Deep to the South lies Antarctica, the coldest continent on Earth and the place with the greatest reserves of freshwater. Modern science considers it a huge laboratory, where it is possible to study any climate and environmental change which may affect the whole planet in the next future.
Despite being covered by ice and snow, it is technically a desert, with an annual rainfall rate of just 200 millimetres on the coast and even less in the inside. Typical of the Antarctic climate is the Kernlose Winter: when the sun disappears beyond the horizon, it stays there for about seven months, with a consequent fall of the temperatures – Russian research station Vostok hit once the record temperature of 89,2 centigrades below zero.
Another characteristic weather element is the wind. Particularly, the Katabatic wind found blowing out from the large and elevated ice sheets at over 300 kilometres per hour, an intensity usually found in hurricanes. Not exactly what you would expect from a beach resort. Still, such an impetuous nature reveals to the bravest explorers wonders beyond imagination, and in the last decades more and more cruising companies started specialising in Antarctic expeditions. The nearby Deception island features a spectacular volcanic caldera and hot springs, and the tour continues through Paradise Harbour, ringed by hanging ice cliffs and sporadic floating icebergs and the narrow, glacier-lined Lemaire Channel, considered one of Antarctica’s most beautiful passages.
While there is not a permanent human population on the continent – just the few thousands of scientist living in the research stations – quite a number of spectacular animals can be spotted in the sea and on the land. The waters surrounding Antarctica are home for whales and a large variety of fishes, and on the sea ice live two different kind of penguins: emperor penguins and the smaller adélie penguins. Other animals leaving on the shores are seals and sea lions, while during the Summer season (December and January) over 100 million birds of about 30 different kinds nest on the sea side, among them the royal albatross and the snow petrel.
Lived in England since 1998 and travelled the world since 2005, visiting over 100 countries on 5 continents. Writer, blogger, photographer with a passion for adventure and travel, discovering those off beat places not yet on the tourist trail. Marco contributes the very best in independent travel tips and lifestyle articles.
