It is not an easy place to get to, Antarctica — but it is worth the travel to the end of the world, Ushuaia. Sue McNamara sailed south with Raj and shared this account of what stayed with her long after the Drake Passage was behind her.
The Drake and the first iceberg
Onboard our ship, we survived a day and a half of the Drake Shake as we learnt how to regulate the gravol intake. The crew filled the time with informative lectures on wildlife and history. I remember the excitement of seeing the first iceberg in the distance. You are in awe of the vastness and power of the Southern Ocean with no land in sight.
Planet Earth, live
I was privileged and fortunate to see a seemingly untouched part of the world. You get to experience up close and personal what some see only in a zoo. It was like living an episode of Planet Earth and I was waiting for David Attenborough to pop up and narrate.
We saw all sorts of penguins — Adélies, chinstrap and gentoos. Once you endure their smell they are fascinating creatures who jump about oblivious to the human watchers. We saw three types of seals: Weddell, leopard and crabeater, both on land and lounging on icebergs. Oh yes, the icebergs — magnificent in their shapes, size and colour.
Kayaking Peterman Island
Circumnavigating Peterman Island in a kayak. It was softly snowing. Our guides left us on our own to take in the silence and the beauty.
The Lemaire Channel at dawn
An early morning crossing of the Lemaire Channel, a narrow passage. It was eerie with fog and a light misty snow. Mountains rose up on each side of us and Minke whales were frolicking about. Kudos to the Captain for deftly manoeuvring around.
Sleeping on the ice
Sleeping out on the ice of the Antarctic was a once-in-a-lifetime experience although sleep was very fleeting. While we watched a beautiful sunset, darkness never fully came. We shared our island ice with seals. Some creature snored horribly and it was blamed on the seals. I am not so sure. Not many people can say that they overnighted in the Antarctic.
Cape Horn and the way home
We were lucky in that our return across the Drake Shake was fairly tame and we made good time, giving us an opportunity to detour across Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of the continent. The meeting of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is known as a sailor's graveyard for its treacherous winds and giant waves, but we were fortunate to see it in tamer waters.
I would highly recommend a trip to Antarctica. It should be on everyone's bucket list. All I need to do now is go Down Under so I can join the seven continent club.
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