"You're going to Antarctica, aren't you?"
I turned and saw an elderly couple wearing
heavy red parkas. They were in line next to me at the Aerolinas Argentinas
counter at Kennedy Airport in New York.
"Yes, I am," I said with a grin, wondering what had given me away.
We then glanced at our bags, and noticed the identical luggage tags
saying Blyth and Company Travel, Toronto. Ben and Marge confirmed
that they were going on the same trip I was: expedition cruising to
the ice continent. I had made two friends and I hadn't even gotten
my seat assignment.
We met more fellow travelers in the departure
lounge, still more on the plane that began its journey in Montreal.
The West Coast group caught up with us in Buenos Aires. After an afternoon
of exploring and a night of rest there, we were on our way to Ushuaia
(pronounced oosh-WHY-a), the southernmost town in the world, where
we would board our ship. The rugged coast of Patagonia and the cobalt
blue ocean looked beautiful from 30,000 feet. We landed briefly in
the small outpost of Rio Grande to change to a smaller plane. I realized
why when we dropped out of the sky over the snow-capped Le Martial
Mountains, skimmed the rooftops of Ushuaia and came to a halting stop
on the town's short, single runway.
 Tour
guides dropped us in the center of town to shop while the ship prepared
for our arrival, but it was impossible to contain our excitement.
Finally we boarded: The ship was the Akademik Ioffe, a 383-foot ice-class
Russian research vessel built in Finland in 1987. With the fall of
the Soviet Union, and the collapse of the economy, the ship was leased
to Blyth Travel, and refitted for expedition cruising. This was a
rare opportunity, and I planned to make the most of it.
My room on the ship was much nicer than I
expected, given that we were on a research ship rather than a luxury
liner. The economy cabin included bunk beds, a sink, a desk, a sofa,
an outside view and more storage space than you could need. Bathroom
facilities were shared with a few other cabins. |
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