Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Plunge

It is autumn in Antarctica: the sun circles lower and lower in the sky, the winter crews arrive, and the temperature once again falls below zero. What better time for a swim!

To say the water was FREEZING would be an understatement: this is seawater, which here is always at its freezing point of 30F. That's two degrees colder than ice!

Splish-splash!

Shock? Agony? I think the jolt to my system prevented normal memories from forming, so I can't say for sure!

After perhaps 10 seconds (9 more than most), enough is enough. Notice the rope? What might you think that's for?

The logical attitude would be, "Never again!" But this dip into the Southern Ocean has me just one plunge away from completing another life goal: Arctic Ocean, here I come!

Northern Alaska, anyone? Or Siberia?
pepe

2 comments:

Unknown said...

welcome home..or to New Zealand! I truly can't imagine jumping in that water. Im happy to live vicariously :-)

Rowena said...

WHYYYYYYYYYY oh why...?


...Must be a guy thing.