Our last full day here; there is a sense of sadness. Our crossing of the
Drake Passage was blessed; a bit rough, that’s all – no drama! The crew
cannot believe it – we are out on deck, albatrosses following our wake.
There are dolphins beside us for a while. We love this ship – it has been
our home for 19 days. Monika said “she is not beautiful”; but I think she
is; she is strong and reliable, comforting almost. One of the abiding
memories for me is the sight of the ship in whatever bay we were moored in;
waiting for us to return home.

We are a motley group; there are the wonderful Traverse Team, strong and
mountainy; and there are us, the Dreamers, who worked on our dreams and made
them come true. We have made friends for life; those who shared our dreams.
It was never necessary to explain or excuse emotions; we understood. We
understood the tears on seeing Ushuaia for the first time. We felt the need
behind the “kissing the ground” jokes when we arrived in Brown Bluff; we
just knew.

I have been there; I have seen diamond dust fly from the tops of icebergs; I
have heard the southern stars sing to me from the Antarctic sky; and I have
walked in the footsteps of heroes. I dreamed a dream; and made it come true.