My last birthday was a big one.
I have hit the big 5-0. Half a century. And so when my uncles decided to head to Antarctica for a bucket list trip, I figured, why not? I must say it was a spur of the moment decision, and so I signed up without knowing much about it. Perhaps if I had taken the time to think about how it would take four and half days to get there from Manila and another four and a half days to get back, I would’ve had second thoughts.
Our flight route started from Manila to Dubai to Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, the southernmost tip of civilization. From there we boarded the Silver Explorer, a Silversea Expeditions vessel, for a ten-day voyage at sea. The first two and a half days were at sea, with more than a day traveling through the treacherous Drake Passage—where the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans meet—with turbulent waters like a giant washing machine, and swells up to 15 feet high.