Number 3 - Antarctica (Blog 4 of the Chile trip)

The trip to Chile was amazing. Each day presented a new gift to us as we explored this unique country. For me this trip had many purposes - it was a long awaited honeymoon for Dean and I. It was the opportunity to see where Dean had served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 30 years ago and see the world from his perspective as a missionary. It was also the chance to try to complete one of my life's goals of visiting all 7 continents on the Earth. So being in Chile was the achievement for me to visit continent number 6 during my travels and adventures.

In preparing for our trip, I had found that there is one company that offers flights from Chile to Antarctica. This trip allows you to actually be on the continent. Dean and I discussed all of the pros and cons of traveling to this remote place in the world. We both decided that we would take the risk and attempt the journey.

Before booking our trip I wanted to know more about this place we would try to visit. Here are some interesting facts: Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent and it is the fifth-largest of the seven continents. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest and windiest continent and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland.

Knowing this information, I realized that weather would be the biggest factor in making the voyage. Wind plays a big role in the ability for a plane to land or not.

When we arrived in Punta Arenas on Monday (2/8/10), Dean and I had hopes that the flight to Antarctica would take off as scheduled on Tuesday. However the flight was cancelled. It is important to know that Dean and I had decided before we left for Chile that with such a tight schedule that we fly back to Santiago on Friday 2/12 in order to attend the LDS temple on Saturday before we left for home. The only flight I was able to book out of Punta Arenas back to Santiago left Friday at 12:30pm. I was told that was the last flight we could get out of Punta Arenas in order to be in Santiago on Saturday.

The flight for Wednesday was cancelled due to weather.
The flight for Thursday was cancelled due to weather.

As stated in the previous blog, we enjoyed Punta Arenas and its surrounding areas. It was cold and windy but very beautiful.

Thursday afternoon we got the call that the flight to Antarctica would go on Friday. We were told the weather broke and that the flight landing window looked good. We went to the travel agent and they excitedly explained the information to us. Dean and I looked at them and told them that we couldn't go - we would have to cancel the trip. The agent looked shocked and exclaimed "What?" He said if you cancel, you won't get a refund. We were to allow a 4 day window and opted for the risk with the 3 day window that our schedule would allow. We again expressed that we had to be in Santiago by 6am on Saturday and that we would need to cancel and we recognized that we would not get a refund. At that point - this gentleman who had been so unhelpful throughout the week looked at us and said "let us help you - we believe you can make the Antarctica flight and still return to Santiago for your 6am responsibilities. The agent found a flight out of Punta Arenas to Santiago at 9:40pm on Friday evening and there was space for us to make the change. We were very concerned that even if we made the change in flights there was still the possibility that the flight may not go to Antarctica if the weather were to change.

The flight to Antarctica did go on Friday morning at 7:00am and Dean and I were 2 of 8 people on the little 10 seater airplane. We were joined by a couple from Australia, a gentleman from Japan and another lady from the United States and our two pilots. Everyone except for Dean was in pursuit of the illusive 7th continent. The flight was 3.5 hours to King George Island. We got 5 hours on the continent and then 3.5 hours back to Punta Arenas. We had just enough time to check in for our next flight after the Antarctic adventure. Below is a summary of our Antarctic journey.

The air in Antarctica was chilly but there wasn't a bit of wind. We couldn't believe it. From the landing strip we could see the research bases, the water and an iceberg out in the water - our small group of travelers were just in awe with finally making it to this rugged land.

The first stop on the tour was to visit Villa Las Estrellas - the Chilean base, Bellingshausen the Russian base, the Russian Orthodox church. We also had the chance to visit the post office and a small store for tourists. Basically in an effort to protect the integrity of the environment, the living arrangements are as simple as possible - to me it appears as if everyone was living in ocean containers with windows cut into them. The interesting thing to note that the Russian Orthodox church was shipped in special and is held together by chains. It definitely does not fit the look of the land.




After a simple lunch, we headed off in a very small zodiac boat with our guide Alejo. Alejo decided not to follow the schedule and our small group of travelers were more fortunate because of his change of plans. Alejo took us to Collins Glacier. It is the most active glacier in the area and about 80 kilometers long. This part of the trip was absolutely amazing. After a 15 minute boat ride, Alejo steered the boat into an ice field and the pancake ice started surrounding the boat on all sides. We were now face to face with the glacier. I had seen pictures of glaciers but now being face to face with this mass of snow and ice was absolutely incredible. The color and size are indescribable. Then Alejo turned off the motor to the boat and what happened next was again something I had never experienced. There was complete silence and then popping (like gun shots), cracking and other similar sounds all of which were from the glacier's constant movement. Every once in a while large pieces would crash into the water and then dead silence again followed by the popping and cracking of this giant's slow yet steady movement. Also as we watched and listened, seals would pop up look around and then swim off. A few penguins would swim by to check out the strangers in their world. Again, the words that I have written can't even describe the beauty of God's creation. It was magnificent!

As time was running out we had to move on to the next spot - the penguin rookery. En route we passed ice berg after ice berg. The color and beauty of the massive chunks of ice were absolutely phenomenal. With the sun and blue sky it seemed to only make the ice formations even more stunning.


The penguins - I spoke about penguins in my last blog of how they live, mate and raise their young - but the numbers and masses here were three times the amount compared to what we had seen in Punta Arenas. Penguins everywhere. There were three types of these flightless birds - Barbijo, Papua, and Adelaida. Fluffy babies and parents as well - all moving around not really afraid of our presence. The penguin chatter filled the air - the noise was just as if we were in a bustling city in this foreign land. A couple of elephant seals had beached themselves on the shore after a long morning of eating.





After this - we headed back to the airstrip and caught our flight back to Punta Areans. Antarctica was breathtaking in its own way. A quote I found from Andrew Denton sums it up best:
"If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it."

The journey is still not over . . .the best is yet to come. More to follow.