Saturday, December 29, 2007 - Deception Island in Whalers Bay

Highlights:  Swimming in Antarctic Waters (Yes - Swimming!) - Volcano exploration on Deception Island

We awoke at 5 am to get dressed to watch the ship enter the caldera of the volcano through Neptunes Bellows.  It was windy and cold.  We are scheduled to have an early landing on the black sand beach at Deception Island.  It was really rough sailing as we dressed.  Juast as we were ready to go out, John came on the PA system and announced we were delayed by 2 hours during the night due to the weather.  That was great news since I wasn't feeling so good then and hadn't slept well.  We both laid back down fully dressed and slept for another hour and a half. 

John finally announced our arrival at Neptunes Bellows and we went on deck to watch the ship enter the caldera through a very small opening.  The seas were still rough and the winds were gale force.  It was hard standing up on deck and it was really cold.  There was 2" of snow in the windows of the ship from the storm last night.

Once anchored, we were the first group to leave the ship.  Helena was right there with us as usual for our last shore excursion of this trip.  We walked back toward the entrance to Deception and up a small ridge to get a more panoramic view of the caldera along with the birds nesting in the mountain cliffs.  We walked back to the Zodiac landing site where the staff was digging in the black volcanic rock to see if we could find warm water.  They asked us to test the water and go in swimming - I told them to "Keep Digging"!

We walked the other way to an old abandoned plane hanger.  This used to be a huge whaling station with 30-40 whaling ships at anchor at an one time.  They slaughtered the whales on the flat shore.  The island is an old volcano with only the one opening now to the cone that is visible in the middle.  The British left Deception in the late '60's after the volcano erupted in 1967 and then again in 1970.  After walking to the hanger, we went back to the landing site to the "swimming pool".

The warmth of the volcanic rock has warmed the frigid Antarctic waters slightly.  Unfortunately, there was no steam as we had expected and the water was only slightly lukewarm.  Tim and I pondered this for a while and watched others in the water and I decided - What the Hell!  So Tim and I shed all of our warm clothes and it was freezing standing outside in the wind and cold with just our bathing suits on.  Then we went into the water, which actuallyy felt good since we weren't in the cold air any more.  Audrey took pictures of us and we splashed in the water for a while and then got out.  And BOY was that cold then.  I couldn't dry off quickly enolugh.  The ship had towels there for us to use. 

After dressing back in our warm clothes, we took a Zodiac straight back to the ship for a warm shower.  Then to the lounge where we talked to Helena (Mette is her real name), as we sailed back through Neptunes Bellows and back to sea.  We'll be in the Bransfield Strait for about 3 hours and will enter the Drake Passage for what is expected to be a rough ride back to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Tim went to hear Steve (Zodiac driver) talk about his life over 4 summers at Palmer Staion and Larry napped before lunch.  Lunch was with Tim Mather and Helena (fun!) while we were rockin and rolling through the strait.

We saw the third episode of Life in the Freezer (so interesting) about animal life in Antarctica.  At 4 pm we heard Trevor Potts talk about his recreation of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1916 voyage in Antarctica.  An amazing feat of an even more amazing original feat.

Note on some people on the trip:  We have named several people on the trip.  Michelen Lady is a huge rotund woman from Britain who wasn't able to move very well, yet she insisted on going on every excursion.  She was in our Zodiac on one occasion and I held my breath that we wouldn't capsize when she stepped in.  The Oblivions were oblivious of everyone else on the trip except themselves with regard to seating, Zodiac entry, everything.  Also, one of the Oblivions really didn't have a clue - she kept asking - Which way is east?  And Which way does the sun rise?  Duhhhh!  There was NEVER a line that they didn't break.  Audrey's Mom is here on the trip - Eleonore - she is 82 and made almost every landing with the group - what a trooper.  One couple on the trip celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and they were right in there with us too on everything - they had to also be in their 80's.  The Sleepers took over the Lounge whenever the seas got rough - they tied up the sofas with their pillows and blankets and others couldn't sit while they slept through many of the presentations given there.  Mack and Marietta were here on their honeymoon - she's the daughter of the ship's owner.  The McLaurens from Canada - "the boys!" were at play always (including Dad) at every stop - building dams, tobaggoning, breaking melting ice bridges - but Mom did the swim at Deception and the boys didn't.  So they were the "McLauren Players".  The Walkers were 2 women who walked and waled and walked around the deck.  But don't get in their way as they'll knock you down.

We'll now be at sea for 2 days.  Tim and I played backgammon in the Club - I won for once!  We got dressed for dinner and went to a debrief with John.  Our ship was almost diverted to go help another ship with 400 passengers today.  It lost all electrical power at Penguin Island and drifed ashore.  We would have had to go back about 9 hours to pick them up and then another 9 hours back to where we were and then accompany the ship across the Drake Passage.  Just before we headed to get them, they restored power and were fine so we kept heading north.

Rough seas - 10 - 20 foot waves at this point - has made this another rockin' and rolling passage but John tells lus this is mild so far.  We had drinks after the debrief with Roger and Pat and then went to dinner with them, Trevor and Oleg (trip staff).  We had the best poached salmon I've ever had.  Bogdan fixed me another special dessert.  Pam then came and summoned us to the Club for singing with John Harwood while he played his guitar.  Great fun.  We did rounds and ballads and camp songs.  Fun.  We decided to have just one more drink.  I told Lena - If I order another drink, she was to tell us Niecht (No!).  She responded - I don't know this word! So the one drink turned into 3 or 4 and we talked to lots of people around teh bar until well after it closed at 1 am.  To make matters worse, the Argentine government decided just today - yes today - to go to Daylight Savings Tim - so the time advanced an hour.  So it wasn't 1:30 when we went to bed, it was 2:30 am.  We poured ourselves into bed.  Even with the rockin' and rolling we both slept soundly.  Since we are a little further north we are not getting an hour or so of twilight at night rather than light all day long for 24 hours.

Larry and Tim

Friday, December 28, 2007 - Off Peterman Island on the Antarctic Peninsula - Our Southernmost Stop

Highlights:  Zodiac Exploration in the bay among the iceberg - Circumcision Point exploration

We got up at 7:30 and had breakfast at 8.  The first 2 groups left at 8 to go exploring in the icebergs in the Zodiacs.  Our group leaves at 9 am.  We are anchored off Pleneau Island and Booth Island in a bay where the icebergs get trapped here between the islands so there are LOTS of them here.  We dressed very warmly since we'll be out on the water in the boats for 45 minutes and it could be a bit wet too.

It was quite cloudy with occasional rain and ice falling.  Lots of different icebergs - some with arches formed by the water and wind.  Also one with a keyhole up near the top of the berg that was great.  I spotted a large seal resting on an iceberg.  This was so cool.  We also spotted several penguins that flew out of the water onto an iceberg to rest.  One flapped his wings as if he was waving to us.  Luciano was our driver.  He took us back to the boat for some warm tea.

Our next stop is at Port Circumcision off of Peterman Island.  This is our southern most landing of the journey - not quite to the Antarctic Circle.  Apparently, there are not that many sights between here and the Circle and there is still too much ice to safely navigate there too even though it is mid summer!  So this becomes our southern-most destination. 
On arrival at Peterman Island, a humpback whale was spotted off of the bow.  We were the last group to leave the ship which was fortunate as the ice and snow were so deep it was difficult to walk.  So the other groups made a path and we were able to literally follow in their footsteps which made it much easier.  It sunk to my knees though a couple of times.

The trip over was very wet with Trevor as our driver.  We watched the gentoo penguins walk in the penguin trails and one tobaggoned all of the way down the hill.  We made our way to the top of the hill.  The view was worth the climb as there was a small lagoon filled with icebergs.  Beautiful.  There was a steep hill overlooking where we were anchored so we trudged up there for a better view from above - it also was worth the climb.  Tim decided to tobaggon down and he created a compated chute so I followed him down toboggan style.  Many others followed us after that.

We then walked to the far end of Circumscision Point where there was a rocky cliff with another rookery.  Gentoos and cormorants are here on their nests.  There was a huge bowl-shaped crystal ice piece in the water below that was magnificent.  We paused to watch the penguins stealing stones from each other and move around.  They did an experiment with the penguins and cresated a nest with all pink stones.  Within days, the pink stones were scattered all over the rookery in many nests - evidence of how they take stones from each other.  We took a Zodiac back to the ship and had lunch with Audrey and John (FL), Pat and John Dill (MN), and Jim and Ralph (NYC).  Eleonore, Audrey's 82 year old mother joined us later. 

After lunch we visited the bridge as they navigated us around ice bergs in the Lemaire Channel on the way to our next stop later tonight.  It has been sleeting, snowing, and raining off and on all day.  After the bridge visit, Larry napped and Tim read.

At 4 pm, we went to Part 3 of Life in the Freezer - the Race to Breed, which was shown in the Lounge.  It has been interesting for us to see in real life what we have now seen on TV or in documentatires such as this.  Seeing it in person is the only way to see it though.  The beauty is difficult to capture in words or pictures.  So educational for us.

We are now anchored off of Almirante Brown Station at Paradise Bay.  Another beautiful setting.  An abandoned Argentine base (partly burned down a few years ago but they rebuilt some of it).  The Chileans also have a base here across the bay since both countries are trying to claim this part of the continent (probably in case it is ever possible to mine here).

We walked through the little village that had 4 containers turned into buildings and we watched the penguins who have built nests all around the settlement.  We then were part of the first ones to trudge (yes trudge - it was hard climbing) through deep snow up the hill for a spectacular view.  John Frick had told us it would be a sweaty climb and he was right.  Whew - but I made it.

Luqui was on the pinnacle and we stood with him and had our picture made by Helena.  Tim was then the first (of course) to tobaggan down and he helped create a fabulous togaggon run that almost everyone on our tour then used.  I had a great run right behind Tim.  Fun - Fun - Fun!  We talked Sherman and Joan Silber (St Louis) into going up and tobagganing down and they had a great time.  As we watched the others slide down, we saw 2 icebergs calve.  Loud cracks and then SPLASH. 

