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ANTARCTICA CRUISING

A trip from January 07, 2008 to January 28, 2008, travelling to Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Montevideo

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Mon 01/07/08 (day 1)

GETTING READY TO GO

We had long wanted to go around the Cape of South America, and one day a brochure arrives from Princess Cruise Lines (Our Favorite line) with an outstanding price for a 16 day rountrip cruise out of Buenos Aires. After many conversations with our travel agent (Sheryl @ Go Travel) we finally booked the cruise and the airfare to go with it. The airfare became the most challengeing, because to get a half way decent rate to Buenos Aires, we have to travel from Tampa Bay to Chicago and then onto Buenos Aires (an 11 hour flight). We have a 5 hour layover in Chicago but at least it gives us time to get between terminals and hopefully enough time for our luggage to get transferred. We decided to go in a day early both to enjoy Buenos Aires and to make sure we are they early enough so we don't miss the start of the cruise. We have reservations at the Claridge Hotel there, and they also will pick us up at the airport. Now one of the challenges of this cruise, of course it is summer there now, but gets very cold both in the ports around the cape and the Falkland Islands, so we have to pack with hot (Buenos Aires & Montevideo) and cold (around the cape) clothes. After searching thru the closets we finally came up with enough different clothes to fill the bill. We are going to Tampa on Monday and staying the night there so we have a place to leave the car and also a shuttle early on Tuesday to the Airport for the start of our journey.
We will add at least a journal entry on a somewhat daily basis (I hope) but probably will have a difficult time of uploading the pictures until we return home. Even tho we can add to the journal aboard the Star Princess, the internet connection is very slow, and will take forever to upload the pictures, but every opportunity that we get to upload we will, and will complete the picture portion of the trip when we return home.

Tue 01/08/08 (day 2)

Major Change in Plans

Well, yesterday morning brought some change to our travel plans to get to Buenos Aires. As I previously mentioned we were to leave out of Tampa, then on to Chicago for the flight to Buenos Aires. I was snooping around on Orbitz yesterday morning and noticed that they had dramatically reduced the direct flight out of Miami to Buenos Aires. I called American Airlines direct and got our flight changed so we go directly out of Miami (non-stop going and comming) on a nicer airplane, and the best part, we have credit vouchers from American for $154, seemed like a no brainer to me. We canceled our motel reservations in Tampa, made new ones in Miami and I am writing this from the Holiday Inn next to the Miami Airport. Our flight leaves at 8pm tonite and we are both excited about the new adventure. Next stop .... Buenos Aires

Wed 01/09/08 (day 3)

Buenos Aires

Well, we finally arrived in Buenos Aires. After a long overnite flight from Miami on which I got a little sleep and Judy got a little more. Customs at the airport was a breeze and when we got our baggage we did find our driver holding our sign and he quickly whisked us off to our Hotel, The Claridge (It is about a 30 minute drive from the airport to the city center). We arrived at before nine at the hotel and of course our room wasn't available until noon. We left our bags with the doorman and had some breakfast (included with our room) at the hotel. After breakfast we went out exploring close to our hotel and there we found Florida Street. Descrbing Florida street is easy, it has no vehicular traffic and about everytime of store imaginaable from the very high end to people selling trinkets in the street. We walked around some and then we went back to our hotel and were able to check in. The room was as described, european for smallish but very adequate. The people at the Claridge make it what it is, they have been great. We took a shower and a little rest then off we went again to Florida Street and a walk to the Intercontental Hotel where we could do all off our paperwork for tomorrows cruise. After about a mile walk, we found the place and we were both a little hot and we went to the lounge and had a very good local beer. After finishing the paperwork, we took a different way back to the hotel and seen more sights. We did see performers tangoing in the streets (tango is the passion of Buenos Aires) and got some pictures to be posted when we get home. It was early but we decided we needed some dinner, most restaraunts don't open for dinner until 8 (BA is a night city) but the coincerage at the hotel recommended El Establo as a place that is open early. We went there and both ordered a sirloin skewer, and it was great, the beef in Argentina is as good as we had read. Now the neat thing... The two skewers with a french fry type of potato and beverages were about 100 pesos with tip (about $33). Food is inexpensive in Argentina. Our first day here was filled with adventure and new sights and a great time was had by both of us. Now finally some sleep. Tomorrow........the Star Princess.

