I took an 11-day cruise to the seventh continent - completely uninhabited except by scientists. An organized cruise is the only way to make the journey, requiring a 2-day each way crossing of the notoriously rough Drake Strait.

Once there, the melding of ice, ocean, rock and sky awes you with enormity and a scale dwarfing everything human. It's truly reminded me of the great march of time and how short our own individual time on this Earth is.

Left: Paradise Bay (click to enlarge)