We rode back to the ship in a Zodiac with Steve.  He took us over to see the bird nests in the rocky cliffs and also a large vein of tanzanite in the mountain.  We then asked about the dark things floating in the water.  In actuality it was clear ice - or bar ice - no air trapped in it or the air was compressed out since this ice is so old.  It could be 10,000 to 100,000 years old  and has been compacted so long to make it clear.  We retriev ed a small piece that looked like a bird.  Then we found another one that was much larger that Tim pulled from the sea.  It was much larger than a basketball and had a beautiful design on the surface.  Tim was so proud of it and hald onto it even while he changed from his boots to his shoes.  He took the large ice to Len at the bar and they put it in the freezer.  We're trying to figure out how to break it up for cocktails!

After a quick shower, we dressed and went to the debriefing with John Frick.  Then Tim ran down to hold a table for us for dinner with Audrey, John, Eleonore, Jim, Roger, Pat and Regina (SF).  We had such a great time laughing and talking.  Audrey and I referreed Tim and John arguing politics - the democrats vs. republicans!  I got Pat and Roger talking about the Queen to avert a political spat between the two of them.  We were the lsat to leave the dining room and went straight to bed since is was 11:30 and we have to get up very early for Deception Island tomorrow.

We are headed back to the South Shetland Islands for our last stop.  A huge snow storm developed and it snowed heavily during the night with high winds.  The captain had to detour the route due to the bad storm and it took us 2 hours longer than expected to get to Deception Island.  The ship socked and rolled severely during the night - things were falling off of the counter and rolling around inside the drawers and rolling under the bed.  So I had to get up and secure things a couple of times.  Not a restful night at all, but such a fun day.

Larry and Tim

Thursday, December 27, 2007 - Lemaire Channel, Dorian Bay and Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Dorian Bay Air Strip - Port Lockroy Settlement Visit - Penguin Watching!

We anchored at Dorian Bay at 8 am.  After breakfast we got dressed in our warm clothes and went to a briefing in the Lounge.  Then we were the first group to head out to Dorian Bay.  We are now at the 63rd parallel (lattitude) - still not to the Antarctic Circle.  We came in the Neumeyer Channel and anchored below the Seven Sisters Mountain - 7 tall peaks and 1 huge peak representing the Mother.  There is a lion seal sunning here.  The leopard seal has the large mouth and preys on the penguins, but not the lion seal.  There are penguin rookeries around and an old British hut - very primative.  Also an Argentinian hut - there is a landing strip above us on a high hill so we all walked up a snow covered trail to the landing strip and we took in the spectacular views.  Port Locroy with 2 hours is below - we'll visit there this afternoon.  The mountain peaks are all snow covered and spectacular.

We had a group picture made and then Tim slide on his belly - face first (show off!) - all of the way down the slope.  The other kids joined in!  We retrieved my parka which I had shed for the walk up the hill and then went back to the ship for hot bouillon - that hit the spot. 

Lunch was a BBQ on the outside upper deck with ribs, steak, lamb chops, hamburgers, and hot dogs.  Yummy too!  During lunch the m/s Corinthian II repositioned on the other side of the hill where the landing strip was at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.  THere is a historic research station here that has been restored and is maintained by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust.  A crew of 3 are stationed here from October to early March - 1 man and 2 women - they were looking forward to March 8 when they leave here!  They run a small gift shop and post office in the restored station - quite primitive - I can't imagine having an assignment such as this.  They are running an experiment on the island to determine the impact of tourists on the penguin colonies.  So tourists are only allowed on half of the island.  Results so far - the penguins are doing better on the tourist side since the skua birds are kept away more by the movement of the tourists.  Interesting.

We watched a penguin in his never-ending quest to get rocks for his mates nest.  You can't tell male from female penguins and they share all nesting responsibilities.  They steal rocks from each other.  We then took a Zodiac ride to another landing site where whates and seals were slaughtered.  There were lots of whale bones around and some laid out to form a whale skeleton.  We then walked through another penguin rookery with lots of guano.  At this rookery, cormorants had their nests intermingled with the penguins.  The penguin nests were low and made out of small rocks.  The cormorant nests were built up higher from the group and built of feathers, twigs, and other material - not rocks.  We have no idea where the twigs come from - one of the guides told us that they could have carried it from the closest islands.  The cormorant chicks had hatched and the parent was regurgitating food for them to eat.  We watched this in awe.

We rode around a Dutch sailing boat anchored here and then back to the ship for hot chocolate offered on arrival.  Then a shower and clean clothes felt good.  Yeah.  Two Ukrainian scientists boarded our ship and we took them to their home base.   They got off later this night and that was the most southern point we visited on this trip.

During the cocktail hour we arrived at Cape Renard and the entrance to the Lemaire Channel - a 7 mile strait between Booth Island and Humphries Heights on Grahamland.

The one hour trip through the channel was spectacular with tall mountains and cliffs on each side.  Uma's Tits was the mountain at the entrance to Lemaire!  The wind and cold was much worse here.

After cocktails we had a briefing in the Lounge with John Frick.  He recited a poem about exploration in Antarctica and it was very entertaining.  John Harwood gave an explanation about our solr system using an umbrella that was very clever and informative.  We dined with Tim Mather.  THen we headed back to the room and watched Sunset Boulevard on DVD (the original).  Then off to sleep.

Larry and Tim

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 - Neko Harbor and Cuverville Island on the Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Watching and Hearing the Ice Crack and Break (Calve) at the Glacier - Cuverville Island Touring

A rough night at sea.  We went through the Bransfield Strait enroute to the Gerlache Strait.  The winds were high and the seas rough, so the ship was crashed forward in the waves and pitched back as well as rolling side to side as the Captain navigated through the high waves.  The ship movements kept waking me up so I didn't get much sleep.

We had left the cabin window curtains open with only the sheers covering the windows and it never got dark outside, so I kept thinking that it was morning and time to get up.  We awoke around 8 am to a beautiful clear day with blue skies and either side of the ship was surrounded with majestic snow covered mountains.  Words just don't describe the beauty of this place - nor does anything that you have ever seen on TV - you just have to be here and see it to appreciate it.  There are also blow spouts from whales in the channel this morning.

We had breakfast and Tim and I discussed how well educated and traveled this group is - Harvard, Wharton, Princeton, Berkeley, etc.  Hmmm - yes, they are well off too!!!!

We went to t talk in the morning by Jean Kenyon on the trip staff on penguins - she focused on the adelie, chinstraps, gentoos, and macaroni species that we'll see on this trip.  We have already observed up close many of the behaviors she described.  Fascinating.  Then John Frick - the tour director (and also a PLU) - gave a talk on ice - many of the words are French words adaped for the English language - glacier, avalance, moraine, crevasse, etc.  Very educational and informative.  While everyone else rushed off to lunch, we walked on the deck and talked to Steve (RI) and Helena (Lake Tahoe and Norway) and took in the beauty of the mountains, ice, and snow on each side of the Gerlache Strait.  Helena joined us for lunch and we relaxed until time to go out in the Zodiacs at Neko Harbor.

We were the 3rd of 4 groups to go ashore but we were there waiting with our boots on - we called ourselves the Eager Chinstraps.  While waiting, large chucks of ice fell into the sea with a loud boom - called calving of the ice.  We landed on a sandy beach at Neko Harbor - there was a lone seal lying in the sun on its back.  There was a gentoo colony here with their nests all over the hill.  We saw a skua with a penguin egg in its moutn - stolen from a nest where the parents weren't watching.  It was sad but we decided the birds need to eat too!

We watched the penguins for a while and then walked all along the beach to the base of the glacier that overlooks a cove.  It was beautiful.  Tim and I were the first to arrive so it was exceptionally quiet and we could hear the ice cracking and groaning and breaking all over the cove.  We saw a small chunk calve off and lots of little ones.

We sat in awe watching the glacier and then took a hike up the path to the top of a smaller hill for a spectacular view.  Tim decided to tobaggan down with  the others (kids) and he said that was fun.  I met him at the bottom and we headed back to the ship for tea and cookies.  It was SO HOT at the cove today that we had shed our coats, gloves, and warm hats and we got lots of sun.  My lips started to burn and I eventually paid for this!  We need more sun screen.

Underway again, we traveled a short way to Cuverville Island - yes, it is an island surrounded by water on all sides!  (This was one of the really stupid questions asked by one of the "oblivions" from New Jersey!).  Sailing out of Neko Harbor, we saw huge icebergs that were a few short feet from our ship but much taller and longer.  As we went into the channel leading to Cuverville Island, the scenery was spectacular.  We watched in awe at the mountains and icebergs.  Spectacular.

The water was still as we took the Zodiacs to shore at Cuverville Island - a short ride.  Two private sailing yachts were at anchor there.  Cuverville had rookeries all over.  We sat on a rock and watche the gentoo penguins move about.  One curious one walked right up to us to check us out.  Seems that they are more apt to do that when we are sitting rather than standing so we are not so imposing.  We then walked to the end of where we were allowed to go and watched a penguin taking rocks from another penguin's nest.  We didn't see any chicks here yet since we are further south and they aren't that far along in the breeding cycle - so they were all nesting patiently on their eggs. I believe they told us it takes 19 days for them to hatch - then another 40 days in the nest with their parents (away from the skuas) and then they are off to fend for themselves.  Skuas were close by and we saw the remnants of 6 eggs in the ice and snow where the eggs had been stolen from the nests.  While we were watching the penguins, Ben, Steve (RI), Tommy and Victor (NYC) went swimming in their underwear in the freezing Antarctic waters - brrrrrr!  They didn't stay in long.  We took a Zodiac ride all of the way around the island where there were also rookeris way up high in the rocks.  A beautiful sight.

Back on board we showered, had a drink at the bar, and went to dinner with Roger and Pat (England) and John Harwood who no lives in Brazil in the Amazon - he has interesting stories from his travels.  We learned that Trevor Potts who is one of our guides is the only peron to recreate Ernest Shakleton's 1916 voyage to Antarctica - both land and sea.  After a brief time in the cluub, we went to bed to rest.  Another fantastic day!

