Crossing the Drake Passage for two days had been challenging for this landlubber. I could hardly wait to touch the seventh continent. My heart pounded like a child anticipating a holiday. I imagined how excited Cook, Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen and other polar explorers felt upon initially sighting Antarctica.
Antarctica’s stark, peaceful landscape, haunting icebergs and peculiar wildlife provide novel discoveries. A vast treeless span of ice loomed one-half mile off port. Towering rocky spires confirmed the volcanic origin of the South Shetland Islands.
An expedition team rode ashore in motorized Zodiacs to make sure conditions were safe for landing. Then, straggled groups were ferried to the kelp-laden shore of Aitcho Island. We hiked single file up a snow-blanketed hill for a more encompassing look. An endless stretch of sea and white crystals with no visible vegetation engulfed us. On this early summer afternoon, the temperate, practically still air belied the world’s highest, driest and windiest continent.

Zodiacing ashore

Why journey to the end of the Earth? Because it’s there! I also yearned to see penguins, other peculiar wildlife and a stark, undeveloped icebound world. Many fellow travelers, who had circled the Earth many times, aspired to add the last continent to their diverse lists. New globe-trotters such as I, who had yet to experience Europe, delighted in discovering a rare, serene place, which most humans will never see. 

I flew from my home in Virginia to Miami to Santiago, Chile, to Ushuaia, Argentina —  the world’s southernmost city — where 126 passengers and a crew of 100 embarked by ship for the Great White Continent.

Strange territorial braying sounds and the unmistakable whiff of guano emanated from large Gentoo and Chinstrap penguin rookeries. Unthreatened by man or any land predators, these flightless, roly-poly, black-and-white birds waddled nonchalantly within three feet of me. The International Association for Antarctica Tour Operators guidelines say that no human should come within 15 feet of Antarctic wildlife. The reverse, of course, is a different matter. Some of these comical, well-insulated creatures tobogganed down a slope on their rotund bellies. After a smooth landing, they rose, teetered, and queued up to dive into the frigid water.

Chinstrap Penguin

After feasting on krill for several days at sea, a ritual occurs. After much bowing, braying, head-raising, and flipper-waving, a Gentoo or Chinstrap penguin relieves its nesting mate so she too can eat.  Meanwhile, an unwary penguin might feel a tug at its tail while another neighbor pilfers its nest pebbles. An accumulation of nest pebbles denotes status.

Enormous juvenile elephant seals rested on a gritty beach beside nesting Gentoos. These innocuous mammals had congregated ashore for their annual molt. Chick-hungry brown skuas, petrels and albatrosses perched nearby.

Absent from this no man’s land were roads, buildings, and other signs of human existence. Except for the approximately 4,000 residents on scattered research bases in summer (approximately December through February), there are no people living in Antarctica .

Suddenly, needlelike sleet pierced the crisp, dismal atmosphere. Despite the advent of austral summer, the weather in Antarctica is as unpredictable as a toddler’s next step. Clad in easily recognizable red parkas and rubber boots, we quickly returned to the safety and comfort of our ship. Not knowing one’s destination is the serendipity of the Southern Ocean. Plans and destinations change quickly and constantly.

Aboard the 354-foot World Discoverer was a fitness room equipped with a sauna, exercise bike, and a treadmill. The library contained assorted books on history and nature and a computer with e-mail capabilities. Our posh cabins included a small balcony and private bath. Chefs prepared tasty, novel dishes such as braised rooster, krill, and prune sherbet. We enjoyed the camaraderie of other fearless travelers, for this voyage was not for the fainthearted. Our 11-day journey focused on nature in lieu of the traditional glamour and entertainment of huge cruise lines. An excellent ornithologist, ecologist, and geologist lectured on the wonders of this incredible land and sea.

Before we even reached Antarctica, a 5:50 a.m. wake-up call summoned robed passengers to the deck to glimpse an emperor penguin, a rare sight that far from Antarctica. Later that day, the wind howled as we stepped onto the Antarctic continent at Brown Bluff on the Tabarin Peninsula .

