Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - Miami to Ft Lauderdale

Highlights:  Home Sweet Home!

We landed at MIA at 4:30 am - an hour earlier than we had thought.  Immigration took forever and they were also doing a radiation check on all arrriving passengers.  Our bags were there when we came out and we went upstairs to find a shuttle to our car park just pulling up.  We got our car and headed up I95 a little before rush hour so the traffic wasn't too bad.

We were home in Ft Lauderdale by 6:30 am so Tim had enough time to shower and change clothese before I took him to the FLL airport for his flight to PHL.

A shower and clean clothes felt good as we reflected on our experiences - learning about Buenos Aires and seeing the Evita sites, the beautiful tango shows, the incredible Iguazu Falls, the Antarctic icebergs, penguins, seals, birds, swimming in the Antarctica, and climbing a could of volcanos.  What a fabulous trip - time to plan another!!!!

Larry and Tim

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, Argentina - Departure for Miami

Highlights:  The Journey Home

We had way too much to drink lst night but had a great time on New Years Eve.  We got to bed at 2:30 and had to get up at 6:30 am. Ugh!  Auntie Mame was hung!

Larry went to breakfast while Tim showered and nursed his hangover.  We checked out with reception while they loaded our luggage on the bus.  Things are running a little slow this morning as the staff was also partying.  Tim laid back on the bed trying to nurse his hangover.  John said the checkout with our passports was delayed so we closed our eyes for a few minutes.  At 8:30 we went to the lounge and talked to people and bid farewell.  They called our group first so we loaded on the bus for a 2 hour tour to the Tiera del Fuego National Park - the geographic southern most point of the South American continent.  Everything beyond this point are all islands before you get to the Antarctic continent.  Along the way our guide pointed out lots of bunnies and beaver dams.  After a short stop at the southern-most point, we headed to the Ushuais airport for our flight to Buenos Aires.  Security was again a joke - I set off the alarm and they ignored me.

The ship had prepared box lunches so we had some of that and then loaded on the plane.  We 're hoping our luggage meets us in Buenos Aires.  The takeoff from Ushuaia was magnificent.  It was a clear sunny day with beautiful while clouds above the snow-capped mountains.  There were snow-covered mountain peaks for as far as you can see.  These mountains are so majestic.  They are the very beginning of the Andes mountain chain that goes up through South America.  Beautiful.

Tim got ill outside of Ushuaia and slept most of the flight.  We will fly back to Buenos Aires nonstop since the runway in Ushuaia is longer and they can fuel the plane for the entire flight - estimated at 3 hours and 45 minutes.  We made it in a little over 3 hours and arrived at the Buenos Aires city airport on a hot steamy New Years Day - also a holiday here.  We now have to transfer to the Internation Airport for our flight to Miami.  We retrieved our luggage and met the tour guides.  The buses were waiting so we loaded on them and off we went.  Our group is scattering many different ways at this point - some are staying in Buenos Aires, some are going to Chile, etc.  It took about 30 minutes to get to the Buenos Aires EZE airport only to find out that American doesn't open for check-in until 6 pm.  We we have 2 hours to keel in a VERY hot airport terminal.  We shed some of the hot clothes we had on and Tim was starting to feel better.

We got a table at a small cafe and had a small sandwich.  I ordered an ice cream bar after my sandwich and it exploded when I bit into it as it was completely melted inside - all liquid - so I drank my ice cream.  We got in line about 30 minutes before American Airlines opened.  They started at 6 pm and it took us over an hour to check in.  We paid the Buenos Aires airport departure tax, went through security and immigration only to find it was hot at the departure gates too.

We walked around and found one area that was slightly cool.  We read for an hour then we went to another cafe for dinner so we could sleep on the plane.  We loaed right on time and took off at 11:15 pm - this was one hour later than it was supposed to be due to Argentina going to Daylight Savings Time.  Tim went to sleep before we even took off and Larry slept and read off and on.

Larry and Tim

Monday, December 31, 2007 - Drake Passage to Ushuaia, Argentina

Highlights:  Arrival back in Ushuaia, Catamaran Tour of Ushuaia Harbor, New Years Eve Celebration in Ushuaia

A very sleepless night with all of the rockin' and rolling as we passed Cape Horm.  I was tossed from side to side holding madly onto the edge of the bed to keep from being tossed onto the floor.  Tim of course was fast asleep the entire night.  John told us that this was a "moderately rough" crossing and we should be happy that it wasn't a rough or very rough crossing - but we were right up there. 

As we awoke, the seas had calmed and we were entering the strait that will take us to Ushuaia.  The pilot boat met us and we headed north to Ushuaia for a noon landing.  I woke up at 7:45 but don't feel that I actually really went to sleep last night - just napped!  I showered, dressed, and went for coffee (that was awful).  While TIm showered, I got our landing boots form the lockers on the back deck and put them in plastic bags so we can pack them. I'm hoping that we got all of the guano off during the last decontamination cleaning in Antarctica.  We went for an early breakfast and it was nich not to have to worry about things flying off of the table.  Alexander (our waiter) told us that we did pretty good last night catching the flying objects during the dinner service.

We talked to Helena for a while and she again invited us to Lake Tahoe or Norway to visit her.  Then we were off to a Debarkation review with John in the lounge.  We'll celebrate the  New Year on the ship but may go into Ushuaia for a while.  We got our bags all packed and put the colored tage on them so hopefully they will follow us back to the US.  At 11 we watched the last chapter of Life in the Freezer.  Luqui told us that there are other productions like this about life in different parts of the world. 