Larry and Tim

 

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 - Christmas Day - Brown Bluff at the Antarctic Peninsula

Highlights:  Visit to Gentoo Penguin Rookery - Gentoos Nesting and Going to Swim - Adelie Penguins on Sea Ice

Merry Christmas!  We were up at 7 am, went to breakfast with Bob and Cathy from Reno.  We got dressed and went for the briefing and then loaded with the other chinstraps to go ashore.  We anchored at Brown Bluff on the Tabarin Peninsula at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.  The beach was black volcanic rock with a HUGE penguin rookery (nesting area).  We watched the penguins take turns sitting on either 1 or 2 eggs or 1 or 2 chicks that had already hatched.  Birds (mostly skua) were constantly flying over the rookery looking for either untended eggs or chicks.  We say one grab and baby chick and take off with it for its meal.  Survival of the fittest, I supposed.

We saw the penguins gather in groups at the shore building up the courage to go into the water to go fishing and feeding.  They were precious.  We saw an ice berg break apart on the short right after we had taken a picture of it.  There was a HUGE CRASH and the blue part of the blue and green iceberg fell apart and scattered.  Others had been taking pictures right by it just moments earlier and could have been hurt if they had been there when it crashed.

We waded out in the water since the tide was going out to see the penguins leaving the shore and coming back from fishing.  We also walked to the far end of the beach and saw other penguins (Adelies and Gentoos).  There was a huge ice bridge that Peter and Benjamin (Nova Scotia) broke - it made a huge crash into the waterfall below and got their dad (Tom) all wet.  It was funny but yet at the same time it was sad that others didn't get to see the ice bridge. 

We got a coupld of rocks for Deborah's rock collection and went back to the rookery and watched th epenguins some more.  We then boarded the Zodiac for a somewhat wet ride back to the ship from the ocean spray.  We donated our liquor that we had brought aboard to the ship bar since all drinks were free.  Lena taught us some more Russian words and then we were off to lunch.  We then sailed through Iceberg Alley and there are icebergs of all shapes and sizes everywhere.  We took a nap to rest up for the next landing.  It took us about 3 hours to sail to our next stop at Kinnes Cove where we'll go ashore under the reddish Madder Cliffs.  We'll see the Adelies penguins here.

We have learned that there are 4 species of penguins indiginous to this part of Antarctica - Adelies, Gentoos, Chinstraps, and Magellanics.  The Emperor penguins from March of the Penguins are only found way inland at the coldest part of the Antarctic continent and we won't be able to go there - too far.

When we got to Kinnes Cove, there was too much sea ice (where the sea freezes around the continent in winter) so we couldn't land on the beach.  This entire bay freezes for 20 miles in the winter and it is still frozen 1/4 mile from the shore.  So instead of doing a beach landing, our expedition staff decided to do a sea ice landing.  They tested it and determined that it was 4 - 8 feet thick and safe for us to land on as long as we don't all stand in the same place.  Before the summer is over, all of this ice will melt and then will start freezing again in late March / April.

The Adelies walked or slid on their bellies to the shore.  They gathered around at the edge in groups and then jumped in to go feed.  When they returned, they hurled themselves from the sea and slid on the ice - I was able to capture this in a movie on the camera.  It was amazing to watch them.  A true thrill to see this first hand.

Our Zodiac driver took us all along the edge of the sea ice and we watched Adelies going in and out of the water.  Once back to the ship, we showered, got dressed for cocktails and Christmas dinner.  Over cocktails, Joe told us about taking pictures of his brother Stephen naked on an iceberg earlier today.  We offered to proof the pictures!

The trip through Iceberg Alley was incredible - huge icebergs as big as cities.  Some were 50-100 fee high and 4 to 6 times that as long - one right after the other - blue ice, white ice, green ice, ice strata, etc.  This was fascinating for us.

We were dressed up a bit for the Captains Welcome Reception and Dinner and we talked with various people on the deck as we went through Iceberg Alley.  We had cocktails with friends (all made by Lena) at the bar and then went to the Captain's Reception in the loung where we had champagne and hors d'oeuvres.  We were still fascinated with the icebergs in Iceberg Alley.

Off to dinner with Tim, Jim and Ralph - a traditional turkey Christmas dinner.  Then to the bar where bartender Lena introduced me to Ramazotti - a great digestive - it worked amazingly well.

We sang a bit and talked to others.  Then to the room at 11.  We watched a little bit of the movie Lord of the Flies which Tim has never seen (the original movie) and then went to sleep before midnight.

Another great day in Antarctica.

 

Monday, December 24, 2007 In Antarctic Waters off the Coast of Antarctica

Highlights:  Ice Berg Sightings - Penguin Island Landing - Climbing the Volcano - Christmas Caroling!

We were up at 8, went to breakfast and then a mandatory orientation on visiting Antarctica.  There are specific requirements outlined in the Antarctic Treaty that we must comply with in order to be able to visit.  Most are common sense, but there are all kinds of people who visit here, so you have to review the requirements.

The water temperature has dropped from 55 degrees to 39 degrees.  We will be at anchor in the late afternoon.  We saw another chapter of Life in The Freezer (highly recommend others to view this for information on Antarctica), and then we went to Boot Decontamination lesseons so we will know how to clean our boots when we return to the ship.  Apparently the "guano" (penquin and bird shit) is extensive in many places.

We had lunch wtih Tommy and Tim and then we walked on deck for a while.  Huge white and blue ice bergs are everywhere by our ship.  This is so thrilling.  I was surprised at the various colors from the light refraction.  It is fascinating and I'm taking lots of pictures.

Larry took a nap before our landing and finished reading a book.  Tim went to hear a lecture by one of the naturalists (Trevor Potts) but he said it was boring and he slept through it.  We are passing King George Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands.  We'll anchor about 4 pm at Penguin Island and an advance crew will go ashore to ensure it is safe for us to land too.  Since the sun really never sets, we don't need to worry about running out of daylight - we have 24 hours a day of that!

We got all dressed up for the first time in our insulated underwear and warm clothes.  Excitement was building on the ship as everyone prepared for our first Zodiac landing.  We signed up for the "Chinstrap" Landing Group named for the chinistrap species of penguins.  As a joke we renamed it the Jock Strap Group and had some laughs about that.  We went down to the lounge to wait and while we waited we could see penguins swimming all around the ship - so fascinating.  We were the first to load in the Zodiacs for our group and off we went to Penguin Island - about a 6 minute ride.

The shore was very rocky but right away there are small penguins all aroun dus.  They walked right up to us and were not the least bit afraid.  The beach was FULL of them.  And seals laying in the sun too.  They are molting and will grow a whole new body of hair for the coming winter which starts in late March / April.  We were right by them all.  We took lots of pictures and we were so excited.

Then we went with Luciano on a one mile walk up to the peak of the extinct volcano.  A very hard walk but we had a 360 degree panoramic view of the islands and the cone of the volcano.  From the peak we could see two whales swimming in the channel far below.  At the rim of the caldera, strong gusts pelted us with ice crystals at one point.  The winds were so strong.  But the climb for the view was well worth it.  The climb up took 45 minutes and 30 minutes to come back down.  We went straight to the Zodiac for the short ride back to the ship, showers and dressing for dinner.  Boy did that shower feel good after that long climb up the volcano.

Tim had brought battery pack Christmas lights so once we were dressed for Christmas Eve dinner, we put the lights around us, turned them on and went to the Club for a drink (or two) before dinner.  We were a big hit and a lot of people wanted to take our picture.  We received a round of applause as we entered the dining room for dinner - it was all festive for Christmas and in fun.

We ate with our group of 7.  After dinner we went back to the bar for drinks and Christmas caroling with Sergyii at the piano and electronic keyboard.  They passed out the words to several carols and of course, Tim knew the words to those and more.  So the staff asked Tim to lead the caroling which he was happy to do.  The best was the 12 Days of Christmas and it was a riot to watch Pat and Roger (England) singing.  THey loved our lights but Pat touched her beautiful set of pearls around and neck and I told her - OK, You Win! 

We talked to a lot of people until midnight, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and then went to bed.  A fabulous first day in Antarctica.

One last remembrance - my favorite bartender is Lena from The Ukraine.  She sees us walk in and fixes our drink before we get to the bar.  She looks like she could be a Russian agent - and talks like one too!!!!  She was fun.

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Enroute to Antarctica

Highlights:  Rockin' and Rolling in the Drake Passage - Bird Sightings at Sea

Whoa - We have been rockin' and rolling all night in the Drake Passage.  It got really rought with higher winds around 2 - 3 am.  Only one casualty in our room!  The box of "rocks" with the bathroom amenities came crashing to the bathroom floor in one swell about 2 am.  I got it cleaned up and we slept until 8:30.  The "rods" worked perfectly and no drawers flew out at us!

Tim had breakfast, and I had coffee and a croissant.  John Harwood, a Scotsman, who lives in Brazile on the Amazon River, is on the tour sataff and he was discussing the geography and politics of the region.  We then went to the Lounge and Luciana (Luqui), a tall, drak Italian bird expert explained to us about the many birds - including the large albatross that are flying around our ship while at sea.  He said that they can live out over the ocean for years.  The only time they go to land is to mate. 

The ship is really rocking this morning.  In the lounge at 1 am there was a showing of a British documentary "Life in the Freezer".  A fbaulous documentary.  After that, Tim went to fin the gym (a real joke - a few machines under a canvas cover but outside).  I don't know how in the world you would use it in these seas anyway!  Larry took a much needed nap - with the ship rockin' and rolling the entire time.

Tim went to a lecture by Luqui on birds.  Lots of petrels and albatross are following our ship.  I got up and we went for a walk on deck to see the sea roiling and the birds.  Then to lunch - I almost got launched once across the buffet table!  We had lunch with Rana Ross (one of the tour staff) and Alexandre Svetlankovitch (San Diego - but very Russian).

Then we went to the Lounge to watch The Endurance - a movie about the exploration of Antarctica in 1916 by Sir Ernest Shackleton.  An amazing human feat of endurance.  After the movie, tea in the Lounge.  Tim ready and Larry walked the outside decks.  We are ready to enter "the Convergence" area where the frigid Antarctic waters meet the slightly warmer ocean waters.  The temperature will drop considerably.  John Harwood then gave a lecture with facts about Antarctica.  The continent is larger than the US and has mountain ranges taller than the Alps, but most are covered in snow andice and the valleys are filled in with miles of ice and snow.  The continent more than doubles in size during the winter when the sea ice expands the boundaries of the continent.  This has been so educational for us so far.

