Antarctica: Voyage to the Bottom of the World

by George Bailey

Antarctica is Earth's southern most continent, overlying the Pole. It is situated in the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, and South America. Some 98 percent of Antarctic is covered by ice, which averages at least 1.6 kilometers (1.0) miles in thickness”. Source: Wikipedia.

It was mid-December and I traveled to the coldest, driest, and windiest continent where there's no permanent human residents or any evidence of any pre-historic indigenous population. It lies in darkness at the bottom of the world. It‘s a vast unknown like an afterthought of creation. Antarctica would prove to be an adventure that makes life worth living. At 63 years of age I wanted a different kind of experience knowing I‘ve lived more of my life than I have left to live. I got it.

Getting There
It's about a ten to fifteen hour flight depending on where you leave from North America to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After overnighting in this Argentina capital and self proclaimed City of Cool it was another three hour flight to the Tierra del Fuego and its capital Ushuaia (you sway ah) where I embarked on a ten day trip aboard the MV Discovery to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica Peninsula.

People who knew the television series, Love Boat” will recognize this ship. MV Discovery is its sister ship. It was built during a time when vessels had graceful lines and not manufactured in mass quantities. After a superb refit in 2003 it has back its original charm. It's a classic ocean liner with a passenger capacity of 800, but never carries more than 650. On this cruise there were 425 passengers and almost an equal crew. When we were welcomed aboard we were all given a red winter jacket. From that moment we all became a sea of red on and off the ship.

Dining
I knew I was not going hungry. The exquisite welcome-aboard buffet set the tone for the cuisine on the cruise. There are several places to eat. The Seven Continents Restaurant has menu service for breakfast, lunch and dinner or the top-side Lido Café and Yacht Club Restaurant are two other alternatives. One of the best things about the trip was I remained the same weight coming on board that I did when I disembarked.

Other Ship Board Amenities
On warm days (remember, it's summer in the Antarctic in December) I swam in the top side pool then soaked in one of the aft side hot tubs. There's something surreal about relaxing in a hot tub in the middle of the Southern Ocean at the end of the world.

During the day I attended excellent lectures. Get to the Carousel Lounge early for a seat to learn more about topics like, A Beginners Guide to Penguin Appreciation” or the Geography and Geology of Antarctica”. This was one of my highlights of the journey. If you get bored watching icebergs( if that's possible) you can catch a movie in the Discovery Theatre. In the nearby lounge you can listen to a band and dance. The Drake Passage-The Roughest Stretch of Water in the World. Getting to the Antarctica is no mean feat. This is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and Antarctica .It's called the Southern Ocean and is the ocean that circumvents the Antarctic. It's the fourth largest ocean in the world (after the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). This passage held up to it's reputation as the roughest stretch in the world.

Zodiac Cruising, Penguins, Ice Bergs, Seals and Sun
I was mesmerized from the first moment I set eyes on the continent. It was a place that expanded my senses of time. It was deliciously peaceful. I listened to the silence outside my porthole. The skies were flawless blue with marshmallow clouds. The sun was shining for 22 hours a day and the temperature about +3C (+39 F). It was truly another world. I found what I was looking for.

When weather permitted, as it did for most of this cruise, I took shore excursions (zodiac cruising) among icebergs to the continent itself. And it was Saturday, December 22 at 1 pm that I first stepped foot on Half Moon Island part of the 7th continent of the world, Antarctica. I became one of the approximate 35,000 people to do so each year. There was a sizable rookery of Chinstrap and Adelie penguins and an abundant bird population of terns, petrels, cormorants, wandering albatross and whales. I saw stunning views of surrounding volcanic mountains.

Another highlight was to cruise off ice-covered Elephant Island, named for its sizeable colony of elephant seals. Next day I set foot on King George Island where the Arctowski Polish Research Antarctic Station is found. Managed by the Polish Academy of Science it is manned year-round and researches things like biology, glaciology and oceanography.

Would I Return?
In a heartbeat. The vastness of this white continent made me feel like I was the only person on earth. I now have a persuasive calm and sense of balance.

Antarctic Facts
-Antarctica is owned by no one and it has no indigenous people.
-The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 allows 12 scientifically active nations to establish scientific research stations on this continent and provides for the interchange of scientific data.
-If Antarctica's ice sheets melted ,the worlds oceans would rise by 60 to 65 metres
( 200-210 ft)-everywhere.
-the Antarctic ice cap has 29 million cubic kilometres of ice. This is 90% of all the ice the ice on the planet and between 60 and 70% of all the world's fresh water.
-only about 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.
-the coldest natural temperature -89.2C (-128.6F) was recorded here at the Vostok Research Station (Russia).
-Antarctica is the driest continent on earth with an absolute humidity lower than that of the Sahara Desert.
-There are no Polar bears in Antarctica. Polar bears are only found in the Northern Hemisphere.
-Antarctica is twice the size of Australia

Contact the writer:
George Bailey
5146 Morrison Street
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada
L2E 2E1
E-mail, wonderful.life@sympatico.ca
905-356-2326