Cruise to Antartica: icebergs, penguins and much more

Last week, an e-mail friend sent me the most awesome picture of the icebergs of the Antarctic. These massive chunks of ice looked as if they had been created during a chef-gone-mad reality show.

If you can imagine the most perfectly created wedding cake — all white and stunning — but with deliciously brilliant stripes of blue, brown, black and yellow running through it, then you have a pretty good idea of the photos. Now, mind you, these brilliant stripes don’t necessarily distract from the chef’s masterful cake design, it is just that they are not what you expect to see on a beautiful wedding cake.

As I read further, the e-mail explained how stripes in icebergs in the Antarctic are formed by layers of snow reacting to different conditions. For example, blue stripes are created when a crevice in the ice fills up with melted water and freezes again so quickly that no bubbles form. A green stripe is the result of an iceberg falling into the sea and the seawater freezing the salty algae. The rich brown, black and yellow stripes formed on the white ice are because sediment is picked up by ice sheets as they grind their way downhill toward the sea.

How such simple acts of nature could create this beauty seemed impossible to acknowledge as truth, so I decided to forward the e-mail to Rebecca Stevens to test its authenticity.

Rebecca is one of my most amazing world travelers who dreamed of going to the “White Continent” forever.

So, after probably at least 10 years of wishing and hoping (and saving), last month, Rebecca Stevens boarded the small National Geographic ship Explorer and began her journey to the Antarctic Peninsula, Falkland Islands, and South Georgia. Known for their excellent onboard (and ashore) lecturers, scientists and adventure leaders, I recommended the National Geographic Explorer for her.

The cruise itinerary seemed to include everything from swimming in a thermally heated spring to hiking in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton in South Georgia. The brochure also promised “casual small-ship cruising with others who are looking for intellectual and physical stimulation on and off the ship,” which seemed just perfect for my client. She was definitely looking for a big destination experience of a lifetime.

When she got my e-mail, Rebecca called immediately to report in.

“I saw every one of those glaciers, and they are even more beautiful in real life,” she said.

“My adventure began in Santiago, Chile, where I met my fellow shipmates and voyage leaders, and then, we all flew to Stanley, Falkland Islands, to board the Explorer. It was early the next morning when we had our first penguin sighting, and you cannot imagine the electricity in the air. We were all like a bunch of school kids just giggling and snapping pictures like crazy.

“From the Falkland Islands, we sailed into South Georgia. Everyone had already warned me it was totally heaven on earth, and they were right. It was in Salisbury Plain where I had my ultimate penguin experience. First of all, I have to tell you there are hundreds of thousands of king penguins all over the place. The sight of them is just as amazing as the smell,” she laughed.

“I wandered into the middle of them and sat down. It was unbelievable being right there, so close to all of the beauty of nature. I was overwhelmed by the joy of just being with them in that moment. I never thought it could get any better.

“Yet, it did! And, as much as I loved the penguins, it was a ‘weaner’ at Gold Harbor that stole my heart. My ‘weaner’ was a 200-pound baby elephant seal with the biggest, saddest eyes you have ever seen. He wandered into our group as we were observing a large family of seals playing in the sea.

“As I sat on the beach watching his peers, this ‘little weaner,’ whose mother had obviously left him on his own and returned to the sea, crawled onto my legs and looked me straight in the eyes. Our guide had told us not to touch nor fear them, so I just sat still and let him nuzzle my jacket until he gradually fell off to sleep. What a day!

“And every day was just that perfect, whether on land or at sea. Our little ship was lovely. The spacious decks allowed for wonderful wildlife spotting. It was equipped with stabilizers, so it sailed the open waters gracefully.

“The captain was always out and about on deck welcoming conversation from his guests. The food was good and the staff impressive. They lived up to their claim of being some of the most knowledgeable in the industry. Their marathon lectures at sea certainly prepared us for every upcoming adventure on land, but even their words could describe our arrival in Antarctica.

“The sheer experience of ice overwhelms you,” continued Rebecca. “I had been to the Arctic, and while it is beautiful in its own right, the beauty of an ice-covered land and glaciers is truly an amazing experience. If I had to choose the most perfect day, it was when we sailed through Lemaire Channel. Everyone was on deck, camera ready. The sun was shining brightly. The water looked like glass and we were seeing some of the most dramatic landscape of our voyage.

“The icebergs were massive, and, yes, just like in your e-mail, there were stripes. Against that big blue sky, there was this world of ice and snow with all sorts of brilliant blues, greens, browns and yellows running through it. Seals cavorted in the icy water while some lounged on the glaciers within just a few feet of us. How could it get any better?

“Yet, I must admit, every day was filled with so many special moments that they made enduring the Drake Passage worth it,” Rebecca said. “It took a lot of years, but my dream trip had finally come true, and, like I always said, ‘It was the best trip I ever had.’”

The cruising season in Antarctica is coming to an end in just a few weeks, so that means now is the perfect time to give me a call and let’s start discussing a visit to the White Continent for next summer (December to February).

Summer temperatures generally range from 23 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit, quite unlike the minus 25 to 5 degrees of their winter. Also, in the their summer, you have about 20 hours of daylight a day.

Guess old Mother Nature wants to make sure you have plenty of time to see this strange and beautiful land at the bottom of our world.
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SOURCE:
February 14, 2010
“Traveler sits with penguins during Antarctic cruise”
Contact Dianne Newcomer at dianne@monroetravel.com
Monroe Travel Service, 1908 Glenmar St., 323-3465 or 800-365-3465.
http://www.thenewsstar.com
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100214/LIFESTYLE/2140325