Later I had a one-on-one discussion with John Harwood about Al Gore's movied about the environment and global warming.  John believes for sure that man is accelerating the waming cycle that we are in due to carbon emissions, but he felt that a lot has been sensationalized in the movie.  John has charts that show the cyclic warming and colling patterns of the earth over the last 100,000,000 years - yep - 100 million.  We are at the peak of one of the historic natural warming cycles now.

We had cocktails in the club and then our tour director did a debriefing in the lounge.  He told us that we had made a relatively easy and quick crossing of the Drake Passage (I'd hate to be on a tough one!), so we are headed to Penguin Island - a one mile in diameter volcanic cone.  We are going to make our first landing on Christmas Eve. This is so exciting.

We should start looking for ice bergs no as we are entering the ice area.  I'm just hoping the captain and his staff are looking for them electronically.  These should be incredible to see.  Luqui posted a chart whowing the animals that have been spotted each day.  There are some really serious bird-watchers here!  We saw dalphin fumping, albatross, and various types of petrels.  The birds are constantly around our ship in the middle of the ocean. 
We had dinner iwth the 5 other PLU's we have met - an enjoyable evening.

After dinner drinks in the bluc, interesting discussions with the Ukrainian bartenders Lena and Natalye, laughs with Roger and Pat about where we can take other "inheritance spending trips".  Then to bed about 11:30.

A fun fun day about Corinthian II.

Larry and Tim

Saturday, December 22 - Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina

Highlights:  Depart for Ushuaia, Argentina and then set sail for the Continent of Antarctica

Our wake up call was at 4 am - boy was that early.  Breakfast was set up for our group in a special room at 4:30.  Our suitcases left for the airport last night so all we have with us is our carry-on luggage.  We arrived at the airport at 5:45 am for what is now a 7:30 am flight.  Ends up we didn't take off until 8:30 am - we could have slept another hour!

We then find out that the Buenos Aires city airport runway is not long enough for the planes to fuel up for a long flight so we have to stop in Trelew, Argentina after a 2 hour flight to refuel.  Trelew is on the coast half way down Argentina (which is quite a long country).  Ushuaia, our destination, is the southernmost city in the world and the jumping off point for most cruises going to Antarctica.  We had time to read and sleep on the plane ride south.  Trelew was very barren - almost like a desert and very flat.  It took 30 minutes to refuel and then we were off for the next 2 hour flight to Ushuaia.

As we descended through the clouds into Ushuaia, the tops of the mountains were covered in show.  It is cold in Ushuaia - middle of summer but only 40 degrees (ugh, I wouldn't want to live there!).

We loaded onto 3 busses and went up to a restaurant in the mountains overlooking the city and harbor.  A beautiful view of the mountains and the Beagle Channel that separates Argentina and Chile.  The Beagle Channel was named for Captain Cook's ship - the HMS Beagle.

Ushuaia is in the Tiera del Fuego District of Argentina.  A very small town that thrives on tourism, fishing, skiing, and light manufacturing.  The weather changes rapidly with only a high of less than 50 in the summer.  In the winter, (May-June-July) they only get a few hours of sunlight - usually from 10 am to 3 pm.  Since we are headed further south it will be daylight or twilight most of the day for us - yeah!

Lunch was hake fish with rice baked in foil - pretty good.  We then took a short tour of "downtown" Ushuaia - (very short since the town is so small).  Not much to see.  We got a postcard from Ushuaia - the southernmost city in the world - for the girls.

Then we were off to the port for a riduculous security check and then onto the m/s Corinthian II.  This is the ship's first cruise ofthe season to Antarctica.  Nice accommodations and we even had a walk-in closet in our stateroom.  We got all unpacked and then put "the rods" through the cabinets so the drawers won't rattle tonight on the rough seas in the Drake Passage (near Cape Horn).  They are expecting "relatively mild" seas tonight - so we'll see.

We had tea in the Club on our level and then to the Lounge for an Orientation talk by our Tour Director - John Frick.  The highest seas that they have gone through to get to Antarctica were 45 foot swells and waves - hopefully not tonight.  Then we had the mandatory life jacket drill attended by everyone without any pushback - wonder if this is due to the Explorer sinking in Antarctic waters recently?).  We went through the drill in detail.

Then we were off to the Bar for drinks (which are all on the house for this cruise - yeah!).  After drinks we went to dinner with Tim (CA) and Jim (OH orthodontist).  Dinner was quite good and the wait staff adorable.  Many from Croatia, The Ukraine, and Russia.  Always a smile on their faces.

At dinner, Jim who isn't married, told ua a story of his adventures in Russia with a woman he was seeing, Olga, and the Russian mafia!  What risks he was taking with her!

Back to the bar after dinner for more cocketains and then to bed about 1 am.  The ship was rocking quite well as we went to sleep.  Seems that the rocking either puts us to sleep or keeps us awake!  Another exciting day.

We've met such nice people so far - a few shiners but most are here for a good time.  Roger and Pat from London were delightful.  She was explaining to me that they are spending their childrens' inheritance on travel (See Leslie - I'm not the only one!).  I told her my Barbara Hutton story (i.e. spend everything and then die with $1).  Pat said - Well, the children will always get the house.  I replied - Oh, I'm selling that and spending that too!  To which she replied - Well, there's always the house in the South of France!  I love it!

Off to bed - Larry and Tim

Friday, December 21 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlights:  Farewell to Buenos Aires - Meet our Cruise Group (FUN!) - Argentinian BBQ Dinner

Our last day in Buenos Aires.  We had breakfast at the hotel and I updated the blog.  We checked in with the cruise person.  Tonight we have a cocktail reception, but we learned that we have to get up at 4 am tomorrow as we have an early flight to Isuaia.

We decided to use this last day to experience Buenos Aires on foot so we walked up Avenido 9 July to look at the shops, food and people.  We walked back down Florida Street and got a Christmas ornament for our "travel tree" - a couple doing the tango of course!  We then walked back to Casa Rosada for a closer look.  President Christina was in as her flag was flying on top of the state house.

We walked to the obelisk and back to Recoleta for lunch at Biela - a sidewalk cafe under the branches of a 250 year old gum tree.  Then off for ice cream (helados) at Freddo - yummy!  We walked back to the Park Hyatt Hotel to repack for Antarctica - we'll go from 90 degree weather to 30-40 degree weather so we need warm clothes ready.

At 3:15 we set out on foot for the Argentinian Congress Building - a 45 minute walk from our hotel unfortunately in heat and humidity.  We checked in (despite a language barrier) for a complimentary tour that they give at 4 pm in English.  Sylvia was our guide and so delightful - she took us all over the building, even into rooms that normally are reserved just for the Senators (since they were on Christmas holidays).  Evita laid in state in one of the Congress halls briefly and the huge domed room is for President and former President funerals.  Evita was taken to a labor hall for most of the 14 days she laid in state since she identified more with the workers (whom she called the shirtless ones).  It was a beautiful stately building with imported materials from Europe and lots of oil paintings of former Argentine leaders - including Juan Peron. 

It only took us 30 minutes to walk back to the hotel.  We showered and dressed and went off to the cocktail reception for our cruise participants.  Interesting people - should be a fun cruise!  Plus there were 5 other PLU's (at least) - Tim from California, Victor and Tommy from NYC, and Jim and Ralph from NYC.  I had an extremely interesting discussion with John who is with his wife (Audrey) and mother-in-law (Eleonore) from Orlando - he had a farm in Kenya for 12 years and encouraged us to do a gorilla tour in Uganda when we go.  He is personal friends with Jane Goodall.  Also, Jennifer (Chinese) was with her parents - Patrick and Susan.  A fun (and drinking!) group so we think this will be a good tour.

Tim and I walked to Recoleta after the reception for an Argentine BBQ dinner.  We selected La Chacrita that was a meat grill place.  Tim had the best goat he said he has ever had in years (Baaaaaa - Not Baa Baa!).  I had a fabulous filet - another perfect Argentinian steak.

We are LOVING the Argentinian malbec wines - Terrazas de los Andes Reserva was especially good.  They have all be dark purple and flavorful.  Excellent.  We laughed several times that at least they weren't f**king merlots (like in Sideways movie!)

Back to the hotel to finish packing and put our luggage outside the door for pickup by midnight.  It was a short night so we went to bed at 10 since we had to be up by 4 am.  The flight leaves Buenos Aires leaves at 7 am and they are telling us it is a 5 hour flight.  So we'll arrive in Ushuaia around noon.

To think we flew 8 hours from MIA to Buenos Aires - and now we are flying 5 more hours south - and then getting on a ship and going 600 more miles south.  No wonder it will be cold when we get there.

Off to bed.

Larry and Tim

Thursday, December 20 - Iguazu Falls, Brazil to Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlight:  Helicopter Ride over the Iguazu Falls in Brazil

We had a good breakfast at the hotel and Francis and a new driver picked us up at 8:30 to begin our day of touring on the Brazilian side.  The city inside Brazil has over 300,000 people and Francis lives there.

After changing money into Brazilian reals, we went directly to the helicopter ride.  After a very short wait, we were loaded onto the helicopter with a couple from Munich and off we went. It was magnificent.  Tim was in front with the pilot for a birds eye view.  It was so spectacular that words don't describe it.  The flight over the Devil's Throat was the best.  The enormity, beauty and energy of the falls from the air was spectacular.

Then we went to the Brazilian Iguasu Falls Park.  We took a path down the mountain on the Brazil side to view the Argentinian falls we had seen yesterday from above and to the side.  This was probably the most magnificent view.  There were lots of lookout points - each more beautiful than the last.  We went out on one metal grated walkway way out over the falls and it had the most beautiful view of the Devil's Throat.  I took a movie of the falls from here and can't wait to watch it again on the computer.  The water crashing below us was mesmorizing.

We went to the restaurant and had a great buffet lunch - Francis joined us and we enjoyed talking to him.  We sat by the river as it led to the falls and we could see the mist where the water was crashing over the falls.  Lots of birds and butterflies joined us at our table.  The buffet had quite a variety of foods - Brazilian style.

We then drove to a large souvenir shop where Tim got his Brazilian flip flops with the Brazilian flag (popular in the US but less than half the cost here), and I got a Brazil T-shirt, flip flops for the pool, and 3 stone obelisks to add to the collection on the coffee table in the den in Florida.  One is made out of a pink stone that is the national stone of Argentina.

