The following guest post was written by Rick W., a long time world traveler and member of the Boston Vegan Association and Boston Vegetarian Society:

Antarctica — the White Continent. It’s a long way to go, but so worth it, even for a vegan.

To get to Antarctica I flew from Boston to Dulles (DC) to change planes and fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Buenos Aires it was necessary to change planes (and airports) to get to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. After boarding the ship in Ushuaia it took two full days to arrive in the outermost islands of Antarctica.

Prior to traveling to Antarctica, I contacted the tour company to request vegan meals on the tour ship. Breakfast on the ship was similar every day and had enough vegan options. For breakfast on the ship I had bananas, oranges, granola, and fruit juice. The lunches and dinners were prepared separately each day and had vegetarian options for other passengers’ requests and my vegan meal. Most of my meals were largely composed of vegetables, but eventually some grains were part of my meals. The meals included couscous and steamed vegetables. The food was good and there was plenty of it.

The animals we saw on the trip included six species of penguin, three species of sea lion, two species of whale, and lots of different varieties of sea birds (gulls, skuas, albatross, petrels, and more). Most impressive were the icebergs. The sizes, shapes and blue colors were phenomenal.

While in Ushuaia, I ate at an Italian restaurant and was able to order a vegan pasta dish by asking for specific items that I saw on the menu. In Buenos Aires, I ate at two vegetarian restaurants that had vegan options.

For any travel I would suggest bringing vegan pre-packaged items as a back up for a snack or a meal. I always bring Lara Bars with me on trips.