Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
result, and I appreciate the support of the Australian ambassadors and
Austrade in each country we pass through.
Though the days are hot, the nights are cold. The temperature
plummets alarmingly as soon as the sun sets. The chill reminds me
of what I'm in for at the Antarctic. I am getting a little scared of the ice
and blizzards to come and the prospect of my hands freezing again.
My mind turns back to the below-freezing conditions of the North
Pole, the strong winds and the torturous pain in my right hand every
time I closed it to eat something. Hopefully my body is better prepared
now than it was then; if it's not then I'll just have to deal with it anyway.
Each day when I start running I am crippled by pain in my
knees and neck. I walk around like a 90-year-old until I warm up, and
each day my warm-up period is taking longer. Pain has become my
companion on this journey, and it's going to be with me all the way.
Sometimes, I've found, it's best to go into things without thinking too
much about possible problems. But the end of this event can't come
soon enough. I need some recovery time, but that won't happen until
I'm back in Australia, a world away.
december 22
The weather has turned rainy and chilly. The last time raindrops fell
on us was in Colombia, and I haven't needed to run in a jumper since
Canada.
More comings and goings in the crew. Bernie returned home today,
for good. He wants to have Christmas with his family in Canberra, and
he has planned a surprise. Both he and his son Daniel, who lives in New
York, will materialise on the family doorstep. I'd like to be a fly on the
wall. He has missed Deb, his wife, and his other children so badly, ring-
ing them every single day when the communications have allowed, and
I know they have missed him too. Bernie and I had no emotional fare-
well. He simply walked a couple of kilometres with me this morning,
then we said, 'Goodbye, mate. See you in Oz,' shook hands, and he was
gone. I know he appreciates the job I'm doing, as I appreciate all his
cool-headedness and hard work, which have made this event happen.
The reason Bernie was able to leave is that Katie has returned. She
went home for a short while, caught up with her loved ones, and now is
back on board. She will go to Buenos Aires with Brooke and Dillon on
