I was finally able to upload a few pics on facebook, so feel free to check those out. It's a public album, so if you're not on facebook I think you can still see them by clicking on the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2492141&id=917103&l=c8b29bc2a2
It's a pretty small selection and it's just from the first cruise, so there are plenty more to come..
Enjoy!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I just saw an emperor penguin!!!
...just thought you guys might want to know :)
On the ship we really don't go far enough south to see emperors on most occasions, so this was a really rare spotting by the captain and the expedition staff. It was just a lone penguin on an ice flow floating towards the ship, but I was there and I saw him!
I feel really good about this. I hope that you do too.
On the ship we really don't go far enough south to see emperors on most occasions, so this was a really rare spotting by the captain and the expedition staff. It was just a lone penguin on an ice flow floating towards the ship, but I was there and I saw him!
I feel really good about this. I hope that you do too.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Paradise on Ice
Hey everyone! I know it has been a little while, but I'm trying to wait to write a lot for when I can put up pictures to go along with the narration. It's a lot more fun if you can see the things I'm telling you about.
This morning we are in Paradise Bay on the Antarctic peninsula. It's the first landing on the actual continent of Antarctica (instead of just the islands making up the archipelago around it) so everyone was really excited to get on land. I took a quick 30 minute hike up a steep and snowy mountain (and by mountain I definitely mean hill) with my friend Yura for some scenic views, and then we managed to slide the whole way down on our butts! I didn't mean to at first, we were just messing around and having a snowball fight, but it didn't take long to realize that it was the fastest and most fun way to get down. We were told off when we got to the bottom though. Apparently it's "dangerous," but I think that's only if you're over 60 and run the risk of breaking a hip or something. For us, it was just a good time :)
We took a quick zodiac tour around the harbor where we saw some gentoo penguins, weddell seals, humpback whales, and some very big icebergs! As we rounded one of the smaller bergy bits (yes, that's what they are actually called) we came upon another zodiac fully supplied with glasses, champagne, and one very cute, very cold bar manager :D We had a lovely toast to the Antarctic wilderness and off we were again to cruise around the bay.
As with every excursion, upon returning to the ship we were greeted with hot chocolate with a choice of liqueurs including kahula, bailey's, grand marnier, tia maria, etc. My favorite is the white hot chocolate with creme de menthe!
Well I guess I'm off to lunch now. We're having chili con carne and beers out on the pool deck and I want to get some before it's all gone :)
This morning we are in Paradise Bay on the Antarctic peninsula. It's the first landing on the actual continent of Antarctica (instead of just the islands making up the archipelago around it) so everyone was really excited to get on land. I took a quick 30 minute hike up a steep and snowy mountain (and by mountain I definitely mean hill) with my friend Yura for some scenic views, and then we managed to slide the whole way down on our butts! I didn't mean to at first, we were just messing around and having a snowball fight, but it didn't take long to realize that it was the fastest and most fun way to get down. We were told off when we got to the bottom though. Apparently it's "dangerous," but I think that's only if you're over 60 and run the risk of breaking a hip or something. For us, it was just a good time :)
We took a quick zodiac tour around the harbor where we saw some gentoo penguins, weddell seals, humpback whales, and some very big icebergs! As we rounded one of the smaller bergy bits (yes, that's what they are actually called) we came upon another zodiac fully supplied with glasses, champagne, and one very cute, very cold bar manager :D We had a lovely toast to the Antarctic wilderness and off we were again to cruise around the bay.
As with every excursion, upon returning to the ship we were greeted with hot chocolate with a choice of liqueurs including kahula, bailey's, grand marnier, tia maria, etc. My favorite is the white hot chocolate with creme de menthe!
Well I guess I'm off to lunch now. We're having chili con carne and beers out on the pool deck and I want to get some before it's all gone :)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The South Sandwich Islands
A few days on board so far and we really haven't done much yet. It took a day and a half to sail from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands, and once we got there, we only spend a very brief lunch hour on land before heading out to sea again. The Falklands are really the only place that we go to which is populated, but I have to say that it's not the first place I'd want to move to if given the choice. The islands are under British Sovereign rule, and the space is used largely as a military outpost. I think the Brits hang around mostly just to annoy Argentina though...
