Favorite Philosopher's Blog

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Falkland Islands

January 26

Wow.  First of all, it dawned on me today upon stepping off the boat onto the Falklands that it wasn’t ever even on my radar to “go visit the Falklands”.  It’s somewhere down there and hell, I never even thought I’d go “down there”!  The big deal on this day was to take a four wheeler out to Volunteer Point where King penguins do their thing – eggs on the feet, the whole deal.  

It’s British doncha know, so our driver, David, was on the right.  Sweet memories of Scotland for me. Al rode shotgun and John, Sue and I were cozy in the back seat of the vintage Land Rover.  David was a character and before it was all over we had covered Harry and Meghan, Trump ( keep my opinions to myself in mixed company), politics in general, the superiority of Land Rovers over Toyotas, why his knee has titanium (not your run of the mill knee replacement, rather a dirt bike incident in his younger days) and more.

The first 45 minutes of the drive were through terrain that looked like Scotland.  I can see why the French took one look and left and the Brits stuck around. It looked like home to them. Rock “glaciers” and rivers of rock (granite?), very very pretty countryside, fat cows, and of course sheep.  I’ve never seen free range sheep run when a car approaches but later in the day when I saw a farmer herding them with his jeep I understood. I need to dig a little deeper into the whole Argentina We Own The Falklands thing, but Sue understood that the Brits arrived long before the Spaniards.  I have no idea. I do know that there are several memorials to those Brits who died defending the island.

We stopped at a farmstead that was the entrance to the road to the penguins.  Using the term road loosely.  There were clean bathrooms and a box called the Bake Safe that held homemade goodies made by the farmer’s wife.  Crazy delicious and only a small donation was asked.  Then the gate was opened and we started the real adventure.  

An hour and a half later my spine was fully readjusted.  There was no road to speak of.  We essentially off-roaded through deep ruts and over bumpy terrain for and hour and a half. I had been warned to not let my head hit the window and I was vigilant, the window rolled down and holding on to the frame the whole time.  Sue and I passed the time talking about raising kids, retirement, blah blah blah and of course the David conversation noted above.  It really wasn’t as bad as it might sound and the scenery was so lovely, wide open spaces with hills in the distance.  We were getting the true Falklands experience.  Having said that, the ride seemed interminable because of those wide open spaces.  “See those little buildings? That’s where we’re going”.   They were pretty far in the distance and I’ve been on the planet long enough to know that getting to them was going to take longer than it looked like it would take.

Get there we did and first hopped out of the truck to dip our feet in the pool of antiseptic that is required before entering the penguin area to avoid bringing any evils bugs into the grounds (we also were forbidden to bring ANY food of ANY kind off the ship). Then we walked to the penguins and were told we had  

When I sent my family photos of Antarctica, Andy commented “That’s real National Geographic shit…”.  Well, the king penguins were even more so.  There were wardens to make sure people didn’t get too close but too close was anything closer than about 10 ft.  The penguins were Right. There.  The kings’ breeding on the Falklands is not relegated to a season so we were able to see all stages of it. Parents with the eggs on the feet, chicks with their butts sticking out from under the feathery apron and their heads tucked underneath. Chicks that had decided it was safe to come out and were looking around trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. Larger juveniles looking like brown fluff balls, then some further along in the process and molting.  The sun came out for us and the bright white of their bellies and yellow and orange and black head and neck feathers, and gray back feathers just glowed.  

There IS a constant fuss.  Constant squawking and crowing and fighting (don’t mess with a parent who is guarding its babe).  I vaguely remember from penguin documentaries that if a chick dies or gets lost the parent will run around looking for it or try to steal another’s chick.  Seemed like there was a lot of that kind of chaos going on here and there.  

Intermixed with all this were magellanic penguin burrows and lots of sheep.  We walked over a large hill to the ocean, following some waddling kings – so funny looking – where they appeared to be discussing the wisdom of going in to the cold water.  Finally they did, swam around looking all the world like ducks until they came out again and stood up. The beach sand was as white as could be and and fine as flour and the spit of land at the end of the beach, the sun on the water accentuating the blue – it was just all too much. 

We had a bag lunch in the car, washed our feet off again and headed home.  Somehow that bumpy ride seemed longer on the way back but of course it wasn’t and before we knew it we were back at the Bake Safe and the bathrooms and back to port.  We had a little time to walk around the town of Port Stanley, but I really needed a baseball cap and lo and behold there was also some Falkland yarn in the same shop.  We found our hand painted souvenir Christmas ornament – two penguins doing the king penguin kiss thing with a little chick.  It’s really just a little figurine but because the beaks are touching we can attach a ribbon and voila, an ornament.  

Back on the ship now, sail away was beautiful – we had arrived before we woke up so we didn’t get to really see the beauty from a distance. 

It never occurred to me to visit the Falklands.  So glad that surprise was part of this trip.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we will use that time to pack away our cold weather clothes and pull the shorts back out, as expected temperature at our next port is 85 degrees!

PS It is the next morning.  I’m sitting on the balcony and the seas are calm and the air is warmer again. Slept okay but I’m really tired and the only thing that hurts is my left biceps from holding on to the window ledge on the car door.  Also, my fit bit logged 22,000 steps yesterday and I can only account for maybe 2000 being actual steps.  So that comes to around 20,000 bumpity bumps.  It was worth it.  Yes. It was.

January 25

Well, we have left Antarctica behind for sure. Woke up to sunny skies but still chilly and bouncy.

Just wanted to stop for moment and express my sorrow that I can’t upload any photos. As soon as I have reliable internet – which should be at the very least when we finally disembark in Buenos Aires, but possibly before – I plan to just post a boatload (couldn’t resist) of photos. Look forward to that, I know I am!

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January 23 -24

Starting another day and more of the same, ho hum!

Last night at about 11:15 and still daylight outside, I was lying in bed, looking out the balcony window and the view of white mountains that started to scroll past the window had me jumping out of bed and taking another movie. This place is going to drive me nuts I think.

Our guide answered what was a great question – why don’t whales and deep sea diving mammals get the bends?  As scuba divers, we know that decompression sickness is a very real and sometimes fatal danger when coming back to the surface.  What happens in a nutshell is as we breath compressed air, we accumulate nitrogen in our tissues. As we ascend, and the pressure on our bodies decreases everything in our bodies expands a bit (it’s quite an interesting feeling descending when you feel your wetsuit/drysuit start to squeeze a bit), the nitrogen bubbles can expand in our tissues and that’s not a good thing at all.   What scientists have discovered is that whales CAN get the bends but to diminish this risk their lungs collapse when they are down deep.  Also, they don’t always dive crazy deep – they only go down to the level of where the food is.    As an aside, I have always thought it was a fascinating piece of trivia that whales do sleep, but only on one side of their brains.  So one eye is open, the other closed.  Clever species, those whales.

