On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Dagaetch
Many years ago (too many, ugh) I was a college student who decided to actually read a random email from the dean of my department. Turned out they were inviting people to an information session about a study abroad trip to Antarctica. Well, I was bored that night and figured “hey, free snacks!” Hours later, I was on the phone to my parents explaining why THIS was the opportunity of my lifetime and, uh, money please? We made a deal – I get straight A’s the next semester, they would pay for it. And whaddya know, it turned out I could get good grades when motivated, a lesson I tried to forget as quickly as possible. Anyway, I wasn’t lying, this truly was the opportunity of a lifetime. We flew to Buenos Aires then Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world!), then boarded a research vessel (a converted Russian icebreaker) for a trip through the Drake Passage and a week of poking around the Antarctic Peninsula. The academic purpose of the trip was political – I was a PoliSci major and politics of the area were pretty interesting, actually – and artistic, as one of the tour leaders was a photography professor. So here is the product of the second part!
Pictures are deceptive of how high some of the icebergs are floating. And how big they are in general. We were there in January, so ‘summer’ (temperatures hovered around freezing), and the sun never set. Which was both very cool and very weird.
Every day we would go on excursions from our home, the Akademik Ioffe. Typically ashore, but sometimes just motoring around the area. On the one hand it was crowded on the excursion boats; on the other hand, we were all wrapped in so many layers that I suspect the boat could have held several more people without them.
If any of these places had specific names, I have forgotten them. What I remember is the overwhelming sense of awesomeness, and the knowledge that while I probably wasn’t the first human to be in that exact spot, it was an awfully select group. I’ve always thought that in a different era I would have wanted to be an explorer, looking for areas untouched by man. Antarctica is about as close as you can get now.
At times the water was remarkably still, especially when our pilot would stop the dinghy for a bit. I amused myself by trying to estimate how much ice was under the water; then I decided to try and challenge myself by getting a picture to illustrate that.
These chinstrap penguins HAD to be laughing at us. I mean, here we silly humans were walking around and dressed in bright colors that stood out against the snow and water. What’s that about anyway?
“Alright boys, we riot at dawn.” Seriously, I’m pretty sure this was a planning meeting for something. Oh, and as an aside? Penguins STINK. Technically it’s their poop that stinks, but since they all basically poop on each other…
In deep thick old ice, it is SHOCKING how bright the blues can get. And incredibly beautiful.
If memory serves, we begged our pilot to bring the dinghy under this ice shelf, but he laughed and refused. Still, it was pretty cool. And I got to touch an iceberg in Antarctica, which is a memory and experience to cherish.
I learned a lot on this trip. Politics of the region, how to take good photographs with so much ice, a surprising amount about the wildlife. But every time I was out, I tried to take a moment and just…see where I was. Appreciate the chance that I had to go somewhere so special, and so different. And I am grateful that I did! And now I’m glad I got to share it with you :).
Donatellonerd
wow. thanks.
Barbara
Thanks for sharing — it looks amazing, a setting so grand that it almost defies being captured on film.
Don
That was awesome, man! One for the lifetime.
Wanderer
Such a unique experience. You must have heard some weird sounds with all that moving ice. Thanks for sharing your photos.
YY_Sima Qian
Ahh! Antarctica, so looking forward to going back. Nice photos!
Anyway
Wow. Amazing adventure. What year was this? Way cooler than going on a Nat Geo Antarctica cruise …
YY_Sima Qian
@Anyway: I would have thought a Nat Geo Cruise would be a great experience. I thoroughly enjoyed mine to French Polynesia. However, the people definitely leaned much more monied & conservative than the other Nat Geo tours I have done. I was shocked at the number of Trump supporters. (This was in 2018.)
knally
Really exciting set of photos! And I particularly liked the reflection of the iceberg, and the startling blues.
YY_Sima Qian
@Dagaetch, would you mind elaborating on the politics you were studying? Since we are talking about the Antarctic Peninsula, it would involve the completing claims by Argentina, Chile & the UK, frozen for now by the Antarctic Treaty?
Betty
Great photographs. But we still love penguins even if they don’t smell so good.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
Thank you for the amazing photographs and lighthearted narrative. What an incredible experience you had!
JeanneT
Thank you for sharing these!
cope
Gorgeous pictures of an amazing place, thank you.
I learned the same lesson in college, that if you have a chance to take a trip to somewhere unexpectedly, take it. After the first time, you know what you have the capability of doing.
Thanks again.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Holy cow. This whole trip sounds amazing
HeartlandLiberal
That chinstrap penguin picture is an example of capturing Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The Decisive Moment, which every photographer dreams of. Well done!
SiubhanDuinne
Wow! What a trip, and stunning photos! Thank you for sharing them with us.
mali muso
Amazing! I have always been fascinated by Antarctica. However, I have a tendency towards seasickness on any moving vessel (planes, trains, cars, boats), so I doubt it’s feasible for me to get there. Good on you for taking advantage of the study abroad opportunity of a life time! (I also work in education abroad, so always happy to see the field represent)
J.