Chris and I spent some time on land just running a few errands and having lunch. Nothing much to report really, and it wasn't long before we were heading out to sea again. This time there were 2 full sea days before the next sighting of land, South Georgia Island.
This morning was the first landing in South Georgia, and it took place in the form of a zodiac tour. It was nice to finally get off the ship for a bit after being cooped up for so long, but I think I could have done without the snow and sleet... It was quite a windy day, and with the zodiac driver whipping us around the bay we were certainly getting a face full cold wet iciness. It's all part of the experience though, right?? The wildlife was awesome and the scenery was pretty great too, so I guess I can't complain too much. I'm trying to upload pictures and video for you, but so far I've been unsuccessful. I'll try again later tonight, but in the meantime, I'm going for lunch. Toddles!
Chris and I spent some time on land just running a few errands and having lunch. Nothing much to report really, and it wasn't long before we were heading out to sea again. This time there were 2 full sea days before the next sighting of land, South Georgia Island.
This morning was the first landing in South Georgia, and it took place in the form of a zodiac tour. It was nice to finally get off the ship for a bit after being cooped up for so long, but I think I could have done without the snow and sleet... It was quite a windy day, and with the zodiac driver whipping us around the bay we were certainly getting a face full cold wet iciness. It's all part of the experience though, right?? The wildlife was awesome and the scenery was pretty great too, so I guess I can't complain too much. I'm trying to upload pictures and video for you, but so far I've been unsuccessful. I'll try again later tonight, but in the meantime, I'm going for lunch. Toddles!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Why 4 1/2 hr connections are actually a really good thing...
So I made it! Let's all just rejoice at that fact for a moment. Breathe it in. Ahhhhhhhhhh. That's better.
I left my house in Dallas at 8:30am on Saturday morning and arrived here at my hotel in Ushuaia at about 5:00 pm on Sunday night. And that's without much of a time change. Dallas - LA - Santiago - Punta Arenas - Ushuaia. Let's just say I'm happy that's over.
The trip begins with the captain of my Dallas flight coming over the loudspeaker to announce that we have "mechanical difficulties" because they were short on planes so they just wheeled this one out of the hanger. Too bad it had been sitting there too long and no one bothered to wipe away the cobwebs before we boarded. So great, we're going to be delayed and I'll miss my connection and never get to Ushuaia in time to catch a boat that sure as hell ain't gonna wait for my free-loading ass. At least that's what went through mind for 30 seconds until the captain got back on the mic to say, "nevermind, guess it's all fine, the engineers are going to sign off on the book, so we'll be out of here in 5 minutes." WHAT?? Now I'm really worried, cuz I don't know about you, but I'd rather be late than dead!
Fortunately it was just the entertainment systems that were malfunctioning, so no biggie really, and we made it to LA in plenty of time. Out of security into security sandwich eaten soda gulped electronics charged last phone calls made flight boarded.
I arrive in Santiago and proceed to the international terminal to catch my flight to Argentina. I go through security again. (I'm telling you, by the end of this trip I must have been the most secure person on the planet.) Proceed to the international terminal, but I cant find my flight number or gate info anywhere. Through some ugly broken spanish (yikes I need practice) I find out that my flight stops domestically in Punta Arenas before continuing on to Ushuaia, which is in Argentina. I have to go back down and out and through immigration and customs. Not only does that mean I have to pay the $131 reciprocity fee for entering the country (despite the fact that I'm really just passing through), but I have to wait in line twice because there are NO signs anywhere that say you need to go around the corner to pay this fee before you get in the immigration line. And since I happened to be caught up in the international terminal (can't figure out why I thought I should have gone there for my international flight) I was the last one down there and didn't have the benefit of herd mentality where I could just do whatever "they" were doing. Ugh. I also had lively debates going with multiple airport, immigration, and airline employees as to whether or not I needed to pick up my bags and go through customs in Chile or if they were checked all the way through like I was originally told. Long story even longer... I did pick them up, but didn't have to go through customs with them. Go figure. This makes little to no sense to me, but my bags got here with me in the end and that's all I really care about.