Around 900f the planet’s ice is as deep as 15,000 feet near the South Pole. Boulders and peaks composed of basalt, granite, diorite, and breccia abound. Some rock formations are around 450 million years old.

We cruised atop a caldera through Neptune Bellows and landed on Deception Island. An abandoned British Antarctic survey base and dilapidated boilers from a Norwegian whaling operation were vestiges of a past era. That afternoon daring swimmers tested a natural hot tub in a little cove.

Penguins entertain

Stunning white tabular and arched blue icebergs with large apertures decorated open channels. These gigantic whispering structures reminded me of the haunting rock formations in Monument Valley, Arizona.

Once, I watched awestruck as Captain Oliver Kruss deftly steered the ship through a storm. Finlike stabilizers kept the vessel afloat. On another occasion, this Swedish-Finnish icebreaker pushed masses of ice floes from its path.

Ironically, my home state of Virginia has a long tradition of exploration in Antarctica, beginning with the expeditions of native son, Richard Evelyn Byrd. This rear admiral led four expeditions to the region and once remained there alone for six months. Since 1994, Dr. Hugh Ducklow of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, part of the College of William and Mary, has conducted research at Palmer Station. This locale and Murdo represent America ’s two research bases in Antarctica.

Rough swells and escalating winds prevented my party from visiting this venue and meeting Ducklow, although I did meet with the professor nearly a year later at his office in Gloucester, VA. The same flag that waved over Byrd’s Little America in Antarctica is now encased in Byrd Hall at the Institute.

"We live college-dorm-style at Palmer and share nice accommodations," explained Ducklow. "t;We enjoy delicious meals and freshly baked breads every day.  There’s 24/7 Internet and fast, cheap phone service.  Each scientist has a Zodiac so there’s no sense of claustrophobia."

Ducklow is studying weather, Adelie penguin behavior, and bacteriology.  "There is direct hard evidence since the1970s of a 20-300ss or melting of sea ice throughout Antarctica,"the professor said. "There are also earlier retreats of ice and shrinking glaciers. These are early warning signs for Earth.

"The entire global climate is regulated by ocean circulation," he continued. "t;The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is a sink that collects and stores heat. If Antarctica lost all of its ice, wind patterns would change everywhere. Environmental activities on this continent provide clues about what’s happening elsewhere, and weather patterns are happening fast in Antarctica."

During the last 30 years, scientists have noted an alarming decline, 50-67 0ucklow reports, in the Adelie penguin population particularly in northern Antarctica.

"When this true polar species migrates north in November to nest on snow, it finds warm temperatures," Ducklow explains. "t;Melting ice contributes significantly to the species’ breeding failure. As a result, these stressed penguins are pushed to the edge of their habitat requirements in the area. "Consequently, the Gentoos and Chinstraps, higher latitude penguins, are replacing Adelies in this region while some Adelies are remaining farther south."

Ducklow is also attempting to understand how bacteria regulate carbon dioxide in the Southern Ocean. He says that DDT, PCBs, and other pollutants have been detected in the Antarctic food chain. "The United States is diligent about recycling, waste treatment, and policing other environmental practices,"t; Ducklow said. "My concern is the rapid increase in tourism there. As more people visit the area, a greater impact will be inflicted upon the environment. "

When traveling to the Antarctic, it is important to select a responsible tour operator who respects the environment. Members of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators operate vessels ranging from a small icebreaker to large cruise ships. The experience varies accordingly, with smaller ships offering the opportunity to take a Zodiac to shore and large ships cruising at a distance.

Ducklow takes undergraduate and graduate students from the College of William and Mary to see in-depth phenomena at Palmer Research Station. Studies there are translatable to the Chesapeake Bay and other ecosystems. Ducklow firmly believes that Antarctic research and its educational outreach program for grades K-12 are valuable for the commonwealth.

No nation owns Antarctica. In fact, the Antarctic Treaty prohibits warfare or exploitation of this continent and its surrounding waters. Countries with research interests share scientific findings.

Journeying there is undeniably a life altering experience. I returned to Virginia braver, hardier, and more determined to be an ambassador of the wilderness.