Wow. Just beautiful. Great photographs and very interesting post. Thank you for sharing. What an amazing experience.
hedgehog mobile
Thank you! Gorgeous photos.
eclare
Thank you for the photos/commentary! Absolutely stunning.
BretH
Great photos, great writing. Going to share this with my daughter who dreams of going there.
J R in WV
Thanks for sharing, the ice looks COLD…
KSinMA
Beautiful photos!
WaterGirl
Your photos transported me to a different place where my breathing slowed, and for a few minutes blocked everything else out. Especially the reflection of the iceberg and the amazing blue in the iceberg in photo 7. Thank you!
catclub
Ice is amazing and beautiful to see in its vastness. I was on an icebreaker, but only in the Gulf of St Lawrence. being there ( madeleine Islands, middle of the gulf) in the cold I developed a strong sympathy for people who want fur clothing.
Thanks again.
P Thomas
Went to Antarctica on an expedition cruise in 2015. Just a stunning experience. With everything on a cloudy day being simple shades of gray….every photo exposure was perfect, everywhere you looked was a staggering view. And, yes, those blues!
And the penquins. Yes, cute. And tough as nails.
MelissaM
These are great! Please tell more – what year was this? What about life on the icebreaker? how much?
I did a study abroad in Austria, and my mom laughed about how I went on about the required ski week trip (every year the school went to a ski resort in January.) Those meetings sure can proselytize, but it was a great study abroad. Met my husband!
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Ooh, one of the places on my bucket list. I definitely want to go there one day.
Argiope
Just stunning! Adding my voice to the clamor in hopes of hearing more about this trip. The group penguin caption was perfect. Please write more.
pieceofpeace
Thanks, I’m guessing the enormity and beauty of this place is frustratingly difficult to adequately capture. And you explained briefly and well your self-discovery of appreciation, or passion, for the wild, untouched, natural places on the planet.
It looks and sounds like a thrilling experience..
citizen dave
Awesomeness; sounds like you appreciated it fully.
Steve in the ATL
Couldn’t have been THAT long ago if you had email in college! Or maybe rural Virginia was just way behind the times….
Dagaetch
Thanks all! Delighted I finally got around to sharing these with you :). I’ve got some other ideas for OTR posts, will hopefully get around to submitting those soon.
@Anyway: 2005.
@YY_Sima Qian: So the paper I wrote as my assignment was on IAATO, the Int’l Assoc. of Antarctic Tour Operators. Basically how since there is no singular national body that governed behavior, the folks who were coming there had to identify solutions. I don’t remember much anymore to be honest, but it was interesting at the time.
@HeartlandLiberal: High praise, thank you! I hadn’t made that connection before.
@mali muso: FWIW, you can fly to…McMurdo? station and avoid the sea travel entirely. Crossing the Drake Passage is absolutely not an easy trip, I’m an experienced sailor and I still got seasick.
@MelissaM: 2005. It was like a slightly downscale cruise ship, tbh. Bunk beds, a cafeteria, a couple of classrooms. There was a fun room for getting prepped to go out and coming back in, where you could hose off anything, stand in front of powerful blowers, etc.
Dagaetch
@Steve in the ATL: yeah the years probably aren’t that impressive to most folks here, but I’m facing a birthday with a 0 at the end this week and still think of myself more as that college kid in some ways.
Steve in the ATL
@Dagaetch: hang on to your immaturity and you’ll fit in great around here!
HinTN
This is why B-J is like no other place on the innerwebs and why I visit every day. Beautiful photography of a place I’ll clearly never see and description of a fantastic collegiate experience. Thank you @Dagaetch and thank you @WaterGirl: for making this happen.
HinTN
@Steve in the ATL: And in life! 😎
The Moar You Know
Friend of mine mortgaged his house to go. Twenty years later, says it was still worth it.
WaterGirl
@Dagaetch:
I will have to check the BJ bylaws, but I am pretty sure that when 5 people ask you to post more pics from your adventures in Antarctica, you are legally obligated to do so.
JanieM
Great story, fascinating pictures. Thank you.
YY_Sima Qian
@Dagaetch: Thank you for sharing!
I too had not known about the IAATO until I went on an expedition cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia & the Antarctic Peninsula. It is indeed a fascinating study in collective action. I am not sure if there was any punishment mechanism for infractions. Just before the pandemic Chinese tour operators had entered the market to cater to the burgeoning Chinese demand, including construction of expedition cruise ships. I think the Chinese operators jointed the IAATO regime, though.
There is a similar regime governing expedition cruising in the Arctics, but not quite as effective. When I went on an expedition cruise to Northern Spitzbergen, we had encountered much larger ships by German cruise companies that operated outside of the regime, & boy did the crews & expedition staff on my ship have some harsh thoughts toward them.
