Chasing Summer –

To get to Antarctica ships travel from Ushuaia through Drake’s Passage. This can be very hard on people as the passage is known for rough weather, and huge sea swells up to 12m or 40ft tall. If you have any travel sensitivity, anti-nausea pills, wristbands, or sea sickness patches could be helpful.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Passage

Outside decks were closed to passengers, and sickbags could be found on each stairwell. Luckily, I didn’t suffer from motion sickness and was fine.

As we got closer to the Antarctic circle, we began to get calmer seas and spotted our first large glaciers far off in the distance. I spent the day with wine tasting, food, and a magic show.

The next morning, I got up at 4 am. to check out my first sunrise on my final continent. It was worth getting up to almost empty decks and the yellow and orange glows highlighting the icy continent.

At 5:30, I met up with friends for breakfast in order to be ready to spend the day outside to capture the views of Gerlache Strait, Paradise Bay, and Danco Coast.

The weather was absolutely amazing, with sunny skies, calm waters and a high of 0 celcius. It couldn’t have been more atypical for Antarctica, and we were so lucky to be there. The wildlife was abundant, and the scenery was awe-inspiring.

After a full day outside, my lips are burnt, and my face has a little colour from the very strong sun. There is a huge difference between the sunny side and the shaded areas of the boat. Layers are essential. 

Even though it was long, I stayed up to get shots of sunset around 11:30pm. The sunset lasts about an hour since it’s moving very slow, and the days are incredibly long.