Our very presence trespass

They say that only 150,000 people have visited Antarctica and it’s easy to see why. After 30 hours in an airplane we reached Ushuaia, “The end of the world” and yet only the jump off point for a two day voyage across the dreaded Drake’s Passage. This is clearly a place that values its privacy and, as we make landfall, we have been told to disinfect our boots as though our very presence is trespass.

In the event, our voyage is benign and, after a day of gentle swells, our arrival in frozen waters is punctuated, first by a school of rare fin whales blowing off all around the ship and then, after the captain mysteriously stalls the ship during lunch, we walk out on deck to be confronted by a glacial blue ice berg standing mere meters from the bow! It looks like a majestic sentinel, either welcoming us to the wilderness or forewarning us, depending on one’s frame of mind. The bird life has also now increased and our friends the albatrosses have been joined by petrels and other fowl coming from the South Shetland Islands to check us out.

On board, we are all, citizens of 25 countries, full of excitement and anticipation. Tomorrow we explore Antarctica.

With much love to Deborah, Felicia, little adventurer Oliver, Annabel and Seb. Wishing you were all hear to share these extraordinary moments.