world. As I continue to travel I feel I´ll be more and more thinking about a true goal and true purpose. Much more than I have this past year. I am excited about the possibilities out there. So much so that I am looking forward to every moment and every experience in the days, months, and years to come.

Ecuador and the Galapagos

Traveling again!! It´s such a nce feeling to be out in the world again. The time I spent at home was great but seeing new places and experiencing some amazing moments is what inspired me in the first place to leave home. So far Ecuador and a trip to the Galapagos has been fantasic!



One of the differenes from my travels in New Zealand ealier in the year that made the first two weeks a great expereince was that it wasn´t done alone. The first two weeks I had my friend Angie from back in St. Louis traveling with me. At the end of the trip in New Zealand I was getting tired of traveling and constantly meeting new people and having the same conversation over and over again. With Angie traveling with me the first two weeks it was great to have someone I already new well. While we did get on each otehrs nerves at times we are both pretty easy going travelers and never really disagreed on the days travel plans.



Here are a few pictures from the first two weeks of traveling.




This photo is of Quito from the Basilica in the center of the city. Quito is an amazing place of old and new architecture that just doesn´t ever seem to end. The city is in a valley with mountains all around and when you think the city ends over one good size mountain it doesn´t and another valley covered in buildings appers. I´ve spent most of my time in Quito and it is a very busy city with some amazing parts with beautiful cathedrals. There are lots of people and bus rides that pack you in like sardines. Good fun really. The city of Banos, 3 to 4 hours south of Quito, is a major tourist destination. It´s a small town with hiking, mountain biking, white water rafting, and thermal baths to keep the tourists busy. While there got to take a dip in the thermal baths and took a day trip to the Jungle town of Puyo. Before the Galapagos this was the higlight of the trip as we got to take a tour of a small rain forest and learn about some of the indegenous Amazon tribes in the area and the plants of the forest. Really cool stuff. Just wish I remembered most of what was said.
The Giant Tortoises of the Galapagos. Amazing animals that can live up to 160 years. Wish I could bring one home.
The Blue Footed Boobie of the Galapogos. I just like the name so that is why this picture made the blog.

Sea Lion with Angie at Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos.

The best part of the trip in these two weeks has been the trip to the Galapagos. Just a stunning place with all the animal life, the geology of the place, and the historical significance. If I had to do it all over again I´d spend more time there. One of the days Angie and I went on a half day harbor tour of Puerto Ayora and we were beginning to think the trip was going to be a disaster when the guide for just the two of us didn´t speak English. Turns out our guide Felix was the best. While communicating in real basic spanish and given the context of the trip we were able to have an great experience and see quite a lot of the local animals and some very beautiful spots of the island. For me, snorkling was the best part of this trip. At first it was just a variety of tropical fish but it soon came to be a spot with thousands of fish swimming all together in a school. Then as it was getting close to the end of snorkling Felix led me over to an area where other snorklers had found sea lions in the water. So for a good 10 minutes we swam around with three sea lions and got close enough to touch them. Just a fantastic experience.

Since the Galapagos I´ve been in Quito again and am staying at a hostel. Angie headed back to the states and I´m for the most part on my own again. I say partly because I´ve met up with my friend Erica who I shared a hostel with in Wellington, NZ. She basically is forcing me to give a shout out to her in my blog so here it is!! Really though, It´s been awesome to meet up with her. While traveling and meeting new people I wasn´t sure if I´d ever see any of them again. So it´s nice to sit down and be able to catch up on travel stories and not have to go through all the same old information you repeat at every new hostel or at every new meeting of a traveler. I´ll be in Quito a little longer hanging out with Erica and her language classmates and plan on doing a bit of mountain biking and exploring. Should be great fun. More updates to come soon.