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How to go to Antarctica It's easy to go to Antarctica -- just book your trip, and shell out a bunch of money. How you get the money is up to you. This advice comes from someone who bought the absolute cheapest commercial trip to Antarctica available. (Well, I did find out about one way to go for less, but it may not even be available anymore. Read on to learn about the Mystery Man.) I traveled to Antarctica in January, 2002. I was 25. My mom, whose crazy idea this was, was 53 at the time. If a newspaper reporter and a teacher can pay for a trip to Antarctica, anyone can. The sad thing is that, although many people will say they want to go, they never do. We tried to coax others into going with us. Everyone thought it was a cool idea. Everyone chickened out. I might have convinced my boyfriend, but we worked at the same newspaper, and if we'd asked to go on vacation at the same time, they'd have acted like we were trying to sabotage their operation. We might have dragged my little sister along, but she would have missed a lot of her college classes. We bought the Antarctic Peninsula package from Orient Lines. They're promoting this package now for $4,150 per person, and, since I went, they've made the formerly optional stay in Buenos Aires part of the package. Orient Lines offers bargain cruises to other parts of the world, too. It sends the Marco Polo to Antarctica each December, January and February because the ship, originally a Russian passenger vessel, can cut through ice shelves like so much white bread. Prices for these cruises run higher than others because international agreements restrict the number of tourists who can visit Antarctica at any one moment. Visiting Antarctica on the Marco Polo mixes luxury and adventure. You're climbing onto the ice from Zodiac landing crafts in the morning, and sampling multi-course dinners in the evening. Luxury, as on any cruise, doesn't necessarily extend to your actual stateroom. We stayed in the absolute cheapest cabin available, one of the Standard Insides. But who cares? To look at the scenery of Antarctica through a porthole is like reading the Cliff Notes to a classic book. We shied away from the two specially designated formal dinners. People too worldly to lug their own bags -- so that's who stays in the big cabins -- may be able to pack multiple changes of formal wear with their expedition gear, but not us. I'd recommend taking a knit jersey dress (guess that won't work if you're a guy) and going to the dinners. Cruise staff told us that the Antarctica trips attract a crowd more interested in adventure than dressing up. Act your age There were a few kids on the ship, some elementary-school age. I think kids older than 14 or so would be best equipped to appreciate Antarctica and form lasting memories. Unlike cruise ships geared toward families, the Marco Polo offers no activities just for kids. The landings and other special Antarctica events take up a lot of time, so that's not necessarily a problem. But if you're going to take your kids or teenagers to Antarctica, I recommend traveling with another family. That way they'll always have a Scrabble partner or just someone to wander around the deck with. Overwhelmingly, our fellow passengers were older folks, members of the World War II generation, or at least the generation that fought the Korean War. I certainly don't begrudge the "Greatest Generation" its golden years. It takes lots of money and lots of free time to visit Antarctica. Most people, me included, don't have that until they retire. And I wouldn't be my Grandpa Witmer's granddaughter if I didn't understand that the $4,000 I spent, thanks to time and compounding interest, would grow to be worth many cruises if I put it away for 40 years. However, I wish more young folks and even baby boomers would go ahead and visit Antarctica earlier in life. The landings can be physically rough. So can just standing on the deck, one of the most rewarding parts of an Antarctica vacation. The scenery's overpowering, even from behind glass, but why wait to see it until you're too feeble to step out into the open? And another thing. Antarctica is the last place on earth, but there's no reason to make it the last place you visit. Why not visit with fresh eyes? Mystery Man Last but not least, there's the matter of the Mystery Man. After our cruise was over, we, like many passengers, spent hours exploring the charming streets of Ushuaia. Near the port, we saw intriguing signs: "Visit Antarctica! $1,999." Feeling ripped off for the first time in 14 days, we asked a travel agent what was up. She said the $1,999 deal was aimed at the many backpackers drawn to the End of the World, as Ushuaia calls itself. The price indeed covered a voyage on the Marco Polo. But, she said, these passengers get the very last small cabins available, and they can't eat in the large dining room, only at the buffet. There might have been other restrictions, she thought. But wait -- there was more. It seems the captain of the Marco Polo was thinking of banning walk-on passengers altogether, and all because of something that happened on our voyage! A young, solo male traveler, whom all passengers instantly recongnized if you just referred to him as Mystery Man or "That Guy," had bought his passage at the discount rate. He spent the whole voyage creeping people out. He never hurt anyone, but when he wasn't weaseling his way into conversations, he was lurking just within earshot. He offered few details about himself, and asked none in return -- but he did up and ask me, on the first night, as the ship left the Beagle Passage, if I wanted to go back to Antarctica right after this cruise was over. On a sailboat. With total strangers. For $10,000. That proves it -- there's more than one way to get to Antarctica. |