Antarctica is one of the most remote and uninhabitable places on Earth. The journey to get there is long and unpredictable, particularly as one must cross the dreaded Drake Passage to reach the continent. But even if one makes it through, there’s no guarantee of what will happen once you get there. Actually, there is one guarantee that our expedition leader, Neil, gave us at the start of our trip . . . “It will not go according to plan.” All of this feels like a microcosm of my journey and a perfect setting to appreciate where I am on it today — especially as this destination did not seem possible for my body, mind, or fitness just ten years ago.
Let me explain. Sure, I could have boarded a cruise ship for the Great White Continent and taken in the amazing views and wildlife that you get aboard the vessel. No doubt I could have enjoyed the lifestyle of all you can eat buffets, fancy dinners, and room service. I could have been a spectator of the expedition. But before my journey, I could not have lived the experience. The trip I just took was a reward for where my journey is today.
I won’t take you through the trip day by day, as that is already on Legally Fit’s Instagram. There you can see the reels of each day and go to the highlights of Antartica that are saved on my profile. But this blog is not simply a vacation diary. As you know, it’s the story of my journey. And the story of my journey, and of Antarctica, is one of hope, accomplishment, and gratitude.
Hope
In some way, I believe that every journey must begin with hope. After all, the destination is what we hope for. At the beginning of my journey, hope was scarce, but I had just enough of it to try to get myself in shape for an ambitious golf trip in 2014. One might think that the reward was making it through that golf trip, but as I look back now, the real reward was that once I completed the trip, I began to hope for just a little more. I say “a little more” because, at the time, my insecurities and shame limited my outlook. “A little more” meant getting through the next golf trip in 2016 — to St. Andrews in Scotland — with a bit more energy and less pain. In 2018, it meant being able to make the most out of my vacation to Italy by going on long walks of up to 13 miles in Tuscany and jumping and dancing throughout a 3-hour Pearl Jam concert in Rome. But it was not until Alaska in 2023 that I truly learned to expand my meaning of hope. That was when I turned a corner and began to realize that hope meant aspiring to do what once felt impossible for me — including a 26-mile bike ride and my first time ever rock climbing. After that trip highlighted my transformation, I began hoping a lot more. For the first time, I understood the meaning behind “hope springs eternal.” Having accomplished what once seemed impossible, I no longer set limits on what I believe I can do.
Accomplishment
My life since realizing I turned that corner in 2023 has been one of reaping its rewards. From running long races to jumping out of an airplane or fearlessly climbing the face of a steep rock, it feels like everything I do now is part journey and part destination at the same time. And that very much describes Antarctica.
For starters, there was my 11-hour flight to Chile. I had to forego my upgraded seat when my travel plans changed due to weather, so instead of a comfortably reclining bed on Delta, I sat in a compact economy seat on LATAM Airlines for the long overnight flight. Perhaps my lowest moment ever before my journey began was when I boarded a flight in economy many years ago and the seatbelt didn’t fit. I was embarrassed to ask for a seatbelt extender, but I had no choice. That was a big pile of shame added to my psyche that took many years to unwind. But now, the reward is that I flew — and slept — on a long flight with my legs crossed in a meditation position . . . after first tightening my seatbelt. Ok, I may have exaggerated the sleep part. I got about 2 hours, but that brings me to the next accomplishment. After arriving in Santiago at 6:30 AM, I was full of energy and ready to spend the entire day enjoying the Chilean capital. The next morning, at 6:40 AM, we were off to Antartica. Just two more flights and eight hours of travel left to get to Puerto Williams on the southern tip of Chile where we embarked on the Silver Cloud — easy peasy!
