First 2021 Trip Cancelled - January 2021

Yet one more trip cancellation - this time for 2021

In early 2020, before everyone fully understood the consequences of the pandemic, we reserved our cabin on a 2021 polar expedition. This trip was to the Russian High Arctic polar region of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. With current travel restrictions in Finland, Russia and United Kingdom, more virulent COVID-19 strains and limited availability of COVID-19 vaccinations, we decided to cancel this trip before the final lump payment was due. This 2021 trip would have required flights between the US and UK, UK and Helsinki, Finland and also between Helsinki and Murmansk, Russia.

In case you might be wondering about these two destinations:

Franz Josef Land: A little over 500 miles from the North Pole, this area is the northernmost archipelago in the world. There are 192 uninhabited islands in Franz Josef Land, many of which are ice-covered year round. Instead of people, visitors view polar bears, whales, walruses kittiwakes, auks and other seabirds.

Novaya Zemlya: There are two major islands in this area, of which 25 percent of the land is ice-covered. The islands are between the Kara Sea and Barents Sea. Wildlife viewing includes polar bears, Arctic foxes and walruses. 

What to do with our 2021 expedition deposit?

We decided to take for one more expedition to Antarctica. We first explored Antarctica in 2015 and, in 2017, South Georgia and Falklands. Given our 2022 travel schedule has already been booked (and remains on schedule), we needed to look to 2023. In early 2023, we'll return to Antarctica for a small ship expedition into the Antarctic Circle. Hopefully, COVID-19 infections and related travel restrictions will no longer present such uncertainty or travel challenges by 2023. The world population should be more healthy by late 2022 and both world and national recovery well on its way.

This trip will be similar to our previous Antarctica journey. We board a charter flight in Punta Arenas, Chile, to King George Island, one of the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. From there, we'll board an expedition ship to the Antarctic peninsula. After nine days, we'll return to King George Island and board our charter flight to the mainland.

2023 is a long time from today but offers something to look forward to. We have some friends that are thinking about joining us on this trip and that will make this expedition even more enjoyable.

If you're interested in learning about this trip, check out my Antarctica biog entries from 2015.