My Adventure: by Dale Simonson
We took a 3-week cruise aboard the icebreaker cruise ship Resolution with 130 other passengers, sailing from the southern most city of Ushuaia, Argentina near Cape Horn. The journey took us to the Falkland Islands and then in the Southern Ocean to visit South Georgia Island, the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, and several stops on the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship is a Polar Class 5 icebreaker, and the captain loved driving through ice. In fact, as odd as it might sound, the ice was perhaps our favorite part of the trip. The glaciers, giant icebergs, and pack ice made for awe-inspiring scenery. And then there were the penguins. Who doesn’t love penguins?…
Seven of the world’s penguin species inhabit Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and we saw most of them. In the tens of thousands. It was the Antarctic spring and the breeding colonies were packed with mating and molting adults and cute babies. It’s tough to name a favorite, but probably Rockhoppers or Chinstraps.
There were lots of seals as well, our favorite being the Elephant Seals. The bulls can weigh up to 5,000 pounds, which didn’t seem to deter the penguins, like the one in the photo below.
Oh, and then there was the rare bowtie penguin, spotted doing a polar plunge. Yes, that’s me below, doing my obligatory polar plunge in the ocean that, thanks to the salt water, was 1 degree below freezing. And yes, I was the goofy one, wearing a penguin costume for the occasion. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend taking such a plunge in your lifetime. Very invigorating. The Scandinavians would say it can add years to your life, although the multi-page legal waver we were required to sign before taking our dip makes me question whether it’s so good for you!
The ship was impressive, able to travel into the ice where few ships can go. And it was well designed for our daily outings ashore or by Zodiak, and for the many daily programs by the 8 onboard naturalists on topics ranging from marine life, sea birds, glaciers, geology, and history among many others. For me personally, the stories of the early polar explorers and a whiskey toast by Ernest Shackleton’s grave on South Georgia Island were highlights.
Another aspect we love about the ship was the open-bridge policy whereby passengers could hang out on the bridge at any time. The best was being there at night while traveling through ice. It sort of felt like being in a giant video game, or traveling around another planet on a spaceship.
Advice to Others:
A cruise in the Antarctic is surely more expensive than a typical European or Caribbean cruise, but we were infinitely more impressed by it. The unique experience, the more impactful memories, and the amazing education we gained about this far corner of the world exceeded our every expectation. My advice to others is, give up a few “traditional” vacation trips to save for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Antarctica.
