Antarctica: A Journey Etched on My Heart
Some journeys live quietly on your calendar.Others change you forever.This one began long before I e...
Johnnie Herring
Independent Travel Agent
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Some journeys live quietly on your calendar.
Others change you forever.
This one began long before I ever saw ice
Before the Ice: Anticipation in the South
The adventure started in rainy, charming Buenos Aires, where I allowed myself to slow down—good food, quiet moments, and the kind of anticipation that hums beneath the surface when something extraordinary is just ahead. From there, I traveled to Ushuaia, the end of the world, where excitement and gratitude met as I stepped aboard the MS Fridtjof Nansen.
My seventh continent was no longer a dream. It was becoming real.
Crossing the Drake: A Passage Into Another World
The Drake Passage, legendary for its unpredictability, greeted us gently. Albatross glided beside the ship with wings stretched wide, petrels danced across the waves, and whales surfaced in the distance, their breaths rising like punctuation marks on the sea.
Even the fog and shifting forecasts felt meaningful—like a rite of passage, signaling that we were leaving the familiar behind and entering a different realm altogether.
First Sight of Antarctica: A Sacred Arrival
Then came the moment I will carry with me forever.
I opened my balcony curtains at dawn and there it was—Antarctica.
Snow-draped mountains rose from the sea. Icebergs drifted silently past the ship. A soft sunrise cast golden light across a frozen world that felt untouched and ancient. It didn’t feel like arriving somewhere new; it felt like being invited into something sacred.
I stood there quietly, knowing this was a moment that would never fully fit into words.
Days of Wonder: Ice, Wildlife, and Stillness
Each day unfolded with a sense of quiet awe.
Zodiac cruises carried us through glassy bays where the ice shimmered in shades of blue that barely seemed real. At Charlotte Bay, snow fell gently, turning the landscape into a living watercolor. Whales surfaced nearby—powerful yet calm—moving through the water as if time itself slowed in their presence.
And then there were the penguins.
Gentoo, adelie, and chinstrap—awkward and comical on land, astonishingly graceful in the water. Watching them waddle across snowy paths, tend their nests, and launch themselves into the sea felt like witnessing joy in its purest form.
When Nature Leads the Way
Antarctica has its own rhythm—and its own rules.
Sailing through the narrow Lemaire Channel, known affectionately as Kodak Crack, felt like threading a needle between towering walls of ice and rock. When an iceberg drifted into our path, our plans changed without hesitation. Down here, nature always leads. We simply follow, humbled and grateful for the experience.
A Final Farewell: Port Lockroy & Damoy Point
Our final day was a gift.
Sunshine warmed the frozen landscape. The air was still. Time felt suspended.
At Port Lockroy, the world’s southernmost operational post office, human history felt small yet meaningful in a place shaped mostly by wind, wildlife, and ice. Later, at Damoy Point, the world grew quiet in the most profound way—the distant crack of shifting ice, the soft calls of nesting gentoo penguins, and long stretches of perfect silence.
I watched male gentoos gather pebbles and carefully deliver them to their partners—tiny gestures of devotion in a vast white world. In that moment, something inside me shifted. Sometimes it’s the smallest scenes that leave the deepest imprint.
Leaving Changed
Now, as we begin the journey back across the Drake Passage, I feel full—grateful, humbled, and changed.
Antarctica wasn’t just my seventh continent.
It was a reminder of how breathtakingly beautiful and fragile our planet is.
A place where silence speaks, where nature reigns, and where wonder comes easily.
This wasn’t just a trip.
It was a gift—
one of stillness, awe, perspective, and deep appreciation.
A chapter etched permanently on my heart, long after the ice fades into the horizon.
Johnnie Herring
Disney Travel Agent Tulsa
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Welcome to a world of endless possibilities and unforgettable adventures! We are a family of wanderers, nestled in the vibrant city of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – my husband, our spirited teen son, and myself. My journey into the enchanting world of travel began with a single step into the magical realms of Disneyland during my teenage years, igniting a lifelong passion for all things Disney. Togeth... Read More >>>
