When trying to describe Antarctica in a few words or a short phrase, there are many visuals that flash into my conscience. The phrase that resonates most is, “Antarctica is the Last Natural Frontier”.

 

At the end of January, my husband Justin and I made the journey to the southern end of the Earth (well, almost, since we never actually reached the South Pole). We traveled with our longtime friends Jason and Erin Jones, who recently became permanent residents of Singletree.  

 

While we have traveled extensively across the globe for many years, Antarctica was one place where neither of us had any prior experience. For once, I decided to do very little research and relied solely on the information provided by our cruise line, Seabourn, solely for packing purposes. I left the rest to be surprised as it came.

 

And surprised I was. While there were many highlights of the trip, my favorite experience was our initial arrival at the Antarctic Peninsula as the sun was beginning to set. Being at the bottom of the planet in late January, there was not a significant of darkness each day. The cruise staff could not have choreographed our arrival more perfectly. The ship entered the Lemaire Channel with majestic mountains surrounding us on both sides. While I never anticipated Antarctica to be a flat sheet of ice, I had no expectations of large mountains comparable to the Colorado Rockies rising dramatically out of the ocean. The setting sunlight illuminating both the mountains and the water provided an ideal introduction to our “home” for the next five days.

 

Our ship, the Seabourn Venture, was built specifically for Antarctic expeditions (although it is used in many other areas across the world at other times of the year). It is just over two years old with a maximum capacity of only about 250 guests. While we love the Seabourn guest experience across its fleet, the Venture has the most contemporary décor of any ships we had sailed previously. Despite the ship’s smaller size, the food, beverage, spa, and cabin accommodations on the Venture maintained the luxury standards that keep us consistently returning to the Seabourn brand.

 

While making a comparison of the Antarctic expedition to another travel experience is challenging, the best I can muster is an African safari. Each of our five days in Antarctica had both a morning and an afternoon “excursion” with lunch onboard in between. On some occasions, we went onto the land itself while others were sightseeing expeditions on small Zodiac boats. The variety was mixed well by the ship’s highly knowledgeable expedition team. We chose two special outings that were optional additions to the cruise. The first was a submarine expedition to the bottom of the ocean in a specialized submersible vehicle built specifically for Seabourn. The second was a kayaking adventure with a small group of guests. Neither disappointed.

 

Wildlife is abundant in Antarctica, especially with penguins. While there are many species of penguins, we were introduced to three: the Adélie, the Chinstrap, and most predominantly, the Gentoo. Penguins leave their mark in many ways. Their walk is quite entertaining (and at times, awkward). They are particularly vocal with one another - and anyone else who is present to listen. They travel consistent paths turning the ice and snow into very noticeable “penguin highways”. Most surprising to me was the grace of their swimming, which is truly an art form. Of course, the other abundant “marks” left by thousands of penguins can probably be easily guessed, although the smell was not as pungent as many had warned.

 

We were treated to multiple humpback whale sightings throughout the voyage, including one full breach on our final day. Whale watching is something that never seems to lose its magic since no display is ever the same. Multiple species of seals are also highly prevalent in Antarctica along with a variety of birds. I am admittedly not much of a bird person, so I have no idea what kind of birds we saw (besides the penguins, of course). For those who enjoy deep sea marine life, our submarine expedition included multiple starfish and sponges, some of which we were told were hundreds of years old.

 

We have often been asked about icebergs on our voyage. They definitely exist in Antarctica in great frequency and in some cases, immense size. Because of their presence, all movement of the ship while in Antarctica occurs during the daylight hours.

 

Speaking of surprises, another was the weather. The temperature while in Antarctica only varied by about 5 degrees and was quite comparable to an average February day in the Vail Valley. We quickly learned that we both overpacked with winter clothes that we mostly never used since almost all the expedition gear was provided for us. Otherwise, the summer clothes we brought for our pre-cruise days in Buenos Aires and post-cruise days in Santiago would have been mostly sufficient for the cruise itself since almost everything the ship had to offer could be easily accessed without ever going outside.

 

One moment that did not feel like summer was the “polar plunge” into the 33-degree ocean water. Yes, it’s a thing, and yes, we voluntarily did it (and Justin was brilliant enough to do it twice). I learned much in those 10 seconds of grandeur, the most important of which being that I will never be jumping into the Eagle River in January. My neighborhood friends can also cross that gift certificate for a cold-water plunge off my Christmas list.

 

Of course, no story of Antarctica can be told without the experience of traversing the Drake Passage. This is the vast stretch of water between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctica Peninsula where the Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans all converge. Some have a very turbulent experience of the Drake Passage, often called the “Drake Shake”. Others have a calm and peaceful sail through the open ocean waters, often referred to as the “Drake Lake”.  

 

We had both. We were welcomed into the Drake Passage with massive waves that frequently reached the balcony of our cabin on the fifth deck. The handrails in the hallways and stairwells of the ship quickly became our best friends (along with the prescription patch behind my right ear). Fortunately, our group avoided any seasickness. The return back to Argentina was quite the opposite with a calm sail that was generally unnoticeable other than a few rogue waves. In hindsight, we appreciated having the full Drake Passage experience.

 

Antarctica is a destination that we highly recommend and will likely visit again. It was nothing short of amazing to be in an immense area of mountains and ocean so largely untouched from human activity. The beauty of nature is hard to accurately describe without seeing it personally. It truly is “The Last Natural Frontier".