Tuesday January 24

I spent the morning sitting in the “Lido” deck – covered swimming pool area with a bar and lounge chairs and a burger bar and windows floor to ceiling with café tables.  Decided I’d had enough of trying to see it all and except for actually being inside Wilhelmina Bay and Charlotte Bay (lands of the scary big icebergs) I sat at my café table and knitted and watched the scenery and the whale highway outside.  That was quite amazing.  

As mentioned Wilhelmina Bay and Charlotte Bay looked like a moonscape of an icy planet.  The huge bergs as far as the eye could see until your eyes meet the mountains. I found out they are about 8000 ft, I wondered.  I did not expect to see mountains down here, I have no idea why not except that I had expectations of endless flat ice fields. The sky was overcast but with broken-ish clouds so sometimes there would be a silvery glow on parts of the water and bergs.

As has been the case on this part of the trip, the penguins hanging out on rocky beaches and icebergs have been too hard to see without a good set of binoculars (don’t get me started on how I managed to leave mine sitting on the closet shelf) but they were a little closer and our birding binoculars allowed me to at least see a few specks of the quintessential white belly/black feathered gentoo penguins.  A few graced us by swim flying around the ship which is probably more delightful than just seeing them standing there anyway.  I couldn’t help but laugh with delight as they rock-skip across the waves.  Silly penguins.

Last night  I hit the food wall.  The only thing I really don’t like about cruising is the total devastation of my dietary habits.  It’s not that I eat too much – I don’t – but the food is frequently more salty than I enjoy on a regular basis and caters to the dietary habits of Americans (bad).  So even veggies are cooked in oil/butter.  It tastes good, all righty, but after ten days my body is complaining that I haven’t stuck to fresh fruit and cold cuts.  I don’t eat much bread at home but the rolls are so good and so much better with a pat of butter.  Finally my body cries uncle so last night and probably for most of today I’ll be drinking water, tea and picking at anything that isn’t cooked. Oh yeah, no more delicious ice cream either.  Dang.

This morning we find ourselves away from the bays of the Antarctic Peninsula and on our way to Elephant Island which means back to open seas. I woke up and promptly went back to sleep.  The past few days have been non-stop stay alert because you don’t know what gorgeous scene is going to pass before you.  So, except for whatever awaits at this upcoming island I’m going to take it easy and get ready for round two of this trip, which includes the Falkland Islands (if we can approach), Buenos Aires and disembarkation, and Iguazu Falls by land. 

It’s also time for Twister to say goodbye to her now favorite housesitters, Karen and Robin, and by wowed by the arrival of Anthea and Lawson.  Karen and Robin have stayed with her before and I am sad that although we greet them at the beginning for a day that they will not be there when we get home this time. Sometimes life brings people together for one reason and you find yourself with new friends. In this case I don’t think that although Twister was the cause of our acquaintaince, that her eventual demise will be the cause of disconnection.  Ta ta for now, K and R!  Until we meet again! Welcome Anthea and Lawson. Hopefully Twister won’t hiss at you and if she does she’s only trying to establish her dominance and perhaps a little miffed now

We did make it to Elephant Island but alas, we could not go into the bay where Shackleton left his crew to await their rescue as he headed to Georgia Island in lifeboats.  Okay.  I always let Al plan the trips so once again I am blown away that we are sailing in the footsteps of Shackleton.  I’ve been fascinated by this story for years and didn’t even know we had a chance of seeing where these guys hung out? We’re here in summer and the seas are too rough and the weather too lousy for us to go in to the bay with our cruise ship.  Shackleton set out in lifeboats.  And made it.  The story is one I have been aware of for some time but it’s time for me to go re-read the whole thing when I get home, now that I know what these intrepid explorers were facing.  

It was once again (how many times can I say “stunningly beautiful” before my friends roll their eyes and click off this page?).   The sea and rain and monstrous glaciers that were nevertheless visibile on the island, which is in itself elephantine hardy har har har. Was sad that we couldn’t venture in to the bay but can’t complain, we have seen so much and even the experience of the crazy seas gave a closer approximation of what Shackleton was facing during a much more brutal season.   Anyway, I love storms, no matter the location.  

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Saturday and Sunday Jan 21/22

My niece, Jenny, told me at Christmas that she knew someone who went to Antarctica and “he said the scenery and wildlife is indescribable”.  How does one try to write about it when that is the absolute truth?  Going into our first channel was gobsmacking enough, but then we were in that channel for FOUR HOURS and the smacking of gobs was endless.  I took so many photos all for naught, I know.  Had I a good camera maybe it would be different but for this trip I will have to rely on the best the iphone can do.

One thing I can say is that we are at the mercy of weather and ice, but thus far both have been merciful.  If you can find a map of the Antarctic Peninsula, that’s where we are hanging out.  We missed Palmer Station on Saturday, but no worries, we were able to get in to Lemaire Channel, Neumeyer Channel and Gerlache Strait.  During the night (little of it that there is – I keep waiting for dark to start to write and next thing I know it’s 11 p.m. and it is still light out.  Can you say Night Owl’s Paradise?) we can go on to the TV and see where the ship is on a map and our captain has just been puttering around until morning when we will try to get back into inlets and harbors.  

Today started out with glorious snow. Snow globe snow. Huge conglomerations of flakes looking like plastic that might be used for a theatrical production’s version of snow. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been in my life in this environment.  What, exactly, is my PROBLEM?  

We thought we might get shut out of scenery or whatever due to snow, but in Antarctic in the “summer” you are never shut out.  Our ship made it into Paradise Harbor and Andvord Bay/Neiko Harbor where we were treated to penguins flying through and up out of the water.  Doubt if my movies could really get it but whatever.  Again, I am aware that taking photos is pretty useless, but that hasn’t stopped me from taking what are probably thousands by now.  A friend in Peru told me to take slo-motion videos and then you can grab screen shots or at least really see what you’ve filmed.  I have been doing that now so we’ll see. 

Penguins were one thing.  Whales were everywhere. As a Southern California girl I have seen my share of whales and have even seen them up close and personal in the lagoons of Mexico but these were different.  I’m not sure what kind they were but no matter, probably humpbacks.  What struck me was how slow they were moving – it’s icy water and I’m just making things up now but maybe that’s why.  Or maybe I’m just slow.  (Nope, saw some more later today and they definitely are slower) At any rate it was so cool to be able to spot them every which way, and some even did a bit of spy hopping and almost all of them gave a nice “whale tail” when they dove down for a snack. 

