ANTARCTIC VOYAGE

BY Clay Larroy

Traveling is great personal interests because it will make a more open-minded person when it comes to inter acting with people. It also made it easier to understanding as to why people act the way they do in their own society and in a society as diverse as the U.S. It has long been said that travels “broadens the mind”. Now new evidence proves that jumping on a plane will not only make you smarter, but more open-minded.  When you need to plan a vacation contact me!

Antarctic Voyage - Journey to the Bottom of the World

By George Bailey

It was mid-December and I had traveled to the coldest, driest, and windiest continent where there’s no permanent human residents or any evidence of any pre-historic indigenous population. It lies in darkness at the bottom of the world. It’s a vast unknown, like an afterthought of creation. Antarctica would prove to be the type of adventure that makes life worth living. At 63 years of age I wanted a "different" kind of experience. I got it.

It’s about a ten to fifteen-hour flight depending on where you leave from North America to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After overnighting Argentina’s capital city it was another three hour flight to Tierra del Fuego and its capital Ushuaia where I embarked on a ten day trip aboard the mv Discovery to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica Peninsula. People who knew the television series, "Love Boat" will recognize the mv Discovery. It was built during a time when vessels had graceful lines and not manufactured in mass quantities. After a superb refit in 2003 it has back its original charm. It"s a classic ocean liner with a passenger capacity of 800, but never carries more than 650 (500 for Antarctica). On this cruise there were 425 passengers and almost an equal crew. When we were welcomed aboard, we were all given a red winter jacket. From that moment we all became a sea of red on and off the ship.

I knew I was not going hungry. The exquisite welcome aboard buffet set the tone for the cuisine on the cruise. There are several places to eat aboard ship. The Seven Continents Restaurant has menu service for breakfast, lunch and dinner or the top-side Lido Café and Yacht Club Restaurant are two other alternatives. Amazingly, I managed to remain the same weight coming on board that I did when I disembarked.

On warm days (remember, it’s summer in the Antarctic in December) I swam in the top side pool then soaked in one of the aft side hot tubs. There’s something surreal about relaxing in a hot tub in the middle of the Southern Ocean at the end of the world. During the day I attended excellent lectures, arriving at the ship’s Carousel Lounge early for a seat to learn more about topics like, "A Beginners Guide to Penguin Appreciation" or the "Geography and Geology of Antarctica." This was one of the highlights of the journey. If you get bored watching icebergs (if that’s possible) you can catch a movie in the Discovery Theatre. In the nearby lounge you can listen to a band and dance.

REFERENCE SITES:

http://www.travelresearchonline.com/

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.” 
― Rumi Jalalud-Din

Enjoy and travel to create great family memories!