Antarctica,
Argentina,
& Chile

The adventure begins. It is a cold and rainy day in Spartanburg as we finish packing and drive to Charlotte. We make a quick stop at Southpark Mall so I can purchase a case for my IPOD that Hugh surprised me with for the trip. After a light lunch we head to the airport. Hugh goes to park the car while I check us in. We are placed on an earlier flight as the weather and visibility are deteriorating. We just make the flight after slow airport security. When we arrive in Atlanta the weather is worse. We have 5 hours before our next flight so we spend our time reading and walking but unfortunately our flight is delayed. We finally board and we are on our way. We have good seats and alternately read, eat and sleep.

We are so efficient and the Radisson people are quick to get us on the bus and then checked in at the hotel. Our guide is Eduardo. We are in Buenos Aires at our hotel by 9:30 am. The hotel is the Sheraton Park Tower which is absolutely beautiful and our room over looks the clock tower. We quickly shower and change then take off to explore. We stop at the concierge and get a walking map of the city. Our first stop is the Recoletta Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. Along our walk we get to see a lot of the city including some beautiful parks and lovely neighborhoods. The cemetery is huge and Evita is truly not the most famous person here. Her crypt is small but is decorated with fresh flowers and is always the most visited. After the cemetery we continue our walk through this lovely neighborhood and into to the city. Our next stop is the Teatro Colon. This beautiful theater houses the Buenos Aires ballet, symphony, and most other large venues. It is one of the largest and most opulent theaters in the world and has renowned acoustics. We stop for a late lunch at the Café Modera. The waitress was very helpful with the Spanish menu and we had a lovely lunch. We walk down Florida Ave, the largest pedestrian street, and back to the hotel to make reservation for tonight’s Tango show and dinner. We then walk some more in town and enjoy the briskness of the city. We get caught in a torrential downpour and have to make our way back going from one cover to the next (umbrellas and raincoats safely back at the hotel). Hugh naps while I shower. At 8pm we head to the Tango show with 6 of our fellow travelers. Priscilla (Virginia), David (Colorado), Karen and Bob (Pasadena), Sharlyn and Kate (Atlanta). The whole group is worrying about staying awake but anxious for the experience. The food is wonderful and we truly enjoyed the company. The show starts at 10:15 and we are thoroughly captivated for the next two hours. There is a live orchestra and the dancing is colorful and exotic. The club was called Carlos Gardel. Back at the hotel we hit the sheets and neither of us turns over until the 7:15 wake up call.

We are up quickly to shower, dress, and pack a small bag for Iguazu Falls. We have breakfast on the 24th floor with a fantastic view of BA. We then meet our guide Nuni and leave for the airport. Our flight is at 10:15 but leaves a little late. Iguazu Falls is a very unique place. We are staying inside the National park at the Sheraton Iguazu. We are pleasantly surprised that our room overlooks the falls. We have lunch and then take a group walk to the train station for a ride into the jungle and the walk to the upper falls. There are about 30 of us on this part of the trip and everyone is enthusiastic. We are expecting to hike through jungle around the falls but there are metal catwalks and overlooks that go on for miles. We hike the whole upper falls and we are so close it is amazing. There are over two miles of falls and they are the most spectacular falls we have ever seen. Wet and tired we return to the hotel via train and shower for dinner. We have delicious food but the service is very slow. When our meals arrive they each are large enough to feed a small nation. By 11pm everyone is fading and ready for bed. We have an early day tomorrow—the boat ride in the falls.

