The Latest News: Sailing to Antarctica

Do you like puzzles? Here’s an old favorite. Find a location on Earth where you can travel south one kilometer, then east one kilometer, then north one kilometer and end at the same location you began. I put the answer down below. Before you peek, think about this extra puzzle: find a second place on Earth where you can do the same thing. Many people know the answer to the first, but haven’t really given much thought to the second. Stumped? Here are the answers to both.

Vagabond-Adventure Sails to Antarctica …

The big news coming in March is how excited we are to continue our Vagabond Adventure to Earth’s still mysterious seventh continent, Antarctica. We've been looking forward to this leg of the journey a long time. You can’t make all seven continents if you don’t get to Antarctica! Finally now, after traveling back from Pittsburgh to the tip of South America, we’re here. It took almost five months. Hopefully, you’ve been following us along the way, on this world map and in real time on Polarsteps.

Antarctica

Antarctica gets a lot of attention these days, mostly as a bellwether for climate change. Scarcely a week passes without news of a giant glacier calving from the mainland dumping billions of gallons of ice into a warming sea or new questions about the breakup of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Having warmed nearly 5° F since the 1950s the sheet is now at great risk of collapsing.

Not too long ago, Antarctica was notable for a second climate related emergency, the depletion of the ozone layer. Seems Antarctica is Earth’s canary in the coal mine. The good news the ozone layer continues to grow smaller, thanks to a concerted global effort to eliminate the fluorocarbons breaking down the ozone. To this day, the effort to remove these ugly chemicals remains the most unified global activity in human history and gives us hope that similar ecological achievements will come too.

Although uninhabited, Antarctica has several thousand semi-permanent residents at staffed research stations and the continent sees a surprising number of visitors annually. Estimates vary, but that number approaches 100,000. The volume has grown large enough to worry conservation groups, wary of the destruction of pristine habitats. We’ll endeavor to take care and leave no trace..

Our Vagabond-Adventure Expedition

Our vessel, the Ocean Diamond from Quark Expeditions embarks on February 27, where two days will be spent in the roughest and most unpredictable seas in the world: the Drake Passage and the South Ocean. If all goes well, we’ll arrive at our first destination with 122 other passengers on the first of March.

Getting to Antarctica

Once we’ve crossed the Drake, there won’t be much downtime. Quark promises experienced guides will prepare us for the wildlife, glaciology and history in the region. When it comes to the Antarctic there’s no shortage of hair-raising tales. (See “The 10 Greatest Travel Books Ever,” “The World’s Most Remarkable Journey,” South by Ernest Shakleton and Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s classic The Worst Journey in the World (the original books with spectacular photos and drawings).

We’ll spend most of our time on the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula enjoying Zodiac excursions, hiking, visiting penguins and taking in the crisp air. We’re excited to connect with fellow travelers who will share the experience. The Vagabond Adventure is a way to connect person-to-person, even in some of the most remote locales on this green (and sometimes frozen) planet.

Our return through the Drake Passage will likely be more subdued. The excitement of reaching our icy destination will have given way to sober reflection at what we’re unlikely to see again. We’ll have traded anticipation for stories and memories. A worthy exchange.

We’re looking forward to sharing these stories through Dispatches and our social postings. And we expect to have many, many images and videos that I hope can do justice to what we’ll have seen. In the meanwhile, check out these great reads if you want to dive deeper …

Three Great Vagabond-Adventure Reads

In the spirit of our upcoming destination, here are some chilling reads that are among my top 10 Greatest Travel Adventure Books Ever. The first two are digital versions from the Vagabond Adventure Store. the Worst Journey in the World includes my own preface. The images alone make both of them must haves! The third item, from the Reach library is my own telling of Scott’s expedition. I hope you’ll enjoy each of them.

The Solutions to Our Vagabond-Adventure Puzzle

Answer #1. Start at the North Pole and travel south. Heading east or west from there, no matter how far you go, will leave you one kilometer south of the North Pole. Just turn north and your one kilometer trip returns you to the starting place.

Answer #2. This one is a little trickier, but it also involves some polar magic. Start near the South Pole. Find the line of latitude just far enough north of the South Pole such that the circumference at that latitude is one kilometer. Pick any point on that latitude line and move one kilometer north of that. That’s your answer - the starting point! You go south from that point one kilometer, traverse that line of latitude one kilometer, completing exactly one circuit. Head back north one kilometer to your starting spot. It turns out that there are an infinite number of points. Our expedition won’t quite take us that close to the South Pole. For that sort of insider info, try one of the harrowing stories above.

As always, we are grateful for your support!

Hope to see you sometime, somewhere soon! In the meantime, crack on!

Chip & Cyn

C-Squared