[Above Images captured by Israel-based photographer, Roie Galitz, http://www.roiegalitz.com/]

On January 11, 2016, a special member of our ESCAPESEEKER ANTARCTICA ADVANCE RESEARCH TEAM, John Hempelmann, submitted the following report:

As we arrive in Antarctica, the seas are stormy and it is snowing. Snow in January makes sense but it is Summer here now! Here are a few facts about Antarctica to put everything in context.

Mother Nature’s Monuments leave us breathless.

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest of all the Continents. It can be 80 degrees below zero in the winter. The average elevation is 7500 feet. In the winter (March-October), the ice spreads over the sea essentially doubling the size of the Continent. Ice covers 99% of the Continent. In some places, the ice is 3 miles thick and over a million years old. Because there are so many mountains here, the ice “flows” down to the sea as glaciers or forms “ice shelves” that float on the sea. Some of the ice shelves are huge like the Ross Ice Shelf which has hundreds of square miles of area. Because they float on the sea, the ice shelves move around. Icebergs are formed when wave action moves the edges of glaciers or ice shelves up and down and pieces break off. These icebergs have incredibly dense ice so they last a long time and can travel hundreds of miles in the currents. We have seen many very large icebergs during our 72 hour sail from South Georgia Island to Antarctica. Fortunately, they show up really well on the radar.  (We can go up to the Bridge most any time we wish,  and that is a neat place to watch over the bow and see all the instruments used by the crew.) About 90% of all the world’s ice is in Antarctica and it locks up almost 70% of all the surface fresh water in the world. Even with all the snow and ice, Antarctica has deserts–dry valleys–but I will explain that strange fact at another time.

Despite the ice and the harsh conditions, Antarctica is rich in wildlife, especially whales, seals, penguins and sea birds. This is primarily the result of a sea that is rich in Krill, a tiny crustacean that is produced in the billions here. As the ice melts into the sea, the cold water drops to the bottom and warmer water rises to the surface. The ice shelves form an insulating layer under which the krill grow and thrive. All the mammals feed on the krill and the seals eat the penguins, the whales eat the seals, etc.

250,000 breeding pairs of King Penguins as far as the eye can see.

As you know, very few people ever get to the Antarctic. We are told only .0004% of the people in the world get here (and even fewer get to South Georgia Island). We are SO fortunate.  ~ John Hempelmann

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On December 30, 2015, our ESCAPESEEKER team began an epic voyage to ANTARCTICA with ONE OCEAN EXPEDITIONS‘ Russian research vessel, Akademik Iofee.  For the next several days, we will be posting daily journal reports penned during our voyage as we made our way to the GREAT WHITE CONTINENT!  We will include images captured throughout our expedition by team members, Mary McGill, Roy A. Henderson, John Hempelmann, and yours truly, Mel Gee Henderson.

Bidding Farewell to Ushuaia, Argentina. The excitement is evident on everyone’s happy faces.

Please stay tuned as we sort through thousands of stunning images, film clips, and beautiful reports penned straight from our hearts!

Here’s to #endless, #blissful, #aweinspiring ESCAPES!

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

The ESCAPESEEKER Team

Walking in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton…100 years later.

Tags: Adventure Travel, Antarctica, Awestruck by Antarctica, Coldest Continent on Earth, Enriching Travel Experiences, ESCAPESEEKER, ESCAPESEEKER Travel Series, Expedition, King Penguins, Mel Gee Henderson, Mind-Expanding Travel, My 7th Continent, One Ocean Expeditions, Roie Galitz Photographer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, South Georgia Island, Tabular Icebergs, The Great White Continent, Ushuaia, Voyage, Windiest Continent on Earth