No need to shower today. We dress in bathing suits and shorts and go to breakfast. After our meal we hike to the boarding ramps for our truck ride into the jungle. Our guide was great and we learned a lot bout the flora and fauna of the area but we only really saw toucans and turkey vultures, gulls and a funny blue headed bird that I cannot say or spell his name. We soon arrive at the disembarkation point for our hike to the boats. We board the boat, pack our things in dry bags, and put on our life jackets. We leave the docking area and are surprised at how fast we go through some serious whitewater. We get very up close and personal with the falls- the spray is so strong that it feels like little needles on the skin. Everyone is in agreement, these falls put Niagara to shame. After a lengthy and very wet trip we put on our shoes and hike the lower falls area and eventually return to the hotel for a quick shower and lunch. We have a long wait for the bus to the airport but we are back at the BA Park Tower by 6:30. Our rooms are waiting for us and the large bags we left are waiting for us in our rooms. Hugh and I walk around the city and have a lovely dinner at Dora, not far from our hotel. We get to our room, pack our backpacks, put our luggage out by 10, and crash. We have a 3:15 wake-up call for a 4:15 departure to the airport.

3:15 am and the phone is ringing. We shower, dress, have breakfast, and board the bus at 4:15 for the airport. Today we travel to Ushuaia, Terre del Fuego. We are on a 737 charter flight. After an hour we land to refuel—very strange. We then have 2 ¾ hours to go. The weather is lousy and we are disappointed that we can’t see more of the mountains as we land. When the clouds break the view is spectacular. It snowed yesterday and the mountains are covered. We land and board buses for a tour of the area. Our luggage was sent to the ship so we have nothing to keep up with which is nice. We drive through the downtown area which is rather small and out a road that turns to gravel for lunch and a gaucho show at a barbeque restaurant. Southern, not likely, they serve roasted lamb and salad and ice cream sundaes for dessert. The show is put on by young performers and is cute and colorful. The crew from the cruise ship is here to give us our boarding cards and this makes check in very easy-the only freaky part is giving them our passports. We continue our tour of the area and go to a National Park where we hike and see some birds and different plants and trees. We then drive back downtown where Hugh has to go to a medical meeting and I go and send some emails before I board the ship. This is the smallest ship we have ever been on but it is extremely nice. Our cabin is small but surprisingly has our beds together to make a king. There are side rails on the beds so that lets us know that rough seas are expected. There is a loveseat, a desk and chair, a bath with a shower, and two portholes for a great view. There is plenty of storage as we have lots of drawers and two closets. The bags slide conveniently under the bed. While waiting for Hugh I settle in and explore the ship, the Explorer II. The nice thing about this ship is that everything is close at hand. There is a wonderful library with comfortable sofas, chairs, and desk; you can take your tea or coffee in and relax. There are several bar areas and drinks are included on this trip. There are two restaurants, one buffet and the other open seating with excellent service. The ship is casual so jeans and a sweater are ok for dinner. There is a gym and lots of open deck for walking. There is a heated outdoor pool and deck tables and chairs; I’m not sure how much use these will get. Hugh arrives from his meeting and we finish setting up the room for our convenience. Everything has a place and there is no room for clutter. We have the mandatory lifeboat drill and then we are moving out of the harbor. Later we joined our Cruise Director, Jannie Cloete, and our expedition leader, Ignacio Rojas, in the main lounge for an introduction to the ship and then we were introduced to our expedition staff. They were very enthusiastic and shared their desire to make this a grand adventure indeed. We had dinner with some very entertaining Canadians and two lovely ladies from Southern California as we sailed into the Beagle Channel on our way to the Falklands. Each evening there is dancing in the main lounge to a wonderful Quartet and piano in one of the bars. Tonight we opt for a brisk walk on deck and to bed at 11:30.

We slept like logs and did not need the side rails as there was only s gentle rocking of the ship as we steamed toward the Falklands. We have a leisurely breakfast and then brave the wind and rain in our new red parkas to scout the sea birds and to look for whales. The sea birds are numerous. We then head to the main lounge for the nature lectures. The one on birds by Marco tells us that the birds we have been seeing are black browed albatrosses and giant petrels. Before lunch we had a Zodiac briefing by Ignacio. We had a great lunch and then read in the library and napped. We missed the afternoon lecture but caught it on TV. Tonight is the captain’s cocktail party and dinner. We dress in our best and are greeted by Janni who introduced us to Captain John Moulds. The Captain gave his welcome and showed us that his next career will be as a standup comedian. There was a band and some brave souls manned the dance floor but we were rocking by this point so we set out the dancing. We went to dinner with Joan and Alan, a lovely couple from London and Sharlyn and Sean the Whale guy. Food was terrific but by the time dinner was over the ship was rolling and pitching. We stayed in our beds listening to music until late. During the night the seas were rough and several times we awoke feeling our bed moving up and down not side to side.

