Antarctica:The Adventure of a Lifetime - Part 1: The Drake Shake, the South Shetland Islands and Penguin Highways

Arriving in Ushuaia, Argentina, a spectacular end-to-end rainbow appeared as the backdrop to the port. Myths and legends from different cultures often give the sight of a rainbow a special meaning, including a spiritual connection as believed by the Vikings and Incas of a connection between the world of the living and heavenly abodes. As it turned out, this rainbow had rather special significance for me as well as over a hundred passengers boarding G Adventures’ ship MS Expedition, for the start of my latest adventure, a voyage to Antarctica!

Rainbow seen at Ushuaia

My previous visit to Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, was where my first South American adventure through Patagonia ended back in 2011. Seven years later, in my 40^th year, it was the beginning, with the rainbow symbolizing, for me, the ‘gateway to the unknown’. When deciding what adventure to pursue as a personal 40^th birthday present, I decided upon something that not only I would likely do once in a lifetime, but an adventure that would be like no other I have ever had in travelling to the only continent left on Earth not permanently inhabited by humankind.

Crossing the hypothetical rainbow bridge to the heavenly abodes that ancient civilizations sought was rarely straight forward. The first sign that reaching Antarctica is far from straight forward is experiencing the shakes brought about by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the Drake Passage, which separates Cape Horn, the southern-most point of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Much more clearly defined than any shaking I have previously experience at sea, I found out as to why the ‘Drake Shake’s so infamous. Despite having taken motion-sickness medication, not only was I dreadfully sick like several fellow passengers, but when trying to walk I often found myself being taken a step backwards or sideways with the shake as well as inadvertently smashing a plate at breakfast! Following a visit to the ship’s doctor, I found that the best way to cope once sea-sickness had set in was to sleep my way through the shake.

The Drake Shake was the first of many steps not only outside of my comfort zone, but also far removed from what I have experienced on previous adventures I have been fortunate to have had. The huge step away from humanity’s comfort zone that is Antarctica is largely the result of the continent being effectively isolated within its own extreme climate. Whereas in the Arctic, the warm current brought by the gulf stream originating from the Gulf of Mexico enables places north of the Arctic Circle, including Ushuaia’s polar opposite Tromso, the world’s northernmost city at the North Cape of Norway, the westerly winds that pass through the Drake Passage together with the ACC effectively shield the Antarctic peninsula from the warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic region. 

Gentoo penguins swimming

Waking up feeling much better after being sea-sick following a night of much smoother sailing, the first signs of land across the Drake Passage began to emerge in the form of avian visitors including a flock of cape petrels and a wandering albatross as well as seeing the first iceberg of the voyage. More excitingly, swimming penguins could be seen surfacing! Indeed it wasn’t too long before the first sight of land, the Aitcho archipelago in the South Shetland Islands surfaced on the horizon after seemingly endless ocean. Stepping into a zodiac to visit the islands of Cecilia and Barrientos, the full force of Antarctic’s westerly winds immediately revealed themselves to me!

Setting foot further south than I ever have done in the South Shetland Islands felt like the first part of leaving behind the world as I knew it. With its wild, untamed landscapes featuring very little vegetation and absence of any obvious human settlement, Cecilia Island could very easily have been mistaken for being uncharted or even undiscovered. But there was an obvious presence though of Antarctica’s most visible and most famous inhabitants, penguins. Immediately on arrival on Cecilia Island, a very curious chinstrap penguin made its way to the shore, perhaps wondering what kind of strange life form this is visiting our empire? One of the first thoughts that occurred to me when hiking up to the top of the island seeing more penguins in their natural habitat as well as skuas nesting was what might Earth look like if humans had never existed? And what would wildlife be like in a world without humans?

Another step outside of comfort zone that Antarctica gives human visitors the experience of stepping into a world where the dominant life form is different is that great care must be taken so as not to interfere with the landscape created by the movement of the continent’s most populous species. Though similar care is needed when visiting national parks or nature reserves elsewhere where animals are present, especially regarding endangered species, humanization of the landscape is still visible in the form of roads, tracks, walkways and sometimes railways. In Antarctica though, such humanization of the landscape is largely absent.   

Chinstrap Penguins on a 'penguin highway', Cecilia Island

Before going on a landing excursion in Antarctica, cruise passengers are advised not to walk along tracks in the snow made by penguins, which are referred to as ‘penguin highways’ and where possible to keep at least 5 meters from penguins. Penguin highways are not always very obvious to the human visitor, especially when the winds make one’s eyes water, which almost took me off the track marked out by the expedition crew! But as I gradually got to grips with the ‘Antarctic rights of way’, I slowed down my walking pace so that I was able to notice the penguin footprints more clearly as well as the route to stick to so as not to disturb nesting birds, including skuas.

Elephant Seals and Gentoo Penguins, Barrientos Island

After returning from the top of Cecelia Island, I took the zodiac to its neighbour island Barrientos, where a huge colony of Gentoo penguins, including their delightful fluffy chicks, awaited visitors together with a group of elephant seals. By the time I had made it across to Barrientos Island, I felt that I was beginning to feel slightly better adapted not only to Antarctica’s codes and conventions for human visitors, but after slowing down my walking pace and remembering mindfulness of walking practice of being tuned into the moment with each step, I was able to open more to the windy conditions and take notice of the fantastic sights of wildlife.

Gentoo Penguin and Chick

My first day in Antarctica was certainly memorable, certainly for the amazing wildlife sights. I had kept reminding myself that since this is an adventure I will most likely have once-in-a-lifetime that I would need to make the most of each moment, something which would apply especially to what I was to experience next.

The second part of my Antarctic Odyssey, during which I describe my experience of spending a night camping snow, will follow soon.