We were told that Antarctica would amaze, inspire, and overwhelm us. And yes, it did. 

The two day crossing of the notorious Drake Passage had me (and my stomach) ready to turn back to the sheltered waters of Argentina. But then we saw our first iceberg. Next, Humpback whales were spotted diving on the port side of the ship, and by the time we saw our first Chinstrap Penguin rookery on the South Shetland Islands, I had practically forgotten about our rough days at sea. 

The penguins are as cute as we thought they would be. Despite popular belief, they nest on the rocks, rarely slide on the snow, and poop everywhere. Disney seems to do a better job of only featuring the clean penguins. 

We came to know, and hate, the aggressive Skua birds, who took every opportunity to snatch penguin eggs. Down here, its every man for himself. Like I said, this is the real Antarctica, because that absolutely did not happen in Happy Feet. 

We were lucky with the weather, did not miss a single landing or zodiac cruise, and stopped in   Neko Harbour, Danco Island, Paradise Bay, Cape Renard, Cierva Cove, the Argentine base at Almirante Brown and the UK base at Port Lockroy. To answer some frequently asked questions, no, we did not go to the south pole. Our southernmost coordinates were 65°06’S / 063°59’W and we were forced to turn back only once in the frozen Lemaire Channel. And no, America does not own Antarctica. In fact, nobody does, though the UK, Chile and Argentina have made claims -claims that many countries choose to ignore. Under the Antarctic Treaty, in place until 2048, Antarctica will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and scientific research. There is free exchange of scientific information and in my opinion, many countries get along better here, than they do in the real world. My hope is that this beautiful place stays this way- untouched, overwhelming, humbling, and immense. 

On the last day on the ship, our expedition leader, Hayley, mentioned that we better come up with one sentence to describe Antarctica to our family and friends, because we all know that people have a one sentence tolerance for trip stories. So thank you for making it to the end of this blog. 

PS- tons of new pictures have been posted!