We’re going to Antarctica Baby!

In less than two weeks we’ll be at the bottom of the world with Quark Expeditions.

It wasn’t so long ago when we first started talking with Quark about going to Antarctica in 2012 and now here we are, already packing and planning for the trip.

We wanted to share what our itinerary will be in Antarctica. Not many people know much about travel to the South Pole and have no idea what the trip entails. Why would anyone go to the 7th continent on a vacation and what do you do once you get there?

Well, let me tell you everything!

Our trip begins in Ushuaia, Argentina, known as the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia is a dream destination in its own right. Here you can hike up to a glacier, witness sea lions and penguins and visit the Tierra del Fuego National Park. We will be spending 3 days here before departure. Hopefully it will be enough for us to soak in a bit of the atmosphere.

Ushuaia

We booked an amazing hotel with the help of Expedia.ca. Can you believe they have properties at the end of the earth? We weren’t expecting to find any accommodation in Ushuaia on Expedia, but there it was an entire list of great B&B’s and resorts. Thanks for all the help guys!

Now off to Antarctica!

We’ll be aboard Quark Expedition’s most luxurious ship the Sea Spirit. This all suites ship is equipped with flat screen TV, DVD players and a satellite phone in every suite. Every room has an exterior view and are a minimum 250 square feet. Oh yeah!

The ship has a hot tub and bistro, library and games room, open bar and multi purpose room. I think that our days at sea are going to be a lot of fun and filled with activities or simply relaxation while we read a book, whichever we prefer.

Day 2 – Leaving Ushuaia

After our day in Ushuaia, we’ll be leaving port for a relaxing day cruising through the Beagle Channel. We’ll take advantage of the smooth waters because it won’t be long

Day 3 and 4 – Known to be a wild ride!

The Drake Passage  is a 500 mile stretch of the most treacherous of ocean on earth. Luckily our ship is equipped with state of the art stabilizers but from what I hear, we’re still going to be in for a roller coaster ride. Or maybe we’ll be one of the lucky ones that has a rare smooth sailing, whatever the case, we’ll be stocked up on motion sickness medications.

The rough ride is worth it though because it is after this passage that we arrive at the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Day 5 – 8

South Shetland Islands & the Antarctic Peninsula

It is this day that we’ll be Kayaking where we hear there is a very good chance to view pods of whales and fur seals. We have an appointment to practice our wet exits and t-rescues in Toronto this week to put my (Deb’s) kayaking mind at ease. We’ve been in skirted kayaks before and feel very comfortable paddling, but I just wanted to refresh my skills to have the best time possible and not be worried about wondering if I’ll remember what to do if I tip over in icy cold waters. Dave on the other hand is confident as usual and coming along to appease my usual worrying self.

It is then off to camp on the continent.

We’ll be winter camping in the Antarctic summer season. The weather right now the weather is about 3? Celcius during the day right now and 80% of the area is covered in snow year round, so I think we’re going to be snow camping! We are both very excited to see what this experience is all about.

We have two more days to explore the area and we’ll be sitting quietly on the beach waiting for penguins to approach. We have heard of experiences where if you are very still, penguins will climb right up to you and sit on your lap!

We’ll be out puttering around on the zodiacs where yes, we will be taking the polar plunge. I’m not sure I’m up for it as I have never had a burning desire to jump into icy cold water, but rest assured Dave will be doing it and I have a feeling that I won’t have the option to chicken out either.

Besides the polar plunge we hear that the zodiac excursions through the ice burgs astounding and  have heard of humpack whales swimming right up to zodiacs to hang out with everyone for awhile.

Excitement is Building

As I write this post I am becomming so excited about our latest and probably greatest adventure. We have talked to people who have been to Antarctica and they tell us that it is impossible to put the experience into words. It is unlike anywhere else on earth. The land is vast and the world is silent. It is an opportunity to see the final frontier on earth. A place where unique wildlife have not learned to fear man because they remain untouched.

We look forward to sharing our journey with you and hopefully we will be able to put our experience into words. At least we’ll be taking a lot of video, so when words fail, video will take over.

Photo Credits:

All Photos and Video courtesy of Quark Expeditions Except for Ushuaia and Antarctic Peninsula map from Wikipedia Creative Commons.

We’ll be taking plenty of photos once we get there, but for now visit Quark Expeditions Facebook Page to shots of our exact itinerary and ship!