If you are a vegetarian I suggest you find somewhere else to have a holiday!
Argentinians LOOOOVE their meat, they eat huge slabs of it for lunch and dinner.
We ordered steamed vegetables and mash potatoes with our grill one night and the waiter laughed. I thought that was a bit odd until the people on the next table got their meal...a huge slab of pork each...nothing else...just pork!
You can get your potato as fries (like chips) , espanol (round fries) noisettes (fried balls) or mash! I saw mashed pumpkin once!
They also had loads of Italian immigrants back in the 1800s, so the menu choices are pasta, pizza, schnitzel or a slab of meat. If you order a salad it is usually lettuce and tomato.
They also have an obsession with ham and cheese. Every place has ham and cheese sandwiches, pizzas and tostadas.
Add to that the beer and wine and I am definitely putting on some weight!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Argentinian fashion
I had this bizarre idea that I would buy some new jeans and clothes over here, thinking that these people are pretty fashion conscious and I could get something nice.
I didnt take into account that the majority of the beautiful people are tall and skinny...not short and ...well...with some padding.
The women wear their jeans incredibly tight, I think they are spray painted on. It doesnt matter what size you are really, they all do it. Not sure how they sit comfortably!
hee hee I just did a spell check, nearly every word is wrong...it is not in Spanish!
I didnt take into account that the majority of the beautiful people are tall and skinny...not short and ...well...with some padding.
The women wear their jeans incredibly tight, I think they are spray painted on. It doesnt matter what size you are really, they all do it. Not sure how they sit comfortably!
hee hee I just did a spell check, nearly every word is wrong...it is not in Spanish!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Gone Hiking
I joined a tour to go hiking in the mountains, not sure what I was thinking when I agreed to that! There was 10 other people and the oldest was 81 - what the hell was he thinking?
We went to Chile first to the Torres del Paine National Park and did an easy walk the first day, then the second day a much harder walk that was mostly uphill for the first 5 hours. The group has now renamed that walk the ´Towers of Pain´. It was quite hard towards the end as it involved scrambling over boulders, but the view was worth it.
Chile was wonderful, at least the bits that we saw. so I am keen to go back there and explore some more.
We jumped on a zodaic (inflatable boat) for a ride down the river and saw some more glaciers. Then it was a big boat for the journey to our next town called Peurto Natales.
Then it was into Argentina again for some more walking. Better this time, not so hard, but just long. All up we covered about 75km, not including the walking from the hotel to town, because apparently if you are on a walking trip you want your hotel to be on the outskirts!
Now we are off to BA for some culture, then to northern Argentina.
We went to Chile first to the Torres del Paine National Park and did an easy walk the first day, then the second day a much harder walk that was mostly uphill for the first 5 hours. The group has now renamed that walk the ´Towers of Pain´. It was quite hard towards the end as it involved scrambling over boulders, but the view was worth it.
Chile was wonderful, at least the bits that we saw. so I am keen to go back there and explore some more.
We jumped on a zodaic (inflatable boat) for a ride down the river and saw some more glaciers. Then it was a big boat for the journey to our next town called Peurto Natales.
Then it was into Argentina again for some more walking. Better this time, not so hard, but just long. All up we covered about 75km, not including the walking from the hotel to town, because apparently if you are on a walking trip you want your hotel to be on the outskirts!
Now we are off to BA for some culture, then to northern Argentina.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
It wasn’t me!
You may have heard that there was a ship that ran onto some rocks in Antarctica. It wasn’t me! I had nothing to do with it!
OK, we did see the ship the day before and they were battling the force 11 winds the same as we were, but we left the area and headed out to sea.
OK, we did see the ship the day before and they were battling the force 11 winds the same as we were, but we left the area and headed out to sea.
Force 11 winds – let’s hide behind an iceberg!
We were experiencing force 11 winds down on the Antarctica Peninsular. In layman’s terms, that means one off a cyclone. A cyclone is force 12 or winds above 117km hour.
Our ship was big and stable and had all sorts of gadgets that could make it stay in one place, so we were fine, especially when we went and hid behind an iceberg. We only moved when bits of the iceberg started falling off and were threatening to run into the ship.
