An Unusual Way To Spend Christmas Vacation
Sep 6th, 2010 by beauty writer
Albatrosses, penguins, elephant seals, and icebergs all come to represent Antarctica. Considering how high, dry, and windy the continent is, it still remains to be one of the most spectacular sights with 10 pound tiny baby fur seals to 3 million tons in ice mounds that hold frozen water in massive amounts amounting to 3.3 billion gallons.
There were two well traveled teachers who chose Antarctica as the place to spend the Christmas holiday in and this is in considering how it is a land of frozen wastes and voyages gone wrong. For most people Antarctica may not be the likely vacation destination but it was for the teachers who haven’t seen the continent yet. Much of their time was devoted to planning for this vacation and they read about the explorer in a travel magazine. Get in touch with this resource if you have a desire to find out about Antarctic Cruising.
This required the women to be prepared as they found out. When you are planning on a day in Antarctica, the basic dress code would be inclusive of three pairs of socks, on wool, worn under 15 pound boots, insulated underwear worn under a regular set of clothes, a parka, and a covering of rubberized pants and slicker that are seamless and waterproof. Also needed are two pairs of glove with one being waterproof.
Everyone is susceptible to frostbite other than having some cold feet.It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Although the ice was warming to a point above freezing and travel can be done through the breaking ice pack as a result the water was still at a level of 32 degrees. In one Antarctic research station came a thermometer reading of 47 degrees for an air temperature measurement.It was snowstorms and sleet storms for the Explorer when the evening came which was the reverse of the direct sunlight it enjoyed all day.
What the women was informed about were that the weather was unpredictable and daily itineraries are easily affected by the winds. In their 24 days in the southern ice cap they did not encounter the 84 below wind chill that they experienced in their hometown last Christmas. To get a closer look on antarctica trip visit this site.
In terms of the dreaded Drake Passage, it was conquered.This passage that runs from the tip of South America in Cape Horn to the Antarctic Peninsula has already claimed a number of ships. As the Explorer traveled 48 hours across the passage, the women strapped themselves in for sleep using their bunk seat belts. Because of much bouncing around, one of the ladies had bruises.
The penguins were countless. According to one of the ladies, you could touch the penguins. The penguins just fuss at each other, just talk to each other. The sight was truly amazing. Another plus is the seals. Most of them scooted around with open mouths. And they bite, especially if you get too close to the babies.
There were no dull moments on the trip. There was a spectacularly blue sky and the water was bluer than usual. Magnificent were the icebergs that ran up to three stories high and were as big as city blocks as they floated along with penguins. There were also the old whaling stations which have been closed done since the year 1960.In the South Pole they were able to see how the early explorers lived with the huts they left behind, a number of them also left old canned goods in these.
On this trip the route they took brought them to Punta Arenas on the south end of Chile and then to the Shetland Islands, next to Antarctica and then to the South Orkneys, to South Georgia and finally to the Falklands before returning home. For the two, this was indeed an unusual Christmas holiday.
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