The Frozen Continent's Hidden Treasures

After stepping down the cruise liner's gangway with care, I waited to make my move, looking for a break in the waves. With a quick stride, I settle onto a small rubber boat. Our small group of travelers, within minutes, bounces through mesmerizing blue ice and even a seal was dozing off. And on a rocky beach the boat stops, so I swing my legs over the zodiac to gain foothold on the Antarctic Peninsula's northern tip.

My senses were overwhelmed by a pungent smell and an extraordinary sight as I walked along the beach, ridden with blocks of ice. More than a hundred adelie penguins waddled adorably around and even in front of me. As far as I can manage to behold, their numbers flew above a rocky slope. Such is a very thrilling experience, when we finally landed for the first time in the our first landing on the farthest of continents while this 2 day cruise taking the route of the infamously unforgiving seas, starting from Ushuaia, Argentina, has become truly worth it. More and more tourists are beginning to understand today that traversing this crystalline jungle is worth every penny or ounce of sweat.

Yearly, the number of visitors increase and some 26,000 visited last year. Patterns of the cold blue are broken off seemingly, by sneaky penguin lectures. Known as the world's coldest continent, it comes as a surprise that the weather during austral summer December days become so pleasant. Achieving 40s on the peninsula, there can be times when temperatures grow extremely freezing. From November to March, the trip usually runs.

Going on a sea adventure for around 11 days, this 100 meter ice strengthened ship body is full with passengers most of the time, carrying about a hundred or more of them. Comfort, not fanciness is the ship's best feature. It has a cozy bar and lounge, plus an auditorium and library. Antarctica can be reached by small yachts. During Friday evening is when we shall leave the port. The next day, is about seeing the breathtaking birds in their flight such as the wandering albatrosses, along with the other birds found in the southern seas traveling around.

Passing time at sea entails the tour guides making creative presentations spearheaded by different experts from a geologist, a bird specialist, marine biologist, historian even a creative visual artist that makes tourists draw or paint icebergs and adorable penguins. Even as global warming was in discussions usually, it came as a bug surprise that lectures on it was never present at all on this trip.

Landings on the continent as well as nearby islands is mostly where the action took place during the trip. Beholding an avalanche from afar while listening to a thunderous sound of an iceberg calving are hard to forget. So many things, right on the decks of the ship, can be seen. Thanks to a very short span of darkness at this time of year, travelers get the most from their trip.

Be sure that you are heavily dressed to keep the icy winds from making you cold as you gaze at the marvelous spectacle of beautiful wind carved iceberg sculptures that shimmer in shades of white or brilliant blue. Tall mountains bejeweled by hanging glaciers is a beautiful landscape we passed through. Whales rising into view would be a pleasant rarity. During long lasting sunsets, the sky is painted with fierce red and mellow orange.

One of the passengers was very sick and in need of evacuation and this shocked us as we got back on board the ship. This translates to the need for taking a long overnight detour and heading back to the Islands of South Shetland just to grab an airstrip. Instances like these, evacuations that cost so much money give travelers a reason to ponder on getting that medical evacuation insurance before anything else.

Once the passenger was evacuated to Chile, we trooped to where the newly Gentoo penguin chicks were fed by their parents, in Ardley Island. A slimy strand connects an adult penguin and its young after the adult penguin feeds its young by regurgitating a snack of krill by putting its tiny head inside her own mouth delicately.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

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by: Ava Stewart

Total views: 6 Word Count: 717 Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 Time: 12:06 PM - 0 comments

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