Dreaded Drake
To talk about Antarctica is to talk about elephant seals and penguins not to mention icebergs and albatrosses. There is much grandeur from 10 pound tiny baby fur seals to 3 million tons of ice that hold more than 3 billion gallons of water from the driest, windiest, and highest continent on earth. As a person looking for antarctic cruise you should visit that site.
Antarctica the land of frozen wastes and tragic expeditions was the latest destination of two most widely traveled teachers and spent their Christmas holidays on the land farthest under. A number of vacationers would not think of going to Antarctica but these teachers simply want to add it to their places traveled to. Considering the amount of time they spent on this idea for a vacation they even read about the explorer in a travel magazine.
Discovered by the women was the importance of preparation. The dress code for a day in Antarctica requires three pairs of socks, at least one in wool under a pair of rubber boots that weigh 15 pounds, insulated underwear, a regular set of clothes and a parka, all topped by rubberized, seamless and waterproof pants and slicker. Lastly, they should have a waterproof and a regular pair of gloves.
Regardless of these, one is susceptible to frostbite and cold feet. Here is how summer in the Southern Hemisphere is. As the ice warms up above the freezing point travel is made possible through the ice pack that was breaking but water was still only at 32 degrees. Measuring air temperature with a thermometer, an Antarctic research station received a reading of 47 degrees. Of course, the sun had been shining directly on it all day and that said evening, the Explorer was confronted with snowstorms and sleet storms. To get a closer look on antarctic cruise ship visit this site.
Aside from the weather being unpredictable so were the winds and the women were told about how itineraries would depend on it. In their 24 days in the southern ice cap they did not encounter the 84 below wind chill that they experienced in their hometown last Christmas.
Troublesome Drake Passage was passed through. Plenty of ships have not been able to overcome the passage that runs from Cape Horn on the tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. 48 hours was the Explorer’s passage time and the women strapped themselves in for sleep by using their bunks’ seat belts. For one of the ladies, some bruises were inevitable.
Millions of penguins were there. Penguins were easily approachable, says one of the ladies. Most of the penguins did nothing but talk. Penguin watching was a fun activity. A lot of seals were there as well. They love to scoot around with their mouths open. Especially with their babies a seal can bite you for getting too close.
Everything on the trip was amazing. A gorgeous shade of blue was seen in the sky and the water as well. Magnificent were the icebergs that ran up to three stories high and were as big as city blocks as they floated along with penguins. 20 years is the amount of time that the old whaling stations they saw have been closed down. Even without a decent plane ride to the South Pole the sight of the huts left by early explorers were pleasing, some of them even had leftover cans of old food.
The voyage took them from Punta Arenas on the south end of Chile to the Shetland Islands to Antarctica to the South Orkneys to South Georgia to the Falklands and back to their starting point. The two of them agreed of how unconventional this holiday is.