We actually did get broadsided by a big piece of ice, that left us with a dent and some damage to our gangway.
Our ship was big and stable and had all sorts of gadgets that could make it stay in one place, so we were fine, especially when we went and hid behind an iceberg. We only moved when bits of the iceberg started falling off and were threatening to run into the ship.
We actually did get broadsided by a big piece of ice, that left us with a dent and some damage to our gangway.
The adventures of Percy the Penguin
I bought a stuffed king penguin in Ushuaia and he has proved a bit of a hit on the journey. He has been playing with some of the staff on the deck, driving the ship, hanging out in the engine room and he got second place in the fog photo competition when he sat outside our porthole and Jo took his photo in the fog.
He went ashore in the South Shetlands to visit his king penguin cousins and had a great time playing in the tussock grass. He had to be confined to cabin after he had a bit of a big happy hour in the bar!
He went ashore in the South Shetlands to visit his king penguin cousins and had a great time playing in the tussock grass. He had to be confined to cabin after he had a bit of a big happy hour in the bar!
Killer whales and Leopard seals
Just when we thought that we had had our whale show, we went for a Zodiac cruise in Wilhelmina Bay in the Antarctic Peninsula.
We had Andy as our driver who was really good. The call came out for killer whales and it was a zodiac race across the bay to where they were. To our absolute delight we almost immediately saw 3 orcas swimming around and 'skyhopping', which is where they come straight up out of the water and look on the ice floes to see if there are any seals there that they can have for breakfast. They were swimming around curiously and even came under the zodiac and showed us their beautiful colours and their size. They were surfacing just near zodiacs and checking us out and deciding that we were not seals and then moving on.
We cruised some more, looking at icebergs and eventually got the call for more whales, so headed in that direction. They are totally awesome. We found a lone gentoo penguin sitting atop an iceberg, well out of the reach of the whales, but he was wary of us as we went by.
Then someone found a mother leopard seal and cub sleeping on an ice floe. These probably wouldn't be bothered by the whales unless they tried to get the cub. Otherwise the mother is too big for the whale to wrestle with. The cub was trying to get a feed from mum and it took ages for her to bother turning over so it could get to the teat.
Cruised some more found more whales and icebergs and finally ended with a zodiac race with Graham's boat back to the ship.
As if that was not enough, in the afternoon we had walked up a hill and played in the snow...oh and looked at penguins. On the way back in the zodiac we went on a detour via a glacier and found 2 minke whales. They didn’t want to play like the orcas though.
We had Andy as our driver who was really good. The call came out for killer whales and it was a zodiac race across the bay to where they were. To our absolute delight we almost immediately saw 3 orcas swimming around and 'skyhopping', which is where they come straight up out of the water and look on the ice floes to see if there are any seals there that they can have for breakfast. They were swimming around curiously and even came under the zodiac and showed us their beautiful colours and their size. They were surfacing just near zodiacs and checking us out and deciding that we were not seals and then moving on.
We cruised some more, looking at icebergs and eventually got the call for more whales, so headed in that direction. They are totally awesome. We found a lone gentoo penguin sitting atop an iceberg, well out of the reach of the whales, but he was wary of us as we went by.
Then someone found a mother leopard seal and cub sleeping on an ice floe. These probably wouldn't be bothered by the whales unless they tried to get the cub. Otherwise the mother is too big for the whale to wrestle with. The cub was trying to get a feed from mum and it took ages for her to bother turning over so it could get to the teat.
Cruised some more found more whales and icebergs and finally ended with a zodiac race with Graham's boat back to the ship.
As if that was not enough, in the afternoon we had walked up a hill and played in the snow...oh and looked at penguins. On the way back in the zodiac we went on a detour via a glacier and found 2 minke whales. They didn’t want to play like the orcas though.
South Shetland Islands
30 Nov. 08 We are getting around somewhat. We are edging ever closer to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Today we had two trips off the ship, first to Aitcho Island and 2nd to Yankee Harbour. We saw loads more penguins, but the highlight was the Weddell seals, much nicer than those nasty fur seals. They have a grey speckled belly and are quite cute.
