Cruising to Antarctica
When we told people we were going to Antarctica they had some basic questions. Why is a guy who drives around with his top down all year and prefers 75 degrees and sunny going to a frozen zone? Better yet why are two people who have traveled all over the world but “don’t do” cruises going on a cruise? Well, there is really no other way to get there. This was the Beautiful Wife’s choice, so off we went.
Antarctica was our final continent of the seven. It is one of the most remote parts of the planet. The Arctic is considered an ocean rather than a land mass; thus, it is not a continent. Surprisingly, Antarctica is the continent with the highest average altitude at 2,500 meters. You don’t think of it that way because the only real way to get there is by ship. Some cruises have recently started offering flights to Antarctica then boarding a ship. When you get onto land you think you are at sea level, but you are typically at about 8,000 feet.
Considering the stories one hears about travel today, we were very blessed getting to our destination. We took two flights to Santiago, Chile, though we had a nonstop home. We got off our plane in Lima and proceeded directly to board our next plane. Once we arrived in Santiago, we had our first engagement with our cruise line. They had a shuttle, but they got us a cab as we chose not to wait and went to our hotel that was included in the package. We had dinner, put our luggage outside the door, and did not see it again until it was delivered to our cabin on the ship. We got up, had breakfast and were off for the airport at 6:10 AM. There we had two flights to Puerto Williams, which bills itself as the “southernmost city on the planet.” There we boarded our ship for our trip to Antarctica. It takes some travel effort to explore one of the most remote destinations on earth.
When you leave Puerto Williams, you proceed to the Drake Passage. Yes, it is named after one of those famous explorers you learned about in elementary school, Sir Francis Drake. It is the convergence of three oceans — Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern. It is considered one of the most treacherous voyages to make. That is why you are warned it will be rough, and you see most passengers walking around with a patch behind their ear. It is prescription Dramamine named Scopolamine. I am truly fortunate to be unaffected by seasickness, not to mention time changes and can sleep anywhere anytime. It is a blessing.
The cruise lines have really perfected this entire operation. By necessity, these expedition ships are smaller. The big ones that carry an average of 3,000 passengers cannot go into this area. That fits our needs because our ship could carry 250 passengers (actual count 203) and 235 crew.
It led me to think — how did those ships navigate around Cape Horn 400 years ago? The ships were the size of the Mayflower. You have seen pictures of ships like that. How did they get through the Drake Passage? That is probably why there are an estimated 800 ships that were sunk around there. Then you think how did they get fresh water? They didn’t have desalination plants on board like these modern ships. You don’t even want to think about the toilet functions back then. And what about food? And people complain about the challenges we face today.
These Antarctic cruises must have provisions for 10 days as there are no ports for replenishing. We enjoyed fresh vegetables and fruits up to the last day. The Hotel Director (equivalent to a general manager at a hotel) told us they got all their meat from the States because the quality was more consistent than from South America. These are amazing operations.
The essence of what you do on these cruises is get bundled up in multiple layers of clothing with special waterproof boots and get in a dinghy. They refer to them as “Zodiacs” because that is the company that has made them for 125 years. Don’t worry; they have updated the technology. In the morning, we went exploring on land to get up close and personal with the penguins and seals (maintaining a distance of 10-15 feet). To get vistas and some views you have to trudge up some pretty high slopes covered with fairly deep snow. In the afternoon, we went cruising around the various locations that were chosen to view the wildlife and scenarios from our Zodiac and received lectures from our guides.
Our cruise was the first for this season. This was the only time that worked for me (late November). The remaining cruising season of December through mid-March is out for me because of work. We were told the good part about being there then was that the scenery was more pristine, and the snow layers were deeper. The icebergs were more picturesque. Later in the season is when you see the babies for both the penguins and seals, and you see more whales which we also saw while there. Life always has tradeoffs. One guide stated he enjoyed the natural beauty of the early season over the benefits of the later times.
As always on any trip, a part of life back home gains more clarity. There is discussion in the States with the new health team appointed by Trump about Americans living a healthier lifestyle. I am blessed with good health. Today almost everything is about your numbers. All the blood tests, etc. My numbers are solid, but they can be better, so I decided to drop a few pounds. I learned a long time ago that losing weight is really about the quantity you eat. I find that whenever we go out to dinner, I take home half my meal. I find today wherever I go the number of French fries served are huge. Just too many. Even the salads are overly large.
On our ship, which served fine food, the portions were noticeably smaller. You can get all the food you want; they just serve “normal” size portions. It seems every restaurant today tries to show you are getting value by giving their customers enormous amounts. They are serving “Flintstone” size portions while our ship was serving healthier portions. This should be our focus. It is not what you eat as much as how much you eat. It was clear to me before the meals on the ship, but the ship experience brought stark clarity.
We had a wonderful time on our cruise, but I have to say we are going back to land travel. We like the local interaction and flexibility. In the meantime, Antarctica has some unique beauty well worth seeing. And the penguins are so darn adorable.