Today we are up early and breakfast is quick with no time to linger. We are going on a tour of Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands. The weather is cold and very windy with gales up to 40 mph. We board our bus with Pat our naturalist and a local guide. On our drive we see a very small down with some little shops, restaurants, and pubs. There is only one grocery and one petrol station on the island. The school children board in Port Stanley and if they live on East Falkland Island they go home on weekends, the children from the other Islands go home once a month. The islands had no road system until 1985 and now the roads are scarce but allow people to get into Pt. Stanley in several hours rather than several days. The terrain here is flat with only small hills breaking the landscape. There are "rock runs" that go on for miles and no trees. The ground is peat so it is boggy. The people who do not live in Port Stanley have to travel a long way to visit neighbors on other farms. We are visiting a small self-supporting family farm today run by Neil and Wanda Watson called Long Island Farm. It takes us an hour to drive there and we are met by the Watson’s. We see a peat cutting demonstration (not a job for the weak) as the Watson’s burn peat for heat and to cook. We then get a show by the sheepdogs and get to see a sheep shorn. We then go into the house for tea and cakes. It was funny to see the TV sitting next to the peat burning stove. Mrs. Watson uses a flat iron to do the ironing. We walk to a beautiful white sand beach and if the temp was above 35 and the wind wasn’t blowing 30 mph you can imagine it would be a nice summer place. Neil then did a horse demonstration showing us how they outfit the horses for trips into town and to work around the farm. We then travel back to Port Stanley where Hugh goes to another hospital visit and I stay in town with Sharlyn and Kate. We shop the little town and each of us purchased a print, a sticker, and I purchased handspun and dyed wool to knit, and the others purchased hand knitted hats. We decided to walk back to the ship for exercise and it was a good 45 min hike in a headwind. We had missed lunch so we headed for tea. Hugh had been photographing Land Rover Defenders (we had grown to so love them in Tanzania last year). He came back much later and we read in the library before showering and going to dinner. We skip the bar and lounge and decide to get settled in bed before the rougher water. During the night we awake with the ship rocking and rolling. It is amazing how it is moving side to side as well as front to back. A trip to the bathroom is perilous.

We slept in this morning as we knew we did not want to be on deck. The ship is still pitching and rolling and the seas are washing over the bow. We have a quiet breakfast as many of the people are staying in their cabins. We venture to the lecture on penguins by Marco and then back to the cabin. The crew has placed sick bags all along the railing in the stairwells, but there are only a few people out and about. We read in bed until lunch. Again we make the stumbling trip to the restaurant and have a very small lunch-the room is almost empty. We then go back to our cabin and watch the afternoon’s nature lectures on TV. We dress and go to the days recap and Hugh decides he will have a light dinner; me, I settle for Peanut butter and crackers and a diet coke in bed. Hugh brings me a sprite a short time later and we stay in until morning. This was a rather mild Drakes passage but it took its toll.

Up at 8 am and we are amazed at how great we feel. The ship has settled in to a nice rhythm and breakfast is crowded. We go to a midmorning lecture on seals of the Southern seas and Sean tells us that we have reached the Arctic convergence (where cold north-flowing Antarctic waters meet the warmer south-flowing sub-Antarctic waters). This area is alive with krill and today is a good day to look for whales and dolphins. After the lecture we don our bright red parkas and head on deck. The temp has dropped dramatically and the wind is brisk. We walk on deck and observe the seas but no whales. The wind and the cold finally drive us in where we settle by a window in the Shackleton Bar and drink tea and coffee until lunch. We have a lively lunch as everyone’s appetite has returned. After eating we settle back by our window until we go on deck to whale watch at three. This afternoon we have a mandatory lecture by Ignacio on how to dress, how to embark, etc. because tomorrow we will be on the Antarctic continent. At dinner the first iceberg was spotted and the champagne was given out. Dinner is a socializing time and it is well after 10 when we head to bed. We will be up early tomorrow as we enter iceberg alley around 5am.

