Who would choose to go to Antarctica and why?

Those questions were answered by Maple Crest villa residents Stan and Jo Clemens and Mark and Kay Weidner during a recent travelogue program.

Stan was the instigator of the travel idea because of a nephew who manages an inn at Yellowstone National Park for the warm months of the year, and works in food service at the South Pole in the winter months. 

The nephew convinced Stan that Antarctica was a fascinating place to see. Stan invited Mark Weidner who decided to go because every day he walked past the Bluffton University art piece that represents the seven continents of the world and realized that he had only two continents left to visit – South America and Antarctica – and both could be reached in the same journey.

Kay was interested in going, too, and convinced Jo that it was something they should all do together. And so they did, taking a cruise ship from Argentina for a 21-day experience of a lifetime.

The actual time spent in Antarctica was five days, with five different stops on various points of the peninsula that connects via the Drake Passage to South America.

Once near the Antarctic coast the travelers left the comfort of the cruise ship to cross rough waters in a zodiac for about 15 passengers. But, they gained close encounters with penguins, a leopard seal, popcorn ice, icebergs that rose 80 feet above the water level, very blue water, rocks covered with red lichen, and the pristine coastline of the only continent in the world that is an international scientific preserve.