Back in the van, our driver and Francis took us through Boz do Iguasu - the Brazilian city near the falls.  Somewhat typical but clean.  We passed up on walking through the city since it was quite hot and humid.  We got to the airport at 3:15 for our 5 pm flight back to Buenos Aires.  But our flight was quite late so we didn't leave Puerto Iguazu until 6:20 pm.  We could see the mist from the falls as the plane took off.  And as we landed we could see the enormity of Buenos Aires as we landed at the city airport.

We bought a bottle of Terrazas Malbec Reserva - our new favorite wine - to enjoy once back at the hotel.  We went through security but no one was there to meet us even though our plane was 1 1/2 hours late.  We waited a while and still no one.  I decided to see if they were waiting outside - no one.  So we decided to take a taxi and went to the taxi stand.  Tim insisted that I have the name and address on a piece of paper for the taxi driver so I started digging in my bag to find that.  Finally found that and we were about to get back into the taxi line when I suggested we look inside one more time.  Still no one.  As we turned to leave, up walks Lucelia saying 'Where have you been?  I've been here the entire time!'.  Well, I knew that wasn't so but I didn't say anything but we were both pissed!

Anyway, we loaded on the van for the short ride back to the Park Hyatt Hotel.  Check in was confusing as they had duplicate reservations for us!  This shouldn't happen on a trip like this.  We finally got checked in and had our bottle of wine to unwind.  We then walked to Recoleta for dinner.  Tim wanted pasta (instead of another steak) so we stopped at a sidewalk restaurant across the park from the Recoleta Cemetary.  It was a good authentic Italian dinner. 

We walked the long way back to the hotel.  We must have walked through the red light district as we were approached by at least 6 people asking if we wanted pretty women or nightclubs.

To bed for a restful night's sleep to get ready for another day of adventure in Argentina.

Larry and Tim

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Highlight:  Visit to Iguazu Falls on the Argentina side.  The most magnificent natural thing I've ever seen.  Also the Boat Ride INTO the falls where we got soaking wet!

We woke up early since we are leaving today for Iguazu Falls. Breakfast in the hotel cafe at 7 am and then our driver took us to the domestic airport.  Lucelia was our guide again.  Check in went smoothly but the plane was slightly late.  It was a 2 hour flight to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina and we arrived at noon.

Francis - a young 22 year old Brazilian man - met us and was our guide for this part of our journey.  We went off to the park immediately and completely skipped lunch.  We saw that today they were celebrating having 1 million visitors to the park - we laughed about it being US.  Francis knew that a train would be leaving the visitors center shortly so we dashed there and took the train to the furthest stop to go to The Devil's Throat.  It was a 20 minute walk out over metal grated walkways but well worth it.  The falls were mesmerizing - water crashing in a horseshoe formation and creating so much mist that you couldn't see the bottom.  Rainbows appeared all over depending on how the sun was shining through the few clouds in the sky.  A magnificent panorama.  It was hard for me to believe that I was finally actually here.

We then walked back to the train and went to the next stop back and got off for our walk throug the Upper and Lower areas of the falls.  Butterflies, birds, and even a huge snake were everywhere.  Francis knew a lot about the wildlife.  We also had a 'Boat Ride' included in our tour - little did we know that the boat ride would take us directly under some of the falls and we got soaking wet.  Francis had us buy plastic raincoats that helped a little but we were still pretty wet.  At least we were able to take off our shoes and put them into a water-tight bag and they were dry.  I was laughing so hard the entire time.  These women behind me kept yelling 'Otra - Otra - Otra' - meaning another - and the boat driver would take us back under the falls for another soaking.  It was fun and exciting.  (Needless to say - Tim was not a happy camper and he was all bunched up in a ball trying to stay dry - that in itself was hilarious).

We took a truck back through the forest to the visitors center.  Our driver saw that we were wet so put plastic down on the seat for us.  They dropped us off at the Grand Iguazu Hotel which is right on the border with Brazil and we checked it.  It is an upscale hotel with a casino but there weren't many people there.  Since we hadn't had lunch, we went to the bar and had a snack and drinks - I did a Pesco Sour.  We decided to make the short walk into town (about 10 blocks) for dinner.  Along the way the bugs and frogs and other animals were making all kinds of sounds - amazing!  The town of Iguazu has only about 4,000 people and was a typical small town in a developing country.

We had dinner at La Rueda and it was great.  Tim had another huge steak - filet this time - and he ate it all.

We walked back to the hotel and it was dark by now.  Since it is summer, the days are long so the sun is up about 5 am and sets about 8:30 pm.  On the way back, we passed several groups of locals.  Tim leaned over to me and announced:  'If I take off running, just stay there, and I'll send the Policia back for you!'  Gee thanks.  This now makes me think that I should heed the advice of my children before I left.  They told me:  'Dad, just hold on to the door when you are in the water, and just let GiGi go!'  (:-)  Funny!

Back at the hotel, we were exhausted after so much walking all day so we went right to sleep.

Larry and Tim

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlight:  Florida Street - Shopping

Today is our free day in Buenos Aires.  It was slightly overcast today when we got up, but eventually cleared up and warmed up a lot.  We intentiallly took a slow start to the day for a change.

We took breakfast at the hotel again (since it is included with our room) and then took off on foot for the Argentinian Congress where the government meets.  This is also the place where Evita's body laid in state.  There were so many people who wanted to pay their respects to her after her death in 1952 that she laid in state for 14 days and people came by night and day.

We had a leisurely walk from the hotel to the Congress building.  It is a huge imposing building.  Unfortunately, we missed the morning tour of the inside.  We think we may go back on Friday morning for the tour.

We then walked from the Congress down to the May Square where we were yesterday.  From there we went all of the way down Florida Street where all of the shopping is.  It is a pedestrian mall with LOTS of people shopping.  And lots of hawkers on the streets trying to get you into their shop - especially to buy leather goods.  Tim bought some black leather sandals (yeah, now he won't wear mine again) and I got a brown and black belt.  Tim later bought a belt too.  We bought a bottle of Argentinian wine (ohh - it cost all of $4!) to enjoy for cocktails tonight. 

We went into the Pacifica Galleria - a huge mall with upscale stores and found a nice restaurant where we had a good lunch and of course another bottle of wine.  We then walked to Recoleta where we had a gourmet ice cream - yummy!

Back to the hotel in late afternoon.  Tim is going to swim in the hotel pool and I'm going to rest my feet.  Tonight is another tango dinner/show and we are excited.

We had out bottle of wine and then took a taxi across town to San Elmo District.  The show was at El Viejo Almacen which is on one corner for dinner at the restaurant and on the other corner across the street for the tango show.  Dinner was pretty bad (unusual for us) but it was sustenance.  The show was on a tiny stage but the orchestra was good and the dancers talented.  I learned more about the bandonion - an interesting instrument.  A good time.  This was a more 'traditional show' than what we saw at Carlos Gardel (which was much, much better).  We left the show about midnight for the taxi ride back to the hotel.  The taxi driver kept trying to take us to a nightclub for pretty Argentinian women(!) - (Tim was in hell again).

Off to sleep.

Larry and Tim

Monday, December 17, 2007 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlight:  Buenos Aires City Tour and visit to Casa Rosada (Pink House)

We awoke to another beautiful clear day in Buenos Aires.  We slept until a little after 8 since the tango show last night didn't end until midnight and it was late when we got back.  We had breakfast at the hotel and then met Lucelia at 10 am for our City Tour.

We drove by the 'Pyramid' that looks like a small Washington Monument and is on the Avenida 9 July.  The Argentinian people use it to celebrate things - like soccer match wins!  We drove by the Colon Opera House - a huge, beautiful structure that is supposed to have perfect acoustic.  It is undergoing renovations so we were unable to go inside.

We then went to May Square.  This is where a lot of the government buildings are.  The Presidential Palace is here - known as Casa Rosada or the Pink House.  This is where Eva Peron addressed the people from one of the balconies.  This is also where Madonna filmed her speeches to the people in the movie Evita.  The President (a woman now) doesn't live here, but is flown by helicopter here each day from the Persidential home about 53 kilometers away.

One of the government buildings has bullet holes all over the side and they have decided to leave the holes as a reminder of that incident rather than to fix them.

We went into the National Cathedral - a huge church with beautiful mosaic tile floors.  San Martin who led the revolution for independence is entombed here in an elaborate tomb.  His coffin is guarded by an honor guard and we got to see the Changing of the Guards.

There are 36 million people in Argentina and about 3 million in Buenos Aires.

We then toured around several different neighborhoods - San Telmo (tickle me Elmo!) which is the old aristocratic neighborhood, LaBoca where they are lots of shops, tango halls, colorful homes painted all kinds of bright colors an Camisito shops, then on to Puerto Madero where the most wealthy live in very expensive homes, and finally Palermo where there is a large park with many lakes and statues.

We went back to the waterfront around 2 pm and Lucelia dropped us off for lunch at Puerto Cristal where we had a wonderful seafood paella for two, salad, and wine.  I had to try the Isla Flottante - but it wasn't as good as what you get in Paris.

We then took a long walk to walk off the huge lunch.  We passed a protest where people were laying in the streets - something about the casino workers but we didn't linger as the riot police were positioned to move in and clear them out with billy clubs and canisters of gas!

We made our way to Florida Street - a pedestrian street where there are shops of all kinds.  We cased it out and will go back there on Tuesday to check out the shops more closely.  We had our afternoon siesta (but they don't really do that in Argentina) and got ready for dinner at a steak restaurant.  They have lots of wonderful beef in Argentina.

We took a taxi to the Palermo Soho District to a local restaurant - La Cabrera.  We wanted a local versus a touristy restaurant and this one was right on target.  We got one of the last tables outside on the sidewalk since it was a warm beautiful night.  Shortly, there were at least a dozen groups of people waiting for tables - some waited over an hour.  The restaurant next door - Casa Blanca - was doing hardly any business so the maitre d' kept coming to the people waiting at La Cabrera and offered them hors d'oeuvres.  It was funny to watch him trying to steal customers.  None gave up their place though as the food was incredible.  We had enough steak to feed the entire family at Thanksgiving plus over a dozen small dishes of various things - garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, etc.  The steak was devine.  No way I could eat it all, but Tim devoured his entire side of beef!