A highlight for me in Paradise Harbor was seeing the humans –  crew members from South Pacific and Indonesia who had never seen snow.  The snow globe snow continued and there was very little wind.  It was magical. It could not have been a better first experience for these hard working men and women who make our trip so comfortable and easy.  Their utter delight and excitement was wonderful to witness and I, of course, insisted on having my photo taken with them to remember that moment of my trip. 

We are now on our way to another bay that encompasses Cuverville Island that is a breeding ground for gentoo penguins. (Later: less than impressive – too far away to really see). No worries, many more penguins to come later in the trip.

I have neglected to try to describe the scenery, because I’m afraid to.  Is it enough to say there is ice everywhere you look?  Massive ice bergs and little “growlers” ice (for the sound they make when they’d scrape across wooden ships) and sea ice actually forming in sheets on the surface of the water and those same sheets of ice broken up into pieces? And the land – those bergs had to come from somewhere and it is broken off from the glaciers that kisses the sea wherever land hits the water.  Some of the bergs are from the other side of the continent, being carried around by currents to this side. 

What is hard for me to comprehend is that we are seeing a teensy tiny portion of Antarctica, and what we are seeing is massive and indeed – indescribable.  I have a book on my Kindle that I started long ago and not sure I finished called Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration  by David Roberts, about one of the many driven or insane people who were called to this place, in this case Sir Douglas Mawson who managed to survive in 1913.  I think I might have to go back and read that one again, as well as any other Antarctic stories I can get my hands on – Shackleton is of course a famous one that I read years ago.  The best in my humble opinion is by Caroline Alexander and is notable because it was the first published photos of the photographer on the journey – Frank Hurley.  

Our enrichment guide told a few stories today.  One of the coves we passed is called Whale Met cove, so called because some scientists were going along in their dinghies and a pod of orcas started to follow them and did not stop following them .  Although we know orcas aren’t usually out to eat humans maybe they thought the dinghies were nice fat whale calves or something.  The scientists took shelter in the cove and apparently the orcas stuck around for a while, leading them to believe that they were, indeed being checked out as a possible food source! 

Another wonderful tale that I intend to follow up on is of two British grad students who went along with John Lachlan Cope in 1921, a graduate of Cambridge.  Now Cope had tried unsuccessfully to get funding for his grand plan to explore Antarctica but failed for whatever reason.   They got as far as Paradise Harbor by way of Norweigian whalers and were dumped on an outcrop called Waterboat Point after an abandoned boat there. The crew of four men used the boat as shelter with their provisions.  

Well, Cope decided the fantasy did not fit the reality and left after six weeks, but the two grad students who had paused their education to go on the expedition, Bagshawe and Lester, decided to stay and thought they would be paid for doing research.  These two guys did massive amounts of record keeping despite not having a lot of instruments on everything from meteorology to botany to oceanography to geology you name it.  There are some articles on the subject on the internet, most of which I’m unable to actually download due to internet issues. 

Why am I fascinated by such people? Now that I have seen and can still only imagine what they were doing beyond the Antarctic Peninsula on the other side nearer to Australia and New Zealand, I am even more blown away that they could do what they’ve done over the years before satellite telecommunications and high tech ship navigation.  

I am humbled, for sure.

It is now later the same day – I am totally exhausted, emotionally.  Like art in Italy, this has ceased to be able to comprehend intellectually and can only be absorbed as a life experience.  More ice, more mountains covered in ice rising out of the sea, more sea life – orcas this time.  More clouds and snow mixed with sun and reflecting many, many more than just fifty shades of gray and silver.  I keep taking photos and have no idea why, except that I want to show everyone I know and love about this place.  Wishing my children were with me.  Wanting to cry for reasons I can’t explain.   

Tonight I looked at the schedule and guess what is playing on the main stage? Not dancers (the same dancers that were with us on the Mediterranean cruise, more about them, possibly for a second time, later) but a documentary about the guy I mentioned above, who was the subject of the book Alone on the Ice – Mawson!

Truly, I’m kind of blown away and feeling very, very small on so many levels.

January 18-19

Had to rise and shine per captain’s orders at 6:30 to see the part of Beagle Channel known as Glacier Alley.  There are five glaciers here: Holanda, Italia, Francia, Alemania and Romanche.

As we entered the channel it was still a little misty but very soon the skies mostly cleared and we were able to see the mountains and glaciers in all their glory.  It is pristeen wilderness and all I could think was if we humans can’t keep it together enough to remain welcome here and take care of what sustains us, Mother Nature won’t care.   Just like the wild animals started walking the deserted streets of cities during Covid lockdown, it gives me a strange sense of hope.  I do have faith in my offspring and their kindred spirits to do what they can, but should they fail, we as humans will have deserved nothing less than to go the way of the dinosaurs and leave Earth to penguins, mountains, birds and even cockroaches.  

I also had a moment of déjà vu as I sat there alone, looking at the glacial mountains, before Al arrived with his tea.  I was seven years old and my family was on its first camping trip – across the plains to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and then on to the Canadian Rockies.  Five of us all in a little car for heaven’s sake!  Arriving at the Grand Tetons was nothing like it is now, it was an unknown area at the time, the campgrounds were pit toilets and we had to go to Coulter Bay visitor center to shower.  For a child, the Tetons rising up out of the lake, blue granite and snow and glaciers, it was a child’s dream of mountains.  We Illinoisians were all rapt.  The first morning Dad made breakfast and as the story goes, suddenly Mary was gone.  When they found me, I had taken my little camp stool and my breakfast and was sitting there eating my breakfast, looking at the mountains.  My Mom joined me and the photo taken is one of my favorites.  Some things never change, I guess. 

After making our way through the glacier part of the channel I took a nap (Dramamine is throwing me for a loop, even though I am only taking what is absolutely necessary).  Awoke as we reached our final port before heading to Antarctica – Ushuaia.  We arrived two hours earlier than planned, so Al called our tour operator and she confirmed we would still go at 2:45, be back for last tender at 7:30 pm.  We found our meeting spot and then went to find a place to exchange money, stopped into a little souvenir shop – we now have a cheesy Santa ornament with Ushuaia written on it and a snow globe penguin for my adopted nephew, Phoenix. He’s four and I think he will be pleased. Then on to a panaderia for empanadas for the day and of course my Coke zero.  Made our way back to the meeting spot for the tour about 2:30 p.m. and waiting with others.  The destination would be Tierra del Fuego National Park in Argentina.  