YY_Sima Qian
@P Thomas: You are absolutely right! & the shades of grey (& the inky black water) only accentuate the vibrant blues in the ice.
arrieve
Oh Antarctica! Thank you for these pictures–I hope I can go back someday. My trip was on the sister ship to yours, the Akademik Vavilov. It was not a luxury ship (and I had to share a bathroom with an adjoining cabin) but I have such wonderful memories of it.
stinger
Wonderful, thank you!
pat
I love reading about the early Antarctic explorers. Two years on the ice? Watching your ship sink as it breaks up? Traveling by boat to a small island, then walking over the island to get help?
It’s been a while since I read about the Endurance and Shackleton. And the race to the south pole. And the other explorations. Amazing things they did (without the warm clothes we have today. )
From a quick google search:
WaterGirl
@pat: I fixed your formatting. :-)
GibberJack
@YY_Sima Qian:
“frozen for now by the Antarctic Treaty”
Oh dear.
Well played.
pat
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. Not sure why it came out that way but I was not about to waste time trying to fix it.
I just looked through my bookshelves and it seems I got all those Antarctic book from the library! Might have to go to my favorite down-town-not-barnes-and-noble book store and order a couple.
StringOnAStick
@mali muso: Have you ever tried scopalomine patches for your sea sickness issues? Works great for my husband, who gets seasick in even the smallest swells. You have to get a prescription for them and apply them 6 hours before you hit the water, but they saved out Galapagos trip, and the seas there are consistently rough. It’s a transdermal patch you stick on behind your ears.
Halteclere
Interesting timing of this On-the-Road entry – I’m currently in the middle of an Antarctic trip. Currently we are below the Antarctic circle, and have had several land excursions along the Antartic peninsula.
Except for a rough crossing of the Drake passage, the weather has been very accommodating. I find it funny that, during the recent artic blast, I was in warmer temperatures than most of the U.S.!
Rebel’s Dad
Thanks for the pics and story! If I could only visit ONE place outside the USA, it would be Antarctica. Maybe one day if I strike it rich with crypto! (ROFLMAO like I’m dumb enough to touch techbro Monopoly money)
StringOnAStick
@pat: We just read Madness at the End of the World for book club, about a Belgian expedition that pre-dated Shackelton’s. It’s not one you hear about because they didn’t have any real major firsts, but it is where Roald Amundson got his first taste of the Antarctic.
YY_Sima Qian
@Halteclere: Enjoy the cruise, & the memories that will last the life time! How is the maritime satellite connection?
WaterGirl
@Halteclere: We will look forward to your OTR submissions, then! :-)
way2blue
These are awesome, Dagaetch. Thanks. Didn’t know Study Abroad options included Antarctica. Amazing. I head to Ushuaia in March. Not for a cruise to Antarctica though, rather up the Chilean fjordland to Punta Arenas. So glaciers & penguins. But not landscapes filled with icebergs…
pat
@StringOnAStick:
Read that one too. Altho it’s at the end of the Earth, not the world. (Discovered that just now as I tried to look it up on the library website. “World” did not come up so I googled it….)
What would we do without Google??
Halteclere
@YY_Sima Qian: The satellite internet is hit or miss. I don’t know if there are gaps in coverage of the satellites overhead, what system is being used, how much the weather affects reception, or if at times the signal is just overwhelmed by the other passengers also accessing the internet.
When i have internet and have a break in activities, it generally takes a few minutes for the text of the Ballon-Juice posts to be uploaded, and several minutes more for the accompanying pictures to be uploaded. I don’t even try to click on any graphics-heavy or video links.
Primarily I’m online just long enough to check on family emails – my mom is getting quite frail. And to check Balloon-Juice for Adam’s Ukraine updates, and to see if anything earthshattering has happenend in the world.
Concerning your earlier comment about getting stuck on a ship with a bunch of Trump supporters, I think the different tour operators and the tour itineraries draw different crowds, and it probably also varies from trip to trip.
I expected this trip to be full of a bunch of older people who had already seen much of the world, or at least have already put their kids throigh college. But there are quite a few younger singles and couples onboard from all over the (mostly english-speaking) world. When the onboard geologists gave his talk about ice cores and global warming, I didn’t see anyone grit their teeth in disapproval.
YY_Sima Qian
@Halteclere: Sounds like my experience back in 2014.
I just didn’t expect a Nat Geo cruise to have such large contingent of Trump supporters. The Nat Geo expeditions/adventures that I have joined skewed strongly liberal/Democratic, though I was aware of no one who leaned Left. I suppose Nat Geo cruises are quite pricy, so they draw a much more monied crowd. I would love to go on more Nat Geo expeditions/adventures, but not so sure about Nat Geo cruises.
The Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctic cruise I did go on, w/ a Dutch operator, had a wonderfully diverse crowd of primarily Europeans, North Americans & Aussies/Kiwis, w/ a few Latin Americans, South Asians & East Asians sprinkled in, & w/ a much stronger upper middle class representation. The Northern Spitsbergen cruise I went on w/ the same Dutch operator had a 50% Chinese contingent, the rest was an equally diverse group of Europeans & North Americans.