The zodiac ride was a bit hairy this arvo and Jeff and I had an impromptu salt water shower, which is ok when the temperature is higher than the brisk 0.5c we had today! My hands were freezing because they got wet and I was more worried about them then watching the penguins.
We got called back to the ship early because gale force winds had come up and if we didn’t leave then we might have been spending the night on the island with penguins for company.
Today we had two trips off the ship, first to Aitcho Island and 2nd to Yankee Harbour. We saw loads more penguins, but the highlight was the Weddell seals, much nicer than those nasty fur seals. They have a grey speckled belly and are quite cute.
The zodiac ride was a bit hairy this arvo and Jeff and I had an impromptu salt water shower, which is ok when the temperature is higher than the brisk 0.5c we had today! My hands were freezing because they got wet and I was more worried about them then watching the penguins.
We got called back to the ship early because gale force winds had come up and if we didn’t leave then we might have been spending the night on the island with penguins for company.
A whale of a time
30 Nov. 08 After dinner Jeff, Ros, Jo and I went to the bridge to see what was up.
I thought that I spotted a black object in the water about 200m ahead of the ship and when I saw it the second time I pointed it out. I said I saw a 'whale like' thing and no-one else could see it. I grabbed the binoculars and all I could see was another ship.
They were all making fun of me, telling me I had too much to drink when I spotted it again, I used the binoculars to confirm and pointed it out and suddenly they could all see the spout! Ha!
The whale cruised off the bow for a while and then there was 2 spouts, and 2 fins...yay, I had found 2 whales. The EL called on the PA and the bridge was flooded.
The whales then put on a show for us for about 30 mins. They came port side and did some breaching, tail and fluke showing and just rolling along. It was totally awesome. There was so much excitement on the bridge it was unbelievable. They came really close to the bow as well and cruised off to starboard and then out into the distance, still throwing themselves around like a couple of kids lolling in a pool.
I thought that I spotted a black object in the water about 200m ahead of the ship and when I saw it the second time I pointed it out. I said I saw a 'whale like' thing and no-one else could see it. I grabbed the binoculars and all I could see was another ship.
They were all making fun of me, telling me I had too much to drink when I spotted it again, I used the binoculars to confirm and pointed it out and suddenly they could all see the spout! Ha!
The whale cruised off the bow for a while and then there was 2 spouts, and 2 fins...yay, I had found 2 whales. The EL called on the PA and the bridge was flooded.
The whales then put on a show for us for about 30 mins. They came port side and did some breaching, tail and fluke showing and just rolling along. It was totally awesome. There was so much excitement on the bridge it was unbelievable. They came really close to the bow as well and cruised off to starboard and then out into the distance, still throwing themselves around like a couple of kids lolling in a pool.
Elephant Island
No prizes for guessing that the name of this island had something to do with the elephant seals. It was calm enough to be able to go out on the Zodiacs and as it was a sunny day it wasn't too cold - even though it was still around zero degrees. It was the calmest conditions our expedition leader has ever seen in his 7 years of coming to Antarctica at that particular spot - normally they can't get off onto the Zodiacs.
We cruised around some rocks with penguins and then checked out the area of land that Shackleton’s men spent 4.5 months waiting to be rescued - it isn't much area! There is now a bust for the Chilean captain of the boat who came to do the rescue. (If you don’t know about Shackleton a quick google search will fix that. He was an adventurer whose ship sunk in the ice in 1911 and then there was an epic journey over land and sea to get back to civilisation)
Next to the beach is a glacier that we had a good look at - then went to see a leopard seal some other boats spotted but it was gone by the time we arrived.
After we were back on board we went straight to the bow of the boat whilst the captain circled an iceberg that had some penguins on. Whilst we were watching a big wave washed some of them off! Very funny.
We cruised around some rocks with penguins and then checked out the area of land that Shackleton’s men spent 4.5 months waiting to be rescued - it isn't much area! There is now a bust for the Chilean captain of the boat who came to do the rescue. (If you don’t know about Shackleton a quick google search will fix that. He was an adventurer whose ship sunk in the ice in 1911 and then there was an epic journey over land and sea to get back to civilisation)
Next to the beach is a glacier that we had a good look at - then went to see a leopard seal some other boats spotted but it was gone by the time we arrived.
