Ahhhh, the day is here! I am currently in Charlotte getting ready to board my flight to Miami where I will then board another flight to Buenos Aires. It's been five long years since I've thought of taking a trip to the end of the world, and now all of a sudden it's crept up on me! I managed to pack a carry on bag of items that should suffice...lets hope. I'm sure as I make my way down to Ushuaia (southern most city of the world), a lot of the gear that I packed should keep me warm, but lets not forget that it's also summer down there!
My quarter life goals are winding down, after Antarctica I will have traveled to all seven continents before the age of 25. While that feeling of accomplishment is beyond amazing, I am also worried about what the next part of my life will be. What goals are next, will I finish them all like these? I know not a lot of people my age have these types of goals but now that I'm about to finish off this last continent, I'm already trying to plan for my dirty 30!
Before I get too far ahead, I'm focusing on getting through this adventure as it maybe my most daring yet! Colder, drier, and windier than anywhere else on the planet, Antarctica is so extreme and remote that it barely feels like it’s part of Earth at all. But it’s that very otherworldliness that appeals to the adventurer in me. Painted in shades of white and blue, the landscape is as beautiful as it is forbidding; monstrous glaciers, saw-toothed mountains, colossal icebergs, and fields of ice that stretch on forever. But as barren as it looks, life – specifically penguins, whales, and seabirds found a way to thrive there. The journey to Antarctica will be long, but the memories earned, eternal.
A storm equivalent to a category two hurricane
As with Semester at Sea, I also have some crazy anxieties about reaching the white continent! One in particular is crossing the Drake Passage, the roughest waters on Earth! I didn't get sea sick on SAS like a lot of people but then again we also tried to avoid a major part of the storms. Crossing the Drake is dangerous, not to be underestimated as it has taken the lives of many that have tried to cross through in the past. Me being curious, I looked at the weather forecast for the Drake on the day I leave and it did not look pretty. This is all the better as I would love to have a great story to tell. Following in the footsteps of some the greatest explorers in the world like Sir Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen, I wouldn't want it any other way
A storm of 970 mb is expected, thats the equivalent of a category 2 hurricane. With the storm current going through such a narrow passage, I've been told to expect nothing short of 30 ft waves. NO.BIG.DEAL! After going through two hurricanes, the Drake Passage and Antarctica can't stop me! No, but for real - this looks like it's going to be crazy!
Pre-Trip Anxieties:
Was this a good idea? (Of course it was)
Should I bypass Dramamine?
What will I do for 13 days?
Did I pack good enough? (I don't think so)
How crazy will this storm really be?
What's next once I get back?
I plan on dropping off the face of the earth Dec 16th at around noon, no communication what so ever!
Look out for the post Antarctica blog as a lot of these questions I have will be answered!