Antarctica in T-100

 CLASS A. BUCKET. LIST. ITEM.

Forever, this has been on my list. Antarctica. 

A land owned by no-one and in theory honored by everyone, home to the penguins and ridiculously large icebergs. A place where whales hang out and people really don't.

So here's the plan: 

We depart Denver on December 17th for Panama. Chilling for a couple of days, taking in the rainforest, some monkeys and warm weather before heading south... way south. Ushuaia via Buenos Aires. 

Ushuaia is the southern tip of Argentina, located on the isle of Tiera del Fuego. A jumping off point for the Beagle Channel, then Drakes Passage and on to the Antarctic Peninsula and the continent itself. We'll be taking the Ocean Endeavour. 

"We" being Team Antarctica! Mark and I, Kelli and Todd, Gail and Teresa. A fab group of travel friends with a lust for adventure and courage to jump with both feet, completely out of our comfort zones. Driven to go places that few dare to dream of and make memories that last a lifetime.

This expedition cruise will last 14 days and dip down south of the Arctic Circle. We'll celebrate Christmas and New Years Eve while onboard too.  2022 has been challenging and we plan to offset all the weird and unsatisfactory bits with a kick-ass vacation and ring in a new year with joy, hope, adventure, laughter and thousands of pictures!

Speaking of pictures, this voyage has "add-ons" and one of them is the option to join a photography group while aboard. I did! And while I'm likely to be the least experienced and talented, most clumsy and awkward photographer in the group, I'm 100% looking forward to the classes, tips and tricks that will be showered on us in an effort to elevate opportunity and skill. And maybe bring about some half way decent penguin shots!

What other options do they offer?

Gail is enrolled in sea kayaking! It comes as no surprise that the option that would scare me the most is the one that literally floats Gail's boat!!! But I REALLY hope my photography group motors past her flotilla and I get pics of this amazing human paddling her way around icebergs.

Mark and I joined a waitlist for the "overnight camp" option and found out recently that we made it to the top of the list. Woohoo! We'll be spending a night on the continent itself, tucked up in bivvy bags on the ice. Sleeping? Maybe... but probably not. I'm already too excited to sleep and this is still three and a half months away!

The Ocean Endeavor is a thick-hulled ship designed to take less than 200 passengers at a time, into the polar regions. As sturdy and rugged as she is, she is also beautiful and well appointed. 

For those of you not aware, Drake's Passage is the roughest water in the world. A six foot swell is plenty enough to make me upchuck all day long and that is considered calm here. They call that the Drake Lake. The other end of the spectrum is Drake Shake - 20-30' swells that toss the boat around for 48 hours or more as it navigates from the Beagle Channel to the Antartic Peninsula. It's a means to an end and besides, I'm coming prepared. 

There is a baggie of doctor-approved meds in my packed carry-on. (Yes, I'm packed already. Get over it!)

Inside said baggie there are pills, patches, wristbands and even suppositories. I'll do everything I can to keep down all that high-end food eaten in a classy dining room while watching the horizon fly up and down in the window.  The goal is to stay clear-headed and clear-eyed... but if push comes to shove, I'll take the "may cause drowsiness" stuff too and ride it out in my bunk. And when the ride is over and calmer waters and stomachs prevail, I'll be recovering in the hot tub on top deck, perhaps indulging in a massage or spa treatment, sipping something sweet, viewing wildlife and icebergs, replenishing calories and loving every minute of travel with my friends. 

Anyway, that is the plan... a plan that we are counting down to. 100 days to go!

* Life and it's unexpectedness has recently come between Teresa and her place with us voyaging to Antarctica. I know the right thing for her is to delay adventuring until 2023 and I fully support her too but I'm still devastated by her "missing-ness" and therefore will be taking her along in spirit the whole way. So when you hear me referring to Team Antarctica, Teresa is included, we are a team of 6 still. If you see me photo-editing her into some pics... just let me be. It's how I'm dealing with my grief.