2:45 came and went.  3:00 came and went.  Finally Al, once again taking the bull by the horns, calls the tour company.  Turns out the bus driver came at 12:45, no one was there and he left.  

After quite some time trying to communicate on the phone and everyone looking at Al like the god he is, he got assurance we would be refunded but everyone else had to call individually.  By this time it’s 3:30 and too late to really book anything else.  It should be noted that half the people waiting had been signed up for this tour via Holland America.  So, doing it through the cruise ship would not have done us any good.  We have travelled everywhere and always take private tours and except for yesterday and today we have never felt insecure about using private tours.  Their livelihood depends on them getting good reviews, as in: “they got us back to the ship in time”.  In this case I was glad the whole thing just fell through.    As it was, people who went out with other cruise tours didn’t return until 8:30 (last tender was 7:30) but of course the ship had to wait.    I was just as glad that it fell through because if they were half an hour late I’m not sure I would have gone at all.  Next place to catch the ship is the Falkland Islands.  I don’t want to miss Antarctica! 

Aaaanyway, we stopped at the tourist center and got a few ideas of what else we could do around town.  We ended up just walking along the harbor and out on spit where the airport is.  It felt great to just really walk and get fresh windy air.  The town sits at the base of the last of the Andes and it almost looks like in winter it would be a ski destination – many condo looking buildings.  Other than that, it reminded us of little towns in Iceland, a harbor town with an occasional decaying boat dotting the shore.  I decided to find a fabric shop and did find two in town on my phone but misread the map and it turns out they were back where we had just been half an hour ago.  Divine intervention.  I do not need more fabric.  

The next morning was another early morning, awakened by an announcement from our captain to get up and get moving!  We were rounding Cape Horn.  We were once again blessed with a beautiful sunny morning.  I’m really starting to run out of adjectives for all this, forgive me. As your favorite philosopher, my impressions have more to do with “how did I get here and what’s it all mean, Mr. Natural”.  How many photos have I seen of Cape Horn, the lighthouse, the last of the continent that gets smaller and smaller and then disappears gradually into the sea.  And I’m here.  I consider the lighthouse keeper and his wife and 9 year old son and 5 year old daughter who live here for a year, getting supplies every three months.  What that must be like.  What a different life to live than the one I’ve been living.  There is no question I am in love with the sea.  The mountains have their own mystery but they do not call me the way the sea does. 

Having said that for the past 24 hours now we’ve been crossing Drake’s Passage, some of the roughest waters of the world, located between Cape Horn and Antarctica.  Gotta do it to get to the pot of gold.  I am feeling lucky, the weather has been good and promises to get even better, but nevertheless, I need IV Dramamine.  I exaggerate, but it’s a lot of work.  Walking anywhere on the ship is a chore as you bounce like a pinball from wall to wall.  The lido deck, where the food is, requires cat like reflexes from everyone as you attempt to pass someone carrying a plate of food or a cup of coffee and they are doing to the same and suddenly you are on a collision course.  As a physical therapist you know I worry about some of these folks using assistive devices.  The safest place to be is on a scooter…

I played mahjong but then spent the rest of the evening in the cabin, watching the Food Channel (there are not many options on a ship) and having room service.  I just didn’t feel up to dealing with it.  I’m fine, really, no vomiting or anything, just kind of a low grade heaviness in my brain that is uncomfortable.  

Sometime early evening we started to hear loud BOOMS  every couple of minutes that sounded like they were coming from above us (we are on deck 7, two decks above us are dining and pool and “crows nest” lounge).  I though perhaps something was bouncing around the outdoor lido deck pool, but these were BIG booms, like a pile driver, I’m so serious.  I finally called guest services just because I was interested and got a call back telling us the ship is designed “that way” to keep it from breaking apart!  Well hells bells then, boom away.  I still don’t know exactly what it is but it I want to find out and will before the trip is done. Something fascinating. (Since writing this without talking to the captain himself the nearest and most likely answer I’ve gotten it that it is waves hitting the ship).  I did eventually fall asleep. The seas are a little better this morning but not much.  I’m camped out in front of a window where I can look out into the distance and admire the beautiful waves and the sea birds playing next to the ship. 

Again, I will try to upload a few photos.  No promises, but if you really want to see what I’ve seen go ahead and google it and look at the maps and photos of what I’ve mentioned.  I guarantee my photos won’t be better than anything you can find online….

After two days of sailing the channels and fjords of Chile, including the Straits of Magellan (you know what? I actually think I DO remember putting the Straits on a map in 6^th grade). The few photos I took obviously can’t do justice but just know that it was what surrounded us both days, all day. Didn’t even feel bad taking time out to play mahjong.  

Last night I couldn’t sleep.  Finally got up at 1:30 a.m. and decided to step out onto the balcony. Didn’t know how dark it would be as it was still light at 10:30 p.m.  I was surprised that we had ported already and I didn’t realize it, testament to how the sailing was smooth yesterday.  There were a few smaller boats with lights in the near distance and over to the left I could see the lights of the city. We will again be tendering in so we are not snuggled up to the dock.    We have this cabin on the very back of the ship and I looked down to see seagulls just floating in the water. They were so white they looked like stars against the inky black water.  Occasionally one would squawk or fly but otherwise they looked like they were sleeping.  I then turned my attention to the skies. There were so many more stars visible than in San Clemente, despite the port lights.

Thanks to Stephen Stills, it was a magical moment that otherwise might have been mundane.  “When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you’ll understand now why you came this way”  – the lyric that stretched our northern hemisphere imaginations so many years ago in our youth had enchanted us all.    I looked up to see an unfamiliar constellation, so I googled it and revved up my star app and sure enough, there it was right above me.   It was a chilly night but I only had my robe and bare feet and it just didn’t matter.  I was alone with the Southern Cross and some resting seagulls.  Bliss.

Today we head out to see penguins and snoop around Puenta Arenas, our last stop in Chile….

This was our first experience hoping that our independent tour would not be a disaster. We met at the appointed time outside the port terminal with about twenty others and the bus started to drive away without anyone on board.  Al was desperately trying to get someone to explain that we all were the tour, finally someone was able to tell us that the bus was not allowed to pick us up there so we had to walk to the other end of the terminal, no big deal.  Our driver did not speak a lick of English but did have a list of names so we all were checked in except four people who were not on the Al Sondag organized tour (he actually took over this job from someone else who decided to cancel their cruise and wishes he hadn’t).  We waited awhile and then left them behind.

