Here’s the biggest surprise from my trip to Antarctica last week: A sedentary senior citizen from New York can have a lot of fun in the icy wilderness.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I signed up for the Swan Hellenic fam trip on the brand-new SH Vega expedition ship, headed to Antarctica. As the departure date drew nearer, I did consider that it might be a crazy idea. I’ve never climbed a mountain. I’ve rarely hiked. The ultimate goal of my daily exercise is 4,000 steps, mainly achieved by walking around my house.

It is a land with little soil, where 96% of its mass is covered in ice, with no indigenous people, no indigenous government. No economic activity exists, except for that in small isolated encampments of scientists and from the incursion of tourism to the island continent. (Read More)