After we were back on board we went straight to the bow of the boat whilst the captain circled an iceberg that had some penguins on. Whilst we were watching a big wave washed some of them off! Very funny.
Walking kiwi fruit
The King Penguin chicks come out covered in brown downy feathers to keep them warm. The effect is that they look like a giant kiwi fruit with a small head and beak on top. They waddle around aimlessly while waiting for the parents to come back with some food. These are really cute.
South Georgia
Six months ago if you gave me a map and said to point out South Georgia, I would have been looking somewhere in the region of Russia. Who knew it was actually east of South America? OK, some people know. If you are also geographically challenged, grab yourself an atlas (or google earth) and find out where we actually are.
South Georgia is an unhospitable island sitting in the southern ocean. The Brits like to think they own it and there is even a post office where you can buy UK stamps and post letters that leave the island whenever a ship is heading to England, roughly monthly in summer.
It is also home to the remains of some whaling stations that operated from around 1904 to 1964. The whalers took in the vicinity of 175,000 whales during the operations and consequently it is hard to see whales now. I saw more off Wollongong 3 weeks ago then have been sighted to date on this voyage (27 Nov. 08).
We were able to get off the ship at various beaches and wander around and have close encounters with the wildlife. The rules are you must stay at least 5m away, but sometimes that is not possible.
The King Penguins are very curious and come up to look at us. Some have been only 1-2m away and stood there appraising us, perhaps wondering what the hell these multi coloured giants were doing on their beach. There are loads of different types of penguins, big ones, small ones and in between ones. Different colours too, the Kings have beautiful yellow/orange feathers on their chest and the rockhoppers have a yellow crested hair style. And let’s not mention the 1000s of seals!
The island itself is rugged mountains covered with snow and beaten constantly by the winds that howl in from the west. The southern tip had some huge tabular icebergs floating off the end, and I mean huge they were probably 200m long and 60m high, but that is an uneducated guess. There was one piece of ice that the EL reckons was 30km long and 10km wide. Imagine something about as big as Wollongong floating around the ocean!
South Georgia is an unhospitable island sitting in the southern ocean. The Brits like to think they own it and there is even a post office where you can buy UK stamps and post letters that leave the island whenever a ship is heading to England, roughly monthly in summer.
It is also home to the remains of some whaling stations that operated from around 1904 to 1964. The whalers took in the vicinity of 175,000 whales during the operations and consequently it is hard to see whales now. I saw more off Wollongong 3 weeks ago then have been sighted to date on this voyage (27 Nov. 08).
We were able to get off the ship at various beaches and wander around and have close encounters with the wildlife. The rules are you must stay at least 5m away, but sometimes that is not possible.
The King Penguins are very curious and come up to look at us. Some have been only 1-2m away and stood there appraising us, perhaps wondering what the hell these multi coloured giants were doing on their beach. There are loads of different types of penguins, big ones, small ones and in between ones. Different colours too, the Kings have beautiful yellow/orange feathers on their chest and the rockhoppers have a yellow crested hair style. And let’s not mention the 1000s of seals!
The island itself is rugged mountains covered with snow and beaten constantly by the winds that howl in from the west. The southern tip had some huge tabular icebergs floating off the end, and I mean huge they were probably 200m long and 60m high, but that is an uneducated guess. There was one piece of ice that the EL reckons was 30km long and 10km wide. Imagine something about as big as Wollongong floating around the ocean!
Elephant seals – so big you can’t see them
You guessed it these are big and ugly and have a trunk like nose. OK, it is only a short stubby one, but you get the idea.
The bull seals are big, really big, think 3m and 3-4 tonne. Now you would think that something this big would be kinda hard to miss right?
So here I am walking along, looking everywhere but the road when I hear a yell. I look back and there is this HUGE elephant seal lying on the road. I nearly tripped over the thing, I just didn’t see it! In my defence, it was road coloured and I wasn’t really looking. It would have been hilarious though if I did trip on it and fall flat on my face. Jo laughed lots.
The bull seals are big, really big, think 3m and 3-4 tonne. Now you would think that something this big would be kinda hard to miss right?
