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Why would anyone leave the warm subtropical climate of Florida to travel to the coldest place on earth… the frozen desert of the South Pole? Well, as an intrepid traveler, I am always curious. And since I have visited all of the other six continents, I felt compelled to visit the seventh.
It took three flights to get there… Miami to Santiago, Chile; then on to Punta Arenas (avoiding the rough Drake Passage); next taking a private plane to land on a gravel runway on a glacier; then onto a Zodiac inflatable boat to finally reach the ship.
But getting to the ship was just the start of my adventure. Twice a day, a Zodiac would take us onto the glaciers, where we would walk among thousands of Adélie, gentoo, and chinstrap penguins. We watched the enormous humpback whales playfully dive next to our Zodiac, using their massive flukes to propel themselves through the water. We witnessed seals lazily sleeping on the rocks.
The azure blue icebergs were gigantic and majestic. We saw huge chunks of towering glaciers crash into the sea. Every evening we listened to lectures offered by marine biologists, anthropologists, and environmentalists.
And I learned so much! For example, I aways knew that whales were mammals, but now I know that 50 million years ago modern-day whales evolved from a land creature that resembled a deer with four legs and fur. We learned about the courage of Shackleton, Weddell, Amundsen, Scott, and the other explorers who risked everything to reach the almost-impossible South Pole. We became aware of the importance of maintaining the stability of the glaciers for our ecological wellbeing.
I treasure the once-in-a-lifetime experience of this adventure. And afterwards, it took only a few hours to defrost in Miami!
Carolyn Stein is a published author, international keynote speaker, world traveler, executive coach, and TED Talk coach. Carolyn lives in Aventura, Florida and can be reached at carolynkstein@aol.com, or visit her website at www.carolynstein.com.
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