January 29, 2003

Couple marks their seventh continent with Antarctica trip

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Deborah Morrow and Jim Lagowski marked their seventh continent earlier this month during a landfall in Antarctica.
      The couple, traveling with their friend, Leta Amon, toured the southern tip of South American, Antarctica and the Chilean fjords for three weeks.
      "This was my last one and Jim got number six and seven, because he had never visited South America before," Morrow said. "The other point of this trip was that Jim and I had already been to all the fjords: Alaska, Norway and New Zealand, we wanted to see the Chilean fjords."
      In all, the trio sailed 3,700 miles on a Norwegian cruise ship that took 222 passengers for 17 days to some of the most remote places on the globe. Five days were spent in Antarctica, where temperatures during the Southern Hemisphere's summer were warmer than in Traverse City, ranging in the 30s and 40s.
      "We got down to the 64th parallel, just shy of the Antarctic Circle by 60 miles," said Lagowski, who with his wife of 18 years has also visited all 50 states and all but three Canadian provinces. "In Iceland a few years ago, we got just shy of the 65th parallel, too, near the Arctic Circle."
      The long days of an Antarctic summer provided nearly 24 hours of light, giving ample time for the many off-boat excursions. Special light boats ferried passengers around soaring icebergs and set them ashore on various islands and on the continent itself. They saw three types of penguins, out of the 17 that inhabit Antarctica and the southern portion of South American. Later in the trip in Chile, they saw penguins that live in underground burrows.
      Other wildlife they saw during the excursion included whales, seals and many species of birds.
      "Penguins are so fun to watch when the go out to the water and back, they just waddle," said Amon. "They actually make little trails down to the water and back."
      The passengers could watch but not touch as they had strict orders not to approach the penguins or disturb the rookeries. In fact, before leaving the ship each time, passengers walked through disinfectants to clean any contaminants off of their boots.
      "You could walk right up to them but were not allowed to go within 15 feet of them," said Lagowski. "However, if you stood still, they would come up to you."
      The cruise ship made seven stops while touring Antarctica, including a Polish research station, an abandoned whaling facility and a valley with mummified seal remains that were 3,000-4,000 years old.
      "The continent of Antarctica is almost as big as North America and it is a land mass, unlike the North Pole," said Lagowski. "It more than doubles in size during the winter because of the ice."
      The region's stark beauty struck Lagowski, who tried to capture the essence of it on film. He shot 23 rolls of film during the trip and while the pictures are beautiful, they pale by comparison to the experience.
      "The colors when the sun is up, the colors are beautiful," he said. "Sometimes the clouds came right down to the water. You can't describe the scenery."
      All three are veteran world travelers. Morrow and Lagowski have made five major trips during the past seven years, including Australia and New Zealand, Kenya and Egypt, Iceland and Scotland and Scandinavia and St. Petersburg, Russia. The couple keeps a globe with three different color pins: his, hers and their mutual destinations.
      Their Antarctic adventure was unique.
      "Antarctica was not a vacation, but an adventure type of experience in a very controlled, nice environment," said Lagowski, noting the trip was aptly named by the cruise line 'Voyage of Discovery.' "In our spare moments, they had lectures on birds, ice, sea mammals and the history and exploration of the area."
      Travel is a priority for Lagowski and Morrow. They spend months planning, researching and booking their trips. Once home, they meticulously sort, label and put all their photos in albums.
      "Some people spend their money on snowmobiles, two really good snowmobiles would pay for our trip," said Lagowski, who is retired while Morrow works part time for Northwestern Michigan College. "It is fun to travel, see new people, things and food. It is just a different experience. I just love to travel."
      However wonderful their voyage to Antarctica, it is one that neither are inclined to duplicate.
      "I wouldn't go back, whereas I would go back to China or on a safari in Africa," Morrow noted.