So here I am walking along, looking everywhere but the road when I hear a yell. I look back and there is this HUGE elephant seal lying on the road. I nearly tripped over the thing, I just didn’t see it! In my defence, it was road coloured and I wasn’t really looking. It would have been hilarious though if I did trip on it and fall flat on my face. Jo laughed lots.
Close encounters of the seal kind
Now I know what you are thinking, seals are cute little things you see at Seaworld, they balance balls on their nose and throw things around. But it is all a show, they have you all fooled. Fur seals are in fact vicious little bastards. They are ugly and have big teeth and charge at you when they think you are getting too close for comfort, even when you are walking along innocently and don’t even see them hiding in the tussock grass.
So here I was just walking along to the cemetery to see Shackleton’s grave on South Georgia Island. These 2 fur seals decided that they didn’t want to let us pass and came charging towards us with their teeth bared and growling. The way to get them to stop is to stand your ground and yell, clap, wave your arms and generally try to appear bigger and more frightening than they are. It usually works and they back off. Anyway, I retreated and went around the long way but Jo was brave and charged on to the gate.
Then we decided to go to the cross which is on the other side of the bay. Now Ros did warn is about the vicious little seals guarding the steps to the cross and said, only go there if you are really keen. Along the way we met other people, the seals are a bit angry, but stand your ground and make some noise. One man was given a stick by the locals to protect himself. Undeterred, well Jo was – I went reluctantly, we headed off there anyway.
We managed to weave our wave through the gauntlet of seals, elephants as well as fur, fending off the occasional charge, until we arrived almost to the base of the stairs. Then the boys got a little stroppy, I think maybe by that time about 60 people had invaded their area they were well over it. So one charged us, but we scared it off, then another came and finally a third to it’s aid, we were surrounded! By this time I was using Jo as a shield and was ready to sacrifice her to the fur seal. She is trying her best to scare the things off and I am being the big hero hiding behind her.
You have no idea how hard it is to stand your ground and not run like hell away from there, apparently not a good plan because as ungainly as they look, they can move quicker than we can even on the land. By then I had decided that I was not going to try and proceed, so convinced Jo to retreat.
I was looking for help from other people but there were none in sight. So we backed off, and 2 of them were cool with that, but the third, who was in the direction that we wanted to go, wouldn’t concede. He kept coming at us even as we turned our backs and tried to leave. I can’t remember the last time I was that scared. Obviously we got out, but there was still some more seals to frighten me on the way back to the boat.
So here I was just walking along to the cemetery to see Shackleton’s grave on South Georgia Island. These 2 fur seals decided that they didn’t want to let us pass and came charging towards us with their teeth bared and growling. The way to get them to stop is to stand your ground and yell, clap, wave your arms and generally try to appear bigger and more frightening than they are. It usually works and they back off. Anyway, I retreated and went around the long way but Jo was brave and charged on to the gate.
Then we decided to go to the cross which is on the other side of the bay. Now Ros did warn is about the vicious little seals guarding the steps to the cross and said, only go there if you are really keen. Along the way we met other people, the seals are a bit angry, but stand your ground and make some noise. One man was given a stick by the locals to protect himself. Undeterred, well Jo was – I went reluctantly, we headed off there anyway.
We managed to weave our wave through the gauntlet of seals, elephants as well as fur, fending off the occasional charge, until we arrived almost to the base of the stairs. Then the boys got a little stroppy, I think maybe by that time about 60 people had invaded their area they were well over it. So one charged us, but we scared it off, then another came and finally a third to it’s aid, we were surrounded! By this time I was using Jo as a shield and was ready to sacrifice her to the fur seal. She is trying her best to scare the things off and I am being the big hero hiding behind her.
You have no idea how hard it is to stand your ground and not run like hell away from there, apparently not a good plan because as ungainly as they look, they can move quicker than we can even on the land. By then I had decided that I was not going to try and proceed, so convinced Jo to retreat.
I was looking for help from other people but there were none in sight. So we backed off, and 2 of them were cool with that, but the third, who was in the direction that we wanted to go, wouldn’t concede. He kept coming at us even as we turned our backs and tried to leave. I can’t remember the last time I was that scared. Obviously we got out, but there was still some more seals to frighten me on the way back to the boat.
