Antarctica - Wow!

Tole walking along after our climb to the top of Robert Island.
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When we said "southbound", we weren't kidding.  Phenomenal Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands marked our southernmost destination for the trip (and forever, I would think).  We couldn't exactly make it on our bikes, though, so we had to ditch them in Ushuaia in favor of a small but hardy ice-breaking cruise ship.  The small ship, about 80 passengers, was a great choice since it meant we got to make several outings each day in the zodiacs (small motor-powered rafts).

Our ship, The Antarctic Dream.
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It isn't possible to convey in words, or even in pictures, the otherworldly beauty of the landscapes and seascapes we saw.  We spoke with people and looked at photos beforehand, and were skeptical that it would be all that wonderful.  In the end, Antarctica drastically exceeded our expectations.  We felt awestruck every single day.  Even to stand out on the deck as we passed through a channel filled with icebergs and surrounded by snowy glaciers was enough to get me a little teary-eyed at how stunning it all was.

We felt awestruck every single day.

Chinstrap Penguins coming out of the sea.
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Our zodiac landings on the islands and Antarctic mainland gave us a chance to see elephant seals, crabeater seals, leopard seals, and about a million fat little penguins.  On one island we hiked up a snow-covered hill for about an hour to find ourselves surrounded by a stunning panorama, then slid all the way down on our bums in about 10 minutes.  We saw several whales from the ship, and many whale bones on the islands we visited.  On a few zodiac outings we simply cruised around a particularly beautiful place, like Paradise Harbor, to get a more intimate look at the sea life, icebergs, and strange, still beauty.  One zodiac cruise found us up close and personal with a curious leopard seal that swam around our raft taking peeks at us.  On one island we sat for half an hour looking down at penguins swimming in the water, amazed by how fast they are - they take off like little black and white bullets!  To top it all off, on the last day, a bitterly cold day of stinging sleet and wind, we joined the other lunatics from the cruise for a dip in a "hot spring" and in the sea off Deception Island.

On the zodiac, heading back to the ship.
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Equally interesting, though not so enjoyable for many people on the boat, was the trip home through the Drake Passage.  It's reputed to be one of the roughest seas on earth, but we got off easy on the trip down.  We then paid our dues on the way home, when we were treated to some massive rocking and rolling.  It's very trippy to sit in a dining room looking out the windows to see the sea looming toward you as the boat tilts further and further over to the side.  The swells measured about 12 meters during much of the time.  In the dining room, dishes flew, people fell down, people flew out of their chairs (no one was hurt) - it was just plain weird, and scary enough to make it pretty exciting.  Unfortunately a lot of people were seasick from the 40 hours of heavy rolling we endured through the Drake Passage, but for those of us feeling okay, it was quite a show.

A typical latin american virgin shrine near an abandoned Chilean research station.
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Some interesting facts we learned on the trip:

*Antarctica contains 70% of the world's fresh water (frozen, of course!).

*The ancient Greeks, beginning around 530 B.C.E., actually hypothesized that a large Southern continent must exist based upon their theory that the round earth (sorry early Christians) would need to be balanced by a southern continent.

*Melting ice and icebergs make a rather loud crackling/popping sound in the water, like Rice Krispies in milk.

Weird landscape, penguins and elephant seals in the South Shetland Islands.
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*It is generally accepted that no human stepped foot on Antarctica until 1820.  However, a Maori legend tells of a warrior sailing there in a canoe as early as 650 C.E., though this story is unverifiable and generally thought highly unlikely to be true.

*Much of Antarctica is actually considered desert because it receives so little new precipitation, in some parts as little as 2 cm per year.

*Antarctica experiences the strongest winds on earth, katabatic winds, which can reach speeds of 320 kph.

Elephant seal cows. If you think they're ugly, you should see the bulls!
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*The south magnetic pole is actually about 2800 kilometers from the geographic south pole (though the magnetic pole moves daily as much as 80 km).  Because of this, you need a special compass to get around in the far southern hemisphere.

*Ninety-eight percent of Antarctica is covered by ice. The ice on Antarctica is 1.5 miles thick, on average.  The thickest, near the center of continent, is about 3 miles thick.

*The largest iceberg ever recorded was spotted near Antarctica in 1956.  It was 208 miles long and 60 miles wide - roughly the size of Belgium.

Although, they're sort of so ugly they're cute. Especially when they're snuggled up basking in the sun like this.
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*Between November and February the sun does not fully set, meaning it never gets dark.  Where we were, near the Antarctic peninsula, it sets merely for a few minutes, and we noted on the trip that it was never actually dark outside.