Planning a trip South for the Winter? Perhaps a marathon trip to Antarctica in February (where it is summer) is just the ticket.
More than a year ago, I committed to the 4th offering of the Antarctica Marathon. After relying on the good graces of friends for loans of deep weather gear I required, I was ready to go.
My trip began Superbowl Sunday with a flight from LAX to Miami, where I met up with others traveling through Marathon Tours to what is billed as "The Last Marathon." From both Miami and New York, the intrepid (and nervous) travelers flew to Buenos Aires (BA), Argentina. After the overnight flight, a couple days were spent in BA meeting fellow trekkers around the world and sightseeing.
From BA, it was a 4-hour flight due south to Ushuaia, Argentina - the "Southernmost City in the World." Though it was summer in each city, the 90 degrees of BA gave way to the cooler temps of the end of the world. The briskness gave each of us thoughts of what was yet to come. While our baggage was loaded aboard our ship anchored in the harbor, many of us hiked up a nearby glacier for the exercise we knew we would be lacking over the next several days aboard ship.
Our vessel, the A/V Lyubov Orlova, was quite nice. While small, especially by today's cruise ship standards, it was actually rather comfortable. Cabins were compact, but functional and good meals were served with choices of "Meat, Fish or Vegetable," making it easier for Russian servers to understand the passengers.
The passage to the South Shetland Islands was relatively uneventful with even the Drake Passage (south of Cape Horn where the Atlantic/Pacific and Northern/Southern Oceans converge (being dubbed the "Drake Lake."
Then the weather began to play its unpredictable role, as we had been warned. After a day's delay in getting the race set-up crew off the boat to King George Island by Zodiac (there are no docks or piers in Antarctica, so every landing is a "wet" landing), our ship headed out to make for scheduled (and unscheduled!) landings amongst the chain islands. More penguins, seals and whales have never been seen frolicking in their native habitats. Upon returning to King George Island, it became apparent that due to high winds and the accompanying seas, we would not be able to get the 100+ athletes safely off the ship to run their races on the seventh continent.
At this point, it was decided to continue south to make land on the Antarctic Peninsula - the continent itself. Being in the Shetland Islands, while south of the Antarctic boundary at 60 degrees latitude, and saying that one had been to Antarctica is akin to going to the islands of Hawaii and saying that one has been to North America. Many hours later, each person was able to set foot on the Continent of Antarctica, completing the goal of many to visit each of the seven. From there, we uneventfully sailed the three days straight back to Ushuaia with a turn about Cape Horn for good measure, flew north through Buenos Aires and on to our respective homes.
Oh yeah, the marathon? Well, in various "heats," those who chose to run, completed an actual measured marathon around the decks of the venerable Lyubov Orlova. All 422 laps around Deck 6! Interestingly, it is the furthest south marathon ever run, due to the fact that the ship was traveling south while the runners went around in circles and finished in Neko Harbor at 64 degrees south latitude with constantly changing scenery. Work is currently underway to determine what other world records were set during that experience (such as "Most Irritated Kapitan.").
Want to be a part of history? consider going South for the winter and a future Antarctica Marathon!