5 am Iggie wakes us up with all hands and cameras on deck as we pass thru the large tabular icebergs of the Antarctic Sound in an area sea captains call Iceberg Alley. The wind is brisk and we try out our layering technique. We are toasty except for our faces which feel like they are being pricked by a thousand pins. We see sights beyond description as well as seals and penguins. The sea is alive with swimming penguins. There is a lot of ice and the Captain spends a lot of time and technique getting us through. We decide to have breakfast before we embark. The sea is calm and the sun is trying to come out. We finally hear the call to the zodiacs and off we go. The boarding is much easier than I had expected and the trip is filled with so many sights. We are going to Brown Bluff today. The cliffs are high and the lower area is pebbled and rocky. Penguins are everywhere. Two types inhabit this area, a large group of Adelie’ and a smaller group of Gentoo. We see an abundance of both. We get to explore or just sit and watch the wonderful and often funny show. The penguins get so close that you could reach down and scratch their fuzzy little heads. This a.m. has been just about perfect—icebergs, penguins, and beautiful sunrises, truly a postcard everywhere you turn. We board our zodiacs and are on the ship in time for lunch. We eat staring out the window at the penguins swimming by. They bob up to breathe and remind me of the game Bop a Mole that the kids used to play at Chucky Cheese. This afternoon we are at Hope Bay and will see the Esparanza Camp (Argentine). There are families living here year round and we tour the hospital where the only children born in Antarctica were delivered. The camp is not so interesting but the scenery is fantastic. We see a rookery of penguin numbering over 3,000. Hugh had a lecture and we sat on rocks and looked out over the icebergs as Jamie gave his talk. We board our zodiacs and arrive back in time for tea and some more iceberg watching before our days recap at 7. Dinner and bed after a very full day. Guess What?? We were on our 7th continent!!!!!

Again its Iggi’s voice that wakes us. We are out on deck at 6:30 to watch whales. This time we are rewarded with humpback whales all around the ship. We get lots of pictures and video—12 different whales have been identified. They are bubble feeding and it is so interesting to watch. We stop making pictures long enough for breakfast before a short zodiac ride to the shore. Today we are at Mikkelsen Harbour. This rocky islet is located 63 degrees 54’s 60 degrees 47’ W and is on the south side of Trinity Island in the Palmer Archipelago. As we arrive we see a huge colony of gentoo penguins. We take a hike across the island following our flagged path and on our way we see an Antarctic fur seal and a Weddell seal . The Weddell seal posed for pictures by patting his head and turning for just the right shot of his good side. On the other side of the islet we came to a whale cemetery with whale bones everywhere. Sean gave a lecture and everyone was fascinated. Sean said there were about 10 blue whales among the bones but no jawbones as these were great trophies for the whalers. We make our way back to the zodiacs and then to the ship. Imagine our surprise when we get to the ship and find that the staff has made the most incredible outside barbeque for us. The tables have starched white clothes, full place setting including wine glasses and every chair has a lap robe for comfort. All around are gorgeous tables of food and at the grill end they are cooking hamburgers, sausages, lobster tails, steak, ribs, and more. At the other end they are preparing bananas foster for dessert. The weather is perfect and a background of snow and ice make it incredible. This afternoon we board our zodiacs for a tour of Cierva Cove. We have an encounter with humpback whales that was truly up close and personal. The hit of the afternoon was a mother and her calf. The calf was the camera hog and kept putting its head right next to the zodiacs. We also see our first leopard seals, chinstrap penguins, and blue eyed shags. What a wonderful day!!! We shower and dress for dinner and as usual go to bed with great anticipation of tomorrow.

