The Zodiacs quietly slipped between brash ice and growlers in Orne Harbor. There were 10 people dressed for cold temperatures in our Zodiac.

Everything was still. People spoke in low voices as we passed the surreal landscape. My husband, Dan, and I exchanged smiles. As we approached the landing, hands extended to us from shore. We did the "sailor's handshake," stepped onto the pontoon and took our first steps in the snow.

We had finally arrived in Antarctica.

In all we made 10 landings on the world's southernmost continent. We saw whales, seals, penguins and icebergs glowing a pale turquoise blue that were bigger than our ship.

This trip was six years in the making. It began with a cruise to the Caribbean. Our dinner seating included three Canadian couples, and we became friends. On the last dinner of the cruise, the question was, "Where is your dream trip?" One couple, John and Holly, said "Antarctica." I said, "Bingo."

Five years later, we jotted an afterthought on a Christmas card envelope - "Still thinking of Antarctica?" Within a day, the response was positive and January 2009 was our target date.

We chose an 11-day cruise with Quark Expeditions. Weather is always a factor, but the cruise is aggressive in making sure passengers live the total Antarctica experience. We also added custom-touring days in Miami, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Ushuaia, Patagonia.

We left Iowa on Jan. 16. It was 34 degrees below zero. In Miami, it was 60 degrees. We spent the next day sightseeing and at 9 p.m., were flying to Buenos Aires, which took nine hours. It was 88 degrees. The flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Patagonia, took four hours. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. A sign in the harbor reads: "The end of the world, the beginning of everything."

We hiked and rock-climbed the Martial Glacier, a strenuous hike and a fantastic view of the Beagle Channel. We took a harbor tour of the Beagle Channel and saw sea lions basking in the sun, thousands of noisy cormorants that cover small islands and took a trip to the southernmost lighthouse in the world. We traveled to two lakes, Escondido and Fagnano, for another day of hiking and canoeing.

On the third day, we hiked nearly 12 miles traveling to Tierra del Fuego and Argentine National Park. We visited the End of the World Post Office and the end of the TransAmerica Highway, which begins 29,800 miles away in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The final sign as we left the trails in Tierra del Fuego was "Enjoy Yourself - It's the End of the World."

The next day, "the beginning of everything" would be our destination - Antarctica.

The Clipper Adventure carried 118 passengers and staff. We boarded the ship and I noticed blue sick bags scattered throughout the ship. Orientation began shortly after the ship left the harbor. Specialists aboard included the expedition leader, along with a marine biologist, geologist, ornithologist and historian. The Drake Passage took two days to cross in favorable weather.

On the third morning we awakened to icebergs and gray sky. After learning how to board and debark the Zodiac boats, our first landing was a continental landing from Orne Harbor. We climbed snow-covered, jagged hills to our first destination, a chinstrap penguin rookery. The sun peeked out from the clouds and lit up portions of the landscape. Highlighted mountains and contrasting darker shadows made everything look like Ansel Adams' photographs.

"Wow!" was said over and over by everyone - like a mantra. On the way back, some passengers took a wild ride, sitting down, holding up their parkas and sliding down the hill to the waiting Zodiacs.

Every day was new and different. We stopped at Palmer Station, a U.S. research facility operated four months of the year, and met scientists conducting experiments in the Antarctic. We cruised down Neumayer Channel and saw our first humpback whale and happy-looking Leopard seals lounging on an iceberg. We were warned that the Leopard seal is an extremely ferocious prehistoric mammal. Earlier this year, a Zodiac ventured too close to one in the water and it bit the boat. We also visited Port Lockroy, a British research station, and Almirante Brown, an Argentine research station. John, Holly, Dan and I celebrated by having our picture taken in snow pants and Caribbean shirts.

Each time we reboarded the ship, we disinfected our boots in order not to contaminate the next area. This is a pristine, desolate wilderness.

Mid-December through February are summer months and recommended for travel in Antarctica. Morning temperatures were 40 F; by midday it was 50 to 55. Daylight lasted 20 hours. Sunset was around midnight.

One evening we cruised the Lemaire Channel. The sky was blue with thin clouds resting on the mountain peaks. The channel was calm and reflective. Whales were sighted spouting and penguins were porpoising. It was unreal.

The southernmost point of our trip was another continental landing and a tour of the Fish Islands. About half way through the tour all Zodiacs were hailed from the ship to return immediately. Winds had picked up and shifted direction, and an ice floe would soon block access back to the ship. Two Zodiacs were trapped in the ice until the ship opened a path as everyone else watched from the deck.

A polar plunge was offered to anyone interested in jumping off the ship's landing. People were tethered and then jumped and either swam back or were pulled back. In all, 22 passengers took the plunge -- not me, I was taking pictures. I asked one participant why we hadn't heard any expletives as people hit the water. Her response was that it was too shockingly cold to speak.

The weather was good for most of the trip, and like all adventures, the last landing at the Aitcho Islands was unique. The penguins were unlike any other we had encountered. Their curiosity gave them a tame quality, and if someone sat down on a rock, the penguins would walk up and start to pull on the parkas. We couldn't touch them, but it was an experience. We hiked in a creek to the other side of the island to not disturb the environment, and saw juvenile elephant seals basking behind rocks and along the shore. We saw the nesting area of giant petrels and snow petrels gliding like white swallows.

All of the ship's passengers were on either side of the island when the ship's horn sounded twice. It meant get back to the Zodiacs ASAP. The wind had picked up and waves were 6 to 7 feet high. Zodiacs can maneuver in limited wave heights and after that, risk capsizing.

Dan and I stood out on the deck watching the waves and our last glimpses of Antarctica. Lenticular clouds looked like stacked pancakes above the mountains. They indicate upper wind speeds and are commonly seen in mountainous areas, not Iowa. As we returned northbound on the Drake Passage, wind increased to wind force 6 (31 miles per hour). Waves approached 18 to 20 feet and our cabin, three floors above the water line, was awash in waves. It was dinner time and nearly two-thirds of the passengers stayed in their cabins. Those of us who did go to dinner were entertained by silverware flying off tables, plates sliding off counters and watching waiters try to navigate the aisle while the boat bobbed in the Passage. Afterward, we took photos from the bridge of waves crashing over the bow. I noticed a few of those little blue bags missing in the hallways.

We quietly slipped into dock in Ushuaia in the morning. A snowstorm had blanketed the mountains north of the city. We stayed in Ushuaia for the last day, photographing shops, harbor and the sunset. We left early at sunrise the next morning. The plane took off and I watched Ushuaia until it disappeared in the clouds.