It is so much fun to see peoples reaction. It is almost automatic to ask the follow-up question “Where are you going” when you tell people that you are going on holiday. Nobody expects the answer to be Antarctica. So yeah, that’s where I’m going in a few days. So how did I get here…

In the beginning of the year a friend of mine said he wanted to go to Antarctica… I just thought he was joking. But he actually already found an organisation that organises trips there. It is called Beyond Borders and is stationed in Belgium. So I joined him on an introduction meeting where we could hear about the trip and ask any questions. The story they told us and the pictures were very tempting. And for travel destinations this actually piqued my interest. I was never one for hot and sunny weather, beaches, etc. so this was as much opposite of that as you could get.

Now I’m not a very seasoned traveler, never even having left Europe, so I had to think about it. After much internal debate (not only about the cost) but the fact that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I just had to go. I agreed to go and so months of preparations began.

The journey to Antarctica involves a 12-day stay on an expedition ship from Ocean Wide. We’ll depart from the port in Ushuaia (Argentina) and from there will travel two days southwards to Antarctica. The ship will anchor at the coast of Antarctica and we’ll take Zodiacs (smaller rubber boats) to get to land. From there we’ll do many excursions including walking/climbing, camping and kayaking. Maybe even a dip in the icy waters. Between these excursions there will be presentations on board of the ship.

Since we have to go to the other side of the world to board the ship we’ve decided to expand our journey with a longer visit to Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. Staying six days in Buenos Aires to take in the culture of Argentina and three days in Ushuaia to visit the nature parks for some great views.

To be honest I’m not completely sure what to expect. I’ve seen pictures, read about previous adventurers and tried to prepare for the weather. But this trip will be way out of my comfort zone and completely new. I’m excited to see what it will bring.

The time before my trip will be mostly used for shopping and getting all the necessary warm clothes.