Dear Tiatira Com,
I’ve always believed Antarctica to be the ultimate journey. Yet despite my passion for travel, I had never been there. Partly it’s because Antarctica is a destination that requires more time than I thought I had to give. And I worried about the Drake – the waterway between South America and the Antarctic peninsula that you must cross; the passage, as the saying goes, can be the Drake Lake or Drake Shake.
For that first trip to Antarctica, I chose our Antarctica Bridge voyage, which eliminated all my concerns. You fly from South America to the White Continent (thus eliminating two full sea days in both directions). And you skip the Drake Passage.
What did I find?
Antarctica is exquisite, magnificent and powerful, but there is no collection of descriptors that does it justice. To have been one of a very few people in the world to experience this icy desert is humbling, exciting and transformational. In this week’s To the Curious, you’ll find my thoughts on this extraordinary trip.
You’ll read about an allure so powerful that it holds explorer Felicity Aston in its grip. She is the only woman to have skied across the continent alone. I’m not quite ready to do that, but I am ready to greet Aston, the godmother of the Silver Endeavour, a ship that’s new to the Silversea fleet, when she christens her in November.
Yes, I’m returning, even though it’s been less than year since my first trip to Antarctica. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca,” I think that voyage was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Stay curious.
Warmest Regards,
