Antarctica

By 2003, I had worked or visited all of the continents, and was dying to go to Antarctica.  But it was too expensive and far.  And really, who has the 3 weeks off in a row that it takes to go?  Finally, at the end of 2004, I had enough Delta Skymiles for an Atlanta - Buenos Aires/ Santiago - Atlanta flight, and had accepted a new role on the CAT team with a postponed start date of late January, 2005. The 3-week cruise portion of the trip from Ushaia - Antarctica - Chile cost about $5k.  Summer (late December) is the best time to go, since it's the "warmest". 

 
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Melisa Martinez

Melisa and I met when while we were both working in New York City, introduced by our mutual friend Lan Lou.  She later moved to Chicago, and then back to her hometown of Alburquerque, where she lives currently.  Melisa changed careers from architecture to accounting, and passed the all parts of the CPA exam on her first try.  For the record, it took me two tries.  We flew to Buenos Aires in late December 2004, partied all night at my friend Janet's wedding, and then took a morning flight to Ushuaia to board the U.S.  Nordnordge.  

Icebergs!

Crossing the Drake passage from the southern tip of South America to Antarctica wasn't too bad on the way there, but I definitely felt barfy on the way back.  The first time you see an iceberg is amazing - some are as tall as skyscrapers.  I will also never forget seeing the penguins and orcas that swam up next to our ship.  All visitors must go by boat, as there are no hotels.

Iceberg.jpg
Swimming.jpg

Swimming in Antarctic waters

Deception Island is a caldera of an active volcano, and a place where I went swimming in near freezing waters.  After stripping off your parka and snow pants, you can jump in the water for as long as you can stand it, and then warm up in a hot spring pool that that has been dug for you (like the dude in the foreground) and drink a shot of aquavit.  A co-worker recently called me "brave and CRAZY".  This may qualify, since the nearest doctor was a continent away, in case anyone had a heart attack.  

  • The air was so clean in Antarctica that people from the UK who had had asthma for years commented on it.
  • There were (older) ladies on the trip that asked Melisa and me if we worked as secretaries.  Uh no, lady.  
  • The last third of our trip was in Chile; our ship sailed up the bottom half of the country and we saw glaciers and villages where native tribes still lived.  The village was located two days by boat away from the nearest hospital (but you could still buy Coke).  Also, some Brits took offense to the lecture on board where it was noted that colonizers wiped out a lot of the natives with their diseases.   
  • For more photos, go here.