Antarctica: The Journey South

Ushuaia is famous for being the city the furthest south in the Americas. It's where the highway that starts in Alaska ends. There is an island further south that you can see on the map, which is a part of Chile, but there are only small towns there, and you need a boat to get around.

But my journey south didn't stop here. After a lot of humming and hawing, and a very fortunate opportunity that arose with a last-minute deal, I booked a ticket aboard an expedition ship sailing for... Antarctica!

The first land we spotted after two days in open water!

Antarctica, the seventh continent, is said to be the only uncharted territory left on Earth. Its harsh conditions and extreme temperatures left it uninhabited by humans (meaning there are no traces of humans having lived there). Its average winter temperature is -60°C! If you consider animals that spend all of their lives on land, the largest animal that lives in Antarctica is an insect that is 3 mm long and spends almost its entire life in the larvae stage. It can be frozen solid and still survive.





Only 2% of Antarctica ISN'T covered in ice. The ice can be 4-5 km thick before you hit earth, and under the layers of ice there are rivers and lakes that no one has ever seen, but scientists have discovered are there. There are currently 7 countries that have claimed a piece of Antarctica as their own, but at the moment no claims are being recognized and Antarctica is a land that is shared.


It took us two days to cross the Drake Passage, which is the body of water you need to sail through to get to Antarctica. As soon as you've passed the latitude line of 60°S, you are in the Antarctic region. On our third day of rocking back and forth, rolling in bed so much that I couldn't sleep, we spotted land and the ship navigated into calmer waters. We spotted whales, seals, and penguins from the deck of the ship.

On the fourth day, we were able to anchor in a bay and climb aboard zodiac boats to set foot on land for the first time.

My first Antarctic landing!

Zipping past icebergs and across a mirrored bay, the view from the boat was breathtaking. Our heads wound around taking in the full panorama of snow-capped mountains and their perfect reflections. The grey sky made it look like another planet and the shore looked like we were entering the polar bear enclosure at the zoo, complete with fake rocks. There was no question about our first landing: we were stepping directly onto continental land, not ice or even snow. The thought of, "I'm standing on Antarctica" was at the front of our minds.

We waddled single-file up a hill to a dome, then spread out to take it all in. Our ship provided perspective for the size of the mountains and other than us, was the only spot of colour in view. Everything was white, grey, and icicle blue.

We celebrated by doing cartwheels, made snow angels, ate snow, and took a group shot. After a half hour, we hiked back down and returned to the ship for breakfast. Everyone ate heartily after two days of seasickness, and the exciting morning activity. It was the first time we'd eaten without struggling against the ship's rolling and we enjoyed being able to carry things in two hands and be served full mugs of tea.




We would be on Antarctica for five days altogether, out of our 10 day expedition, and I hoped every day would be just as exciting!