Fri 01/11/08 (day 5)

Aboard the Star Princess

Well, yesterday went very smooth. We slept in until about 8 am, went to a wonderful included breakfast, and got all of our suitcases repacked and called for a car to take us to the cruise ship at 11. I can't say enough about the staff of the Claridge Hotel, the desk clerks and the the rest of the staff were just great. Our car arrived at 11 as promised and we were off to the docks. After a ten dollar car ride we arrived at the dock, turned our luggage over to the baggage people and with a few minutes were aboard ship. Our cabin is on aloha deck and of course an inside room. We went to the cruise critic get together at sail away and Judy met some of the people that were writing blogs and we met some people interested in trivia and will meet and play with them. We went to the opening show with a singer, who was pretty good. We did have some interesting table mates for the first nite. We are personal choice diners this time, so we wound up with an eye surgeon from near Philadelphia, obviously with my cataract surgery comming up when we get back the conversation was interesting.

Played Trivia two times today and did not win either time, but we didn't embarasse ourselves either. Tonite is formal night aboard ship, but even tho we bought dress up togs, we are going to skip tonites formal dinner and opt for the buffet. Went to a port guide show this morning and we are excited, One more day at sea, the Stanley in the Falkland Islands, and PENGUINS we hope

Sun 01/13/08 (day 7)

Falkland Islands and Penguins

What a day this has been, We arrived at the Falkland Islands and tendered in (took a small boat from the ship to the Dock) and our adventure had begun. The town of Stanley is a small town and the biggest in the Falklands, it is under British protectorate but basically governs itself. We had a tour scheduled at 1pm to see the penguins but went in early to browse around the town. It was a nice day in the middle fifties and lots of sunshine, (I got a bit of a sunburn). We took some pictures in the town and made our way to the tour we had booked. That is where the adventure began. We boarded a small tour bus that we rode on for about twenty minutes, then at a staging area we boarded four wheel drive land rovers with our driver George. To say the next twenty minutes were something is understating it. It was like a Disney ride over open country, thru streams and over ridges, in mud and over makeshift bridges ( a couple of planks) and made our way to Bluff Cove where hundreds and hundreds of Penguins lived. They are amazing small animals. We are there during the time of the birth of small chicks (well, not so small. We seen penguins on nests, penguins sheilding their young, and young penguins just learning to stand up. We took hundreds of pictures, some good and some bad, but lots of them to share when we get home. We had the penguins come right up close to us and run by, it was an amazing sight. We can't wait to share the pictures with everyone. The trip back from the Cove was just as exciting as the trip to it. Our driver George was a local cattle rancher, who when tourists are in town drives people to see the Penguins. There were about six land rovers going back and forth, sometimes seems like the were racing each other, because the all took different shortcuts thru various ditches, streams and rocks. What a wonderful experience it was... Next in two days, Glaciers and touring alongside sights in Antartica.

