To my pleasant surprise, I awoke to a much calmer Drake Passage as well as a feeling of optimism. After a hearty breakfast to compensate my missed dinner the night before, I headed to the ship’s bridge for a good view of Cape Horn. There are many times the ship does not get an optimal vantage point of Cape Horn because of unsatisfactory weather and the Chilean coastguard station refusing to allow close passage. However, the odds were in our favor. We were able to see Cape Horn in all its glory. The southern tip of South America formed a beautiful silhouette of mountains, hills, and valleys against the sky above and the water below. From the water came dolphins breaching, seals swimming, fin whales surfacing, and sea birds soaring. Along the ship were Black-Browed Albatrosses and White-Chinned Petrels banking steeply into the wind before dropping to within inches of the sea’s shifting surface.
 |
| Cape Horn |
We left Cape Horn for the Beagle Channel. Our sailing down the Beagle Channel toward the port city of Ushuaia made us the juxtaposition of two South American nations. The land to our left was that of Chile and to our right—Argentina.
 |
| Beagle Channel |
The feeling of being “nowhere” yet somewhere incredibly beautiful had become a theme of the expedition. Nature is definitely the dominant factor in these remote locations. Once you visit Antarctica, a please virtually free of human interference, you have a new admiration for nature’s dominion. It is interesting to think that only centuries ago, many of the metropolitan areas in which we live were controlled by the environment. I have developed a new appreciation for the biology, geology, and botany that exists in my community. I wish to share the unique aspects of Antarctica as a way to inspire my students to care about the environment in which they live.
This experience was full of surprises, and they never seemed to cease. Just when I thought my time with penguins was over, I spotted a parcel of Megallanic Penguins in the Beagle Channel. I learned from the ship’s captain that a colony of this penguin species resides on an inlet nearby. Sure enough, we observed patches of black and white Megallanics on the shoreline.
Our last night on-board Explorer was filled with reflections and goodbyes. A guest slideshow looped on the television screens while guests chatted about their favorite moments and biggest surprises. During the captain’s moving farewell speech, the ship’s officers docked Explorer in Ushuaia. Our chattering was then taken to the streets where we walked past gift shops and restaurants. A definite comradery had formed because of our many shared experiences in Antarctica. I will carry with me not just the events and moments we shared, but our feelings of admiration for the great White Continent.