Started to leave them behind, I should say.  It was a very nice tour bus but the driver couldn’t get the door to close using the auto button.  He had to call someone to tell him the secret was to turn the bus off and then turn it on again.  (note: we had the same trouble when we got to the other end and the door wouldn’t open).  Then he drove past the lonely pier where other buses were parked but no boats were in sight that would take us to Magdalena Island. Then he stopped and made a phone call.  Then we went back to the pier. Fortunately we had enough time that we still made the one boat that would take us out. Things went swimmingly after that. It was a 45 minute ride, good company, and when we got off the boat there were the penguins.  It is a national reserve and there was a roped off trail.  Everywhere we looked were carved out burrows, with a penguin and chicks standing nearby.  It kills me that I can’t get a photo to you but I will continue to try when we are not in open sea as we are today.  Nesting on the same island were seagulls and dang those chicks were just as adorable. The seagulls are nasty buggers though.  There were lots of dead soldiers around and not because they were attacking the penguins but they were attacking their own chicks.  Every once in a while there’d be a commotion and you could see a mass of feathers and squawking – I mostly saw chicks fighting back and saying “not today, bitch” and scooting away. However, it was clear by the battlefield not all were so lucky.  

Back on the boat and a stop offshore at Marta Island where 1,000+ South American sea lions were causing a ruckus with youngsters and females and big honking 700 pound males – like the kind you see on TV where they look huge slugs and you wonder why they never developed legs instead of having to haul their asses around on the rocks and sands.  They fight and sound like elephants and toss each other around like tiddlywinks.  

We did get back to our ship on time.  Before I have to tell the story of the next day, I would like to say that we have traveled all over the world and have never had a problem with independent tours. People worry that you won’t make it back to the ship on time, and if you take the cruise excursion they will wait for you.  We have found it is worth the risk.  The cruise tours are twice the cost, twice as many people and just no fun at all. Worst case scenario is you have to catch a puddle jumper and meet the cruise at the next port.  

I’m going to try to upload at least one photo of a penguin….

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January 15-16

Sailing Fjords

It’s been lovely.  Except when we had to scoot out of the fjords for a bit to the Pacific.  I hadn’t taken any Dramamine because the fjords were smooth.  Then about 5 p.m.  things started rockin’ and rollin’ but not before I decided to go ahead and have an adult beverage while Al and I played cards.  (I’d like to point out that I’ve had much better luck playing solitaire this trip than playing against Al.  He’s just been crazy lucky).  By 6 p.m. I knew the adult beverage was a mistake. Went back to the room and downed half a Dramamine and then an hour later the other half and finally settled down.  I never get truly sick but the day was over for me with just room service for a sandwich and a ginger ale. Didn’t dare stand up.  

This morning we awoke to more of the same, fjord wise.  Every day at 10 and 11 there are enrichment lectures by experts. Dr Neil Gilbert and Jim McParland.  They are excellent and I wish I could just relate to you everything they tell us, but that would obviously be impossible.  The first lecture by McParland was on the Ring of Fire which, living on the Ring of Fire, I am aware of, but it was quite astonishing how many active volcanoes there are along it all over the world. His map of little red dots was impossible to count due to lots of little red dots overlapping.  Between that and having watched a series of lectures on The Great Courses (Now Wondrium) I’m finding myself enchanted by how volcanoes form, tectonic plate theory and just geology in general.   The first lecture by Dr. Gilbert was about Antarctica in general – a land of superlatives.  This will either depress you or give you hope, but Antarctica is the only continent that has not experienced extinctions due to human activity despite, as Dr. Gilbert said “we had a good go at it” by hunting whales and seals.  The continent is now well protected by international agreement and even dog sleds are no longer allowed.  The most interesting thing I learned is that all currents in the ocean start in Antarctica.  The current goes round and round the continent and then heads off to the rest of the world in several directions like kids flying off playground carousel, carrying nutrients and critters along with it.  

Yesterday Dr. Gilbert gave a great lecture on the science stations on the continent. Some are temporary in the summer and some are year round.  Crazy stuff and they’ve come a long way since the beginning, including “pack it in, pack it out” mentality.  Used to just dump the garbage but it was all cleaned up and hauled away now it is packed out from the get go.  Then on the other end someone unpacks it all again to recycle or whatever, hopefully not throw it back into the ocean.

He showed slides of stations that were built like circular tubes, knowing that they would be covered with snow and could withstand the forces.  Eventually they accessed the tunnels through a vertical entrance on the roof that subsequently was built higher and higher and the ladder down into the tube longer and longer.  

Now the stations are built on skis and pods and can be moved around.  They include solar panels and wind power.  For the permanent stations cargo ships come once a year to bring supplies. 

What’s the deal with studying science on Antarctica?  You name it – geology, biology, weather, chemistry.  The international Council of Managers of Antarctica have declared “Antarctica a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science”.  Lets not screw it up, eh?

A few positive developments: long line fishing that involved long lines and any baited hooks were also catching sea birds.  Humans figured out how to do things differently so that problem doesn’t occur anymore.  The scientists are busy monitoring populations of sea life to ensure that in trying to feed ourselves we don’t starve out the seals, etc.   Not all loss of animal life is due to us humans.  A volcano on one of the islands in southern south America decimated a penguin colony of 250,000 because the youngsters were in molting season and could not escape into the ocean because they couldn’t swim yet.

You may have heard that there is good news re: the ozone layer healing itself sooner than expected.  The measurements of the ozone layer began in 1956 and in the late 70’s/80’s it was noted that it was getting larger thus endangering us and other species with too much UV.  The Montreal protocol went into effect in 1987 – I think we all remember when CFCs were banned and there was a clearer understanding of what was going on – and here we are, fixing what we broke. 

I have often said that despite the doom and gloom of climate change I have faith in science and the future generations to figure this stuff out and fix it.  Our very survival depends on it and barring the bad guys blowing us all up there is hope for us to not completely destroy our beautiful Mother. We can be smarter than that, can’t we?

Jim McPartland has told us how fjords form and wow there are a lot of them all over the world.  Essentially they formed where there was a preponderance of ice during the ice age.  Where the glaciers formed u-shaped valleys and then melted away and the melted waters joined the sea – fjord.  Interesting fact that they tended to leave a lot of silt at the joining of the ocean and inlet, leaving a “sill”.  Ships have to be kind of careful going over those and it depends on things like tides as to when they can be traversed.  

We went over one today that was literally three feet under the ship which the captain informed us is why we were going sooooo slowly!  (Back going fast now, I took a Dramamine).