Today we wake up early and go on deck for the passage through Lemaire Channel. This channel is 7 miles of spectacular peaks and glaciers. It is filled with ice and the crew is not sure that we will be able to make the passage. Iggi announces a change of plans as the passage is successful. We will land at Peterman Island which will be our most southerly point. This area is known as Kodak alley because the scenery is so beautiful that you want to snap a picture everywhere you look.

Today we have a treat at breakfast as we sail through Neptune’s bellows to Deception Island. The navigation is difficult because Neptune’s Bellows is effectively only half as wide as it appears because of a large submerged rock in the center of the channel. Once inside we make a sail to Whalers Bay our first of two stops this morning. When we arrive on shore we explore the ruins of a whaling station that closed in the 1930’s. We also hike down the beach where we see a fur seal that definitely marks his territory by snorting and thrusting if you get too close. We also climb to Neptune’s Window before coming back to the ship. The ship moves a short distance to Pendulum Cove which is considered the best swimming in the Antarctic. The geothermally heated sand and water of the area make this possible. There are 67 foolhardy souls prepared to swim and Hugh and I are among them. We zodiac to shore and strip down to our bathing suits before making a quick dash to the water. We initially feel cold but if you dig into the sand it heats up. Hugh made the mistake of swimming out too far and was so cold that he had to get out but I was able to stay in for pictures and video. Back on the ship it was hot shower time. During lunch the ship sailed through Neptune’s Bellows passed an area that up until today the Explorer II had not been able to land at, Bailey’s Head. The surf is rough on the beach so the zodiac drivers wait, catch a wave, and power us in. We jump out quickly so that they can turn and get out. The site we see is overwhelming, over 100,000 breeding pairs of Chinstrap penguins. We have to wait to cross the penguin highway as they make their way to the water to feed and back again to feed their young. There are penguins as far as the eye can see and they are not deterred by the red-jacketed albi’s. We watched several groups of fur seals and actually felt a little threatened by a big male. This was the perfect ending to our Antarctic landings. Before dinner we have our daily recap and everyone agrees it could not have been better.

Today was a slow moving day. No one was up early and there were not even birds following the ship when we went out on deck. There were some nature lectures today but most everyone was reading and comparing stories. The trip so far has been blessed with good weather and today is no exception. Drake’s Passage aka Drake’s Lake was no problem. The Captain’s farewell cocktail party and dinner were a lot of fun.

Another slow day. There is some rolling today and several of our shipmates are staying in. Hugh and I spend our time reading and sorting through our pictures to get them in order. At 4 we have a wonderful chocolate buffet and this is followed by a cruise recap with our expedition staff. Alan and Joan, our friends from the UK, surprise the staff and have a presentation about the Grello’s as the staff was known because no one could decide if their jackets were yellow or green. They had written a song that we sang to the tune of California Here I Come. It was a great evening and we got to see some more of the DVD. Dinner was festive and we ate, shared email addresses and sang. We are docked in Ushuaia but no one in our group wants to go ashore. We finally go back to our cabin to finish packing so we don’t have to rush in the morning.

We get up early and have our last meal on board the Explorer II. I am not sure we are ready to go back to reality but at 9 am we leave the ship for the last time. Our bags are on their way to the airport but we have several hours to spend in Ushuaia and we send some emails and look around a little since we most likely will not pass this way again. How often to you get to spend time at the end of the world. Before lunch we board our plane to Santiago, Chile where we will spend a few days. The trip is peaceful and we are served a great lunch with china, silverware, and wineglasses. We are flying over some landscape that is incredible. The mountains are high and the glaciers and glacier lakes abound. We land in Santiago and we are greeted with heat that is almost overwhelming. What a difference a 4 hour flight makes. We claim our luggage, clear immigration and head for our bus into town. We arrive at our hotel and get settled in. We decide to go to dinner with our new friends Steve and Charlotte from Phoenix. Before dinner we walk the streets in El Bosca the area around our hotel. The city is clean and vibrant and the people are friendly. We go to a great restaurant called Coco Loco and the service and food were great. They had a salsa type sauce that was so good we all wanted to buy some but we were told that it is the specialty of the house and not for sale. There is a funny custom here, they eat the salsa with bread and it is very good. We walk some more after dinner and then make plans to meet for breakfast and explore the city.

