Recounting some of my adventures while not on the road. I traveled through Antarctica in early 2015. After Visiting Pleneau and Petermenn Islands we make our first continental landing this day.
Paradise Harbor
This morning saw us arrive at Paradise Harbor for our morning excursion. We were all excited, this would be our first Antarctic continental landing, the previous landings were island landings, but this would be the continent!
Our group split up into two groups, half of our expedition made a landing at Base Brown and hiked up to the viewpoint, while our half cruised seeing why this place was called “paradise”. We were fortunate to have gotten amazing weather this day, the day was clear, sunny and the bay was clear. I couldn’t believe how beautiful this place was. Thinking back, I’m still mesmerized by the memories I have of this place. I couldn’t have asked for a better day in Antarctica!
Base Brown
After cruising around the bay, it was our turn to make our landing at Base Brown, which is an Argentine research base. We took a short moment to take in that we had stepped foot on Antarctica! It was a great feeling to have arrived, and on such a glorious day! We then hiked up the snowy hill to the viewpoint where we got an AMAZING view of Paradise bay.
Danco Island
Our afternoon excursion saw us visit Danco Island. After the incredible experience we had in Paradise bay, we followed that up with another great view on Danco Island. Its surrounded on almost all sides and the views from the top 360 degrees was breathtaking. It was a very short hike to the top, and at this point in our trip, taking time to stop and enjoy the experience was becoming common. I know looking back on this a year later, I still remember those brief moments of reflection!
Antarctic Sunset
As if the day wasn’t awesome enough, we capped it off with the opportunity to experience an Antarctic sunset. Because of the great weather we had this day, the evening (which was pretty late in the day) painted the sky a beautiful pink glow, and lit up the mountains in a warm orange. Many of us spent a good hour or two outside letting it all sink in. What a remarkable way to end off a truly memorable day!
This was by far my favorite day of our entire Antarctic day. There were images and memories that I have in my head that I will keep with me my entire life. The beauty of Antarctica was fully on display this day. What would this wondrous place have in store for us tomorrow?
Ooo I’ve always wanted to go there!!