High on our list of 13 Places You Need To Visit In 2013, Antarctica is one of the most strange and breathtakingly beautiful places on earth.
The continent has become a hot tourist destination — 35,000 visitors are expected to visit this coming season alone. (To put that in perspective, Antarctica's "permanent" population typically ranges between 1,000-4,000, most of whom are international scientists).
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The most common ways to see Antarctica are commercial cruises with shore visits, land expeditions, or sightseeing by air. In 2011, Sandy and Steve, two retirees living in Minnesota, hoped to try the 11-hour Antarctica-flyover excursion from Punta Arenas, Chile to see the frozen scenery for themselves.
There was only one problem — that flight is known as one of the most cancelled excursions in the world due to bad weather, and Sandy and Steve's trip was no exception. They wrote off ever visiting the continent again.
But when Sandy received an email from Abercrombie & Kent, a cruise and adventure company, touting the itineraries on its cruise ship Le Boréal, she decided to give it another shot. "I searched for 'Antarctica Le Boréal' on Flickr and was blown away by a set of photos from a January 2012 cruise," she told Business Insider in an email. "Almost immediately we booked our trip!"
The couple — whose previous travels have included destinations such as China, central Asia, Tanzania, Bora Bora, the Falkland Islands, and much of Europe — was impressed by the unique wildlife, pastel wilderness, and sense of exploration Antarctica offered its visitors.
They were also struck by the level of environmental awareness on the cruise, which travels through some of the world's most at-risk wilderness. Sandy explained: "Only 100 people could be off our ship at a time. Each time before boarding a zodiac, we walked through a disinfecting liquid to clean our boots. We were told that if a plastic bag were to fly away in the wind, we’d be chasing it down to retrieve it. Major efforts are important for keeping Antarctica pristine."
In total, the Minnesota couple spent five full days in Antarctica, getting close to penguins, hiking Cuverville Island, whale-watching, and touring the world's least-populated continent and last frontier. Abercrombie & Kent's Antarctica trips start at $9,895 per person.
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For reference, here's the trip route. The couple took a plane from Buenos Aires down to Ushuaia before starting their cruise along the Antarctic Peninsula.
An idea of how much luggage Sandy and Steve brought with them as they pose outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.
On board Le Boréal in port at Ushuaia, Argentina and ready to leave. In the background is the National Geographic Explorer, one of several ships that cruise to Antarctica.
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