Official Start of the Expedition!

Welcome! We are thrilled to have officially kicked off the 2012 South Georgia & Shackleton Crossing Expedition. The team has gathered in Montevideo, Uruguay and last night they came together for a welcome reception and opportunity to finally meet in person. Introductions were exchanged and everyone had a great time.

Montevideo is the largest city and chief port of Uruguay. It has a rich cultural heritage and prides itself as being the home of the "tango", a sultry dance that originated in the lower class districts of Montevideo and Buenos Aires in the mid 1800's. As it turns out Anja is a serious tango dancer (and quite good!) and she has rounded up a group of people to go tango dancing tonight. We hope to have photos of this tomorrow!

South Georgia is 1,644 miles to the South East of Montevideo
(about 5 days sailing)

Montevideo has long been a stopping point for expeditions heading to or from Antarctica. For our team it will be the last land before touching South Georgia Island, a five day voyage on board the Plancius. They depart tomorrow around noon. We'll post more details about life on board the Plancius soon.

We are delighted to have you following this expedition and we hope you check back regularly for updates from our team! Please email any questions for the team to Chris at PolarExplorers. He'll relay the questions and post the team's answers. A special welcome to Wilderness Classroom followers - we look forward to hearing your questions!