ndiana Blogger wins $54,000 Cruise to the North Pole
February 22, 2011 - Giovanni Savaglio from Munster, Indiana, has won the Blog Your Way to the North Pole contest.
2535 votes
ndiana Blogger wins $54,000 Cruise to the North Pole
February 22, 2011 - Giovanni Savaglio from Munster, Indiana, has won the Blog Your Way to the North Pole contest.
Giovanni Savaglio December 04, 2010 | 05:56 AM
I met my wife 8 years ago on a Quark expedition to Antarctica. She from the UK, I from the USA, it took a journey to the South Pole to find each other on this greenest of planets, at one of it's whitest of places. It would be a dream for us to have found our love on one end of this planet, and to have it enriched with a journey together to it's other end.
On my Quark Expedition to Antarctica we encountered a hurricane, prompting an unscheduled overnight stay on Penguin Island. I had come to Antarctica seeking to follow in the footsteps of my hero Ernest Shackleton. Little did I know that I would get a taste of what Shackleton and his crew had to endure. It's one thing to imagine what it would be like to be disconnected from the rest of humanity and strive for survival. It's another to actually experience it and realize that there is only what rations are at hand and no magical means to be rescued. One can't simply wake up and find themselves safe at home. Minutes turn to hours and still you are there...isolated with no means to return to the world you knew. I came to understand Shackleton, "We had seen God in his splendor, heard the text that nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man."
The unexpected is a part of polar travel. Aside from the routine posting of weather conditions, ice flows, and animal sightings, you can expect thoughts and reflections that go beyond the usual.
On my Quark Expedition to Antarctica we encountered a hurricane, prompting an unscheduled overnight stay on Penguin Island. I had come to Antarctica seeking to follow in the footsteps of my hero Ernest Shackleton. Little did I know that I would get a taste of what Shackleton and his crew had to endure. It's one thing to imagine what it would be like to be disconnected from the rest of humanity and strive for survival. It's another to actually experience it and realize that there is only what rations are at hand and no magical means to be rescued. One can't simply wake up and find themselves safe at home. Minutes turn to hours and still you are there...isolated with no means to return to the world you knew. I came to understand Shackleton, "We had seen God in his splendor, heard the text that nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man."
The unexpected is a part of polar travel. Aside from the routine posting of weather conditions, ice flows, and animal sightings, you can expect thoughts and reflections that go beyond the usual.
I love the beauty of the pristine North Pole as much as it's history and legends of polar explorers. Be prepared to become familiar with the likes of Peary, Henson, Cook,and Amundson.
Being an enthusiastic member of Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and having been a Docent at Lincoln Park Zoo, be prepared to become familiar with arctic creatures from the tiniest of lichens and algae, to arctic terns and foxes, polar bears, walruses, and even a narwhal or two.
I love to travel and all that goes with it. Be prepared to savor an occasional meal on
board, find out what's the most popular drink at the bar, and hear about friendships made enroute to the North Pole.
board, find out what's the most popular drink at the bar, and hear about friendships made enroute to the North Pole.
I'd be honored to have your vote. Thank you.
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