We took a taxi back to the hotel about 11:30 and went to bed exhausted - and FULL!

Larry and Tim

Sunday, December 16 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Highlight:  Visit to Recoleta Cemetary where Evita Peron is buried.  Plus a Fantastic Tango Show at Carlos Gardel.

We arrived in Buenos Aires on time on a beautiful Sunday morning.  Tim slept most of the night - I tossed and turned, but we were both excited.  Processing through customs and immigration was a snap - we got our bags and were met by our guide - Lucelia Scarpelli.  She and our driver loaded us up in a van and we departed for the 30 minute ride into Buenos Aires.   Not too much traffic since it was a Sunday morning.

The hotel, the Park Hyatt, is beautiful.  It is integrated into an old mansion - our room is in the new tower and overlooks the city and river.  Very nice accommodations.  We showered and got refreshed and then met Lucelia for a walking tour of the area.

The large avenue, Avenida 9 July, used to be the largest in the world and we named to commemorate Argentina's independence from Spain in 1816.  Our tour today was in the Recoleta Area where many of the rich live.  Beautiful architecture and lots of shops ande people.

We went to the Recoleta Cemetary, founded by the Recolet monks - this is the most expensive real estate in Argentina!  We walked around and ended up at Eva Duarte Peron's tomb - a non-descript tomb in this elaborate cemetary.  Lucelia explained that Peron's enemies had stolen Evita's coffin and kept it hidden for almost 22 years.  They finally found it in Milan (Italy!), and she was brought back 'home' for burial in Recoleta.  She is endeared to most of the Argentinian people but everyone has an opinion.  She rich don't like her - the middle and poorer classes did.  She did a lot for Argentina in a short time - getting women the right to vote and getting women the ability to have medical car - this was in the early 1950's.  Evita died in 1952 at the age of 32.

We also went to the tomb of Ruffina Cambaceres - she died at 19 and was buried in Recoleta but 'awoke' and roamed around the city.  But it was night time and she couldn't find anyone and had another heart attack and died again!  It is a legend that her ghost roams the cemetary.

We had a wonderful lunch at Cafe Wela - a traditional Argentine platter of meats, cheese, and wonderful freshly made bread.  Tim devoured it!  During lunch Lucelia explained a lot about Argentina including info on their new woman President.  Perhaps the US will have a woman President in 13 months too??  (I'm hoping so!)

We went back to the Park Hyatt and napped to recover from the slight jet lag although the time difference is only 2 hours.  We then went to a Tango dinner/show at Carlos Gardel.  We learned that 'tango' is not just a dance - it is tango music and Carlos Gardel was instrumental in making it popular in the early 1900's.  He died in a plane crash in the early 1950's and is world-renowned for his music.  The show was absolutely FABULOUS!  In fact, we hope to go to another tango show on Wednesday night.  The orchestra for the show had 3 accordion players - but here they call it a bandonion as they hold it on their lap and play it rather than being held on their shoulders.  And it doesn't have a keyboard - just buttons on both sides.  The talent of the dancers was indescribable - it was sensual, physical, artistic, athletic - just amazing.

I had to laugh because during the show I kept thinking about teaching my mother the tango when Iwas in junior high school.  We learned various ballroom dances and she couldn't wait for me to come home and teach her.  She loved doing the tango.  So there we would be doing the tango in our living room, and then enjoyed a whisky sour afterwards!!!!  Amazing memory of that and it's funny to me!

We had fun at our table too - a chap from London who now lives in Tokyo and an Argentinina couple - Jose Luis and Lilliana who spoke no English - but we were still able to communicate.

There must be something about taxi rides in foreign cities and us.  Our taxi driver insisted on taking us to the Four Seasons instead of the Park Hyatt.  But our hotel was only 4 blocks away so we got home safely and had a restful night.

A fabulous first day in Argentina.

Larry and Tim

Saturday, December 15, 2007 Ft Lauderdale to Buenos Aires

The bags are packed (over-weight most likely for the airlines) the patio furniture is in, the apartment is closed up and we are ready to begin our new adventure.  Tonight is the Annual Christmas Boat Parade in Ft Lauderdale so the inland waterway is already packed with boats waiting to see the lights and boats and fun.  I'm sure that the roads will be packed too.  So our plan was to leave the condo about 7 pm for our drive down to the Miami airport.  Once checked in, we'd have dinner, and then load up for our 11:30 pm flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina - our first stop.

But instead, we were ready to leave Ft Lauderdale at 5:30 pm.  I think we were both excited.  So I suggested we drive to Miami Beach and have dinner on Lincoln Road where there are shops, restaurants, galleries, bars, etc.  We have a pleasant drive down, had a drink at Polar Bar (a fitting bar considering where we are headed) and then a fabulous dinner at Raphaels.  Our waiter was French - born in Paris - and named Rudolph - a fitting waiter to experience at Christmas time.  We arrived early at MIA, got parked, checked in, and went to the American Admiral's Club for drinks and to rest comfortable.

Buenos Aires is two hours ahead of us - so we are scheduled to arrive at 10 am on Sunday which would be 8 am east coast time.  Our tour starts this day so I'm hoping that we can get some sleep tonight on the American Airlines nonstop flight (8 1/2 hours) instead of watching movies, eating, or drinking.  We'll see.  I'm sure Tim will sleep like a log while I sit there watching movies and reading!!!!

It's exciting to be headed off again on a new adventure.  More to come.

Larry

Tuesday December 11, 2007 Preparing for the Next 2007 Legs

It has been exactly 6 months since my last journal entry.  I had just gotten back from my around-the-world v isits to Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa, so with North America as the starting point, we now have 2 more continents to go this year.

So, as year-end 2007 approaches, Tim and I are excitedly awaiting our visit to the other 2 continents we missed earlier this year - South America and Antarctica.  This will be an  interesting challenge to pack for this trip since we'll be gone 2 1/2 weeks and it will be summer in Buenos Aires (80's and 90's) and cold (20's at night and 30's during the day) in Antarctica (even though it will be summer there too!).  The tour operator told us to expect a balmy 32 in Antarctica!

So packing commences to try to pack for warm and cold climates as well as our physical adventures in the Zodiaks that will take us from the ship out to the ice in Antarctica.

We are getting excited - leaving on Saturday December 15 from Miami - more to come.

Larry and Tim

Monday June 11 - Ft Lauderdale - Home At Last!

It has been 42 days since I left home.  When I woke up, I sat up in bed (as I usually do when I'm at home in Florida) and looked at the beautiful blue sky, palm trees, turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean and beautiful waters in the inland waterway and the bright sun - I'm home at last and so thankful for the wonderful experience that I'm just had.  I've met the most wonderful people everywhere I've been.  The tour guides were excellent, our travel group in China was fun and so very easy to travel with, and everyone was so helpful to me in the many strange surroundings.  I'm ecstatic.

But the saying is true - There's No Place Like Home!  The best feeling in the world is knowing that your family and all of those that you love and your home are there for you when you return.

So I unwound today - spent 2 1/2 hours at the beach and started attacking the huge stack of mail.  I unpacked the cloissone bowl - it is so beautiful.  It is now back to reality - but I need to figure out what that is for me in my retirement.  The bills and every day responsibilities are inevitable, but there are more adventures in my future.  I've enjoyed this adventure so much, I'm already planning another one - next time to Africa for a safari (need to determine which country) and a stop in the South Pacific at one of the remote islands.  I'll fill in the other stops on the next around-the-world trip.  This too will be fun to "dream" about and plan.  I'm ready.

This Journal now comes to a close.

Larry

Saturday June 9 - Frederickburg and Richmond, VA

I woke up at 7:30 am, showered, dressed and had a light breakfast and some excellent coffee at Chris.  One reflection - the places I visited don't have very good coffee!  It was a beautiful day and not quite as hot after the storm last night.  Chris and I headed down to Richmond in my rental car a little after 9 am.  Mom (former mother-in-law) now has a private room at Our Lady of Hope so Chris and I rented a small moving van and headed to the storage facility where I had stored the furniture for her room.  With the 2 of us, the loading wasn't difficult and we got it to OLOH quickly - took less than an hour to unload and we did this while Mom was at lunch.

After her lunch I went and got her and she was surprised to see me.  I asked her to show me her room - and she was so surprised when we went in and all of her things were there.  We let her decide where she wanted her pictures hung and I hung all of the pictures - many of which she had made or painted..  There was plenty of room for all of the things I had saved from their house for her room and visiting with her in the private room is so much nicer than before.

Chris and I left for a while to return the truck, had lunch with large limeades at Bill's BBQ and headed back to OLOH.

We got Dad from his room for a visit and showed them a few (maybe 12) of the pictures from my trip.  Dad didn't really know who we were and seemed not to know who Mom was today.  Otherwise, he was engaging and asked questions about some of the places I had been - most of which he didn't have a clue given his condition with Alzheimers.

I took Dad back to his room in The Christopher Center while Chris let Mom talk to Pam and Leslie on his cell phone.  Mom's phone isn't move yet to her new room  We left her back at the Nurse's Station (she calls this being "at work") and Chris and I headed back up I-95 Norh to Fredericksburg.  The traffic wasn't too heavy and we go back safely.  This I had the most restful and glorious nap - dreams in wonderful colors and floating feeling - it was restful.

Chris had made reservations at Claiborne's at the old Fredericksburg Train Station for my birthday and we had a great dinner - service and food were good.  Great place to eat in Fredericksburg.

We headed back and watched IV for a while and I updated my blog - then I went to bed.  Chris is a night owl so I'm sure that he'll be up for a while.

Larry

Sunday June 10 - Virginia to Ft Lauderdale

My journey comes to a close shortly.  Wow, I left on May 1 for an around-the-world adventure, and an adventure I had.  I learned so much and saw so many new things - met so many interesting people - ate different foods - and had an experience of a lifetime.  Chris asked me at dinner last night where my next trip was and I'm going to start planning that when I get home.  I think the African safari in Mozambique or Kenya is in the cards - but I may make this another around-the-world experience for me.  I need a map so I can start picking out the next places.

I slept until 8:30, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and then watched Nadal play Federer in the French Open.  Chris slep late.  I got my things packed up and am planning to leave Fredericksburg around 1 pm to ensure I get back to Dulles in time for my 5 pm flight on United Ted to Ft Lauderdale.

