– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

- There are icebergs drifting past us,

giant snowy mountains and whales everywhere.

Welcome to Antarctica.

(upbeat music)

I am headed to Antarctica,

my number one travel bucket list destination

but the adventure of Antarctica begins

long before you get there.

First you have to get to Ushuaia, Argentina.

It's definitely an adventure hub.

There are a lot of really cool things you can do

launching from this city

and it's known as the gateway to Antarctica.

In Ushuaia I boarded the Seaborn Venture,

thanks to Seaborn who's hosting me for this trip.

I've always heard that their Antarctic experiences

are incredible.

But before you get to Antarctica,

you have to cross the Drake passage.

The Drake passage is the body of water

between the southernmost tip of South America

and the South Shetland islands of Antarctica.

And it's known to have the roughest seas in the world.

And the stretch we're gonna be crossing is nearly 600 miles.

We're about 13 hours into crossing the Drake passage.

I think we hit it around 2:00 AM last night

because I woke up to things in my room

starting to slide back and forth.

But so far so good.

From what I understand,

we're having a really easy Drake crossing

so I've been able to enjoy it a little bit.

I was just out on the bow watching albatross

soar around the ship, which is incredible.

These birds have wingspans up to 12 feet

and for some reason they like following the wake of the ship

so they're actually hanging around us, which is very cool.

After two days of sailing across the Drake passage

seeing the Antarctic continent emerge

on the horizon was so exciting

and I was kind of surprised by how dramatic it was.

In some ways, it felt like we'd arrived at another planet

and the expedition team wasted no time

getting us out on shore.

So the way this works is the ship hangs out offshore

of a landing site

and then expedition leaders bring passengers to shore

in zodiac boats and the tentative itinerary

of the sailing is to travel along the Antarctic peninsula

making shore landings every day

dependent on weather conditions.

The thing I was most excited about for this trip

was the wildlife, especially penguins

because Antarctica is home

to some of the largest penguin colonies

in the world, and it did not disappoint.

Every single shore landing had penguins.

We saw all different types.

We saw chin strap penguins, which are named for the obvious.

We saw Adelie penguins and then the most common penguin

we saw was the gentoo.

And there were so many special moments,

like one landing was at this incredible spot

called Brown Bluff where these snowy cliffs

hung over a beach and there were penguins everywhere

and this young gentoo penguin was napping

with a tuft of feathers in its beak.

I didn't realize penguins napped like this

and it's one of the most precious things I've ever seen.

We also saw lots of chicks, even some twins.

I was giddy getting this shot, and do you see this?

This is a baby penguin butt with this little nubby tail.

I mean, it was all just magical.

Something I didn't realize

is that while adult penguins swim,

it's important for babies to stay dry

because their feathers aren't waterproof,

and that's one of the biggest survival challenges

for parents especially when they get an unusually wet season

because they not only need to find a dry place

to build their nest, but once the baby is born

they need to keep it covered from rain and snow.

Penguins are really social animals

and it's fascinating to watch them interact with each other,

but as cut as they are as babies

they go through a really awkward phase growing up.

I mean, you think you had some bad looks

in your teenage years?

Look at this guy.

And then you have this one whose parent

is trying to groom it and it's running away like, stop,

you're embarrassing me.

They also create what's known as penguin highways

which are dedicated trails

that you can see them all walking on in a line.

I just made it back to the ship.

These landings are so amazing.

It is incredible to see so much wildlife

in such a remote wilderness.

To protect all of this wildlife and the environment,

there are a lot of rules we have to follow

to be able to do these shore landings.

We have to be really careful

about what we wear and what we bring on shore.

And once we're on land, we can't set anything down

and before we go out we walk through these disinfecting tubs

and this is to make sure that we're not spreading disease

from bird colony to bird colony

or throughout the wildlife or the environment.

Very cool experience, and I'm just so happy to be here.

(bright music)

The most magical thing is happening right now.

We're sailing in this area where we're surrounded

by giant icebergs and mountains

and its snowing the lightest fluffiest snowflakes

and we're surrounded by whales.

They're in every direction.

I couldn't have dreamed up a more beautiful setting.

With such incredible conditions around us,

the expedition team prepared the zodiacs

and got us out on the water,

and this afternoon was probably my favorite

of the entire trip.

We sat on this water that was like glass in the fog,

in the snow while humpback whales surfaced all around us.

This was the most ethereal experience of my life.

The camera can't even do it justice.

(upbeat music)

Something very cool and unique about the Seaborn Venture

is it has two custom expedition submarines

and guests can sign up to go on a submarine experience.

I didn't even realize technology was here yet.

And these submarines can dive nearly a thousand feet

giving you the opportunity to see wildlife, plant life

in depths of the ocean where very few humans have ever been.

(upbeat music)

Another excursion available on this sailing is kayaking.

Early one morning I went out with the expedition team

to kayak among icebergs.

And before this trip,

I'd never considered cold weather climates for kayaking

but it was such a cool experience.

Oh my God.

Look at that.

It's another beautiful day in Antarctica

and today we're doing something a little different.

We're stopping in Port Lockroy

which has the world's southern most post office

and apparently there's a little gift shop there

where you can buy postcards and postage and mail letters.

Port Lockroy is a former British military base

and it's also nicknamed the Penguin Post Office

because it's home to a gentoo penguin colony

that has made the place their own.

I just loved seeing them all

in front of this house with the red door.

Some of the photos I got here

felt like they could be a penguin family holiday card.

