Antarctica Overview

Finding the words to sum up our Antarctica expedition isn’t as easy as you might think. There aren’t enough superlatives to really describe the sights, the sounds, the feelings, of our visit (although we’ve used many already on the blog!). Let’s begin with the attraction – why go?

Simplistically, for me, it all began with the snow and the penguins. A huge white continent covered in ice with penguins? That had my imagination going. But as we planned and researched and read…well, Antarctica became something much more. It’s the last frontier – literally. And one that seems cannot be conquered. It is huge (bigger than continental Europe) and 98% covered in ice. It is the driest continent on the earth, essentially a huge frozen desert, with only at most 1,000 human inhabitants spread between numerous little scientific outposts dotting the landscape. Antarctica is a place that has captured the imagination, led explorers to their death (of course, most famously the Scott expedition) and which has some of the harshest conditions on earth. It is remote. It has only 2 types of vegetation, and those found only in the outer reaches of the islands surrounding the continent. Yet it supports a wildlife and biological system that defies logic, but continues to develop and evolve. And, once you see it, you realize it also has a beauty and majesty that compares to nothing else on this planet.

During our trip – as you all know from the daily blog entries – we experienced, full force, the trickiness of Antarctic weather. They say you can experience every weather condition imaginable in 45 minutes – and we certainly had our share of the rain, wind, cold and snow. But, truly? It made the trip even more precious. To touch the little piece of the continent and peninsula that we did, in the weather we encountered, just made it seem so much more real. So much more mysterious and intriguing. So much more, well, Antarctic. And every time we left the ship, we thought about those early explorers - Scott, Shakleton, Amundsen – enduring far worse than this – only outfitted in equipment of the early 1900’s (not our comfortable and warm parkas or ski pants of water proof gloves) and certainly not returning back to a warm, inviting welcome aboard our luxurious little ship. Unimaginable. Yet clearly understandable when you consider the allure of the great unknown, the South Pole and its environs, standing all alone here, way far south, seemingly unconquerable.

Our challenge now? To try to keep vivid in our memories the amazing experiences we shared:

· Setting foot on an ice floe in the middle of the Wilhelmina bay, with the ship far away in the mist

· That feeling of awe as we sailed through first the pancake ice, then through the sea ice navigating around growlers and bergy bits as we made our way to clear water in Wilhelmena Bay.

· The satisfied exhaustion that set into our weary bodies after 3 landings on our first day in the continent – the last around 9pm where we hiked up a mountain side for panoramic vistas – in the broad daylight.

· Experiencing the cycle of life – from two penguins protecting their egg from a Skua to the new little chicks only recently hatched to the dead penguin being picked upon by a Skua – all within a few yards of each other on the beach.

· Seeing majestic, soaring mountains peeking out of the snow filled clouds

· Watching huge tabular icebergs, much larger than our ship, glide by our balcony window, glowing blue in the soft morning daylight.

· Feeling the ship turn and twist as our captain deftly navigated us between icebergs, large and small.

· The wonder of sailing away from Port Lockroy, knowing that we were leaving the 4 inhabitants alone and isolated in the middle of the Antarctic peninsula with no access or evacuation options – besides ships that sailed in to visit (as tourists) or scheduled supplies.

· The first time ever walking on a glacier.

· Ice, ice and more ice – always around – in the water, on the beaches, in the mountains – sometimes glowing, sometimes clear and deadly – but most always beautiful in its sheer abundance.

· Being able to see shelf ice in the Weddell sea – a place notorious for its ice and ability to capture and cut off ships from the open ocean.

· The sheer relief of waking up after the Bransfield Straights to a calm and picture perfect clear blue sky day in the Antarctic sound.

· Remembering the captain’s moving and poetic last briefing speech about dreams and possibilities.

· Relaxing on our sail back home, through a lovely, calm “Drake for children”, as we relive our experiences again and again.

For all those who value the worth of a trip with the question: “would you go back?,” it’s an easy answer – absolutely, in the beat of a heart!

There are many quotes about the grasp Antarctica can have on a person, its tantalizing allure. I’m not even going to try to compete with any of those more eloquent or prosaic authors. I can, and will, sum it all up in three little letters that kind of says it all: Wow.