Picking a Hot Spot for the Winter!
Travel Queen shares . . .
When winter approaches, some people start to feel a little melancholy, mourning the falling of the leaves and the chill in the air. I always welcome this time of the year with open arms, knowing that it brings not only the holidays but also the perfect opportunity to take a vacation. Normally, I pick some time in the dead of winter to travel someplace tropical-visiting my best friend in Honolulu, spending a weekend with my parents in Florida, SCUBA diving in Latin America.
Wherever I choose to travel, sunshine is generally the key component. Every soul appreciates warmth in December. Last year, however, I spent the beginning of winter in the most unlikely of places for a sun-lover: Antarctica.
Now you may wonder why anyone trying to escape winter's cold would choose a destination known for its icy climate and whitewashed landscape. To tell the truth, part of me had decided not to escape after all, but to embrace the beauty of winter. Perhaps I was longing to be an Ice Queen for a short time. (The other part of me knew it was summer in Antarctica, and even though that still meant cold, it was a heck of a lot warmer than it would have been any other time of the year!)
My husband and I booked a cruise aboard Norway's Nordnorge, a ship that spends most of its time sailing Scandinavian fjords, then heads south (way south!) for our winter. The ship embarked from Ushuaia, the town Argentina boasts is at "the end of the world." After a rough crossing over the Drake Passage, we arrived in the waters of Antarctica. Glaciers abounded, and we passengers bundled up to brave the outdoors. The landscape was stunning.
Many friends have asked, "What do you do in Antarctica?" Most of our nine days were spent aboard the ship, where we attended lectures on all aspects of the seventh continent: history, geography, geology, exploration, bird life (including those beloved penguins) and other wildlife. We were able to walk on Antarctic land on six different occasions, during which we spent time ogling thousands of penguins (who are perhaps the most entertaining creatures on earth), sea lions, and cormorants. The first landing included a visit to a Polish scientific research station, where we were greeted warmly with cookies and tea. During one landing, about twenty of us braved the bitter seas and took a dip-yes, that icicle in the blue bathing suit was me! (We'd been promised a natural hot bath afterward, along with a warm, dry towel, a certificate, and a shot of some potent Norwegian liqueur that made my eyes pop out.)At the end of the cruise, I was reluctant to disembark, my intrigue just having been piqued.
Would I do it again? You bet! And I might even give up that week in the sun for it.
Submitted by Hillary Easom, The Travel Queen!
When winter approaches, some people start to feel a little melancholy, mourning the falling of the leaves and the chill in the air. I always welcome this time of the year with open arms, knowing that it brings not only the holidays but also the perfect opportunity to take a vacation. Normally, I pick some time in the dead of winter to travel someplace tropical-visiting my best friend in Honolulu, spending a weekend with my parents in Florida, SCUBA diving in Latin America.
Wherever I choose to travel, sunshine is generally the key component. Every soul appreciates warmth in December. Last year, however, I spent the beginning of winter in the most unlikely of places for a sun-lover: Antarctica.
Now you may wonder why anyone trying to escape winter's cold would choose a destination known for its icy climate and whitewashed landscape. To tell the truth, part of me had decided not to escape after all, but to embrace the beauty of winter. Perhaps I was longing to be an Ice Queen for a short time. (The other part of me knew it was summer in Antarctica, and even though that still meant cold, it was a heck of a lot warmer than it would have been any other time of the year!)
My husband and I booked a cruise aboard Norway's Nordnorge, a ship that spends most of its time sailing Scandinavian fjords, then heads south (way south!) for our winter. The ship embarked from Ushuaia, the town Argentina boasts is at "the end of the world." After a rough crossing over the Drake Passage, we arrived in the waters of Antarctica. Glaciers abounded, and we passengers bundled up to brave the outdoors. The landscape was stunning.
Many friends have asked, "What do you do in Antarctica?" Most of our nine days were spent aboard the ship, where we attended lectures on all aspects of the seventh continent: history, geography, geology, exploration, bird life (including those beloved penguins) and other wildlife. We were able to walk on Antarctic land on six different occasions, during which we spent time ogling thousands of penguins (who are perhaps the most entertaining creatures on earth), sea lions, and cormorants. The first landing included a visit to a Polish scientific research station, where we were greeted warmly with cookies and tea. During one landing, about twenty of us braved the bitter seas and took a dip-yes, that icicle in the blue bathing suit was me! (We'd been promised a natural hot bath afterward, along with a warm, dry towel, a certificate, and a shot of some potent Norwegian liqueur that made my eyes pop out.)At the end of the cruise, I was reluctant to disembark, my intrigue just having been piqued.
Would I do it again? You bet! And I might even give up that week in the sun for it.
Submitted by Hillary Easom, The Travel Queen!
posted by Allyn Evans at 11:27 AM
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