Introducing installment four — for the ladies, the gents, the parents-to-be, the chilly, the silly, and all of my friends. 😀
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Let me set the scene in Antarctica:
The wind whipped at 20 knots, the temperature hovered around -15°C, and I was 24 weeks pregnant. As Patrick, Helen, and I hyped ourselves up to go outside, I took a deep breath, sucked in my stomach, and zipped my borrowed waterproof pants (the real MVP).
Our faces may be hidden, but our spirits were wide open!!
Minutes later, we were bouncing across the icy water in a Zodiac, heading toward the solid, frozen continent we’d been anticipating for days.
The kind of company that makes you forget the cold.
“Did you expect it to be this mountainous?” Patrick, the science teacher, shouted over the wind.
No. I didn’t expect… any of it.
Seeing the world anew.
I hadn’t realized that the Andes don’t actually stop at Tierra del Fuego, they just dive beneath the Drake Passage and rise again here, in Antarctica. Which makes perfect sense now that I’ve seen them; it’s like the same mountain chain but in a completely different mood.
Any apprehension we’d had earlier about going outside melted away (please forgive the global warming reference 😭).
An ambassador will never forget her first landing!!!!!!
The Andes’ icy cousins.
Land ho!
Stepping onto the continent felt like crossing into another dimension. Patrick put his hand on my belly and felt Pingüina kick. Call it artistic creativity, but Ryan’s and my baby took some of her first steps on Antarctica, in the grandest possible setting.
We spent almost two hours exploring, photographing, and trying to process where we were. Someone on our ship brought a flag ashore, and only then did it hit me — this was my seventh continent! (And there are only seven!)
How can I be at the bottom of the world but also on top of it?! 😎 🌍
Touching Antarctica …but not anticipating it would touch us right back ❄️ ♥️
Each landing felt like an exclamation point — Antarctica saying, “Yes, AND(arctica)!”
Exclamation (case in) point: On one landing and among actual penguins, Patrick and Helen surprised me with a baby shower!!! It was the most remote, thoughtful, memorable, unique celebration imaginable!!!!!!!!
The coldest place on Earth birthed some of my warmest memories.
Helen and Patrick walking in comfortable silence.
Every stop ashore revealed a new side of Antarctica: we stepped onto a beach full of black volcanic sand, the remains of an active caldera. The air was still freezing, but if you dug into the earth, it was actually slightly warm from the geothermal heat below (which is why there was no snow on the ground). Neat!
The floor is lava. (Okay fine, volcanic ash, but close enough.)
Now for the Polar Plunge.
WHAAATTTTTT?!!!!!! But you’re pregnant?!!!!!! Isn’t that worse than getting into a hot tub?!!!
Yes, I wasn’t allowed to participate for very understandable reasons. But also BRRRR! Are you kidding me?!!!!!!!! I was thrilled to have a doctor’s excuse because I wouldn’t have jumped in anyway.
She’s the ship’s doctor and I’m medically exempt.
Helen and I stood on shore, wrapped in every layer we owned, and cheered for the brave souls who decided to swim.
“What’s the opposite of FOMO?” Bel laughed, “is it JOMO? Joy of missing out.”
Our bestie, Patrick, was the bravest of them all. He entered the water calmly and swam deliberately. Somehow, he made the polar plunge look elegant.
Check out that form!
After, we headed back to the ship, wrapped ourselves in blankets, and drank endless hot drinks. Yup, even those of us who didn’t ‘plunge into the Arctic Sea’ got to participate in the warming up experience.
Defrosted and delighted.
I will finish this post by doing my sworn Antarctic Ambassador duties which I think, if I understand correctly, is to tell everyone, everywhere, forever how incredible Antarctica is.
Antarctica and my belly know their angles.
Each of our landings was perfect.
May these photos and memories never thaw,
‘mi & Pingüina
Adventuresam 