The unbelievably big wide ocean
As I said this is my first really shipping adventure, and if the quality of the food keeps up it won’t be my last! Sorry, I digress...so I am looking out the porthole yesterday, surveying the ocean, looking for a whale or anything, and I notice what I thought was a peak on a distant chunk of land, but then the peak dissolves into the ocean and I realise that I am looking at the peaks of the swell. At this point I am overwhelmed with the whole vastness of this ocean. We are completely surrounded by water as far as I can see and obviously further. A quick look at the computer on the bridge confirms that we are in fact, well...in the middle of nowhere. The radar covers 12 nautical miles in all directions...and nothing but us. I can’t begin to describe how insignificant I feel in this huge body of water.
As if to confirm that we are in just a speck in this seascape, I am told that that bird that is swooping across the ocean out there that I thought was a seagull, is in fact an albatross with a wing span of 3m! I swear it didn’t look that big at all. Am I painting a picture of vastness for you?
Day 6 (23 Nov. 08) – there are loads of fur seals swimming around the area of the ship today, we are in an area that apparently is abundant in fish for feeding, so we are seeing lots of seabirds as well. We haven’t seen a whale yet, but I expect that it will look like a bathtub size version when we finally get to see one.
Day 10 (27 Nov. 08) – back at sea today and the swell is much bigger than the other day. I was standing up on the bridge and taking photos of the waves coming across the bow. The wind was coming from the starboard side (right) and consequently blowing the waves over the bow and even hitting the windows of the bridge which is 2 decks up from the bow.
As if to confirm that we are in just a speck in this seascape, I am told that that bird that is swooping across the ocean out there that I thought was a seagull, is in fact an albatross with a wing span of 3m! I swear it didn’t look that big at all. Am I painting a picture of vastness for you?
Day 6 (23 Nov. 08) – there are loads of fur seals swimming around the area of the ship today, we are in an area that apparently is abundant in fish for feeding, so we are seeing lots of seabirds as well. We haven’t seen a whale yet, but I expect that it will look like a bathtub size version when we finally get to see one.
Day 10 (27 Nov. 08) – back at sea today and the swell is much bigger than the other day. I was standing up on the bridge and taking photos of the waves coming across the bow. The wind was coming from the starboard side (right) and consequently blowing the waves over the bow and even hitting the windows of the bridge which is 2 decks up from the bow.
Rocking and Rolling
So far we have been at sea now for 6 days (23 Nov. 08). This is my first big ship voyage, I have been across the English Channel on the car ferry, but it is lame compared to this. We are currently sailing in the southern Ocean, or maybe the South Atlantic, a little hard to tell really and if the truth be known there is probably some random name of a sea that we sail through when not looking.
The ship has been doing some rocking and rolling. The swell seems to be 2-3m, which I am guessing is not real big at the moment, and I am expecting that the Drake Passage is going to be somewhat of a shock when we get there. That is the bit below Cape Horn off Sth America and has notoriously claimed many a ship over the centuries. Every meal so far the dining room has been full, there is 108 pax, 10 Peregrine staff, the 4 chefs, plus god knows how many Russians making this thing go forward and stay clean.
The Expedition Leader (EL) who job is stratospherically harder than anything I had to cope with, keeps expressing his surprise at the number of people turning up for meals, he was expecting more seasickness than we have had so far...but I am sure our time will come soon enough. The weather gods have been smiling so far.
Last night’s sleeping experience was somewhat of a challenge and everyone seemed to have similar stories at breakfast. Now, as you know I have been on plenty of overnight trains in Asia and thought that this experience would be somewhat similar...wrong! To give you some idea, the ship is lolling from side to side, at about 15 degrees on each big roll. Now imagine that my bunk is running across the ship. To help you imagine how it feels, think about laying on a see-saw. Then imagine the see-saw going up and down. Head up, roll, feet up, roll, head up...get the idea? I was sliding up and down the bed, but one lady told a story of her wearing a silk nightie, it sped up her journey up and down the bed due to the lack of friction. Unfortunately the rolling motion didn’t really help in the sleeping department.
