Spending Christmas Away From Home
To talk about Antarctica is to talk about elephant seals and penguins not to mention icebergs and albatrosses. The highest, driest, and windiest continent lives up to all expectations with everything from 10 pound tiny baby fur seals to enormous ice mounds weighing in at 3 million tons and containing in excess of 3 billion gallons of water.
For their Christmas holiday, two well traveled teachers resorted to choosing Antarctica as their destination regardless of how the land has been described to be one of frozen rubbish and voyages that were tragic. For most people Antarctica may not be the likely vacation destination but it was for the teachers who haven’t seen the continent yet. Considering the amount of time they spent on this idea for a vacation they even read about the explorer in a travel magazine. Get in touch with this resource if you have a desire to find out about antarctica trips.
Discovered by the women was the importance of preparation. From three pairs of socks, one being wool, worn under 15 pound boots to insulated underwear worn with a regular set of clothes and a parka to a covering via rubberized pants and slicker that are seamless and waterproof, these are needed for just one day in Antarctica. Two pairs of gloves, one waterproof, complete the costume.
Everyone is susceptible to frostbite other than having some cold feet.Southern Hemisphere summers are like this. Water stayed at 32 degrees even when the ice warmed up above the point of freezing and travel was allowed through the ice pack that was breaking. There was an Antarctic research station where air temperature readings from the thermometer reached 47 degrees. During the day there was direct sunlight but that evening proved to be harsh for the Explorer for snowstorms and sleet storms came its way.
If having unpredictable weather was bad enough, the women were also told about the possibility of itineraries changing due to winds. An 84 below wind chill was experienced back in their hometown last Christmas but this did not happen to them at anytime during their stay of 24 days in the southern ice cap. To get a closer look on cruises to antartica visit this site.
Part of the challenge was passing through the feared Drake Passage. A number of ships have already been lost to this passage starting from Cape Horn on the tip of South America through the Antarctic Peninsula. As the Explorer traveled 48 hours across the passage, the women strapped themselves in for sleep using their bunk seat belts. Because of much bouncing around, one of the ladies had bruises.
Millions of penguins were there. The penguins and their nests could be touched, says one lady. The penguins just fuss at each other, just talk to each other. Much pleasure is gained from watching them. There were also the seals. Open mouthed scooting around was their game. And they bite, especially if you get too close to the babies.
In its entirety the trip was spectacular. The blue in the sky and the clean water were simply out of this world. Aboard the massive icebergs that were probably about three stories high were penguins which added more to the grandeur of the ice.It was also part of their journey to see the old whaling stations closed for 20 years. Although there was no plane ride included they saw the huts left by the early explorers in the South Pole, some of the huts even had old canned food left behind.
The voyage took them from Punta Arenas on the south end of Chile to the Shetland Islands to Antarctica to the South Orkneys to South Georgia to the Falklands and back to their starting point. The two of them agreed of how unconventional this holiday is.