One Big Step

On 21-Nov-2007, I set foot on Antarctica at Portal Point at 61-30 S - 61-46 W. What an amazing feeling it was when I first set foot on to Antarctica. I can only compare the moment to how Neil Armstrong must have felt when he set foot on the moon. Though I could not muster up any profound statements to mark this occasion, I just sat in the snow and freezing 20° F temperature with a smile on my face as big as a little kid who has free access to a candy store, and gave thanks to the Big Guy upstairs. After a few hours on land we boarded the zodiacs for a cruise around the bay and it was there that I saw my first penguins.
Late afternoon we made another continental landing and hiked up to the top of a glacier to see penguins. That evening, while sitting in the observation deck on the ship reflecting on the day’s events, I just smiled and gave thanks. I am now a member of a very small group of people (less then 200,000) who have ever set foot on Antarctica.