2016 - Page 9 of 9 - LIVING THE DREAM

Things to Do in Antarctica – Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

I can now proudly say I'm one of the first people in the world to have SUP’ed in Antarctica. And no, I didn't fall off my board into the frigid waters, despite some dire predictions among my family and friends.

To be honest, I chose my ship almost solely based on the fact they're the only ones who currently offer stand up paddleboarding as one of the Antarctica activities.

I promised myself I'd practice the sport before I got down south and then promptly avoided it for my entire journey throughout South America. Thus, I found myself checking in about a dozen times with the safety zodiac driver that he would be able to fish me out quickly when I fell in.

It shouldn't be a surprise to most here that I work- a lot. Between my day job, blogging on lunch, and even more blogging on night and weekends I tend to sit in front of a computer for, well, at least 12 hours a day during the week and about four or five hours a day on weekends.

Needless to say, that doesn't leave a lot of time for working out.

When I traveled full-time this wasn't a problem. I was out walking most of the time (not blogging) and continually walking five to 15 miles per day made sure that I dropped anywhere from 10-15 pounds on each long-term trip (and that was with drinking and eating whatever I wanted). As soon as I got home from both trips that weight came back on, and in being so exhausted from working so much I never really got into the habit of working out.

That is, until I bought a desk cycle.

The process to book a trip to Antarctica can be insanely frustrating.

I don't mean physically getting myself to the continent, though getting across the Drake is a challenge in itself. The very act of figuring out how to book it as a backpacker was the most stressful aspect of this trip. I started off researching my options online and was quickly in over my head.

Previous backpackers openly mocked those who spent thousands and thousands to get to Antarctica when they simply showed up in Ushuaia, booked a last minute sailing at drop bottom prices, and set sail the next day.

The problem with these blogs and forums was that they all seemed to have sailed five or more years ago. More up-to-date information was confusing, with some travelers to Argentina’s southernmost city reporting no last minute deals to be found any more or ones that didn't vary greatly in cost in what was offered online.

I went back and forth over which way to go about this for weeks.

It was the most frustrating part of my trip planning and I obsessed over it. In the end, I decided to book my trip more than a year in advance for a number of reasons: I like having a plan, I wanted to SUP (stand-up paddleboard- one of the newest things to do in Antarctica) and only one ship offered it, and I wanted to be on a reliable ship.

So how did it work out?

Wonderfully.

The idea that I had signed up for camping in Antarctica in a tent was apparently an amusing one to anyone who knows me. I hate being cold more than just about anything, so the fact that I was paying to experience being cold for an entire night was laughable.

The idea to experience this once in a lifetime offer was simply too tempting to resist, and besides, how often do you get to travel to Antarctica?

Things to Do in Antarctica – Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

Desk Bike Review – My Secret to Staying Fit While Working at a Desk

How to Book a Trip to Antarctica Without Going Insane

Camping in Antarctica is One Excursion You Must Do When Visiting