OH WOW! My seventh continent. I anticipated this adventure for years! Remote. Untouched. Spectacular.
An Antarctica expedition cruise is one of the most exhilarating adventures on Earth. There are many reasons for a trip to Antarctica. The wildlife was number one for me. You'll see scores of penguins and whales. Also, an entire museum of colossal and magical ice forms defying description. Our cruise ship was the Ponant’s Le Boreal. Of interest, the weather in January in Antarctica was warmer than home in Columbus, Ohio for a number of the days! Travel should be between November and March.
Click "READ MORE" below to find out more about this trip!
An Antarctica expedition cruise is one of the most exhilarating adventures on Earth. There are many reasons for a trip to Antarctica. The wildlife was number one for me. You'll see scores of penguins and whales. Also, an entire museum of colossal and magical ice forms defying description. Our cruise ship was the Ponant’s Le Boreal. Of interest, the weather in January in Antarctica was warmer than home in Columbus, Ohio for a number of the days! Travel should be between November and March.
Click "READ MORE" below to find out more about this trip!
First the ship was Le Boreal, a small French expedition ship. Languages spoken were English, French, Spanish and Japanese. There were only 132 staterooms, several dining choice including wonderful French food and wines, and all the normal activities of cruising such as a spa, pool, entertainment, lounges, theatre. There were naturalists and guides who assisted in each landing and exploration of the vast continent including the animals and sea life. Everything was very comfortable.
The Drake Passage was in the first days of sailing. We were lucky to tackle this crossing with very calm seas and this is when we saw the most whales. They swam right up to the ship and played with us. What a sight to behold! Our return across the Drake Passage at the end was a little more eventful with larger waves, but once again nothing that was uncomfortable.
We spent five days on the peninsula. Typically there were two landings per day. They were either by zodiac cruises from the ship or direct landings. The cruise gave us wonderful warm jackets and boots for our convenience. We visited a number of research stations, where scientists live and study the continent. One station even included a store and a bar! Of interest, Antarctica belongs to the world. No one country owns it and all scientists work in tandem with their associates in research.
The wildlife: My favorite was the penguins. The continent is filled with colonies of them. They are quite playful and will come up to you if you’re not careful. We had certain areas we could hike and watch them. They dig out these walkways in the snow and parade down the mountains and dive into the sea. They also are very playful in the water, sometimes swimming beside the ship. The seals and whales populate the waters. Watching the seals on the ice flows is very interesting. They try to stay away from the sides and those predatory whales. The birds fly behind the ship enjoying the draft. We saw many including the wandering albatross, arctic tern, snow petrol, blue eyed shag, and many more.
The ice: Everywhere you look it is white. The ice structures in the water are in very interesting formations, some large enough that you can boat through them. The sun glistening on them along with all of the "whiteness" is a sight to behold.
The Drake Passage was in the first days of sailing. We were lucky to tackle this crossing with very calm seas and this is when we saw the most whales. They swam right up to the ship and played with us. What a sight to behold! Our return across the Drake Passage at the end was a little more eventful with larger waves, but once again nothing that was uncomfortable.
We spent five days on the peninsula. Typically there were two landings per day. They were either by zodiac cruises from the ship or direct landings. The cruise gave us wonderful warm jackets and boots for our convenience. We visited a number of research stations, where scientists live and study the continent. One station even included a store and a bar! Of interest, Antarctica belongs to the world. No one country owns it and all scientists work in tandem with their associates in research.
The wildlife: My favorite was the penguins. The continent is filled with colonies of them. They are quite playful and will come up to you if you’re not careful. We had certain areas we could hike and watch them. They dig out these walkways in the snow and parade down the mountains and dive into the sea. They also are very playful in the water, sometimes swimming beside the ship. The seals and whales populate the waters. Watching the seals on the ice flows is very interesting. They try to stay away from the sides and those predatory whales. The birds fly behind the ship enjoying the draft. We saw many including the wandering albatross, arctic tern, snow petrol, blue eyed shag, and many more.
The ice: Everywhere you look it is white. The ice structures in the water are in very interesting formations, some large enough that you can boat through them. The sun glistening on them along with all of the "whiteness" is a sight to behold.
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