These migrate to Hawaii and other winter breeding grounds in the tropics and subtropics to give birth to their calves, the waters are more shallow and warmer, providing a safe and protected environment to nurture their young. 

Studying geography in my school days I was always fascinated by the place name ‘Tierra del Fuego’ the southernmost tip of South America, nicknamed the ‘End of the World’. The flight from Toronto takes you to São Paulo, Brazil. After a short stop then it’s on to Buenos Aires, Spanish for “fair winds” or “good airs” the capital of Argentina that’s situated on the shore of Rio de La Plata. An opportunity of staying here for a night or two would not be wasted. You’re in a city that’s recovering from years of economic stagnation. This is a vibrant city with a population of 15 million people. The city has matured through one financial crisis after another, the International Monetary Fund had to rescue them from figures of inflation that were at 100% at one stage. 

Spending a day in the city that’s alive with activity, students always bring life into an area as do the office staff that are employed in the banking, financial services industry, the technology sector, and so many other employment areas throughout the city. Visit the restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, and bistros that have menus to suit all palates. Going through the galleries and museums telling the history of the city and the nation, listen to the music steal through your mind ‘Don’t Cry for me Argentina’ taking you back to the story of Eva Peron, the wife of the president Juan, the revered First Lady who championed workers rights, support for the poor and the downtrodden, the rights of women in politics and in education. She died way too prematurely at the tender age of 33 years. In the movie Evita, Madonna played the leading role.

Flying into Ushuaia, there’s a shuttle bus to transfer passengers to the cruise ship. On board instructions and introductions are carried out by staff members. Cruising to the last of the Seven continents, one cannot but be transported back to those explorers and adventurers that have gone before us. James Cooke crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1773, the Magellan Straits, Sir Francis Drake who circumnavigated the world in 1577-80, Wendell Sea and Ross Sea. Two days into the cruise and we arrive at the Drake Passage and an awesome body of water to go across. 

The ship uses an innovative hydro-jet propulsion system to allow the purpose-built World Traveller ship to maintain location without the need to drop anchor. This allows you to get closer to the environment and wildlife without disturbing their habitat. We transfer to the zodiacs, small rubber boats that can get up close and personal to the shore. Here is where the action is happening, penguins with their chicks, protecting them and then baling away from them, into the water like a torpedo in search of food. There are seals basking on the beaches, birds trying to get their share of the spoils. Whichever of the species that are there we are cautious not to disturb or distract them in any way from their activities. Their lives are precious and we have a duty as visitors to protect the environment and everything associated with that.

Lectures on board the ships, tells us about the ‘Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration’, the end of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s saw a terrific upsurge of exploration in Antarctica. The challenge was, who would reach the South Pole first? Men like the British seaman Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, Thomas Crean, Roald Amundsen and Sir Edmund Hillary. The stories of these explorers will capture the imagination. The world’s last frontier, that moment when for a person or a nation that flag or marker says I am the first person to have arrived here. You’ll hear the tales of ships stranded in ice, starvation and lives lost. The greatest race of all in my opinion is that of Amundsen the Norwegian and Scott the English man. Different methods and modes of transportation were used. Scott brought ponies, dogs and two tractors. He had a team of about 90 people, Scott’s expedition was financed by the British government , the Admiralty and others, there were scientists, teachers, botanists, and tradesmen. Amundsen took a smaller party, using dogs only. He had with him the Norwegian champion skier who proved to be the ace in the hold. Having arrived at the final camp before the South Pole, Amundsen and five others went on with the dogs and three sleighs. Bjaaland the skier was invaluable as a team member, he trimmed the sleighs down to the thinnest for the purpose of weight. With the skier out in front the dogs had a target and a leader to follow. Amundsen and his team were the first people to reach the South Pole in December 1911. The expedition team made it back safely to their base and to Norway having left supplies for Scott and his team. Scott and his team did arrive at the South Pole a month after Amundsen in January 1912. Sadly on their return back to base camp they all perished.

The story of Ernest Shackleton and his ship the Endurance with a crew of 28 has been published in several publications. Films have been made of how their ship got stuck on an ice bank, for days they struggled to get free. As the ship groaned and twisted in the grasp of the sea ice, the sailors emptied whatever they could onto the packed ice. Finally when the vessel surrendered to the crushing, freezing ice they watched the ship crack and deliver its fractured remains over the frozen snow or swallowed it into the ocean, the crew just watched in awe for over a period of months as this took place. Shackleton, Crean, and Mosley the ship’s captain had left the area to find help, crossing South Georgia they reached the Norwegian whaling village. After 497 days the crew who had set up shelters and living quarters beside their ruined ship were rescued.

As you cruise through the ice and floating glaciers and land on the continent of Antarctica you will notice that there are mountains and hills there. The highest peak is Mount Vinson, it rises to 4,892 metres. Since 1966 approximately 1,200 people have climbed it. Depending how quickly one acclimatized to the conditions it takes 5 - 9 days to complete the climb. 

What’s the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic, the Arctic is an Ocean while the Antarctic is a Continent. Both have magnetic fields, the inclination of the Earth’s field is 90° downwards at the north magnetic field and 90° upwards at the south magnetic field. 

Even though we all know that penguins love the cold there have never been any found in the Arctic. At the Antarctic there are an estimated 44,000,000 penguins, that’s a lot of poop on a white background, a trivia question true or false, can penguin poop be seen from outer space. Wait for a drum roll, Yes it Can.

In 1959 the Antarctic Treaty was signed by twelve countries, banning any military activities in the region. The area is preserved for the fish and sea mammals that are found there plus the penguins, seals and birds. Scientists, botanists, geologists, biologists, mathematicians and international naval personnel have a right to inspect what’s going on. Numbers are curtailed when visiting Antarctica, only one ship can visit a site at any one time. Vessels with more than 500 passengers shall not make landings in Antarctica. A maximum of 100 passengers may be ashore at any one time.

For peace and tranquility, an area that’s untouched, protected and preserved, heavenly and out worldly there are few to compare.