I was albe to get the pantry floor and threshold laid at Chris' home (last thing left from the remodel I gave him) and that looks great.  I got the floor and threshold down in the hall closet but I'm not happy with the floor and will need to "tweak" it when I get back to Virginia.  I left Chris' house at 1:15 and had no trouble with DC traffic for a change.  But the fun was yet to happen.

I got to Dulles at 2:30 and turned the car in and then b egan a United nightmare trying to checkin for my flight home.  I waited in 3 lines for almost an hour to get checked in just because I had a paper ticket and they had to process it "special".  I didn't feel special.  They wanted to charge me for my overweight bag but I convinced them that my Business Class ticket around the world allowed me to take more weight so they let that slide.  Before I left the checkin counter, I asked the Asian woman who helped me if the flight was on time - she looked it up and responded with a look of horror on her face - "OK - not good news!" - she was so funny.  The plane was going to be 1 1/2 hours late, so I got through security and went to Subway for a sandwich.  Then I tried to get in the United Club since I went around the world on United affiliated airlines.  They wouldn't let me in since I was on a domestic leg - frustrating.

So I went back to the departure loung only to find out that the plane was delayed yet another hour.  Long story - short - the plane ended up being 5 hours late.  The two hour flight was uneventful - but by the time I got my luggage and a taxi, it was after midnight when I got home.  Melody had retrieved all of my mail and there was a HUGE stack filling the kitchen counter.  The cloissone bowl had also arrived but not the silk rug.

I retired for the night about 1:30 am on Monday - and I was so HAPPY to be HOME!

Larry

Thursday June 7 - Cape Town, South Africa to London

I awoke a bit before the sun this morning at about 7:15 am.  Updated my blog and had breakfast at the hotel - Peter made "deluxe french toast" for me with brown sugar and real Canadian maple syrup - it was yummy - along with fried ham.  Then I got a taxi and went to the Clock Tower at the Waterfront to catch the ferry to Robben Island.  Seems that the winds have calmed down and the ferry is finally running.  I didn't have any trouble getting on the 10 am ferry even though the ferry hadn't been running for several days - it is the off season.

I learned that Robben is a Dutch word meaning penquin - and there are penguins and lots of other wild life on Robben Island so hence the name.  Robben Island has been used for "outcasts" for 600 years.  Originally as an island for lepers, it later became a penal colony for those convicted of crimes and then for political prisoners during aparteid.  I had never heard of Robert Sobukue but I learned a lot about him.  He was held here after he led a nation wide protest against what they called the "Stupid Laws" because they were totally discriminatory and stupid.  The Parliament met in special session to pass laws just for him and they banished him to Robben Island to a small house and he was not allowed to speak to anyone for 7 years.  Once he contracted lung cancer they let him go home but then passed a law prohibiting him from speaking to more than 3 people at a time - yet he had a wife and 3 children.  Again, a Stupid Law!

We took a bus tour of the island and given a very informative narrative by a black man (sorry, they prefer to be called colored) who was so knowledgeable of the history.  He spoke with a beautiful British accent - although I'm sure this must be a South African dialect of some sort. 

Then the HIGHLIGHT of the day for me - and the highlight of my trip to South Africa - we got to meet with a former political prisoner who was held on Robben Island for 7 years during the time that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there.  He described life as a political prisoner and took us to a community prison.  He then took us to Nelson Mandela's small cell (#5) where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.  So very small - a mat to sleep on, a pail to use for the toilet, and hard labor in the limestone quarry every day.  This was a very emotional and moving experience for me.  It is hard for me to describe the emotions that I was feeling.

The prison was set up hierarchically.  The most important (higher profile) prisoners like Mandela were kept in these private cells in B Section while others were kept in communal rooms that housed as many as 40 prisoners in a space designed for no more than 20 human beings.  This is such a human tragedy and yet it continues today (Dafur is the current topic of conversation in Africa and in other parts of the world).  We saw the quarry where Mandela mined rock for years and years - and this affected his eyesight.  (I understand that Mandela is in failing health and can hardly walk these days - but all of the people of South Africa love him for what he accomplished).

I got to see lots of wildlife roaming around the island including very small penguins - they were so cute.  This was such an informative and educational day for me on Robben Island - a lot for me to think about and absorb as I was totally oblivious about what had happened here.  The ferry left late to go back to the Cape Town Waterfront.  I stopped by the ATM to get taxi money and then went back to the hotel to freshen up before leaving for the hotel.

Peter at The Amsterdam has been so hospitable and friendly.  He has made me feel welcome and has made things so easy for me to arrange.  He is a great ambassador for South Africa and taught me a lot.  He gave me a going away present - a great bottle of wine for Tim and I to enjoy - so thoughtful.  Thanks Peter.

One of the small pleasures in visiting South Africa is the ability to drink and use the tap water.  Cape Town was originally founded by the traders who were taking spices from India and Indonesia back to Britain and other countries.  Cape Town developed as a supplies port since it was about half of the way and it had plentiful and a clean water supply.  Cape Town got its start in the 1600's (long before the Suez Canal made the journey much shorter).

So my travels ends with another crazy taxi ride from town to the airport.  I was getting all packed up and Peter came to me and told me that I needed to leave immediately as there was a massive traffic jam on the way to the airport.  Massive is an understatement.   My trip took 2 hours and should have been about 35-40 minutes.  The city was in gridlock - totally and completely.  The drivers were blocking the intersections and everyone was frustrated and it was getting close to rush hour when the workers head home so I needed to get out of the city fast.  My taxi driver was a real trooper - he was fuming behind the wheel as we sat still for so long.  He finally took off to places that I can only imagine where we were.  He explained to me that the roads are not designed or built right (where I have heard and seen this about South Africa before).  At the major intersection of the 2 major highways, a tractor trailer with 25 tons of fish overturned and snarled traffic all day - this one accident spilled over into the entire city.  This accident happened this morning and they are just now dealing with it.  Organization and planning are an obvious issue in South Africa.

So my taxi driver finally got me through the city and onto the highway but it was snarled.  So after a while he headed onto the back roads.  He later told me that he was bypassing the major intersection where the accident happened.  That actually was a good strategy and we got to the highway past the accident site and things took off.  But I got to see some things along the way.  They have these vans that carry workers from home to work and back.  They are designed for about 12-14 people.  We saw several of them where the axles had broken - the taxi driver explained to me that they overload them with 18-20 people and it is too much weight so the entire axle cracks and the van falls on the ground - apparently happens all of the time!  Then we passed a huge shanty town out near the airport - shantys as far as I could see.  I wondered if these were descendants from District Six?  They were built one after the other out of anything that the people can get.  This was also an eye-opening experience for me.  How fortunate we have it.  Everything is truly relative.  When I get down the next time, I may just think of this Cape Town Shanty Town and think about the plight of the people who live there.  Amazing.  Such an eye-opening experience for me.  I'm glad I came here.

My taxi driver got me to the airport in just over 2 hours - and I tipped him VERY well.  They hate Americans for doing that but he truly went above and beyond and I would still be sitting in traffic had he not been resourceful.  He got a porter with a cart for me and off I went to check in, security, customs and even had time to go to the First Class lounge for a "winding down drink of Scotch" (actually 2!) before my departure to London.  This will be an long overnight flight to London so I'm planning to have a couple of drinks, enjoy a movie, eat a nice dinner, and then sleep for about 7 hours - we arrive in London at 6:30 am tomorrow.

So, so long, for now, to South Africa.  Tim wants to come here so I'm sure we'll find our way back here at some point in the future as I continue to explore our world.

Larry

Friday June 8 - London, England to Washington, DC

The 12 hour flight from Cape Town to London Heathrow was uneventful.  I watched 2 movies, had a good dinner with another excellent South African white wine, read some, slept about 7 hours, had breakfast, and the we arrived right on time in London.  It is much cooler in London (and also typically rainy) today - London is much farther north than Cape Town is south, so even though it is summer here and winter there, it is warmer in Cape Town. 

We arrived at Terminal 1 in London and I had to transfer to Terminal 3 for United Airlines.  That took a while but got to where I needed to be, got checked in and went to the Business Class Lounge.  Took a shower in their facilities and changed clothes which made me feel much better.  Used their computer facilities and then just hung out for about 3 hours waiting for my flight to Washington Dulles.  It feels good to be headed home now - but what great adventures I've had.

The flight from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles was uneventful.  I watched 2 movies (Shooter with Mark Wahlberg) and Bridge to Taribithia and I finished my James Patterson book.  On landing I connected my cell phone to Verizon for the firt time in 6 weeks and retrieved the 20 messages that were there - one sad one from Judy O'Donnell in St Louis informing me of Gary Young's death.

The plane landed at a remote terminal so we had to be shuttled in but immigration, baggage claim and customs were quick.  I got on a waiting rental car bus, picked up my car and headed to Virginia to Chris' house (my son).  The 70 mile journey from Dulles to Fredericksburg took 2 hours due to the heavy DC traffic.  Chris was at home from work waiting for me - it was good to see him again after more than 2 months.

I did 4 loads of laundry (it's nice to have clean clothes again!) and he and I went to Uno for a quick and light dinner.  A huge thunderstorm started as we were finishing dinner and we got drenched going to the car.  Chris hooked up my camera disc to his computer when we got back to his house and I was able to see my pictures for the first time in large size.  He was a trooper watching them with me as I went through the almost 1,000 pictures - I have some purging and editing to do later on them!

I went to bed about 10 pm and slept until 7:30 on Saturday - I was really tired.  Weird dreams though of being in ruins in either India or South Africa and not being able to find my way!!!!  Dr. "Floyd" in China told me that everyone dreams every night - the issue is whether or not you remeber the dreams.  Funny!

Larry

Wednesday June 6 - Cape Town, South Africa

It rained all night long and still raining this morning.  I slept so well.  Finally got up around 8 am when it started getting light - it is winter here and the days are shorter so it gets light late and the suns sets around 5 - short days.  I'm sure the cable car and ferry won't be running today due to the weather so I'm going on another tour through the countryside around the back of Table Mountain.

