LETTER FROM DANA CACCAMISE

JANUARY 14, 2002

We finally finished our packing today and got a chance to be tourists for an hour. Ian went and got the keys to Robert Falcon Scott's hut near McMurdo. It was a nice break to get away from the grind and play a bit. The hut and interior items look as if he just left for the day and never came back.

Apparently, Scott said of Antarctica: “Great God, this is an aweful place” - R.F. Scott

And of Scott, his wife said: “There never was a man with such a sense of responsibility and duty, and the agony of leaving his job undone, losing the other lives and leaving me uncared for must have been unspeakable.” - Kathleen Bruce

The only picture that needs explaining is the one of me squatting next to a seal carcass that would been used to feed the dogs used by early explorers; they then burned the blubber as a fuel. Because it was necessary to kill seals to feed the dogs, no dogs have been allowed in Antarctica since about the mid 1990s.

All other pictures are taken on top of a nearby hill “discovery hill” with a cross tribute to the explorers. We are headed into the field in the morning for a two-day extensive training on Antarctic survival.  This should bring some really good experiences and photos.

DANA CACCAMISE