Travel Articles: Staff Blog

It’s easy to get carried away talking about Antarctica and completely neglect the rocky terrain of Patagonia. Looking back, this feels like such a different experience, it must have been a completely separate trip. But no, before arriving in Ushuaia, my partner-in-crime and I flew into El Calafate to be transported to El Chalten for some …

There are people that believe that Antarctica is "shared" among multiple countries because it is not its own continent, but instead a massive wall of ice along the edge of our disc-shaped planet. I however like to believe that tis treaty comes from an international desire to make Antarctica the exception from the rest of the globe. That …

As itineraries for Antarctica are determined so heavily by the weather and ice conditions, it is impossible to say what landings you’ll make on your journey.





I can’t tell you how many times I’ve typed that to travelers as they plan for their Antarctic journey. On the receiving end of that news, it can feel like …

You'd think living in Montana would have conditioned me to cold temperatures over time. Although, my comfort level never expanded to anything lower than 60 degrees, I have learned to adjust my wardrobe accordingly. You can find me wearing two pairs of pants and at least three shirts December through February. All these layers help me feel like …

Sometimes it feels like my trip to Antarctica was all a dream. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to have gone and I wouldn’t have been able to do this trip without Adventure Life. I’m unbelievably grateful for this once in a lifetime experience. Better yet, I was able to share it all with my best friend and life partner. I …

Tourism in Antarctica began in the 1950’s. It was exclusive and expensive. In the early 1990s, there were around 5,000 tourists visiting Antarctica and in 1991, seven private tour operators came together and formed a group you might have heard of today, IAATO- International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Jumping ahead, the …

The other large aspect of this destination is the ice. Who knew ice was so cool (pun intended)!? Before this trip, I had not experienced this staple of the polar. The farthest north or south I’d been before this trip was 58 degrees north and it was during its meltiest period. I have seen a couple glaciers, but they have been small, very …

The Drake Passage is the body of water between the end of South America and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It is the southernmost point where the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean meet. It’s average depth is around 11,000 meters, which is very deep relatively speaking.





The days at sea were disorienting. Time was …

Wildlife is such a huge part of this destination’s appeal! Penguins were a favorite for me. It helped that this is the first time having seen them. Before, I had only ever seen them in a zoo and man was this a different experience. These guys are just a species that you need to experience in the wild (actually I think that of all species). …

To get to Antarctica requires a lot of travel. As the crow flies, it’s a little under 10,000 miles from Missoula, Montana. That’s a lot of ground to cover, and looking back, I wish we would have spent more time exploring some of the miles in between. If we hadn’t been hemmed in by two weeks notice and Christmas travel plans we …

A key aspect of the enjoyment behind this cruise for me was being well informed. I liked the daily programs they would pass out the night before, giving us a run down on scheduled events. This leaflet had everything-- information on the expected weather forecast, including wind speed and sunrise/sunset times. It had our approximate location with a …

Food, on any cruise, speaks to the overall quality of the experience and is an essential part of the adventure- even more so when that food is the only option available for hundreds of miles. Cuisine provides cruise ships an opportunity to showcase their level of sophistication and luxury. Of course, French influence was apparent through each and …

Cruising with Ponant is a great experience. Every room is equipped with its own beverage center spanning from a wide variety of teas to "make your own cocktails" mini bar. All was included and restocked daily! Many fine spirits and wines were also complementary and every time we came back from an excursion, the crew would have some warm …

Lots of things about this adventure were great, but can you blame me if I say that this was by far my favorite aspect? I mean it helped that our expedition guides were cool, but I think it made a world of difference that our captain and our expedition leader both had a sense of adventure at the center of their hearts. The whole ship made us feel …

After my Antarctic journey, I decided to go "thaw out" in Iguazu. I was really excited to see the falls- I have always been a big fan of waterfalls- they are so sacred and powerful! The beauty and expansiveness of Iguazu is unmatched by all the other waterfalls I have seen on my travels thus far.

Upon finishing my cruise, I flew from …

In addition to penguins, icebergs are a quality that gives Antarctica its Antarctica-ness! Antarctica without icebergs certainly would not be Antarctica. In addition to their massive size, I was also amazed at all the different variations of blues and whites in each iceberg. Did you know that to be classified as an iceberg, the ice height must be …

I consider myself to be a pretty light packer, but planning for Antarctica was a bit daunting. Luckily, living in Montana helped prepare me for the trip as I already owned lots of cold-weather clothing. My goal for the more than two-week-long trip was to bring only a carry on suitcase and a small backpack and I successfully achieved this goal! …

Although wildlife can never be guaranteed in any location, in a place like Antarctica no wildlife sightings would certainly be unusual! On my Antarctic journey, I saw many species of penguins, whales, birds and seals. In fact, we were able to check off most of the creatures on the wildlife list provided by our expedition leaders. While I was …

The Drake Passage is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn and Antarctica. With so much water funneled through such a small space, the seas are some of the roughest in the world. In fact, 125–200 million cubic yards per second pass through the passage. I was pretty anxious about spending four days on the Drake and tried to …

This particular trip was extra special because we successfully crossed the Antarctic Polar Circle, an imaginary line at 66°33′48 degrees South! Attempts to cross the Polar Circle usually happen once per season on Antarctic ships. The polar circle itineraries tend to occur during late February or March when the larger sheets of ice have …

One of my favorite days on my trip was towards the end of the cruise. We started the morning in Paradise Bay and Skontorp Cove near the Chilean Research base at Brown Station. While some people went on land, the rest of us went on a zodiac cruise to get up close to the wildlife and icebergs. The glassy bay was beautiful for taking photos- …

I was expecting to see lots of aquatic wildlife on my Antarctic cruise (and I did see plenty of swimming whales, penguins and seals!) but I was not expecting a human cold water swim team! The MV Ushuaia helped a group of 14 cold water experience a 1 km icy swim. (Two swimmers even broke world records for the first swimmers below the polar circle!) …

When choosing an Antarctic vessel, there are many different factors to consider including ship size and the number of passengers, level of on board amenity and overall cost. I chose to travel on the 88 passenger MV Ushuaia. This is one of the smallest and most basic ships plying the Antarctic waters and all passengers are able to go ashore at a …

Upon arrival in the port city of Ushuaia, I went to go check out Tierra del Fuego National Park on a trekking and paddling excursion! I visited Ushuaia a few years ago, but did not get a chance to visit this particular national park, and I was excited to check it out. In the morning, I met up with the small group of other travelers and our local …