My dad, extremely well-traveled himself, and I were chatting on a couch when he shared his travel aspirations: “I’ve seen every place I care deeply to see… besides Antarctica.” I quietly spent the next several months researching, planning, learning… and saving up a lot of $!
We eventually found ourselves in Ushuaia, Argentina. We spent 5 days there exploring the city and Patagonian wilderness… and waiting to board our ship.
It was finally time to board the Ocean Explorer, on which we’d spend 14 days crossing the Drake Passage and cruising around the Antarctic peninsula. I’d never been on a boat for more than a few hours, but any feelings of nervousness were overshadowed by extreme excitement.
The early days had a lot of challenges, but also a lot of beauty and learning. Then, we finally made it to the snowy, massive, quiet, and the most intensely beautiful place I’d ever seen: Antarctica.
