Starting up a new segment here, Dale is writing up book reviews of the books of some of the greatest adventurers throughout history. This is the first installment.

By Ernest Shackleton

Endurance trapped in pack ice. Photo by Frank Hurley

This is an epic story, a story of exploration and desperate survival in the harshest environment imaginable. If it were fiction you would toss it aside as unbelievable. Ernest Shackleton’s quest was to cross Antarctica on foot from sea to sea via the South Pole. In 1914 he set out in the wooden sailing ship Endurance with 27 men, including the great photographer Frank Hurley.

Their ship was trapped in pack ice and slowly crushed, leaving them stranded on the ice far from land. For several months they lived on ice floes, until at last they drifted near enough an island to launch their lifeboats and cross to solid ground. They were far from any shipping lanes, and the probability of rescue very slight.

Shackleton set out with 5 men in an open boat to sail more than 1200 miles across the stormy Antarctic Ocean to South Georgia Island, where there was a whaling station. They weathered hurricane force winds that sank a ship nearby, but the weather forced them to land on the wrong side of the island. They had to cross the mountains and glaciers with no equipment over an unexplored route. They succeeded, and the entire party was rescued without the loss of a single man.

When they returned World War I had broken out and after a brief moment of honor their achievement was overshadowed by the war news. Robert Falcon Scott, who died in the Antarctic along with his crew, became celebrated as a hero. Shackleton, who had saved his crew, was almost forgotten until 1959 when Alfred Lansing’s Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage was published. In 2002, Nova broadcast the documentary Endurance on Shackleton’s voyage on PBS. About the same time Margaret Morrell and Stephanie Capparell published Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer.

Although other books and films have been made about this expedition, I prefer this one because it is Shackleton’s own book. He was not a brilliant writer, and he downplayed his own role in saving them, but the story is so compelling that it transcends any literary shortcomings.

Get the book: download the ebook or buy the paperback.

It’s cruel to even call it ‘ice’. While we were in Madrid we encountered what appeared to be a little urban ice rink set up for the holidays. Closer examination revealed that it was, in fact, plastic – like a plastic cutting-board. Kids were slipping and sliding all over the place, unable to stand up well or do anything that even vaguely resembled skating. It was sad watching these poor kids suffer the the joyless indignity of scrambling around wearing ice skates on a giant cutting board. Whoever’s idea it was to ruin these kid’s experience of winter sports should be punished.

Inspired by The Big Picture, I’m changing the layout of Questing for Adventure to have much larger photos, like the one you see above. It’s one of my favourite pictures that I’ve taken, but it just doesn’t look that good small. I hope that you all enjoy them as much as I enjoy sharing them. Also, check out the site as I’ll be going back through some old posts and cranking up the size of the pictures on old posts.

The first place we slowed down during the trip was the little town of Ronda where we bunked up for x-mas. It was a cute little old town in a location that must have been selected by some mad bastard as the town is divided by the giant Tajo gorge. At the end of the 18th century they built a bridge (that you see below), and linked up the sides of the city which previously required a long roundabout trip to a smaller bridge which is practically outside of the town.

The town was naturally photogenic. The gorge was stunning from above and below, and even though it rained a good deal of the time we were there, the weather added to the beauty – a couple of rain induced pictures are after the jump.

If you’re looking to unwind in Andalucia, this is the place to do it. Just settle in, see some views, and enjoy the hearty local eats. It doesn’t pack in all the cultural sights of the major cities, but it a beautiful spot to find yourself for a couple of days.

My travelling buddies in Spain loved pastries, so much so that we were in most every pastry shop that looked half decent. You can see the in the image above scoping out the options at one shop in Sevilla. Not that I’m complaining, I love a good pastry, but there are a very large number of pastry shops in Spain as it turns out. Out of all the shops in all the towns, there is one that you have to visit: Pan y Chocolate in Granada. Try anything they have with dulce de leche, you’ll be glad you did. You can find the place here: