Courtesy Lynn Gaudet/Facebook
A Dieppe travel agent wants to see as much of the world as possible and recently celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary in Antarctica.
Lynn Gaudet and her husband Guy boarded a ship in Ushuaia, Argentina on the southern tip of South America which then made several stops on the icy continent.
Gaudet says there were opportunities to get off the ship and board a zodiac to explore the coast where you could experience the “sound of silence”.
“It’s probably been years since I’ve heard nothing. No cars, no planes, no humming of your computer or whatever. It’s really powerful,” she says.
Courtesy Lynn Gaudet/FB
Antarctica is virtually uninhabited apart from scientists and staff (from 1,000 to 4,000 depending on the time of year) who are based at a number of research stations.
Recent U.S. figures show almost 52,000 tourists visited Antarctica in 2017-18 and nearly all were passengers on commercial ships.
Courtesy Lynn Gaudet/FB
Despite lots of snow and ice, Gaudet says daytime temperatures were above freezing but she says when they camped overnight it dropped to -10°C with strong winds, sleet and snow.
She says seminars aboard the ship focused on Antarctica and how climate change is affecting the continent but adds the expedition company claims it leaves a near-zero carbon footprint.
The wildlife was plentiful and the couple saw whales, seals and migrating birds but the highlight she says was seeing penguins up close in their natural habitat.
Courtesy Lynn Gaudet/FB
Gaudet calls the trip an amazing experience but admits it takes lots of planning and can be rather expensive.
She adds a visit to Antarctica is definitely a bucket list type of adventure.
