Quest for the Antarctic Circle.
Antarctica has always held a distant fascination for me; it’s a place I’ve wanted to go conceptually, but without a concrete plan. That is, until I met a woman in Chile while on a tour of the wine region.
She was in Chile for a few days before heading south to Ushuaia and then on to Antarctica. Suddenly, the vague idea of Antarctica became a solid desire. I started researching ships and cruises and the intensity of the Drake Passage that night. Within a week I had put down a deposit. And then began a year-long wait until my departure.
Antarctica was like nothing I could have expected. The light was ever-changing, the landscape, too as our ship passed and as icebergs floated by. I splurged for a cabin with a balcony, which paid off as I would see humpack whales dive and beautiful tabular icebergs from right outside my room.
The guides and staff were also a joy. Hard working, friendly, and founts of knowledge as excited as we were (if not more so) when we encountered orca chasing fur seals or saw a snow petrel flying around an iceberg, some of the rarest sightings to be had.
Our fellow passengers also enhanced the experience in many ways, and I am happy to consider many of the people I met now friends.
Click the chapters below to read more.
February 18, 2024 - February 29, 2024.
1.
Embarkation.
I drop my luggage off shortly after 09h. We’ve been told that all bags are to be delivered to the ship all together and that we’ll find them by our cabins when we board.
2.
The Drake Passage: In search of sea legs.
Everyone is sick, or so it seems.
3.
Yankee Harbor, our first landing (and our first encounter with penguins!).
I feel world’s better. I can’t say whether it was the pill or having found my sea legs.
4.
Portal Point & Enterprise Island.
I wake up to icebergs outside my window.
5.
Crossing the Antarctic Circle and a visit to Base W on Detaille Island.
There is no wake up call and yet I’m up early to gaze out over the sea.
6.
Petermann Island, a polar plunge, and the Lemaire Channel.
Clouds press heavily upon the sea and our surroundings. The sun reflects back off the waves onto the hazy veil drawn over its light. As it rises, completely obscured by the gloom, the day settles into a uniform grey.
7.
Danco Island: Penguin highways and mountain views.
I find Starie, Craig, and Ellie on the Deck 8 observatory before breakfast.
8.
Neko Harbor: Penguins & reflections (and seals.
Leaving Danco Island behind, we cruise south and west towards the channel. It’s smooth sailing, and we’re lucky to be able to pass.
9.
Fournier Bay:
Listening to the ice.
I wake up and step out on the balcony. On the horizon, a fiery glow announces the sunrise.
10.
Whaler’s Bay: Ghostly remnants reminiscent of Richard Serra.
Our wake up call is at 07h. I’m up and on my balcony before the announcement is made. It’s a beautiful morning, the sunrise converts clouds into streaks of paint against the sky.
11.
And back again: Recrossing the Drake.
We’ve begun our trip back across the Drake and the ship is rolling. Barf bags have reappeared, tucked into the railings by the stairs.