Chapter 1 : The Dream

Antarctica- the seventh continent of the world. The last continent to be discovered by humans in 1800s. Since its discovery is more recent, the history is more relatable. The history of Antarctica, unlike all other continents, is not about wars and kings and settlements.  As a child, when I was forced to learn a lot of history and geography for exams, I used to love the chapter on Antarctica. It was the smallest one. The continent has no vegetation, is uninhabited, had no wars, had no capitals or cities and basically there is nothing much to learn for examinations!!

I grew up imagining Antarctica as a white continent which only has ice and nothing else. With more exposure to television and documentaries I learnt about the amazing wild life spotting opportunities in Antarctica and how its ecological balance is changing fast. I have seen repeat telecasts of Frozen planet series and the vision of the untamed wildlife, the serene ice shelf, the sound of cracking ice shelf's and the worried tone of the commentators that the continent is fast changing, stuck to me. I started harboring the dream of visiting the continent once. But going to Antarctica does not come cheap, both from money and time perspective. It is so far off, that despite our most advanced transport systems, it takes minimum of 3 days to land on a ship sailing to Antarctica, and expensive enough to rob you of few years of your savings