Tony Wheeler of Lonely Planet fame
writes briefly
about how easy (relatively speaking, of course) it is to get to Antarctica these days. With the demise of the
Soviet Union, a whole industry emerged for the old ice ships and supply vessels that used to ply those cold waters for
the motherland. I was in Antarctica
years ago, having hitched a ride aboard a Chilean Navy boat, but many people these days either take the luxury route or
the Soviet route mentioned here. There are lots of reasons to go to Antarctica. One is just being able to say and know
for yourself that you’ve been there. But it is also remarkably beautiful. The light in Antarctica is an unreal light,
impossibly clear, clean, sparkling almost. Anyway, Wheeler’s tips mostly provide the lowdown on seeing penguins (which
are very cute in person, by the way), perhaps catering to the whole conservative March of the Penguins movement…though
this seems unlikely knowing Wheeler.