The ship has been doing some rocking and rolling. The swell seems to be 2-3m, which I am guessing is not real big at the moment, and I am expecting that the Drake Passage is going to be somewhat of a shock when we get there. That is the bit below Cape Horn off Sth America and has notoriously claimed many a ship over the centuries. Every meal so far the dining room has been full, there is 108 pax, 10 Peregrine staff, the 4 chefs, plus god knows how many Russians making this thing go forward and stay clean.
The Expedition Leader (EL) who job is stratospherically harder than anything I had to cope with, keeps expressing his surprise at the number of people turning up for meals, he was expecting more seasickness than we have had so far...but I am sure our time will come soon enough. The weather gods have been smiling so far.
Last night’s sleeping experience was somewhat of a challenge and everyone seemed to have similar stories at breakfast. Now, as you know I have been on plenty of overnight trains in Asia and thought that this experience would be somewhat similar...wrong! To give you some idea, the ship is lolling from side to side, at about 15 degrees on each big roll. Now imagine that my bunk is running across the ship. To help you imagine how it feels, think about laying on a see-saw. Then imagine the see-saw going up and down. Head up, roll, feet up, roll, head up...get the idea? I was sliding up and down the bed, but one lady told a story of her wearing a silk nightie, it sped up her journey up and down the bed due to the lack of friction. Unfortunately the rolling motion didn’t really help in the sleeping department.
Falkland Islands
Day 5 (21 Nov 08) saw us off load onto the town of Stanley in the British Territory of the Falkland Islands. In a crazy way it was good to hear people speaking English and not Spanish, and be able to understand them, even if I have only been away for 10 days. They have their own FI currency which is essentially GBP, but they also accept USD, so I was right for money. We ate at a cafe that turned out to be where the locals ate, so we met a colourful lady called Rosie, who is the sister of the lady we met on West Point Island, Lil. We also managed a Strongbow cider which we had been planning on since we were going to the UK!
The morning involved a 1.5hr dash to a place called Gypsy Cove which had a beautiful white beach, but unfortunately was off limits because the Argentineans laid land mines there and on other beaches during that now famous 1982 conflict with the Brits (for those of you old enough to remember). The Magellanic penguins didn’t seem to be bothered by the prospect of being landmine victims, so about 30 were standing in a huddle on the beach. There was some war remanent stuff there including a big gun thing (that is a technical term!) We made the dash because Conny and Geoff had to be back to the ship at lunch time to join their kayaking adventure. Jo and I checked out the museum which was quite good.
The morning involved a 1.5hr dash to a place called Gypsy Cove which had a beautiful white beach, but unfortunately was off limits because the Argentineans laid land mines there and on other beaches during that now famous 1982 conflict with the Brits (for those of you old enough to remember). The Magellanic penguins didn’t seem to be bothered by the prospect of being landmine victims, so about 30 were standing in a huddle on the beach. There was some war remanent stuff there including a big gun thing (that is a technical term!) We made the dash because Conny and Geoff had to be back to the ship at lunch time to join their kayaking adventure. Jo and I checked out the museum which was quite good.
West Point and Saunders Islands
Our first shore excursion was to West Point Island which is to the Western side of the Falkland Islands group (20 Nov 08). They unloaded all of us in batches of 12 onto big rubber inflatable boats, commonly called Zodiacs. We trekked across the island about 20 mins to a rookery for rockhopper penguins and black browed albatross. It was amazing how close we could get without disturbing them. They were mostly nesting and just resting, some of the penguins were making excursions into the ocean.
The island is owned by an English couple called Rody and Lil. After we walked back to the jetty, they provided us with morning tea! Can you imagine whipping up tea, coffee and cakes for over 100 people who land on your island and go for a walk? They also have cows and sheep which was kinda funny out there in the middle of nowhere.
The island is owned by an English couple called Rody and Lil. After we walked back to the jetty, they provided us with morning tea! Can you imagine whipping up tea, coffee and cakes for over 100 people who land on your island and go for a walk? They also have cows and sheep which was kinda funny out there in the middle of nowhere.