Looks like it will be calm enough that we are actually going to be able to traverse Cape Horn which is not always the case.  On these adventure type cruises you have to be ready for anything – such as missing the port earlier in the trip – or getting to really truly go around Cape Horn because the seas are calm.  Wherever we go it is going to be fabulous with a highlight being Glacier Alley.  Have to get my butt out of bed early for that one to see it start to finish – 6:30 a.m.

Had a nice geography lesson of all the archipelagos and the Antarctic peninsula and in order to grasp it all I’m going to have to get on the internet and really study the map, so there’s no hope of me describing it here.  Basically he told us – “well we could go through this channel or that channel and hopefully we can go through this channel but if not this one is also a cool channel”.   

For those of you like me who is obsessed with the story of Shackleton and his ship The Endurance that got stuck in sea ice, he showed us the map of the route Shackleton and five crew members took when they went for help in an open boat the size of one of our lifeboats in a three week journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. 800 miles.  Check out a map.  And then consider it was winter. The dude was (insert your own adjective.  Words fail me.  I love this guy).  

January 14

I am giving up. I’ve been trying to add photos and it just isn’t happening. From here on out I’ll be just writing and hopefully that will keep your attention? I’ll add more photos when I get near reliable internet.

Geography lesson first.  Patagonia is the lower half of South America, and the western side of the Andes is Chilean.  The eastern side of the Andes is Argentina.  The Argentinian side is what I remember from photos in my geography books the few times I opened them.  We haven’t been there but it’s the grassland, steppes, desert-y side.  Chile is pretty Andean mountains and fjords and temperate rain forests; and then when we go farther south it is all islands and fjords and more mountains.

We docked in Chacabuco bright and early. I got up early enough to enjoy some of the sail in, although it rather overcast and foggy.  Only later when we returned from our land tour would I see the beautiful glacial Andes towering over the fjord.  It was beautiful either which way and I took photos.  

We tendered in to shore from the ship, meaning we got into the boats that you see hanging off the side of cruise liners that actually serve as lifeboats if we try to re-enact Titanic.   We have had to tender in many times but in tropical weather and we get stuffed in like sardines for the quick trip to shore.  It’s usually hot and muggy and this cool shuttle in was much more pleasant than usual. 

Because the ship was early and the tour was supposed to start an hour after docking, we were there earlier than the tour operator expected.  So we waited, happily there was a sitting room inside the tiny port.  When I say tiny port I mean there’s nothing there except a waiting room, bathrooms and supposedly some coffee upstairs.  Not being a morning person I grabbed forty winks while we waited.  The lovely owner of our little tour company arrived and unbelievably, four people who were supposed to be on the tour as well were late.  Late enough that we finally gave up and left without them.  So there were 8 of us which is a nice amount of people anyway. 

The highlight of this particular tour was scenery.  Lakes and temperate rainforests meaning green evergreens abounding.  The Simpson River winds through all of it and was greenish today due to heavy rains last night (I didn’t know about it if it happened over the ship). Interesting factoid about the area is that back in about 1945 or so, because local islanders had cleared trees out for building back on the island, there were a lot of stumps.  Some brainiac decided to urbanize the area and started by burning away the stumps.  Unfortunately the fire burned for 15 years and it was not a big California style conflagration, but rather it burned along and under the surface, thus the trees were killed at their roots.  It is mostly reforested now but up in the mountains you can see tree trunks that just fell over from being killed below ground.   

We drove on, stopping at the Virgen de Cascada shrine.  Apparently when they were building the roads the workers saw the Virgin Mary in the waterfall and that was that.  Instant shrine.  (You know how we Catholics can be about our Virgin Mary sightings).   Is it possible that this is a sweet marriage of shamanic medicine usage and Catholic dogma?  Just sayin’.

Lots of pretty scenery stops, and none of my iphone photography does any of it justice, but I offer it as an alternative to my inability to put it all into words.  Spectacular, really, though.

Stopped at the capital of the Aysen region, Coyhaique.  I really needed some caffeine and also a water bottle since having twenty sitting in the cabinet at home was not doing me any good.  I thought about it, I really did, and when packing one should PACK it as soon as one thinks of it. It is a charming little city and I could see myself hanging out there for awhile.  The photo of Al in front of Hotel Loyola is because he went to grad school at Loyola of Chicago.  

Now then, the founder of North Face Co, Doug Tomkins, died in this city and it is my favorite kind of story – human arrogance run amok with nature, although no one can really diss Tompkins. He was an avid conservationist and bought many acres of land that spanned from east to west in this area and prevented a hydroelectric plant from being built on the site where the windmills are pictured.  He said “no electric wires over my property” and that was the end of that, as the wires would have had to cross his property to get north to Santiago.   However, the story goes that there’s a really big lake up there, 714 square miles. General Carrera Lake or Lake Buenos Aires or the native name Chelenko which means “stormy waters”.  He had been warned that it was a foolish idea to kayak on the lake as it gets crazy windy up there and the waves are dangerous.  He was an expert of course and disregarded the warnings.  He and five other people capsized.  They survived but at age 72, he did not.  I do think that it was one of those “he died doing what he loved” situations but still. When the locals tell you it’s a bad idea…. My only concern now is that the land in question is for sale.  Money talks and maybe Santiago will get its electricity after all. 

Speaking of wind, if you look closely at the windmill photo, you will see one with broken blades. The wind is so strong up there that kind of thing happens.  There were three more windmills but they fell over.  

Our last stop was the home of our guide.  They gathered rocks, salvaged wood, built a big ol’ house and a little guest house and a chicken coop and a greenhouse and a sauna.  

They are both from Germany and came here about 13 years ago.  After a couple of years of the blessed solitude she decided she maybe wanted to go back to Germany.  However, stepping off the plane in Frankfurt reminded her of what she left behind in the first place and she has been in Chile ever since.  Her husband Guito? Guido? Gito ?(I don’t know) had the guest dining area all set up for us and we were served homemade German yummy cake (not the official name) and coffee/tea.  

I have to interject that the Germans have some pretty nasty history in this area and if you want to be disgusted you can research it and I believe there is a Netflix documentary about it.  I detected some political racism during conversations but perhaps I was looking for it.  At any rate Pinochet, the brutal dictator, built all the roads in the area so the Chileans who live there don’t have many bad things to say about him and turned a blind eye to what the fugitive Nazis were teaching him about how to gather information from people.  I did not learn this from our guide today but from a guide back in one of the other places we visited.

