To the End of the World

Family Trek on Antarctica

Recently my sisters and I collaborated on a project - our dad is presenting to an inquisitive group of travelers about our recent trip to Antarctica.

This dad of ours is one who knows his own tech limitations, so he put us to work pooling our memories from the trip last January. I remembered what a big freakin’ deal this was for each of us to pause our own busy family lives for almost 3 weeks. We all bought into it though, and our expedition cruise became a regenerative time away at the end of the world.

The Antarctic continent makes you feel very small—what you wake up to after crossing the Drake Passage are towering mountains. Then you’re floating alongside icebergs the size of buildings, and startling at the sudden crashes of breaching humpbacks.

But by the time you head home you come away feeling enormous. You feel the weight of the human impact on the place and responsibility for protecting this ecosystem that just wants to remain isolated. It’s not actually the sort of trip you “check off” a list; it’s one that rearranges the scale of what feels big and important.

Planning travel for others is my profession, and I try to build that magical balance of wonder and rest in every trip for my own clients. On this one I got to be on the flip side of the trip planning, on the flip side of the world. A true gift from our dad of time and space.

Icebergs at Magic Hour