The Ship
We finally managed to join our big ugly ship in Ushuaia at the bottom of Argentina. It is called the Akademik Ioffe and is a working Russian research vessel. She takes tourists to the Antarctic in the southern summer and the Arctic in the northern summer. Yes, I have added an Arctic trip to my ‘must do one day’ list. We have a twin cabin that is about 2m x 3m.
There are bunks beds, a sofa thing, loads of cupboard space, a desk and chair and a hand basin. The toilets and showers are shared with others on level 3, which seems to be mostly the western crew and staff. There is a cabin stewardess who comes and makes our bed every morning and leaves us chocolates on our pillows at night! This is much better than I was expecting.
Facilities on the ship include a bar, laundry, gift shop, gym and a dining room that can rival any 4 star restaurant. They are making a concerted effort to ensure that each and everyone of us leaves the ship at least 5kg heavier than when we boarded. Jo has just arrived in the cabin with afternoon tea, which is a freshly baked oat and sultana cookie, almost as good as the choc chip ones we have been getting on the other days. When I say freshly baked, I mean that it is still warm and a little gooey, it would do well to sit and set for 30 mins before they bring them to the lounge for general vacuuming by the pax, who cannot possibly be hungry.
Meals are an eating competition that unfortunately, I am participating in with more gusto than is required for someone who already has a bit of a spare tyre around my middle. Breakfast is a buffet, always a bad thing when I am around and then lunch and dinner are both 3 course affairs, and that is not counting the salad table that is self serve. Lunch is usually a lighter affair than dinner. Last night I had an awesome rack of lamb (apologies to my friends in Asia for whom lamb is a luxury), but in moments of self control I have generally been avoiding the dessert (it has nothing to do with the fact that my fav desserts are choc mousse and ice cream and these have not been on offer yet).
There are bunks beds, a sofa thing, loads of cupboard space, a desk and chair and a hand basin. The toilets and showers are shared with others on level 3, which seems to be mostly the western crew and staff. There is a cabin stewardess who comes and makes our bed every morning and leaves us chocolates on our pillows at night! This is much better than I was expecting.
Facilities on the ship include a bar, laundry, gift shop, gym and a dining room that can rival any 4 star restaurant. They are making a concerted effort to ensure that each and everyone of us leaves the ship at least 5kg heavier than when we boarded. Jo has just arrived in the cabin with afternoon tea, which is a freshly baked oat and sultana cookie, almost as good as the choc chip ones we have been getting on the other days. When I say freshly baked, I mean that it is still warm and a little gooey, it would do well to sit and set for 30 mins before they bring them to the lounge for general vacuuming by the pax, who cannot possibly be hungry.
Meals are an eating competition that unfortunately, I am participating in with more gusto than is required for someone who already has a bit of a spare tyre around my middle. Breakfast is a buffet, always a bad thing when I am around and then lunch and dinner are both 3 course affairs, and that is not counting the salad table that is self serve. Lunch is usually a lighter affair than dinner. Last night I had an awesome rack of lamb (apologies to my friends in Asia for whom lamb is a luxury), but in moments of self control I have generally been avoiding the dessert (it has nothing to do with the fact that my fav desserts are choc mousse and ice cream and these have not been on offer yet).
Who’s who?
I keep referring to ‘us’ in this blog, so I thought I should tell you who we are. There is me...of course, and Joanne, my long time house mate, friend, sanity provider and fellow traveller. Then on the Antarctic voyage we are travelling with Conny and Geoff, long time friends from Rovers, and if you remember they were in Thailand to see me in 2007, and we walked the Larapinta Trail together back in 2005. The other couple are Jeff and Ros. Jeff is a work mate of Jo’s and also was on the Larapinta trekking team.
After Antarctica we are all heading on separate adventures, Geoff and Conny are off to the Galapagos, Jeff and Ros are joining Jo & I on a tour in Patagonia. They have already tackled Peru before coming to the end of the world. After Patagonia Jo and I are off to sample some wines in Argentina and popping over to Rio de Janerio....because we can.
After Antarctica we are all heading on separate adventures, Geoff and Conny are off to the Galapagos, Jeff and Ros are joining Jo & I on a tour in Patagonia. They have already tackled Peru before coming to the end of the world. After Patagonia Jo and I are off to sample some wines in Argentina and popping over to Rio de Janerio....because we can.
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