A whale frolics in the ocean off the coast of Antarctica.

Mendota High School sophomore Alex Brewer had a very eventful journey during his winter break. After a trip from Mendota to Chicago’s O’Hare International, Brewer’s passing pass and passport received a workout until the final destination of the Antarctica peninsula was reached.

Through a group called Students on Ice, Brewer, the son of Dave and Amy Brewer, was part of an educational group designed to inform the public on climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic frontiers.

“One of my parent’s friends sent me a link to the application site a week before it was due. I saw it and immediately knew I was going on the trip,” said Brewer.

“The trip was open to high schools in countries around the world. On the trip, I met peers from China, Canada, Israel, Palestine, France, Belgium and Ecuador.”

The selection process involved answering essay questions, and the submitting of personal history, paperwork and academic transcripts. Crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is may have been an easy part of the journey because getting to take an initial step on Antarctica and slip on its ice and crunch its snow was quite a globetrotting endeavor.

“The trip took a total of two weeks,” said Brewer. “On Dec. 26, I left my house and went to O’Hare. After some delays due to weather, my plane departed for Atlanta, so that I could board a transfer flight to Miami. When I arrived in Miami, my luggage had not made it from Chicago, so I got on a plane and departed to Santiago, Chile. A quick transfer flight of two hours brought me to the refueling point in Punta Reyes. At Punta Reyes, I took a transfer flight to Ushuaia, Argentina. This was the end of the flying portion of the first trip. At Ushuaia, we boarded a ship called the M/V Ushuaia that would sail us across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. The flights took a total of two days and the ship took only one day of open water to arrive at the Peninsula. Usually, it would have taken longer, but the good weather allowed for a faster trip.”

In South America sans luggage, Brewer had to completely re-wardrobe by purchasing all his outer wear and clothes in Argentina, but besides the baggage snafu, this trip was still turning into a journey of a lifetime.

“We explored the islands around the Antarctic Peninsula and also landed on the Peninsula itself,” he said. “During the landings, we observed the natural state of the Antarctica’s geography and its biology.

“The marine life of the Antarctic is probably one of the most memorable parts of the trip,” he added. “During the trip, we saw four different species of penguins, whales, seals and even krill. The penguins live in rookeries on various islands throughout the Antarctic. On the trip, we landed on three different rookeries and were given the opportunity to observe penguins in their natural habitat.

“I enjoyed watching whales the most. They were gigantic when we were up close to them. On the trip, we only saw two different species, Humpback and Fin.”

The continent is currently in the middle of its summer where temperatures average dozens of degrees below zero, but Brewer noted that summer temps in Antarctica are quite variable and can range from –17 to 37 degrees.