Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
october 12
I didn't sleep last night, so my mood was not good when we were held
up for a one-hour TV interview that I was promised would take five
minutes. A magazine reporter arrived as soon as filming ended, and
the delay went on and on. That's why the run ended at close to eleven
o'clock tonight. I am really under the pump to get my kilometres done.
october 13
Falling rocks. The roads all through the mountains are very dangerous,
due not just to traffic but also to rock slides. Boulders sit in the middle
of the road, causing vehicles, including ours, to swerve wildly to miss
them. I have been hit by small falling rocks while I've been running.
Thankfully, the bigger rocks and boulders make a bit more noise as
they crash down the mountain, so I can hear them coming in time
to duck out of their path. I am not listening to my iPod through this
region, because I need to be alert to the danger.
october 14
Bernie has returned from Australia, and, while it's good to have the
van with all our gear and my running shoes, it's even better to have
him back on board. I rely on his wisdom and practical ways, and his
inability to get flustered no matter what befalls us. Another of Bernie's
traits is his honesty: he is totally straight with me and tells me what he
believes, not what he thinks I want to hear. He is the coolest person in
a crisis I know, and I'm blessed that he's with me. Today we had a heart-
to-heart, and he pulled no punches. He told me what I already know
but try not to think about: that it is going to be tight making it to Tierra
del Fuego by Christmas in time to get to Punta Arenas for the flight to
the Antarctic that gives me enough time to trek the 1100 kilometres to
the South Pole (at around 40 kilometres a day for 30 days) and catch
a plane back out by the mid-January deadline. Around January 19 is,
we've been told from the start, the last date on which planes fly out
before conditions deteriorate. To reach Tierra del Fuego by Christmas,
I need to run more than 100 kilometres a day, and that is going to be
horrific.
