ANTARCTICA

  

It’s an understatement to view how I lived my life as adventurous and fearless.  Okay, maybe I am not fearless under this strong exterior, but nothing stops me from doing whatever I want. And some might view my exploits as downright stupid.  Hey, I’ve survived…so far.  Age and various physical issues in the past few years have greatly limited my mobility, so the days of bicycle racing, running, hiking mountains, and traveling to remote locations are now a fabulous but distant memory.  It was a drive to cram everything I could into what I knew would be my best years.  I didn’t want to be old and not have fully experienced life in whatever direction curiosity led me.

Years ago, PBS ran a series on Ernest Shackleton, who led an ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1914. Learning about how they survived after being stranded on Elephant Island for two years was fascinating.  They were only 97 miles short of reaching the South Pole when their ship became trapped in an ice floe.  In 1915, the constant shifts of the ice floes caused the vessel to break apart and sink.  The men were forced to live in tents on top of ice.  When the ice began breaking in April 1916, Shackleton and five crew members set out in a 22-foot lifeboat in stormy seas to find help at a whaling station.  He attempted to rescue the rest of his crew several times for the next several months.  Finally, in August 1916, they rescued the remaining 22 men, and you don’t really want to know the details of how they survived while living on an ice floe for two years.

After watching the PBS series, I had always dreamed of traveling to Antarctica.  In 2012, that dream came true, and on this day twelve years ago, I set foot in Antarctica.  Hiking up the ice and snow-covered hills on the islands was challenging yet rewarding. Reaching the top and looking over the vastness of Antarctica was spectacular.  Once off the ship and in a Zodiak, the small boat maneuvered around the sculpture-like icebergs, where you could see that the top of the iceberg was only a tiny portion compared to what appeared underwater.  At one point, the crew member piloting our small open-air boat turned off the engine.  We relished the sight of whales surfacing, but once they returned under the water, the silence in this remote part of the world was unforgettable.

We were up close and personal with thousands of penguins and seals.  As darling as they appear, the stench is somewhat overwhelming!  Yet, walking amongst them and feeding the little critters will forever fill my memory bank.