by Len Lear

Carol Massaro Flavell, 72, who grew up in Chestnut Hill and went to Jenks Elementary School, Germantown High School, Temple University, the University of Rhode Island and Boston College for grad school (twice), has lived in Boston since 1984.

“Boston and Philly are very much alike (as all Philly ex-pats agree) — old, proud, lots of history,” she told us recently. “Boston is just much smaller.”

Carol retired from one of the Boston teaching hospitals in 2013, where she had been a nurse practitioner on a heart transplant service for 24 years. Prior to that, she was a critical care nurse and educator for 10-plus years. “I was fortunate to travel some with that job and also did some consulting with travel,” said Carol.

“But I had always wanted to go to Antarctica. National Geographic magazine pictures lured me, and books about Antarctic explorers (‘Shackleton's South,’ for example) hooked me in. I needed to know why those people were so drawn to it. It is changing dramatically with climate change. It was my seventh continent, so I just had to go.”

Carol, Kay and their fellow travelers crossed the Drake Passage, reputed to have the world's worst current, which connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. These Adelie penguins like to cross it, too.

So Carol lived her dream when she took off on Jan. 18 last year with her first cousin, Kay Massaro Fichter, who also grew up in Chestnut Hill and also graduated from Jenks and Germantown High, and 146 other intrepid explorers on a National Geographic trip run by Lindblad Travel. “It was expensive ($14,000) but worth it,” said Carol, who returned to the U.S. 11 days later. “I had read a lot, so I knew pretty much what to expect, but I did not expect the beautiful light.

“January is summer in Antarctica, so temperatures were not awful, and then, despite the flat-earthers’ assertions, there IS global warming. Cold at night, teens and 20s, daytime varied from the same to near 40. (We had an outdoor barbecue one day.) The key is layers of clothing, and we had lots.”

According to scientists, Antarctica is the coldest and windiest continent on earth. Winds in some parts of Antarctica can reach 200 miles per hour. Antarctica is fascinating for many other reasons. For example, it is the only continent in the world that does not have any reptiles.

Also, there are some places in Antarctica that haven’t had any rain for the last two million years. About 4.9 percent of the world’s fresh water lies in Antarctica, and 89 percent is in the form of ice; only one percent is flowing water.

Antarctica is the only continent without a time zone. Also, it is believed that at one time Antarctica was as warm as modern California is today. The ice sheets in Antarctica are believed to have been in existence for at least 40 million years.

“We saw birds,” said Carol, “such as albatross, petrels, skuas, gulls and cormorants. Also whales, killer A and B types, humpback and minke. And seals — crabeater, Ross, Weddell and Leopard. Our crew included six naturalists plus two divers who photographed underwater flora and fauna and showed the films at daily afternoon recaps. Also, we had two whale biologists who were tracking the movement patterns of killer (B type) whales with a drone.”

Most of the Antarctica ice is about three to 10 feet thick. Also, the largest iceberg that was measured in Antarctica is larger than the country of Jamaica, 4,250 square miles.

The ship Flavell was on is essentially both a travel vehicle and a floating hotel. “We ate and slept and rewarmed there,” she said. “Once we crossed the Drake Passage, reputed to have the world's worst current, and were near land, we landed one or two times a day.

“Antarctica is unique in that by treaty, no country owns land there. There are various national research stations, historic sites from the whaling and exploring eras and emergency depots (with food and gear for anyone marooned there) but NOTHING else.”

All 148 travelers plus naturalists and crew were running from one side of the ship to the other to watch a pod of killer whales teaching their juveniles how to hunt.

All tour groups who take people to Antarctica have agreed to a strict preservation protocol. They limit the number of ships in an area and the number of people landing at a time. There are also strict protocols about cleaning and disinfecting boots and clothes. “Clothes and backpacks were vacuumed,” said Carol, “to prevent introduction of non-native spores or seeds. The parkas are also a way of limiting exposure to foreign species. You may NOT touch any animal alive (or dead, as everything gets eaten) to prevent disease transmission to the animals.

“We were told to stay 15 feet from the penguins, but no one told the penguins, so they often came MUCH closer. Because they have not been threatened by humans, they are fearless. Mostly, Antarctica is about the beauty and desolate grandeur of the space, the unbelievable light and the animals I have described. Given the harshness of the environment, the amount of wildlife, if not the diversity, is amazing.

“I loved the trip and would go back in a heartbeat, but economically, it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The most amazing thing was watching the pod of killer whales teaching their juveniles how to hunt with the pod using a penguin, which is not a normal part of their diet, as a sort of ‘chase rabbit.’ They were at it for nearly a half-hour, and all 148 of us plus naturalists and crew were running from one side of the ship to the other to watch.”

More information at https://www.facebook.com/public/Carol-Flavell. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com