This must be paradise
Adventure today means finding one’s way back to the silence and stillness of a thousand years ago – Pico Iyer
Paradise Harbour. Image: Jo Stewart
A brief look at a map of Antarctica reveals some pretty ominous place names. Forbidden Plateau, Exasperation Inlet, Cape Disappointment, Delusion Point, Doubtful Bay and Desolation Island all point to the calamities that befell early explorers. While I’m sure we’ve all navigated our way through similar channels in our personal lives (I’ve run aground on Grim Rock many a time), there’s just no imagining what sailors must have felt back then before the blessed beeps of radars and two way radios filled the air.
Proving that Antarctica is a land of extremes there’s also some fanciful place names: Dream Island, Useful Island and our most recent place of anchorage, Paradise Harbour. Whoever gave Paradise Harbour its name wasn’t exaggerating – it’s a ridiculously beautiful place. I highly doubt my senses will ever recover from taking in such untamed beauty. My poor eyeballs are forever ruined by the sight of gargantuan glaciers, perfectly reflected in the still water below. Never have my lungs breathed such clean air and never have my ears been able to hear without having to filter out the white noise and fuzzy feedback of urban life. Finding such places of humble stillness in this increasingly frantic, complicated world is rare indeed but that’s what this part of the adventure is about. It’s about stepping away from the comfort and ease of city life that offers an insidious safety net of convenience stores, supermarkets, drive-thru fast food and online shopping, to reveal a part of the world that is completely indifferent to humanity. Places like Paradise Harbour exist in true perfection, without any help or interference from us. Anyone who says ‘there’s no such thing as perfect’ obviously hasn’t been to Paradise Harbour.
- by Jo Stewart, Shackleton Epic Blogger
 Paradise Harbour. Image: Jo Stewart |
 Paradise Harbour. Image: Jo Stewart |
 Paradise Harbour. Image: Jo Stewart |
Promoting international biodiversity, Shackleton Epic’s conservation partner is Fauna & Flora International (FFI), find out more about their conservation projects at http://fauna-flora.org/
If you want to experience Antarctica with Intrepid Travel click here
Wow, what a fantastic descriptionof where you all are. Such brilliant photo's too.
I am glad to note that the sea is calm for you all now, and not the huge waves which were in the southern ocean when the blog was reporting "projectille vomitting" uggh.
Keep safe, and keep sending the photos and info of where you are.
Godbless you all. AM praying for you all every day.
"…to reveal a part of the world that is completely indifferent to humanity." Wow, I love that line! And that idea. Antarctica is my dream destination for that exact reason. You've got a great capture of the dreamy landscape here – both in the photos and the words.