The MS Expedition, our ship to Antarctica, docked in Ushuaia, Argentina before departure.
As a teacup and breakfast plate sailed by Wednesday morning, followed by a fellow passenger or two, it again occurred to me that no story of a destination is complete without recounting the process of getting there.
A journey to Antarctica from Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost point of South America requires crossing the Drake Passage, an infamous body of water that serves as a rite of passage for those who seek the seventh continent. The seas are notoriously some of the roughest in the world. To wit, one reader pointed out before we departed, “The Drake Passage can be brutal. I was bed-ridden for 4 days.”
Hard to believe, perhaps, until you experience it first-hand. Continue Reading »
- Antarctica Update #1: The Drake Passage, From Killer Waves to Killer Whales
- Antarctica, Part 2: Honest Antarctica – Gray Skies, Blue Ice
- Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
- Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel by: Daniel Noll
31 Comments | 5 March 2010
Life’s journeys play host to the constant battle of expectations and delivery. Antarctica was no different except that our expectations of it were within inches of the stratosphere given the mystique and the cost of the trip. However, we did not carry a must-see checklist outlining this bit of wildlife or that bit of landscape, this scene or that moment. We could not really quantify our desires — we had simply hoped to be overwhelmed.
Then, on that first Antarctic morning, we stepped foot off the gangway of the MS Expedition and into a zodiac. It was clear that we were about to be blown away — but in a way that none of us had quite expected.
Continue Reading »
- Antarctica Update #1: The Drake Passage, From Killer Waves to Killer Whales
- Antarctica, Part 2: Honest Antarctica – Gray Skies, Blue Ice
- Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
- Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
26 Comments | 15 March 2010
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
26 Comments | 18 March 2010
We’ve spent hours sharing highlights of our Antarctica experience with family, friends and fellow travelers. The result: we get excited, they get excited. And rightfully so — Antarctica is a special place and our experience there was truly memorable in so many dimensions.
Inspired by all of these conversations ourselves, we decided to dabble in a different medium, the audio slideshow, to relate our Antarctica experience in a different way. Continue Reading »
- Antarctica Update #1: The Drake Passage, From Killer Waves to Killer Whales
- Antarctica, Part 2: Honest Antarctica – Gray Skies, Blue Ice
- Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
- Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Filed Under: Antarctica, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
27 Comments | 15 April 2010
