{"id":6360,"date":"2016-05-05T10:30:17","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T14:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?p=6360"},"modified":"2016-04-28T15:59:08","modified_gmt":"2016-04-28T19:59:08","slug":"seventh-continent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/seventh-continent","title":{"rendered":"Expedition to the seventh continent"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the \ufb01rst time in Explorica\u2019s history, a group of travelers went on an expedition to Antarctica. We spoke with Mary Jo Westlake and Cricket Guyer, the co-leaders of the trip from Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, MN, about this experience of a lifetime.
\n<\/span>
\n\"PhotoWhat brought you to Explorica?
\n<\/b>We had the opportunity, as part of Itasca\u2019s Global Education Program, to lead four trips for students and community members around\u00a0the world. We first contacted Explorica in 2013 when we were researching a tour to Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia. \u00a0We were treated very well and had the best experience with our Explorica tour consultant, Cara. \u00a0When the opportunity to plan this trip to Antarctica arose, we wanted to once again work with Explorica, and specifically Cara, because of the great experience we\u2019d had in the past. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Explorica was willing to customize our trip itinerary more than any of the other companies we researched during the planning process. \u00a0Explorica took great care of us and helped us make good decisions regarding our itinerary; we worked\u00a0well together as a team. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>Why Antarctica?
\n<\/b>We had previously traveled with many of the people in this group; and during that time, we discovered that a number of us all had the same goal\u2013to set foot on all seven continents. \u00a0Two years ago, we began preparing\u00a0for this trip and then proposed an itinerary to Explorica. \u00a0They took care of the logistics and handled all of the registration details while we got the word out to those who might have an interest in traveling to Antarctica. \u00a0Recruiting for this adventure wasn\u2019t nearly as difficult as we had imagined! \u00a0We were surprised, once we got the word out, how many people had Antarctica on their bucket list. \u00a0When all was said and done, we had a group of 14 eager travelers signed up and ready to head south.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe everyone should travel to Antarctica at least once in their lifetime\u00a0to\u00a0understand what it\u2019s like to truly be in nature, to know you are at Mother Nature\u2019s mercy and to experience a place where humans aren\u2019t the natural inhabitants. –Angie Johnson, expedition participant <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

What was the most remarkable part of the tour<\/b>?<\/b> \"Photo
\n<\/b>The scenery was absolutely breathtaking; and the wildlife\u00a0(whales, seals, penguins, numerous birds, etc.) was amazing. We\u00a0were fortunate to have excellent weather (Antarctica is actually not as cold as one might imagine), a great deal of sunshine, and two relatively calm crossings through the Drake Passage. There were 27 countries\u00a0represented on our ship and it was so interesting to have the opportunity to talk to people from all over the world. Our Explorica tour guide, Thomas, was exceptional! For both of us, this trip was by far the best one we\u2019ve ever experienced.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/span><\/p>\n

I was lucky to have one of my former students in our group, and it was very special to share this incredible experience with her. It is truly a trip of a lifetime, and our Explorica guide, Thomas, made it so easy to love every minute! \u00a0He is an exceptional person. –Joan Barle, expedition participant<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the most important elements about this trip was our choice to travel on the MV Ushuaia, a modest expedition ship. That one decision played a huge role in this entire experience. The MV Ushuaia can only carry\u00a088 passengers but it was very comfortable. \u00a0Meeting other travelers on board was easy, and when the adventure was over, we left with\u00a0new friends from many different countries. The small size of the ship let us\u00a0navigate to parts of Antarctica that other ships aren\u2019t able to reach,\u00a0making it possible to get much closer to the wildlife. The crew was superb in every way. \u00a0It felt like we were one big\u00a0family. The MV Ushuaia has an open bridge\"Icebergs policy; we could talk with the captain and crew and observe the\u00a0navigational operations\u00a0at most anytime of the day. <\/span><\/p>\n

This travel experience has been life changing, and all 14 of us struggle a bit as we try to explain exactly what it was like to our family and friends. It\u2019s difficult to find words that accurately describe <\/span>all<\/span> that we encountered during our 11-day expedition. For our group, it really was the perfect adventure and the best trip ever. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"GroupAfter returning from my trip to Antarctica, I have been asked many times, \u201cHow would you rate your trip compared to other trips you have taken?\u201d \u00a0Overall this experience is one that I can’t rate or compare to any other trip I\u2019ve taken. \u00a0You can’t compare Tuscany to <\/span>actually stepping foot on the Antarctic continent. –<\/span>Christopher Worth, expedition participant<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0the daily adventures and see more incredible pictures from this expedition with the Tour Diary<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Feeling inspired? Give one of our expert travel consultants a call and start talking about your dream expedition. 1.888.310.7120<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the \ufb01rst time in Explorica\u2019s history, a group of travelers went on an expedition to Antarctica. We spoke with Mary Jo Westlake and Cricket Guyer, the co-leaders of the trip from Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, MN, about this experience of a lifetime. What brought you to Explorica? We had the opportunity, as Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":6361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,172],"tags":[84130,410,58,128,86,12],"class_list":["post-6360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","category-teachers","tag-antarctica","tag-cultural-immersion","tag-educational-travel","tag-student-travel","tag-student-trips","tag-travel-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6360"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6397,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360\/revisions\/6397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}