I’ve been recounting some of my adventures while not on the road. I traveled through Antarctica and South America in early 2015. With this Antarctic and South American trip over, here is one final wrap up of the trip in its entirety.

Antarctic Wrap Up

When the idea of travelling to Antarctica first entered my mind, I never would have imagined that a little over a year later I would be stepping foot on the “seventh continent”. What started as a quest to make it to every continent turned into an experience that I will hold near and dear to my heart for the rest of my life. Not only did I venture to a place few people in the world will visit, I also discovered unexpected beauty and made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Highlights

With such an eventful trip, summarizing it all was extremely difficult. I tried to boil it down to just a few things that really stuck with me.

Argentina

Until I arrived in Argentina, visiting this South American country had always felt like an “appetizer” to the Antarctic “main course”. But after spending time in Buenos Aires –“the Paris of South America”, visiting Iquazu Falls – One of the seven natural world wonders and discovering Ushuaia at the “end of the world“. I could not be happier that I was wrong to think this way.

There is natural beauty, architectural marvels, rich culture and amazing food in this part of the world. I hadn’t anticipated in making a return to South America very high in my places to visit list, but this has certainly changed after this trip!

Ushuaia, Argentina

I wanted to give this port town at the southern tip of South America a special mention. Ushuaia came completely out of left field and surprised me with its small town feel but majestic natural beauty.  Not only is it a primary port for Antarctic expeditions, but it is also a great starting point for treks within the Tierra del fuego area.

I have fond memories of eating king crab every day, and walking along the water one evening and witnessing what seemed like the sky on fire with one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d ever seen.

Penguins!

I had been eagerly waiting for my first penguin encounter before even leaving Vancouver. Every time we ran into these guys they did not disappoint.  They moved like awkward humans and had a playful curiosity to them that had us simply watching them for hours. I will always have a soft spot for these special animals and will never be able to get enough of them!

Paradise Bay

This was by far my favorite day on the expedition. The clouds had cleared and the sun was out in force. The bay was incredibly calm which made for both digital and mental pictures to turn out perfectly. I still cherish the time I was able to just sit in this quiet calm place and simply thank God for His creativity and feeling so extremely blessed to be in such as place as this. Words still can’t describe how amazing this place was for me.

Ice Bergs

When I returned from my trip and started posting pictures to Facebook, one of my friends had made a comment that my expedition mates and I would be the only ones ever that would see the specific ice bergs that we saw in the state that they were in. Thinking about it now, it’s so true. Like snow flakes, each one is unique and the ice berg that we see one day could look completely different for the next group the day after. So it’s actually very special to know that every ice berg we encountered was experienced by us and only us.

One Ocean Expeditions

I have to give a shout out to the One Ocean Expeditions staff. I plan to write a post about how i planned this trip and the thought process behind deciding on OOE. But now, after the fact, I really want to applaud everyone involved in making my Antarctic journey such a special trip. The crew and the ship were nothing short of exemplary and the expedition staff worked tirelessly to ensure that all our Antarctic dreams were met (short of being able to hug a penguin!). I’ve been involved in summer camps and know just how difficult and incredibly tiring it can be to run a program like they did, so I have nothing but the utmost respect for these exception people. They were professional, cared about the region they worked in and were simply good human beings! Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime!

I am continually amazed at how diverse, and incredibly breathtaking this world is. I continue to feel so absolutely blessed that I have this opportunity to explore this incredible planet and hope that there are many more adventures to come!

If you missed one or a few of my Antarctic throwbacks, or want to go through them again, you can find them here