Blessings from above
Published on 20.12.2009 - Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition
The ladies of the Kaspersky Commonwealth Expedition continue to wax lyrical and report some fine moments of their adventure for us to enjoy.
As we have already said, each girl on the Kaspersky expedition takes it in turn to write the podcast for the day. This is then transcribed immediately and placed online  no doubt by the support team back at HQ. All of which gives us an excellent idea of what the girls are experiencing and in particular how each individual is responding to the adventure.
On 14th December (a day memorable for Amundsen and his men reaching the South Pole for the first time 98 years ago), the Cypriot member of the team wrote that she never ceases to be amazed, both by the sheer beauty and the wild purity of the Antarctic. "The emptiness, the nothingness, the whiteness, the horizon that dances through 360 degrees in the fog, the flatness, the ice and the snow  it is a real privilege to be here," she wrote. "And I really think about it every single day so that I can convince myself of it better and remember it forever..." Having said that, the same girl (Stéphanie Solomides) also admits that she can't bear being cut off from the outside world, not knowing what's going on.
Another team member (the New Zealander, Kylie Wakelin) was congratulating herself a few days later, saying that up until now, everything had gone so well and that the group  apart from the frostbite suffered by the Jamaican, Kim-Marie Spence, just before they set  had encountered no serious setbacks. There have of course been the usual aches and pains in the tendons and muscles, plus some sore backs, but overall the girls are all in good health. Kylie also confirms that their progress has been marvellous. On 17th December, for example, as they ground their way slowly up towards the heights of the Antarctic plateau, they managed to cover the small matter of 29.8 km in a single day! So, to put it mildly, the heavens are smiling on them so far...
As for Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu (from India), she explains that unlike the other girls, who listen to music during their daily eight hours on skis, she doesn't. Hailing as she does from Delhi, a city filled with so much daily din and noise, she prefers to listen to the silence and enjoy its benefits. She finds that it is one way of feeling closer to her Maker.