Tue 01/15/08 (day 9)

Elephant Island & Icebergs

Wow, what a day it has been. This morning we get all bundled up (30 degrees and windy) get all of our camera gear and head outside, and wow, the first thing we see is an iceberg that is 18 miles long and 7 miles wide, flat on top with peaks jutting outing out in different places. Then the small (just by comparison to the big one) start showing up on all sides of the ships, all with multiple shapes and some with that wonderful blue color. We shot video and more pictures that you can imagine. We seen whales, but only at a distance, and they never got any closer. Then the penguins in the water, it seemed like they were everywhere, some were alone, some swiming and jumping in unison along side the ship. If you were on one of the upper decks you could barely see them but we were on the promenade deck (deck 7) and they were very visible and sometimes actually funny in the way they stayed in formation. We jumped from once side of the ship to the other, being thankful for the warmup as we went inside, even just for a few minutes. The naturalist onboard said that this was just a slight appetizer for what is yet to come. Tomorrow, even closer to the arctic circle. Oh, and by the way, it snowed aboard ship today, just for a little while, kind of neat I thought, and even neater was the video I got of the icebergs, the snow and a lady in the pool all at the same time.

Wed 01/16/08 (day 10)

Esperana Station and Admiralty Bay

Wow, another one of those days that are hard to put on paper. We arrived at Esperansa station amidst wind and very cold overcast weather. After a short delay, the captain made the decision that we were not going to go to the station because of the high winds and rough seas, but he informed us that a high pressure system was moving in and that we would had to Admiralty Bay. Then the weather changed, it became clear and the sun was bright and the sights were magificent. With the sun shinning on on all the icebergs and the magnificent moutains we nesteled into the bay. To describe the bay is difficult, but here goes, we were on deck fourteen all dressed for the cold weather and no matter which direction you turned you seen wonderful blue icebergs in the water and mountains covered with ice and snow and with the sun shinning over them it made for a majestic site. Then scanning thru the binoculars I seen tens of thousands of penguins sunning themselfs on cliffs and near the water. Judy had her camera going and I had the video tape going the whole time. Then came the humpback whales, one female with her new baby. We stayed in this one spot for several hours and watched the humpback whale move all around the ship. We were next to a Polish research station and a boat from the ship went and picked up two people from the station and they gave us a quick rundown on the area and what they were doing there. I again noticed that I was getting sunburned (the ozone level here is real low, and it is summer so sunburns happen) so I went and put on suntan lotion. We sat in this bay surrounded by snow capped peaks and penguins all around for nearly three hours. We hated to see the day end but we were promised that tomorrow would bring even more scenic treasures. We will be cruising thru a small strait that is suppose to remind us of the Norwegian fiords but with glaciers and snow capped mountains. Needless to say, another astounding day in Antartica.

Thu 01/17/08 (day 11)

Gerlache Straight and Anvers Island

What a day it has been. Again we have been blessed with a wonderfully clear day, chilly but so nice. I can't wait until we can post some pictures because we have taken hundreds as well as lots of video. Today we became only two of about three hundred thousand people that have layed eyes on Antartica and what sights we have seen. First the icebergs, thousands of them floating all over the place, big ones, little ones, some with penguins on them, others with seals on them and everyone of of them in a different shape. Today we watched humpback whales playing with their calfs. We watched one pair for almost a half hour, coming to the surface, rolling over, flapping their fins and raising their tails. Later in the morning we seen three killer whales (Orcas) cavorting around the side of the ship, swimming along in unison just like they do at sea world. Later in the day we went thru a small channel called the Newmaier Channel where it got down to less than a mile wide, with the tall mountains on either side, it was remindful of the Norwegian Fiords except that all the mountains were covered with deep snow like you would see pictures of the Alps with all the snow. We are having a wonderful time, of course eating too much, not excercising enough, and surprisingly because of all the wonderful sights, no naps either. Tomorrow, Deception Island where we are told a colony of over 150,000 penguins live. We can't wait. Can't wait to post the pictures.

Fri 01/18/08 (day 12)

Deception Island

We left the coast of Antartica and headed for Deception Island a volcanic island that has a large open caldron that we can see inside of. When we got there and the ship slowed and started to work its way along its coast, we started to see Penguins, thousands and thousands of them, on the shores (black beautiful beaches) all the way up the sides of the mountains. We were told that a colony of 150,000 lived on Deception Island, we didn't count them but we sure seen lots and lots of them. The island itself was beautiful with its black sand beaches and cliffs down to the water. We seen lots of penguins in the water and Judy got wonderful pictures of them swimming near the ship. We can't wait to post some of the pictures when we get back to Buenos Aires, because some of them are absolutely amazing. Tomorrow we will be sailing back to round the cape and to our next port. Next port on Sunday is Ushuaia, where we have a city and wildlife tour scheduled.

