Ali and I stood on a snowy hill, the rest of our party were exploring other parts of Petermann island. It was the first time we'd been really alone since we'd arrived in Antarctica, that is except for the small group of Gentoo penguins waddling on the snow beside us.
The view ahead of us was simply stunning; snow covered mountains, glaciers and sparkling blue sea in the glorious sunshine. Beaming I turned to look at Ali, his face broke into the biggest smile I've ever seen, and then he said it,
“Will you marry me?”
Without hesitation I replied, “Yes!”
There was no need for him to get down on one knee because after I said yes we turned to see that the Gentoos had moved and were now circling us, each one gazing up at us, it couldn't have been planned, it was amazing, it was perfect.
We were part of a Classic Antarctica cruise run by Discover-the-World and this, without a doubt, was the most exciting part of our trip so far. Saying that, there had been so much excitement, discovery and enjoyment on the cruise. Each morning, our expedition leader would let us know on the tannoy, where we were in the world, what we could expect to see that day – icebergs, glaciers, wildlife, explorers huts and scientific outposts and what we'd already missed by being asleep; minke whales, albatrosses, amazing views. There was no need to spend a second longer enticing us out of bed, we'd already hastily made our way to breakfast, even if it had been a late one at the ship's bar the night before.
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After giving ourselves a few minutes to enjoy being the only people in the world who knew we were engaged we could not contain ourselves. We hiked up a rocky part of the island to tell our news to Susan and Kirsten from the expedition team, “You two are beaming more than usual,” Kirsten commented. Bless her, how could we resist? They took our photo which was later to appear in that evening's onboard menu and on a bottle of champagne we were presented with. Then Susan radioed the rest of the team and we could hear congratulations being shouted all over Petermann and onto the zodiacs and ship. We felt very special.
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| This was just one of the highlights of our amazing cruise. There was the morning we watched the sun rise over the Le Maire Channel and along with the other passengers went camera crazy; or standing on the bridge watching the 45+ humpback whales accompany us out of the waters surrounding the peninsula and into the Drake Passage on our journey back to Argentina. And I'll never forget cruising in a zodiac around hundreds of exquisitely formed icebergs, past basking seals and soaring gulls. The whole trip was magical and although we went on to visit the wilds of Patagonia and party in Buenos Aires, nothing could compare to ten days in Antarctica and the place in which Ali asked me to be his wife. |
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Many thanks to Angeline for sharing her holiday experience with us and congratulations on their one year wedding anniversary. If you would also like to share you’re DTW holiday moments, send them to Karen Lam at karen@discover-the-world.co.uk
All images © Angeline Braidwood |
