Getting There

Getting to the Antarctica is no mean feat. Depending on where you leave from North America to Buenos Aires, Argentina it’s about a ten to fifteen hour flight. After overnighting in this Argentina capital and self proclaimed City of Cool it was another three hour flight to the Tierra del Fuego and its capital Ushuaia (Pronounced: you-sway-ah) where I embarked on a ten day trip aboard the MV Discovery to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica Peninsula.

The Drake Passage -- The Roughest Stretch of Water in the World

There is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and Antarctica. It’s called the Southern Ocean and is the ocean that circumvents the Antarctic. It’s the fourth largest ocean in the world (after the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). This passage held up to its reputation as the roughest stretch in the world.

Zodiac Cruising, Penguins, Ice Bergs, Seals and Sun

I was mesmerized from the first moment I set eyes on the continent. It is a place that expanded my sense of time. I listened to the silence outside my porthole and experienced delicious peacefulness. The skies were flawless blue with marshmallow clouds. The sun shown for 22 hours a day and the temperature about +3C (+39 F). It was truly another world. I found what I was looking for.

When weather permitted, as it did for most of this cruise, I took shore excursions (zodiac cruising) to the continent itself. We cruised among icebergs. Some were the size of a piano and others to the dimensions of a 10-story building.

It was Saturday, December 22 at 1 pm that I first stepped foot on Half Moon Island, part of the 7th continent of the world, Antarctica. I became one of the approximate 35,000 people to do so each year.

There was a sizable rookery of Chinstrap and Adelie penguins, and an abundant population of terns, petrels, comorants, and wandering albatross as well as whales. I saw stunning views of surrounding volcanic mountains.

Another highlight was to cruise off of ice-covered Elephant Island -- named for its sizeable colony of elephant seals. Another day I set foot on King George island where the Arctowski Polish Research Antarctic Station is found. Managed by the Polish Academy of Science it is manned year-round and researches things like biology, glaciology and oceanography.

Antarctic Facts

• Antarctica is owned by no one and it has no indigenous people.
  
• The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 allows 12 scientifically active nations to establish scientific research stations on this continent and provides for the interchange of scientific data.
• If Antarctica’s ice sheets melted, the worlds oceans would rise by 60 to 65 metres (200-210 ft) everywhere.
• the Antarctic ice cap has 29 million cubic kilometres of ice. This is 90% of all the ice the ice on the planet and between 60 and 70% of all the world’s fresh water.
• only about 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.
• the coldest natural temperature -89.2C (-128.6F) was recorded here at the Vostok Research Station (Russia).
• Antarctica is the driest continent on earth with an absolute humidity lower than that of the Sahara Desert.
• There are no Polar bears in Antarctica. Polar bears are only found in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Antarctica is twice the size of Australia.

MV Discovery

People who knew the television series, “Love Boat” will recognize this ship. MV Discovery is its sister ship. It was built during a time when vessels had graceful lines and not manufactured in mass quantities. After a superb refit in 2003 it has back its original charm. It’s a classic ocean liner with a passenger capacity of 800, but never carries more than 650. On this cruise there were 425 passengers and almost an equal crew. When we were welcomed aboard we were all given a red winter jacket. From that moment we all became a sea of red on and off the ship.

Dining
I knew I was not going hungry. The exquisite welcome-aboard buffet set the tone for the cuisine on the cruise. There are several places to eat. The Seven Continents Restaurant has menu service for breakfast, lunch and dinner or the top-side Lido Café and Yacht Club Restaurant are two other alternatives.

Other Ship Board Amenities
On warm days (remember, it’s summer in the Antarctic in December) I swam in the top side pool then soaked in one of the aft side hot tubs. There’s something surreal about relaxing in a hot tub in the middle of the Southern Ocean at the end of the world.

During the day I attended excellent lectures. Get to the Carousel Lounge early for a seat to learn more about topics like, A Beginners Guide to Penguin Appreciation or the Geography and Geology of Antarctica. This was one of my highlights of the journey.

Fellow passengers Dr. and Mrs. Will Smith of Sussex, England agreed, “these lectures are the icing on the cake and help us to appreciate more what we are seeing and experiencing.

If you get bored watching icebergs (if that’s possible) you can catch a movie in the Discovery Theatre. In the nearby lounge you can listen to a band and dance.

Would I return?
In a heartbeat. The vastness of this white continent made me feel like I was the only person in the world. I had a persuasive calm and a sense of balance.

For More Information visit ExclusiveTours.ca and VoyageOfDiscovery or call 1-800-268-1820.