Sat 01/19/08 (day 13)

Cape Horn

This afternoon after sailing without sight of land for most of the day, we arrived at Cape Horn, it is widely considered to be the southern tip of South America. We had heard stories of the heavy winds and large waves rounding the Cape, well, we are one of the lucky ones just has we have been this whole trip so far, the weather was beautiful, almost calm seas and a temperature in the forties. Again we took lots of pictures of the landscapes, no penguins, darn. After we had loaded our local pilot off of a Chili military ship, we rounded the island of Cabo de Hornos. After seeing some wonderful rock formations we were on our way to Ushuaia and our next stop.

Sun 01/20/08 (day 14)

Ushuaia

Today we arrived in Ushuaia and took a tour on a catamaran and seen lots of birds and seals. We seen both seals and sea lions, the sea lions being so big they looked like small bears but with heads just as big. There was not much to see in Ushuaia, but we wondered around the souvinear shops and like always bought very little. We are excited about tomorrow and Punta Arenas

Mon 01/21/08 (day 15)

Punta Arenas

In Punta Arenas we had booked a ferry tour to see the penguins, but it was canceled and we were offered a trip to see the penguins another way but it required a long walk (over a mile) over a bridge. I decided that I was not up for that long a walk, but Judy decided to take it. Boy did I miss a lot, she came back with over two hundred pictures of penguins that are absolutely amazing. She was able to get up close and personal with all kinds of them, and we can't wait to share the pictures, some are absolutely outstanding. She has figured our a way to make the penguins come to life on camera. I am extremely proud of how good her photographic talents have become. After she got back we tendered back into Punta Arenas and of course did the usual souvenier hunting, but didn't dind anything that interested us. Now three days at sea before we get to Montevideo. Our trip has been outstanding and are surprised at the number of people that are taking it for the second time.

Thu 01/24/08 (day 18)

Three days at Sea

Well, we have just finished up three days at sea, tomorrow, Montevideo. We have spent the sea days doing trivia, having afternoon tea, taking naps (Jim) and enjoying evening entertainment. We have seen a new production show which was pretty good. After you cruise for a while you seem to see the same shows over and over again, because as along as we cruise Princess, the shows on all the ships will be the same, just with different performers. Tonight we seen what we thought is probably the finest singer we have ever heard aboard a cruise ship. Her name Philippa Healy from England and was performing in Les Miz in London. She sang Opera, classical and showtunes, and we almost went back for the second show, but decided that because of an early morning tour in Montevideo, we decided to get some sleep instead. Tomorrow the last full day, where did the time go, more from Montevideo later and then a day in Buenos Aires.

Fri 01/25/08 (day 19)

Montevideo

We arrived in Montevideo and had an early tour. Everything that we had read about Montevideo was that it was clean, almost grafitti free. We seemed to see lots of grafitti, dirty streets but was told the dirty streets were because of a street fair the nite before. We did notice people in green jackets sweeting the sidewalks and streets. Our tour was interesting as we went around this city of three million (half the people of Uraguay live here). Our tour lasted about four hours, of course lots of pictures, and then back to the ship to pack (yep the cruise is about over). After getting all packed, the majority of our luggage was placed outside for pickup. Tomorrow, leaving the ship and Buenos Aires.