Finally on our way back we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge of Chile.  This too, was designed by Eiffel so I have decided to dig up a photo of the train station in Santiago to add to this blog, even though it belongs in the last one.

We have two days of sailing through fjords ahead of us…

January 11-12-13

As noted earlier, we woke up in the a.m. hoping to see our ship out our window, but alas it did not appear before our eyes.  Turns out this would be the beginning of the end of day fiasco, not for us so much, but for the boarding/leaving port experience.  Apparently, the port was closed due to high seas. I use that term having no idea if that’s even the right term – suffice to say something was going on that made navigation into the port no bueno – so the ships that were in harbor could not leave and the ships waiting to come in could not do so. Finally our Ooosterdam was in port about 11:30.  However the previous shipees had to get off and the ship had to be cleaned before we embarked.   We went down to the terminal and checked our luggage in.  People we knew had texted that they were there and had been given a number.  The man in charge of the luggage check in said “no worries, just come back at four and by then you can just walk on”.  

We came back at four to see a long line just to get into the terminal, and people were being let in slowly as the terminal cleared made room.  We went over to Christian and he remembered us and said when the line started moving he would take us to the front.  That happened about 30 minutes later and indeed he took us to the VERY FRONT where passports were being checked and boarding passes handed out. The only other people being led to the front were 4 and 5 star passengers (the more you sail with a company, the more perks you get). We are only 3 star but because we had Christian we were on our way.  

The ship was due to leave at 6 pm but obviously that wasn’t going to happen with a terminal full of people, and the muster drill which usually happens right before sail away didn’t happen until 9:30 p.m.   It was chilly out there on that deck while we got our room cards scanned and listening to the safety drill!   Prior to that we had a lovely dinner in the dining room.  I’ve learned to control myself on ships now and had ceviche for appetizer and salmon for main course.  Ok, I did have a hot fudge sundae for dessert but it’s the first night after all…

Unpacked our stuff, sent our laundry off ( $30 for whatever you can stuff into the bag – you’d be surprised how jam packed I can get that bag).  Price has gone up from $20 but to be expected.  

Turns out we weren’t able to get out of port until 5 a.m. Which unfortunately means we had to sail on past our first port of call.  This is always a disappointment but we don’t know what we’re missing so we just accept and move on.  So now instead of one day at sea we have two.  This means I got to play mahjong with some shipmates – it’s a thing on cruises, like bridge.  Every day 1-4 we have a room reserved just for us.  

This next is for my mahj friends back home.  You know how I’ve been struggling to win even one game for the past month?  As you might expect, I am winning.  Winning big.  But no quarters are being dumped into my change purse as we are not playing with money.  Isn’t that just the way?  At .30 a pop from my fellow players and double for picking it myself – that would be a whopping $1.80! That would go a long way in terms of filling up my poor empty quarters bag.

Started to knit a hooded scarf from baby alpaca yarn that I picked up in Peru. It’s so soft but kinda slippery – I’ve had a few moments of frustration as the stitches slipped right off my needles. Catching up on some reading as well.

I’ve also been warding off the sea sickness.  There is definitely a bit more swell than we are used to but as usual Al with his gift of foresight booked us a cabin in the back of the ship, and actually paid up a tad for a balcony that looks out over the back of the ship, giving us a 180 degree view and less wind.  Sometimes the guy really comes through! At any rate half a Dramamine didn’t really cut it when things got rockin’ last night around dinner time, so I took another full one and went nighty night.  Today I’m taking the half dose through the day.  Wondering if it ever subsides. I never used to have trouble until we were in the North Atlantic when I found out how disconcerting it can be.

Tomorrow we sail into Puerto Chacabuco, Chile which is not much of a town but it nestled in a cove of a Chilean fjord.  This means the sail in/sail out will be gorgeous.  We are really looking forward to it.  As some of you know, I have staged a one woman revolt about touring cities anymore – I’ve seen enough castles, churches, palaces, ruins, temples and mosques (am I repeating myself?) and my feet have definitely had enough of cobblestone streets.  Nature is what I’m after going forward.  

Keeping our fingers crossed that the rest of the trip will not disappoint due to weather conditions, but you just never know.  

January 11,2023

That first night we relaxed in the hotel lobby, had an adult beverage and played backgammon and cards.  (It wasn’t my night).  Ordered my new favorite sandwich: croissant with cream cheese, lettuce and smoked salmon.  No more bagels – the croissant was the best!

The next day we got up leisurely, had hotel comp breakfast and decided to walk around.  Our hotel was old downtown, and on Sunday most of the storefronts were closed, those corrugated metal garage doors making it look like a place in Chicago you wouldn’t want to be, which made us a little nervous.  However,  I had a good sleep so I felt pretty calm, but Al was still reeling a bit from the previous day’s adventure.  As women, we learn to keep our wits about us and I did just that. Our passports were locked securely in our hotel safe and I had my head on a 360 swivel.  It sounds more dangerous than it actually was.  It was a lovely day and except for a few deserted blocks here and there we encountered normal human beings.  

When we walked out of the front doors of the hotel I had a strange sensation. The temperature of the air – maybe 78/80? – and the gentle humidity brought back a striking sensual memory of Illinois in the mid summer.  There was a very light breeze and just something about the way the foliage sounded and how the air felt against my face – I felt like I was in Chicago headed to the The Museum of Science and Industry or Buckingham Fountain.  (Something tells me I may get a different kind of Chicago weather sensual memory once we hit Antarctic waters!) 

We were headed to The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino).  Highly regarded as one of the finest pre-Colombian museums in South America, we were unfortunately limited to the first and lower level as the upper level was closed, but that’s ok.  Saw lots of cools stuff as usual. What strikes me about pre-Columbian history in both Peru *(I really need to sit down and recap that trip, it means more now that we’re here in Chile) is how long ago ancient people inhabited this part of the world.  I learned, for example, that the ancients here practiced mummification thousands of years before the Egyptians.  Their method involved removing the viscera and muscles and replacing same with twigs, feathers, fur, etc. before wrapping.   

Other cool artifacts that I’ve left here for you are from different peoples/cultures over the years.  I’m especially liking the hats, the string “abacus” that was used by the Incans for many possible reasons.  Also what Al referred to as cell phone holders were actually snuff trays.  The shamanic culture was (is) big into ayahuasca and other hallucinogenic substances, becoming one with nature and the universe, that type of thing.  If I were a younger woman and not so responsible….maybe when I’m too old to give a damn, I don’t know.  I was a relatively good girl in the 70’s so I missed all the fun. Now I’d probably just have a nervous breakdown if I saw a talking fish or something.  The big wooden figures in the photos were “gravestones” from one of those ancient cultures.

