"Roche and McDonald boarded Oceanwide Expeditions’ Plancius vessel in Ushuaia, a port town at the southern tip of Argentina, on March 10. They were aware of the mounting public health crisis in China and Italy, and briefly worried if it might cause trouble upon return to the United States, but were quickly distracted by the enchanting beauty of the southernmost continent. 'Antarctica was beyond words,' says Roche of the mesmerizing landscapes and magical encounters with seals and penguins. Eventually, though, the gravitas of the situation back home dominated the conversation. Borders were shutting at an unprecedented clip while the Plancius—carrying more than 100 passengers from 28 countries—was sailing at the bottom of the world."