(bright music)

This afternoon we're sailing through the Lemaire channel

which is known to be absolutely beautiful

because it's a very narrow channel

with steep snowy cliffs on either side.

The Lamaire channel is nearly seven miles long,

and as if it wasn't special enough on its own,

a lone orca showed up and swam alongside the ship

as we sailed through.

(exciting music)

Something that's been so handy on this trip

is the suites on the ship have drying closets

so when I get back from excursions

I can hang all of my wet stuff up in here

like my gloves and beanie.

Turn the radiator on here in the back

and everything gets so toasty and dry.

The Seaborn Venture is a luxury expedition ship

designed for diverse polar environments

and you can see this reflected throughout.

The interior design is so beautiful.

There are maps and explorer theme touches

all around the ship.

There's the bow lounge that has screens

with navigational charts

and weather forecasts and the ship's location.

This is one of my favorite spots on the ship.

It's also a great place to watch for wildlife.

There are mudrooms where every passenger

gets a personal locker to keep excursion boots

and other gear.

There's a gorgeous sauna, which was amazing for warming up

after returning from shore.

There are lots of heated whirl pools and a swimming pool

which are perfect for taking in the scenery while sailing.

And of course, there are so many restaurants

and dining options to choose from.

I think my favorite was Sushi in the Club

but you will never go hungry on this ship.

And the suites are super spacious

with balconies walk-in closets and full-size bathrooms.

Today in Antarctica, we are sailing into an active volcano.

We've made it to Deception Island

which is the Caldera of the volcano.

I believe it lasts erupted in 1970

and they do monitor it to see how active it is

and apparently it's low risk right now.

However, the ship has informed us

that there is an emergency plan in place

if the volcano erupts today.

(upbeat music)

We're now headed back to Ushuaia

and I'm so happy to have had such a wonderful experience

on this trip and so sad it's coming to an end.

Thanks for coming along with me on this one.

I've had so many moments on this voyage

that surpassed my dreams.

In a way, Antarctica always felt untouchable.

I didn't grow up ever thinking I would come here

and now that I've made it

to my number one bucket list destination.

What's next?

(upbeat reverb music)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
icebergs /ˈaɪsbɜːrz/ B1	noun - large pieces of freshwater ice that have broken off a glacier or ice sheet and are floating freely in open water.
drifting /ˈdrɪftɪŋ/ B1	verb - to be carried slowly by the wind or current.
whales /weɪlz/ A2	noun - very large marine mammals with smooth skin and a horizontal tail.
adventure /ədˈventʃər/ B1	noun - an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience.
destination /ˌdestɪˈneɪʃən/ B1	noun - the place to which someone or something is going or is sent.
incredible /ɪnˈkredəbl/ B2	adjective - so extraordinary as to seem impossible.
passage /ˈpæsɪdʒ/ B1	noun - a route or way through something.
rough /rʌf/ A2	adjective - having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth or level.
shore /ʃɔːr/ A2	noun - the land along the edge of a sea or lake.
wildlife /ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ B1	noun - animals and other living things in their natural environment.
colonies /ˈkɒləniːz/ B2	noun - a group of animals of one kind living together in a particular place.
penguins /ˈpeŋɡwɪnz/ A2	noun - flightless aquatic birds living in the Antarctic.
dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ B2	adjective - striking in appearance or effect.
expedition /ˌekspəˈdɪʃən/ B2	noun - a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, especially that of exploration, research, or warfare.
remote /rɪˈmoʊt/ B1	adjective - situated far from any bank or human settlement.
wilderness /ˈwɪldərnəs/ B2	noun - a wild and natural area of land not yet settled or cultivated by humans.
disinfecting /ˌdɪsɪnˈfektɪŋ/ B2	verb - destroying harmful bacteria on surfaces.

Key Grammar Structures

• There are icebergs drifting past us, giant snowy mountains and whales everywhere.

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense

  ➔ The sentence uses the present continuous tense with 'drifting' to describe ongoing actions happening at the moment of speaking.

• I am headed to Antarctica, my number one travel bucket list destination.

  ➔ Present Simple with Future Meaning

  ➔ The sentence uses the present simple 'am headed' to express a future action, indicating a planned event.

• But before you get to Antarctica, you have to cross the Drake passage.

  ➔ Modal Verb (have to)

  ➔ The sentence uses the modal verb 'have to' to express necessity or obligation.

• We're about 13 hours into crossing the Drake passage.

  ➔ Present Perfect Progressive

  ➔ The sentence uses the present perfect progressive 'have been crossing' to describe an action that started in the past and is still ongoing.

• Every single shore landing had penguins.

  ➔ Past Simple with 'had'

  ➔ The sentence uses the past simple 'had' to describe a completed action in the past.

• Something I didn't realize is that while adult penguins swim, it's important for babies to stay dry.

  ➔ Subordinating Conjunction (while)

  ➔ The sentence uses the subordinating conjunction 'while' to connect two clauses, contrasting the actions of adult and baby penguins.

• We also saw lots of chicks, even some twins.

  ➔ Emphasis with 'even'

  ➔ The sentence uses 'even' to add emphasis, highlighting the unexpected nature of seeing twins.

• To protect all of this wildlife and the environment, there are a lot of rules we have to follow.

  ➔ Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The sentence uses the infinitive of purpose 'to protect' to express the reason for following the rules.

• I couldn't have dreamed up a more beautiful setting.

  ➔ Past Perfect Modal (couldn't have)

  ➔ The sentence uses the past perfect modal 'couldn't have dreamed' to express impossibility in the past.