Logistics

Here's my itinerary as far as I've thought it out up to this point:

New York -> Casablanca, Morrocco -> Chennai, India -> Sydney, Australia -> Ushuaia, Argentina -> Somewhere, somehow in Antarctica -> Back to Ushuaia -> New York.

With just a little bit of searching, I've reduced the price of airfare for this route to about $3,000. But I think I can get it even lower by moving around dates and such. I'm seriously considering swapping out Casablanca for Cairo (what better time to visit Egypt than right now, right?). Morocco, however, has the dual advantages of having French (which I speak to some extent) as a very commonly spoken language, and of being more politically stable.

The only really difficult part of this itinerary is Antarctica. I've been searching, but, up to this point, the only way I can find of getting there is a cruise. Which lasts 7+ days and typically costs $5,000+. I, on the other hand, would prefer to travel there for 3 days tops, and I certainly don't need all of the fancy amenities of a cruise. I would gladly sleep in a sleeping bag inside a shipping container and pack my own food. I'm even willing to swab the deck, if that's a thing.

Anywhere else in the world, you can take a cargo cruise, wherein you hitch a ride aboard a freighter for dirt cheap. For obvious reasons, however, there aren't a lot of cargo freighters heading to Antarctica - no one to ship to, you know.

My sage brother-in-law suggested I join Sea Shepherd, an environmental activist organization that takes excursions to protect the ocean's wildlife. According to their site, though, they are looking for "people who burn inside with a rage against the injustices perpetrated upon whales, dolphins, seals, sea turtles, sea birds, fish, and every living thing," and their expeditions are at least one month long. I'm not sure that's quite going to fit. I mean, I eat canned tuna.

More than one wise guy has suggested that I row a canoe to Antarctica. But - surprise, surprise - there are more than 500 miles of open ocean between Cape Horn and Greenwich Island, the northernmost land mass that can be considered part of Antarctica. For context, 500 miles is approximately the distance between Salt Lake City and Denver, CO. So that would be a pretty long, chilly canoe trip. 

I am appealing to my friends and family, however, to see if anyone knows any of the following:

• A scientist working in Antarctica that could give me a lift on a resupply trip
• An Argentine fisherman or other seafaring individual that could drop me off on the frozen continent