Today we have a leisurely breakfast with Steve and Charlotte before we take off on foot for the Bella Vista region of Santiago. As we walk we are amazed at the lovely park area that stretches long the river. We have wonderful paths to walk and the areas are so well maintained. There are lots of people on foot and on bikes. The temperature is pleasant as we start out but after and hour or so we feel the heat building. We arrive in Bella Vista and have time to look in some of the lapis shops. Lapis is a stone mined in Chile and is used in household items as well as jewelry. There is a lot to look at and as we see more craft shops we see pottery of the region as well. What a fun way to spend the morning. Before we know it it’s lunch time and we stop at a local sidewalk café where the special is a steak sandwich and fries or chicken and fries and we decide to try some of both. The food was great and we had people stopping by our table to talk to us about the food, everyone loves the salsa, and to tell us they do not like Bush. It was interesting table conversation. After lunch we make a quicker trip back to the hotel to go on our city tour. We board our bus and we start with the downtown area, driving down the Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago’s main avenue. We pass Santa Lucia Hill where the capital was first located. On the drive around town we stop at one of the two horse racing facilities in Santiago. This is a very popular sport and they race all year long. Then it was on to the Plaza de Armas, the main square. The plaza is surrounded by main buildings such as the cathedral and the main post office. We visited the Plaza de Constitution with La Moneda, the government palace. We were able to walk through and see the courtyards and the guards. We then crossed the Mapocho River to access Bella Vista, a neighborhood full of cultural and artistic activities. We then drove up San Cristobal, the highest hill in town where we could view the whole city and the majestic Andes mountain range. Finally we drove through Providencia, the new nucleus of town and the residential areas of Las Condes and Vitacura. After a short stop at an artisan center for wine and banos we arrive back at the hotel. After a day in the heat its shower time and then off the dinner at Isla Negra where we again have incredible food. The sauce here was good but last evening still ranks as the best. Everyone was tired so it was back to the hotel for a good nights sleep as we have a very full day tomorrow.

Today we travel to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar with Noel and Elizabeth, and Steve and Charlotte. We have hired a driver and guide and look forward to seeing these two coastal areas. We are picked up from our hotel and travel in the direction of the Pacific Ocean, passing the agricultural valleys of Curacavi (olive and almond trees) and Casablanca (the wine area) finally reaching Valparaiso, the main port of the country. Here we see brightly colored houses literally hanging on the hillsides. We drive through the twisty streets and see that the city is balanced on 40 hills. We stop at the Plaza Sotomayor, opposite the Maritime authority. Here we see a monument to those killed during the War of the Pacific. We then travel to a funicular built in the 1890’s and travel up the mountain for an incredible view of the city. Here we see some local artist selling watercolors and of course I couldn’t resist. We go down the mountain and along the coast to the garden city of Vina del Mar. This city is filled with parks, flower beds and gardens. This is truly a resort town with hotels, casinos and oceanfront promenades. We stop several places for beautiful views and than have a late lunch at unfortunately a tourist trap type restaurant, the only not so great meal that we have had. After lunch we walk on the beach before we head back to Santiago. At the hotel we have time to shower and back up our last few things and get our luggage out for the bus ride to the airport. We have a little time after we checkout and we take one last walk in the city. The bus arrives and all the way to the airport we say good bys and trade addresses. We check in and wait for our flight. What else can I say, it’s a long flight and we will be tired tomorrow when we arrive.