People have inhabited the far north altiplano – the drainage area in the Andes that now is occupied by Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina for 11,000 years.  About 8000 years ago fishermen started to encroach on the area and then inland hunters and before you know it everyone was fighting and then the Incas came along and because everyone was mad at everybody else it was easy for them to take over the whole shebang.  We learned in Peru that the Incas did this largely by being rather nice and enticing other tribes to join them rather than conquering them.  What a concept.  Obviously didn’t work with the conquistadores.

We then walked on to ride the funicular up a little hill in the middle of town that supposedly gives a nice view.  We walked through plazas filled with blankets laid out with what looked like thrift shop items for locals to buy – shoes, shirts, toys, household items.  There were a few blocks when Al was pretty nervous but I persevered in my best “I’ve raised three kids and still have some leftover pent up frustration from those years so don’t fuck with me” stride.  When we got to the base of the hill the line was long. Some folks Al met on the walking tour the day before told us they’d stood there for 45 minutes with no movement and were giving up.  However we could take the bus up – shorter line – and cable car down.  However again, the bus only went halfway up and we could walk the rest of the way.  I was hot.  It was uphill.   No thanks.  We walked away and found a little café where we had a basic pizza and water, then back to the hotel for another evening of not much.  

Monday we were up bright and early for a ride to a winery and then to Portillo Ski Resort in the Andes.  This is where the crazy expert ski type people from all over the world come to ski.  Looks like it’s straight down to me. A big fat no.  I only do easy slopes now. We had lunch overlooking Lake of the Inca and the rugged mountains The Three Brothers.  Reminded us of Lake Louise in Banff Canada.  The mountains on the ride up (see corkscrew road! A thoroughfare for semis!) were like first grade drawing mountains, rising right up with no foothills and impossibly pointy peaks.  On the way back we stopped at an adult petting zoo, ie llamas.  Been there done that in Peru so I opted for convincing another woman to join me in playing on a relic from my childhood – a see saw.  I think I’ve already written a blog on that lack of same in the USA is one of my pet peeves – how are kids supposed to intuitively learn about levers now? – so I won’t bore you here. 

The rest of the day was Al trying to salvage our tour for yesterday which would take us through Valparaiso and then on to San Antonio where we would catch our ship.  The problem was two couples backed out and we needed four couples.  Al went back and forth (remember he’s been in touch with tour people for all of the three attempts at making this whole trip) letting them know he was trying.  Finally, the deal was sealed for just the four of us when Al mentioned our tour guide to the Andes was their nephew Benjamin and what a fine tour guide he was.

So, yesterday we packed up and headed to Valparaiso via a ride through Santiago, passing by the beautiful train station Alameda, a national monument which was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1897. Our wonderful guide, Julio was a wealth of knowledge not the least of which is the motto: Santiago is not Chile.  It is the capital and largest city, but most of Chile is devoid of large cities.  The economy here is robust at the moment as evidenced by the excellent roads.  He pointed out if we looked down alley ways at older buildings the city used to have a very European flavor. He said that the present government is trying to revitalize the city and started with a good subway system. Also a new constitution is being written.

Valparaiso is an old port town that I can best describe as a San Francisco’s twin.  First, we swung through Vina del Mar, an artsy community, with a stop at the Fonk Museum – we did not go inside but did see an Easter Island carving that is only one of two outside of the island itself.  (You’ll never guess where the other one is.  London.  They stole everything and like the pieces of the Parthenon they took home with them, there is a push from the home countries to retrieve their heritage).  It’s a small one but we were given a mini-lesson on the whole Easter Island Rapa Nui culture.  You’ll also see a photo of us in front of a huge flower clock which is a tribute to the 1962 World Cup  held there in Vina del Mar.(Pele played then, may he RIP). It evebn has a sweep second hand! 

Then off to the fish market of Valparaiso and I was in fishy heaven. All the boats were in from the morning and boy was I jealous.  I promised myself I would really find out where the fish market is near me (our tour mates said San Pablo was the place to go) but realized I probably wouldn’t really know how to choose the best so I’ll trust my local Albertson’s (they really do have a great fish buyer) and maybe hit some of the Asian markets in Orange County and let the professional buyers do it for me.  Saw our first cat in Chile there (everywhere else in the world cats rule everything) and it figures it would be at a fish market.  There were also sea lions wrestling and dancing in the crashing surf. Our California sea lions seem to just loll around and sun, but these were acting like the sea puppies that they are. 

Then we went on walking tour through the beautiful graffiti-ed walls of Valparaiso. When I had noted that some of the graffiti in Santiago was quite beautiful our guide said there is a fine line between graffiti and art in Chile,   Again, the views and steep streets made us feel like we were back home in San Francisco.  Looking at the art I couldn’t help but think maybe some hallucinogenic use is still happening in practice but I loved every minute of the colorful street art. One artist, V. Clave Hanus, is making a name for herself and is now studying art internationally.  We were told if we find her Instagram account we can see her progression from graffiti artist to accomplished muralist.

 Oh! We did get to ride a funicular here lol!  That was a fun four minutes. 

Lunch followed.  The recommended restaurant was a fish restaurant and since I’d been craving fish ever since the market we chose that one.  It was Pervuian of all things and fabulous.  Followed up with helado (I know how to say ice cream in all kinds of languages).  I never remember that the mint used in mint chip here is different than ours.  It’s more like peppermint which makes me wonder what ours is.  Spearmint?  Followed up with another winery stop.  I slept in the lobby while the others tasted.  

Then on to San Antonio, an active port city.  We are in a little mom and pop hotel, kind of a three story house subdivide into rooms really, overlooking the port.  Plenty of music, souvenirs from China stalls, food stalls.  We were so excited to wake up to see our cruise ship.  Except we woke up and there was no cruise ship.  Turns out the dock they need had to be vacated by another ship that hadn’t been able to get out because of rough seas.  Or at least that’s the rumor that was going around.  It finally did make it in so we walked our main luggage about 15 minutes to the terminal to check our luggage and then came back to the hotel restaurant that isn’t a restaurant right now.  As I write there is live music across the street in the plaza, Al is waiting patiently for me to finish writing, and I’m looking at the sea and plan on taking the advice of another passenger who has taken this journey before: 25 mg Dramamine every day is a must.  Her photos of the Antarctica portion of the trip looks like a dream – walking among penguins, whales frolicking within sight of the ship, Orcas and of course ice and rocks and ocean. This shit is about to get real!  

Adios for now.