Sat 01/26/08 (day 20)

Buenos Aires

This ship was late getting into Dock this morning because of high winds in Buenos Aires. We were suppose to arrive at six, and finally docked at ten. Now the scramble began. Buenos aires's terminal is a ways from the dock, and you have to take a shuttle to it. Of course the same is true of all the luggage., so after arriving late it was a big snafu with the luggage, but we finally managed to get off ship, find our luggage and get in a cab to our hotel, the 725 Continental. We arrived and checked in without a hitch and upon arriving at our room found no lights, thankfully the bellboy was right behind us and told us you had to insert your room key in a slot to activate the lights. Neat idea, you take the key when you leave and all the lights go out until you insert your key card again. After we got settled, we wondered down to Florida Street again (a nifty pedestrian street that I have talked about before) did a little shopping and had some lunch ( a big mac) and went back to our hotel. We arranged with the front desk for dinner and al tango show for tonite. They came to pick us up at 8 and we headed to Madero Tango. Madero Tango (www. maderotango.com) turned out to outstanding, with a wonderful meal served with wine. Judy had great chicken and I had pork, both were outstanding. (We read in the tango show reviews that the chef at this place was the finest in Argentina, and the food sure showed it. The tango show was outstanding, live band with a piano, two concertinas, two violins and one bass. Over twelve tango dancers were in constant motion for 90 minutes. Finally back to our hotel at midnight. Tomorrow, Recolata Cemetery and Avita Perons grave.

Sun 01/27/08 (day 21)

Sunday in Buenos Aires

We got up this morning, actually late for us, about 8 AM and had breakfast at the hotel, and then exploring on our own. Cabs are inexpensive here, so we took a cab to a Sunday flea market in the San Telmo area. We wondered around there for quite a while, and bought a little picture as a souviner from a real good photographer that had a booth there, we wondered around thru several different areas and then walked about a mile back to our hotel. I extended our check out time to six pm (for a price) so we don't have to go to the airport until evening, because our flight isn't until 1 am directly to Miami. We hailed another cab from our hotel to the Recoleta area and a wonderful above ground cemetery. Of course we had to see where Evita Peron was buried, and of course we got lots of pictures. We took a cab back here to the hotel, gonna rest a while then off to Florida street and perhaps something to eat.

Mon 01/28/08 (day 22)

Home and Recap

Now that we have arrived home after a long trip from Buenos Aires. Our first recollections on this trip are fantastic, unbelievable with not enough adjectives to describe how great it was. We seen things that we never dreamed we would see in person. Large icebergs, Penguins by the hundreds of thousands. Strolling in all the communites and cities we visited was so enjoyable. Would we do it again, even with the long air flights and the numerous days at sea... IN A HEARTBEAT!!

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PaigeL (View PaigeL's trips)

WOW -- I'm so jealous. Sounds like so much fun. Can't wait to see the photos. Have a great time!

Posted 1 year ago.

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PaigeL (View PaigeL's trips)

It's really great to hear about what's going on all the way down there!! Would you be upside down to me if I saw you! :-) he he
looking forward to having you here next month and to see all the photos and video. Luv paige

Posted 1 year ago.

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Keith G (View Keith G's trips)

I really enjoyed reading your journal on this trip. We will be leaving for the same trip, same ship, etc the 16th of this month. You have given me a real heads-up on what to look for. Hope we are as lucky as you weatherwise. Keith G

Posted 1 year ago.

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Robert (View Robert's trips)

Great trip! Your pictures are super, and we enjoyed the commentary.

Posted 1 year ago.

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Jian (View Jian's trips)

Really very fun!I love the holy grassland,the cowboy flying on it,with a whip in hand.when swang,the whip send out a long whistle that seems it can reach the horizon.It the right leazy place for cityrunners

Posted 1 year ago.

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lilmissy (View lilmissy's trips)

Love all the pic's! I would love to go there!

Posted 1 year ago.

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A Yahoo! Contributor

Makes me think of Endurance, Shackelton & Wilkes

Posted 5 months ago.

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A Yahoo! Contributor

THE MAN GO TUMORO MONE BICOS LAS TAIMO YOU TELE ME