Written by Doug Orens, Vice President, Plaza Travel

The bottom of the world. The 7th continent. There is a lot of mystique surrounding Antarctica, and for good reason. With the very interesting Antarctic Treaty System, it is not a country. Antarctica is a “natural preserve devoted to peace and science.” The treaties prohibit military and nuclear activities, as well as promote scientific research and protect the continent’s ecozone. The summer population swells to a whopping 5,000 people which brings the population density up to .0002 people per square mile. For comparison, the population density of the United States is currently about 100 people per square mile, and Singapore (one of the highest) has over 20,000 people per square mile.

The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was -128.56 °F at the Vostok station in 1983, but in the summer, about November to February, the average temperature soars to about 32 °F! Sir Errnest Shackelton made the first crossing of Antarctica from 1914-1917, with many of those months deciding how to complete the trip and rescue his crew after his ship, the Endurance, became stuck in the ice and then sank.

Getting to Antarctica usually requires crossing the Drake Passage, home to some of the roughest seas on earth. We were very lucky to have unusually calm seas in both directions. 

This is a beautiful part of the world, with stunning views as far as you can see. Surrounded by towering icebergs, sheer cliffs, penguins, seals and whales, we spent hours every day enjoying the serenity of this amazing place.

In the summer the sun never really sets, so the “sunsets” last for a long time. We were treated to this beauty in the Lemaire Channel one night. Standing on deck, hot chocolate (or whiskey!) in hand, watching the colors change for hours with the occasional whale or seal gliding by is an experience that I will not soon forget.

Most days included a Zodiac landing which, depending on conditions, could start as early as 6am and go as late as 4 or 5pm. Remember, it never gets dark so time of day wasn't really an issue. When it was time for the landing, we made our way down "zipped and clipped," meaning all of our gear was on, jacked zipped, and life jacket clipped. Once in the Zodiac, it was about a five to fifteen minute trip to the landing sites. Everything is weather dependent, so calm and sunny meant a shorter trip, while icy water and wind meant a longer trip.

Once onshore, we were free to wander along marked paths. Expedition staff were located around the area to share their knowledge and answer any questions we had. Most landings allowed us to stay onshore for about one and a half to two hours.

Penguins, penguins, and more penguins! If you love penguins, Antarctica is the place for you. If you don't love penguins, there is a good chance you will love them after the first day. Most landings had thousands of them.

Of course you should never invade their space, but they are very brave and most of the time waddled right past us as they were making their way from the shore to the sea to clean up and gt more food. Above you will see the Chinstrap and King penguins.

Below we have the Gentoo and Rockhopper penguins. There are seven penguin species that can be found in Antarctica and we also saw thousands of Adelie penguins and one Macaroni penguin. Yes, one... he was lost. The only species we didn't see was the Emperor.

We were very lucky to see whales almost every day. Some days we had a few random sightings and most days we saw a number of pods for an hour or two. The experience doesn't really translate to pictures, but watching and clearly hearing these massive creatures glide through the water was incredible. Twice we were surrounded by whales for hours.

Seals and sea lions are one of the few groups of marine mammals that live in the Antarctic. There are two different types of seals—true (earless) seals and fur seals, which have small flaps over their ears and are related to sea lions.

Six species can be found in Antarctica and I think we saw them all. Crabeater, Fur, Wedell, Leopard, Ross, and Elephant seals were either resting onshore or lounging on icebergs. The smallest of these can weigh up to 300 pounds when full grown, while the largest Elephant seals can reach weights of over 8,000 pounds and be over 20 feet long!

Before I began this trip, I thought to myself, this is one place I will probably only visit one time. Once I experience it, why would I need to go back? Well, let me tell you, I would go back in a second. The unmatched beauty, serenity, and peacefulness of this rarely-seen part of our world is simply breathtaking!