Leaving Antarctica - on our way to see all Seven Continents

So we say goodbye now to the enormous ice shelves and mountain ranges making up the haunting, elemental beauty of this continent. You might have noticed the twelve countries listed in my subheading. No one country lies claim to Antarctica. In 1959, the countries I listed signed the Antarctic Treaty which includes the following points:

• Researchers can freely conduct investigations.
• Antarctica shall be for peaceful purposes.
• Countries cannot recognize claims.

So, even if you’re born in Antarctica, no person can lay claim to sovereignty. There are still “Antarcticans” by descent - as few as 10 people were born here.

Interesting fact: Antarctica's ice sheets contain 90% of the world's ice - 28 million cu km - or about 70% of the world's fresh water. Compare these two maps of this continent. Antarctica is unique because it’s still relatively unchanged consisting of massive ice shelves, mountains, and subglacial lakes. We visited the peninsula that is on the upper left of the first diagram. The other is a 3 D map made by NASA that shows what Antarctica would like with only the bedrock and without ice.

The wildlife we encountered here was breathtaking - especially the penguins sailing across the water's surface (at first, we thought they were flying fish) and skittering across the ice, as well as the humpback and minke whales. One fellow passenger took this photo of a whale from the bow of the ship as it swam under the helipad, just to give you a feel for it's true size. My photos were limited to the small section of black that appeared above the water.

Early evening, as we left the continent, we sailed past Elephant Island known for its historical significance and rugged, inhospitable environment. It gained prominence when Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew took refuge there in 1916 after the loss of their ship, Endurance. Their survival story has immortalized Elephant Island as a symbol of endurance, determination, and the human spirit. As Captain Stig informed us: Ernest Shackleton and his crew were marooned after their ship was slowly crushed by the moving ice. They abandoned the ship on October 27, 1915, and then endured a harrowing journey through the shrinking ice pack for months until they reached Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then sailed to South Georgia in one of the lifeboats to seek help, while the remaining crew members were rescued from Elephant Island on August 30, 1916. It's hard to imagine what they experienced in those 20 months.

Today, we traveled through the Drake Passage again, but this time under significantly calmer conditions, with wave swells only reaching 6 feet. As we leave this unique continent, we'll have a bit of fun at tonight's "Penguin Party." Our next stop is Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.