Why journey to the end of the Earth? Because it is there. Some people aspired to add the seventh continent to their travel list. New globetrotters like me thrilled at touching a rare place that most humans will never see. I also yearned to see penguins, other unusual wildlife, and an undeveloped icebound world.

I flew from my home in Virginia to Santiago, Chile, to Ushuaia, Argentina, earth’s southernmost city. There 126 passengers and a crew of 100 embarked by ship for the Great White Continent. After two days of crossing the rough waters of the Drake Passage, the sight of land was more precious than gold. An expedition team rode ashore in motorized Zodiacs to make sure conditions were safe for landing. Then, straggled groups were ferried to the kelp-laden shore of Aitcho Island.

Exploring the Continent

We hiked single file up a snow-blanketed hill for an all-encompassing view. An endless stretch of sea and white crystals with no visible vegetation engulfed us. Absent from this no-man’s land were roads, buildings, and other signs of human existence. On this early summer afternoon, the temperate, practically still air belied the world’s highest, driest and windiest continent.

A Chinstrap Penguin waddled persistently over a thick blanket of ice. Suddenly, the flightless birds teetered, fell forward, and slid on its rotund belly to the bottom of a hill. Approximately 30 feet away, a ceremonial phenomenon occurred. After feasting on krill (shrimp-like zooplankton) several days at sea, a Gentoo Penguin waved its flipper arms, raised its beak to the sky, brayed much like a donkey, and bowed. Finally, the gorged bird relieved its mate of nest duty so she too could seek nourishment. Periodically, an unwary penguin might feel a tug at its tails as a neighbor pilfers pebbles from its nest. An accumulation of nest stones denotes status. Meanwhile, a pair of chick-hungry Brown Skua, resembling immature seagulls, hovered over the penguin colony. From the pebbly ash-colored beach, juvenile elephant seals flashed impressive yawns and waved their flippers. Many penguins nest amongst these innocuous beasts.

Unthreatened by man or any land predators, these flightless, roly-poly, black-and-white birds waddled nonchalantly within three feet of me. The International Association for Antarctica Tour Operators guidelines read that no human shall come within 15 feet of Antarctic wildlife. The reverse, of course, is a different matter. Suddenly, needlelike sleet pierced the clear, crisp air. Passengers, clad in shiny red parkas and rubber boots, hastily returned to the shelter of our cruise ship.

Aboard Ship

On this remarkable voyage we tasted the heart-pounding anticipation of early explorers like Cook, Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen, and Byrd. Mother Nature constantly altered our course and plans. Not knowing one’s destination or what awaits around the next iceberg is the serendipity of the Antarctic. But aboard the 354-foot World Discoverer was all the comforts. The fitness room was equipped with a sauna, exercise bike, and a treadmill. The library contained history and nature books and a computer with e-mail capability. Our posh cabins included a small balcony and private bath.

Chefs prepared tasty, novel dishes such as braised rooster, krill, and prune sherbet. We enjoyed the camaraderie of other fearless travelers, for this voyage was not for the fainthearted. Our 11-day journey focused on nature in lieu of the traditional glamour and entertainment of huge cruise lines. An excellent ornithologist, ecologist, and geologist lectured on the wonders of this incredible land and sea.

Captain Kruess and his crew welcomed passenger on the bridge to learn about navigation. Once I watched spellbound as the captain deftly steered the ship while whitecaps slapped the windshield during a storm. Finlike stabilizers empowered the vessel to skillfully ride the waves. This Finnish-Swedish icebreaker was equipped to push masses of ice floes out of its path.

Adventures are Everywhere

Once we sailed into a caldera through Neptune Bellows atop an active volcano. There off Deception Island were the remains of an English camp destroyed by an eruption and dilapidated boilers from a Norwegian whaling operation. Later that afternoon, hardy passengers took a plunge in a thermal spring in a small cove.

A 5:50 a.m. wake-up call another day summoned robed passengers to the deck to glimpse an emperor penguin, a rare sight that far north. The wind howled as we stepped onto the Antarctic continent at Brown Bluff on the Tabarin Peninsula. We also made a short hop to Port Lockroy to mail postcards stamped Antarctica. The British Union Jack flew over a colony of Gentoo Penguins nested outside the post office entrance. Colossal blue or white arched or tabular icebergs shot up magically along stretches of lonely sea.

Surging swells prevented us from landing at Palmer Station, one of the bases on the continent. Except for the approximately 4,000 residents on these scattered research sites in summer (approximately December through February), there are no people living in this forbidding land.

Around 90 percent of the earth’s ice, which is buried over 15,000 feet in some place, is found there. Giant boulders and jagged snow-covered peaks composed of granite, basalt, breccia, and diorite define much of the rugged terrain. Some rock formations are about 450 million years old.

No nation owns Antarctica. In fact, the Antarctic Treaty prohibits warfare or exploitation of this continent and its surrounding waters. Countries with research interests share their scientific findings for the beneficial welfare of mankind.

Perhaps the rest of the world could learn from the haunting serenity of this “crystal desert.” Journeying there is undeniably a life altering experience. I returned home braver, hardier, and more determined to be an ambassador of the wilderness.