I began my Antarctic antics in 2001 with a quick ten day introduction to the Antarctic Peninsula. I thought I was done with Antarctica at that point. I was enchanted by the place but when I had a chance to take another, longer trip around half the continent, I eagerly signed up for month of adventure in 2004/2005.

If I didn't have a polar addiction at that point, I surely did after that expedition.
On that trip I had another chance to see and experience why the picturesque peninsula is the most visited place in Antarctica. But this time we had the benefit of seeing the majestic mountains and icy seas from the ship's helicopters.
As we sailed along the coast we climbed mountains at midnight, tried a precarious landing on Peter the First Island and were whisked to mountain tops and Emperor Penguin colonies.

We battled the ice in McMurdo Sound and explored the Dry Valleys; we visited the polar explorers, Scott and Shackleton's huts where their provisions still waited for them nearly a hundred years later.
In 2008 I returned to the same region for another Semi Circumnavigation and this time saw a completely different Antarctica than I had previously seen: far colder, icier and windier, but still stunning.

Antarctica still holds all the appeal and adventure one could wish for. In the words of Sir Earnest Shackleton: "Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour." Would I go back?... in a heartbeat.