Monday, October 4, 2010

Antarctica, Land Of Wonder

By Abigail Rogers

Of all the sights he has seen visiting all seven continents, this gentleman remembers the sight of the sun rising over the Antarctica plains the most. It was a religious moment for him. God's presence was there, stated the satellite technician from Texas. He is only one of very few to see the large amounts of volcanic ash and ice at the bottom of the planet.

McMurdo station, located at the edge of Ross Ice Shelf, is an area that a lot of people pass through when they come here. A former US military outpost, McMurdo is now being managed and funded by the National Science Foundation.

Hardly anything could be done in this place. You would need to be fit and have thick layered clothes especially designed for polar areas to be able to stand the freezing temperatures outside. He made it a point not to forget the beauty of his surroundings despite the difficulty of his work. The month of May is something he anticipates, as this is the time where he gets to enjoy four hour sunsets over the Royal Society Mountains.

It was an awesome thing for him to see the names of the members of the 1908 Shackleton expedition. He said that he will not forget the people he got acquainted with at McMurdo. He stated that he could call them by the first names and that they all had interesting stories to share.

The landscape, though perilous, does not make him scared at all. Known for spending $16,000 for a cruise to see the breeding grounds of penguins, a 47 year old British civil employee voices out that Antarctica has not intimidated her at all. There is a complete fascination she has always had for penguins. Since I was a child, they had always been my favorites at the zoo. They resemble tiny human beings. I think the word to describe is not cute, but attractive.

She can never quite forget an image that she saw when she visited Antarctica. For her, it is tens of thousands of King Penguins gathered on the shores of a bay of penguins everywhere. It's the most striking thing I've ever seen in my entire life, she said. An academic grant or a pilot's license is not necessary to be there in The Ice.

This polar adventure can be yours too without having to take part in this modern equivalent of the Foreign Legion. cruise lines from New Zealand that ferry passengers to the continent on refurbished icebreakers for as little as $3,000. Flying to the South Pole is very expensive. It's for anybody who's got a sense of adventure and fun and plenty of money, of course.

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