A solitary penguin on an ice floe with head bowed looks a lonely sight
I had often dreamed of Antarctica before I went there, but only on arriving did I appreciate the awesome, unimaginable beauty that words cannot describe and can only be felt in the heart.
Antarctica is the only continent with no permanent human settlement and also the world's coldest and driest with the most frequent, strongest storms. This frigid, lonely world of ice and snow is home to zillions of penguins, seals and seabirds. Vast sea, millennia-old snow and even older glaciers ... the continent is veiled in mystery and a place that once people could only dream of visiting. The polar animals in Antarctica today share their habitat with more than 150 scientific research bases established by some twenty countries from around the world to collect valuable data on the planet, and many cruise operators now have routes for tourists.
The cruise sailed south from Ushuaia, the southernmost city in Argentina. After two days and nights through the famous Drake Passage between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, I could smell the uniquely fresh and bracing air of Antarctica. The ship sailed slowly off the Antarctic continent and the world was surprisingly quiet; the only things you could hear were the sound of many small bubbles breaking the water's surface as icebergs melted and the sound of ice floes bumping the ship. Shimmering icebergs and mirror-like sea reflect perfectly … you can hardly tell where the surface ends and the sky starts.
Everything in Antarctica is a sight to behold – Aitcho Island, King George Island, Cuverville Island, Neko Harbour, Paradise Bay, Port Lockroy, Deception Island and more. Paradise Bay was the most enchanting. The glaciers dance as you approach and the sound of ice blocks cleaving off tell you what pureness is in a dream come true. The horseshoe-shaped Deception Island is an active volcano that erupted several times about forty years ago. Here the water was calm and the temperature relatively higher. Towering mountains and deep glaciers on the peninsula around Wilhelmina Bay give one the magic charms of ice and water. Petermann Island was the most scenic landscape on the Penola Strait where you can see whales swimming between the ice floes.
While deep in thought, a beam of sunlight rose from the horizon, colouring the world of blue and white a breathtakingly beautiful shade of rose, and all earthly thoughts and distractions disappeared without a trace. In this pristine world, man and nature are inseparably one and the same.
Transport: Fly from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, then transfer to Ushuaia and board an Antarctic cruise.
Currency: US Dollar
Climate: The weather from November to March is still very cold but suitable for sightseeing.
(Text and photos by Leo Lin)