After all the craziness (and trust me, that was a brief synopsis) I had only about an hour left out of my 4 1/2 hour layover, so I'd say keep that in mind if you're thinking of connecting internationally in South America. Turns out that it can be a real pain. Music played coffee sipped book read flight boarded.
The rest is history really. An hour or so in Puntas Arenas and finally I made it here. It's about 10:15 pm as I'm writing now and it's still very much light outside. It's hard to get a handle on the time when you're this far south. On the plus side I took a shower at about 9:00 and enjoyed stunning vistas of the water and mountains from the bathroom window in full daylight. I'll try to remember to get a picture later for you guys to see at home. Now I'm just killing time until the ship comes in and I can go have a drink with that fine bar manager of theirs. I wonder what the drink special is tonight....? ;)
I left my house in Dallas at 8:30am on Saturday morning and arrived here at my hotel in Ushuaia at about 5:00 pm on Sunday night. And that's without much of a time change. Dallas - LA - Santiago - Punta Arenas - Ushuaia. Let's just say I'm happy that's over.
The trip begins with the captain of my Dallas flight coming over the loudspeaker to announce that we have "mechanical difficulties" because they were short on planes so they just wheeled this one out of the hanger. Too bad it had been sitting there too long and no one bothered to wipe away the cobwebs before we boarded. So great, we're going to be delayed and I'll miss my connection and never get to Ushuaia in time to catch a boat that sure as hell ain't gonna wait for my free-loading ass. At least that's what went through mind for 30 seconds until the captain got back on the mic to say, "nevermind, guess it's all fine, the engineers are going to sign off on the book, so we'll be out of here in 5 minutes." WHAT?? Now I'm really worried, cuz I don't know about you, but I'd rather be late than dead!
Fortunately it was just the entertainment systems that were malfunctioning, so no biggie really, and we made it to LA in plenty of time. Out of security into security sandwich eaten soda gulped electronics charged last phone calls made flight boarded.
I arrive in Santiago and proceed to the international terminal to catch my flight to Argentina. I go through security again. (I'm telling you, by the end of this trip I must have been the most secure person on the planet.) Proceed to the international terminal, but I cant find my flight number or gate info anywhere. Through some ugly broken spanish (yikes I need practice) I find out that my flight stops domestically in Punta Arenas before continuing on to Ushuaia, which is in Argentina. I have to go back down and out and through immigration and customs. Not only does that mean I have to pay the $131 reciprocity fee for entering the country (despite the fact that I'm really just passing through), but I have to wait in line twice because there are NO signs anywhere that say you need to go around the corner to pay this fee before you get in the immigration line. And since I happened to be caught up in the international terminal (can't figure out why I thought I should have gone there for my international flight) I was the last one down there and didn't have the benefit of herd mentality where I could just do whatever "they" were doing. Ugh. I also had lively debates going with multiple airport, immigration, and airline employees as to whether or not I needed to pick up my bags and go through customs in Chile or if they were checked all the way through like I was originally told. Long story even longer... I did pick them up, but didn't have to go through customs with them. Go figure. This makes little to no sense to me, but my bags got here with me in the end and that's all I really care about.
After all the craziness (and trust me, that was a brief synopsis) I had only about an hour left out of my 4 1/2 hour layover, so I'd say keep that in mind if you're thinking of connecting internationally in South America. Turns out that it can be a real pain. Music played coffee sipped book read flight boarded.
The rest is history really. An hour or so in Puntas Arenas and finally I made it here. It's about 10:15 pm as I'm writing now and it's still very much light outside. It's hard to get a handle on the time when you're this far south. On the plus side I took a shower at about 9:00 and enjoyed stunning vistas of the water and mountains from the bathroom window in full daylight. I'll try to remember to get a picture later for you guys to see at home. Now I'm just killing time until the ship comes in and I can go have a drink with that fine bar manager of theirs. I wonder what the drink special is tonight....? ;)
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