When Al put down a deposit last year to do this cruise to Antarctica again, I thought he was nuts. I really didn’t want to go again. I really didn’t want to go anywhere after last year’s Covid Raincheck Travel year – taking all the trips that had accumulated and landed in 2022/2023.

Just before the 90 day pay-or-cancel deadline, I had been looking at photos of Antarctica and realized if there is any place in the world I should go twice, it should be here.

So “here” I am. Our start in Chile did not include the $4k rip off at the airport, but did include renting a car and an easy drive to Vina del Ma, Chile. Lovely hotel room ON the ocean, nothing but a swimming pool and maybe 50 ft down to waves crashing in rocks. Slept with the door open all night and despite my concern that the waves would keep me awake – nope. Spent the next day recuperating, not much to do really. I was getting over a cold and the ten hour plane flight was not my best. Sometimes I can sleep, sometimes I can’t. This was a can’t.

Next day we left to spend two nights at a winery, Casa Marin in Lo Abarca. It is a family owned winery and one couple Al had connected with on Cruise Critic forums told him about it. Unfortunately, they double booked us and let us know before we left the States.  Fortunately, our new friends had said “our casita is two bedrooms, just stay with us”. The young women who greeted us were shocked that we really had not met each other before the moment we arrived at their doorstep. Just think of us as seniors doing our “gap year” and this was our hostel…

We had a lot of fun, looking out over the vineyards to the sea in the distance. Very Napa Valley-ish with morning fog in the morning and delicious warm sun in the afternoon. Of course no trip would be without some chaos, and this was no different. We had been guided up to the casita by our winery hosts and they assured us that coming down for our picnic the next day would be no problem. It wasn’t really, but they told us just follow the road down. We did, but we took a wrong turn at some fork and our Kia SUV was not sure it was up to the task of impersonating a 4WD. Several times had to back down and make a running start to get up one of the dirt road hills through the winery. We weren’t lost per se, we could see the winery and had the phone number of the winery, but it was a little dicey. I, of course, was driving (it’s safer for everyone that way, without me yelling at whoever is driving) and now have the undying admiration of our new friends. We did find out way to the main road, just not an unlocked gate. Across the road an old man (we’re all old now) saw us, came over, called the winery, let us out of the gate and directed us down the road. We were within walking distance at that point…

Not too crazy as stories go but it was a good and funny start.

It is now a few days later. Our ship was late getting out of port due to high seas. This happened last year, too! Sadly, it meant we once again missed a really good port – Puerto Monty with an excursion to the cleanest looking volcano outside of Mt.Fuji. We had to once again wave and pretend we saw it.

Rocky seas for a couple of days, but seems like I have my sea legs a little better. Today’s stop was Chacabuco and although it is majestic scenery, I stayed on ship as I had been last year and was already needing space and peace. I hung on the balcony during sail away and am glad I returned. The experience just gets better and more humbling every day, and honestly because the last thing I remembered was Antarctica, I had forgotten how shocked I was last year that these snow covered mountains that turned into foothills that met the sea was Chile….