I forgot to document about the parking attendants in Cape Town.  Employment is an issue so someone had the great idea to take out all of the parking meters and hire attendants to get the money from people for parking their cars.  Each attendant is assigned 8 - 12 parking spaces - yep - only 8 - 12 so there are parking attendants everywhere!  It ends up now that with this process, a good bit of the parking fees go into the pockets of the attendants and never recorded unless you ask for a receipt which most people don't do.  Seems that there are so many different areas of corruption in South Africa!

Had a leisurely breakfast and then set out to tour on my last full day in Cape Town.  Tomorrow night I begin to find my way back to the US on the last leg of my around the world trip - Cape Town to London and then to Washington, DC to visit Chris, my son.

Peter gave me a lift downton to catch my tour into the countryside and around Table Mountain.  It was really rainy so it was difficult to see much of the countryside at first.  We went by the huge hospital complex where Dr. Christian Barnard did the first heart transplant.  Apparently they have good health care here in South Africa.  We went to a huge botanical garden but it was so cloudy and rainy that we couldn't see anything.  We then went around the back of Table Mountain where there are very exclusive homes. We also drove by the Constantia Vineyards - beautiful and I had just had some of this wine last night.  We ended up in Houk's Bay where the seals are but I didn't get to see any of them.  The weather was beautiful on the other side of the mountain.  I walked along the dock and looked at boats and the beautiful beach.  Looked in the shops and then the tour headed back into Cape Town - I was the only one on the bus going back into town so I had a private tour..  The closer we got to Cape Town, the worse the weather started getting again.  More rain.

I got offthe tour at the Clock Tower and found out that the ferry to Robben Island is now running again - so perhaps I'll do this tomorrow morning before I leave for the airport.

Walked all along the waterfront and into the huge shopping plazas.  Had a quick bite to eat and treated myself to another Italian gelato before getting a taxi back to the hotel.  Watched a little bit of the French Open on TV with Peter (Nadal won again - yeah!) and then rested for my evening.  Dinner at the hotel and then off to a theatre production of "Hair" over in Camp's Bay.  The dinner was delicious - lamb curry made by Peter himself and also I got to try mulva pudding - made with apricots rather than the toffee in icky sticky!

The taxi was late picking me up for "Hair" but I got there with 5 minutes to spare, paid for my ticket, got seated and the play began.  Given the very small theatre, it was very well done - great talent, excellent staging, and interesting effects.  The entire cast was naked at the end of Act 1 in one of the many drug-induced scenes.  In one drug-induced scene they acted out the "trip" that the main character was on, did the entire scene in reverse, and then did it again.  That was neat.  It was all done just like the hippie days in the '60's  One interesting twist - they updated the ending for Iraq as if the entire thing was being done today - that was moving.  One thing I noticed - the entire audience was white - not a single black and Peter tells me the blacks don't tend to do any of the cultural things with the white community.  So things aren't as integrated as I thought they might be.

I was able to get the lone taxi at Camp's Bay (whew!) and went back to the hotel, had a nightcap and then to bed for my last night here in Cape Town, South Africa.

Larry

Tuesday June 5 - Cape Town, South Africa

Wow - I slept until 8 this morning and went for breakfast in the hotel lobby - it's included with the room.  After updating my blog I was picked up for my 9:15 city walking tour.  The weather is a bit better today.  The District 6 history is something I want to learn more about today.

My guide arrived right on time - Tim Freeman of Friends of Dorothy Tours!  He was funny, knowledgeable and very entertaining.  We drove first to the Malay Quarter - streets lined with colorful houses now restored - a "colorful" history too and a mosque.  We drove then through the PLU section of Cape Town - much of which is being torm down now for new development that is going on everywhere in the city in advance of the World Games 2010.  We drove by the bridge that goes no where - its been there since 1967 and just ends in mid air - it truly is amazing.  Apparently they rent it out now for movie shots of buses and cars going off the end.  Through downtown and to District Six that I wanted to know more about.

This was a shanty town of 60,000 people - the government decided that they would move the people and sell the property off to the privileged people.  They forceably removed all of these people and dumped them in the countryside - how awful that would have been.  As they loaded the people onto trucks to move them away, they bulldozed their houses and whatever was left in them.  They took from the poor and gave to the rich - or at least to the whites!  Such a tragedy!

This ended up being a huge disaster and it's mostly a wide open space now where nothing has been built - only 37 hourses so far - 2 of which Nelson Mandela turned over the keys to the new residents.  But today there should have been 4,500 homes built - and only 37 are there.  It's a tragedy and so sad.  I hope to get to the District Six museum to learn a bit more about this.  This is all a human tragedy given how it was all done but this is part of our learning from the South Africa experience and history.  Hopefully, others can learn from these failings..

We then went to the old fort that used to be on the waterfront.  The Dutch built the fort with the door facing the ocean only to find out that it flooded whenever the ocean raised up in storms - so the thrifty Dutch dismantled the door (they wouldn't want to waste it) and moved the door to the side.  We then strolled through the entire city and this gave me a lot of confidence about walking alone in the city of Cape Town - so lovely.

Interesting Art Deco architecture that amazed me - reminded me of Southern Florida. and a lot of mixtures of architecture.  I saw the building where Nelson Mandela gave his speech after leaving prison in 1991 - so much history here - recent history.  I'm loving it.  Tim bought some pieces of local food for me to sample - a chicken spicy piece - delicious - and a meat triangle - and a dessert that was to die for - all from a local vendor across from where Mandela gave his speech.

We walked by Desmond Tutu's catherdral and a beautiful garden by government buildings and a market.  The last stop was at a statue of Cecil Rhodes - who started the Rhodes Scholarship Foundation - oringinally for men only.  Cecil was a "lover of Italian opera"!  Didn't know that, but it figures now in thinking about it.  I also didn't know that Rhodesia was named after Cecil Rhodes and he founded DeBeers Diamonds and also a gold buisness.  No wonder Thordes had so much money to spend on  scolarships for men!

My private tour ended at the hotel and I was going to rest but we noticed that the cable cars were running up Table Mountain.  So the hotel called me a taxi and I dashed up to the Cable car station - only to find out that it was all shut down for the day due to high winds!  Shucks!  Nelson, my taxi driver, waited for me while I looked around - and while he had a coffee on me! - and I then had him deive me to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - a huge development and tourist attraction around the waterfront.  A three-story mall with every kind of store imaginable - restaurants, banks, hotels, bars, everything.   And HUGE!

I indulged in an Italian gelato - very authentic and only about $2.50 for a double scoop - what a deal!  I walked all along the waterfront, into a couple of luxury hotels for a look.  I went back back to the Clock Tower to check on the ferry to Robben Island - where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for most of his 27 years in prison.  The ferry was cancelled today due to the weather so I'll check on it tomorrow.  I also found out the cell where Mandela was in solitary confinement is under renovation and not open to the public.  Well - you always  have to save something for the NEXT visit.

I thenstarted out walking.  Went by the bridge that goes nowhere and took pictures - it is really funny!!!!  They started this superhighway in 1967 and it stops in mid air and is now used for movies - they drive buses and cars off of it.  There seem to be a lot of things started here but not finished - including human rights issues!  I went through the PLU district to see that most of the establishments are closed or moving as they are completely renovating this area - tearing down the buildings except for the facades which they are saving for historical purposes.  But their technique is somewhat scary - they don't really support these walls standing alone so high in the air - and I'm surprised that they don't topple over in some of the winds that we are having here.

I went back by the Huguenot Church I had visited this morning and went into the Gold Museum next door - WOW - talk abuot some gold - solid gold pieces everywhere - impressive collection.  As I walked through downtown, I reflected on my feelings about roaming around in a foreign city as a minority.  Caucausians make up less than 10% of the population here and I'm noticeably a minority.  I definitely feel this but have become so comfortable with being here on my own that it doesn't both me.  I have noticed that no one looks you in the eye here and I find that interesting.  I look at and observe people wherever I go but I have had no one in Cape Town look back at me - white or black.  I smile at people as a gesture of friendship - this worked in China - but not in South Africa.  I wonder if this is cultural, racial, or paranoia?  This is interesting to me.

I wound my way back through downtown to Desmond Tutu's cathedral.  The current archbishop has a name that is like Mumuwuluwucaluwocho - that isn't really his name but it sounds like that and goes on and on when they pronounce it.  He is retiring soon and they are hoping for another bishop like Tutu so it will be easier to pronounce.  The cathedral used to stand at the end of a pedestrian mall in the center of the town - there is a picture of it - but they tore is down and all that remains is the huge cross that was on the steeple - it is now on a stand on the ground.  Next to the cathedral is a long walkway - Government Walk - by their Parliament, Botanical Gardens, museums, and even an AIDS Memorial Rose Garden.  The government has its head in the sand on AIDS and even planted a hedge in front of the plaque designating the garden as a memorial.  The South African President recently said some really stupid things about AIDS in Africa and this denial is not good for the people.  I loved this walk - beautiful and peaceful.  The Government Walk ends at the Mount Nelson Hotel where I had high tea yesterday - took pictures and then headed for a leisurely walk up the hill (mountain) to the hotel which overlooks the city and has a beautiful view of Table Mountain.  Peter, at the hotel, couldn't believe that I had walked all that way but it was enjoyable - Tim and I take long walks all of the time when we travel.  Today gave me more confidence about walking around in Cape Town during the day.  I've been warned by everyone NOT to walk around alone at night - and have heeded those warnings.

I took a steam bath and rested for dinner.  Had half a bottle of a wonderful South African white wine - they are so great and very inexpensive3.  Went to dinner at Balduccis at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.  I had the most wonderful, flavorful filet for dinner - one of the best steaks I've ever had.  Then dessert - the piece d'resistance!  Icky Sticky Toffee Pudding - a local creation and favorite - one of the best desserts I've ever had - even beats bread pudding.  The pudding and a dallop of vanilla ice cream was heavenly.  I need to try the other favorite dessert here - Mulva Pudding.  Had another great bottle of South African white whine - Klein Constantia - one of the best wineyards here - yummy!

Back to the hotel for a nightcap and then to bed.  It started raining again tonight and is supposed to rain for the next 4 days.  This will literally put a damper on the rest of my planned tours - especially the cable car to the top of Table Mountain and the ferry to Robben Island where Mandela was jailed - oh well - something to save for the next visit.

Larry