We docked in Ushuaia about noon.  We had our last lunch on ship.  Then we walked into Ushuaia to case it out for tonight.  No gay bars that we saw!  Then back to the ship to meet everyone for a ride on a large catamaran around the Beagle Strait.  We saw several islands covered with cormorants, seals with their young pups, and other birds.  Right at the end of the ride we saw 3 magellanic penguins swimming in the water - the first time we've seen this species.

I rode on top of the catamaran most of the time while Tim was in the hot inside.  A fun 3 hour tour.  Back to the ship and a much needed nap for Larry while Tim went for tea and afternoon snacks.  We showered and dressed for New Years Eve in Ushuaia - rated by Conde Nast as one of the 10 most "unusual" places to spend New Years Eve.  We'll let you know!

We had drinks in the bar with several others in our group.  Jim told a story about getting the wrong map at Port Lockroy so he gave John $100 to switch it the next time he was there and he also gave him 2 Playboy magazines thinking he would be thrilled.  Jim got an unusual response that he didn't understand - and John told Jim that he would pass them on to the Captain.  Jim didn't understand John's response and Tim and I were in hysterics.  John is gay so wasn't interested in Playboy and Jim didn't know that.  Jiim was apalled and kept calling himself a "loser"!  We died laughing.

We went to a wrap up discussion and then the Captain's Farewell Cocktail Reception.  John gave a recap of our 10 days in Antarctica.  John Harwood wrote a great poem that captured the cruise and they then showed a great slide show that the staff had put together.  We will get a copy of this free from the cruise - a nice gesture.  Tim and I were in several of the pictures especially with our Christmas lights on and in the pool at Deception Bay.  We will also receive a trip journal when we leave.

We had dinner with Pam/Rob, Angie/Andy, Tim M, and Helena.  We put our Christmas lights on the table for something festive for New Years Eve.  Tim later gave the lights to Alexandre and he was thrilled.  Dinner took a while and they had baked alaska for dessert that was quite good.  After dinner, Tim and I got our coats and walked into Ushuaia.  It was pretty dead.  I got a picture of a completely deseerted street at 11:30 pm on New Years Eve.  We found Audrey, John, Eleonore, and Jim outside an Irish pub but Jim couldn't get a drink so they left.  Just as we were about to leave, Roger and Pat waved to us to come in - Pam/Rob and Angie/Andy were with them.  We got drinks and were there when 2008 arrived.  A woman gave me a bundle of colorful things to wave and we got a couple of marachas so we brought in 2008 with some noise.  A good time was had by all.

Ushuaia is in fact a most unusual place to spend New Years Eve as no one is out and most of the businesses and bars are closed.  We came back to the ship about 1 am and danced in the bar.  Natalyi from the bar staff knew all of the disco songs.  The conga line was led by one of the Oblivions - the man in the wheel chair who hurt his knee and couldn't walk - yet he was on this trip!  We all had fun!

Larry and Tim

Sunday, December 30, 2007 - In the Drake Passage headed back to Argentina

Highlights:  Rough Seas in the Drake - Some down time due to the seas - Juggling dinner in the rough seas!

We slept until 9:30 am with the curtains closed since we had gone to be so late.  Had coffee - breakfast was finished - and we went to see the 5th chapter of Life in the Freezer.  This version was about the middle of winter in the depth of the Antarctic continent.  So interesting. 

We had hot bouillon in the Club and then I went to try to organize my stacks of clothes in our stateroom and start packing for our return to the US.  Helena had loaned us a book on Norway and one on Lake Tahoe so I looked at those too.  She has invited us to come visit her in Norway.

We had lunch and then went for a much needed nap.  At 3 pm, they showed March of the Penguins on the in cabin television network so we watched that.  We went for afternoon team and cookies and watched the rocking seas.  Getting much stronger and rougher.  So much power out there in the seas.

After we watched a movie made about a 1929 sailing around Cape Horm.  Two men washed overboard never to be found.  Another amazing human feat.  Afterwards I was feeling "squeemish" so I went to the cabin and laid down for a while.  We are near Cape Horm and these are the roughest seas yet - reknown for being the roughest seas in the world.  The sea waves are incredible - so powerful and beautiful.  I'm thrilled to be experiencing this.  The ship is listing heavily to starboard.  Everything in our room has fallen off the counters and under the bed and everywhere.  Even the life vests fell off of the wall.

Tim went to hear a recitation of the poem "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" - Yawn - and I slept trying to feel a little better since I was still squeemish.  We went for one drink before dinner and then had dinner with Ralph and Jim.  The ship was rolling so I had silverware and other things in my lap much of the dinner since I was sitting on the starboard side of the ship.  It was hard to eat and drink.  But we had a good dinner and TIm shared some of the puns that our friend in PA, Ric Morris, had shared with us.  The best was the "super calloused fragile mystic hexed by hallitosis" description of Mohatma Ghandi.  Everyone loved it.  I liked "Only Hugh can prevent florist friars".  We went to the bar and Tim recited most of the10 puns which were greeted with lots of "Ugh's"!!! 

I had a Ramazotti to settle my stomach and we watched the seas and the cormorants flying behind the ship.  Amazing birds all of the way out at sea.  Tim insisted on reading more puns at the bar and these were also met with more "Ughs"!  We had a couple of drinks and then went to bed.  we'll be beyond Cape Horm shortly and the seas should settle down.  We should arrive in Ushuaia by noon tomorrow.

As we go to bed the seas are now 25 - 30 feet tall and the winds are almost hurricane force at 72 miles per hour.  Rockin' and Rolling!

Larry and Tim