Lindsay and Igor

December 29th, 2016

Day 275: Antarctic Cruise Day 11 – Neko Harbor

OK, if we are going to get technical, today is the first day we step foot on THE CONTINENT of Antarctica. Yesterday’s landing at Yankee Harbor was on an island, today we would be getting off at Neko Harbor which is actually on the peninsula of mainland Antarctica. So, super official now.

We are the only ship planning a stop in Neko Harbor today, so there was no need for a 5AM wake-up call (good thing too, as we were assigned to the first group of the day at 8:00AM!). Neko Harbor was home to another large rookery of Gentoo Penguins (1,141 nests according to the researcher’s daily count), although these guys didn’t have any chicks yet. Since this beach was covered in snow, this colony of penguins delayed their mating by a few weeks to wait for the perfect nesting conditions – instead of chicks, we saw many penguins still sitting on a pair of recently laid eggs.

We peek out our curtains after our alarm goes off, and we are breathless – the water is GLASS

While we could technically make it up to the buffet for breakfast, we decide to schedule room service as an extra alarm to make sure we don’t sleep through our landing time.

Can we all just stop for a moment and recognize that Igor is having a FABULOUS hair day? My baby be FOXY

While Yankee Harbor was very flat yesterday, the beach at Neko Harbor gave us an opportunity to take a little hike. The Expediation Team set up a trail through the snow, giving us access to a rock outcrop with a fantastic view. After climbing up, we got a beautiful vista of our ship in the iceberg-filled harbor, plus an aerial view of the neighboring glacier and the Gentoo rookeries below.

Zodiacs zipping across the flat waters in Neko Harbor – it’s a beautiful morning in Antarctica!

We are so excited to be first to the landing today!

The beach at Neko Harbor – unlike yesterday’s rocking landing, today the ground is covered in snow! Hey – they don’t call it the “White Continent” just to be racist!

Penguin encounters are even more amazing today as the snow forces both humans and birds to walk in the paths. We are required by IAATO regulations to “yield” to penguins on these “penguin highways” – but even though we have to step aside to let them pass, the penguins couldn’t care less that we are standing nearby and waddle within a few feet of us – GUYS, IT’S SO MAGICAL!

The Gentoos build their rocky nests on any available patch of bare earth. Many of the mating pairs have already laid their eggs already – we catch a glimspe of some eggs though the Expedition Team’s XX-scope every now and then when one of the mothers adjusts

A pair of busy penguins commuting down the “Penguin Highway”

Penguins aren’t the only wildlife on shore today – we also see a pair of spotted Weddell Seals resting on the snow

A view of our ship and a stunning iceberg from the shore

Chillin’ on the White Continent – even though it’s covered in snow, the day heats up under the bright morning sun and we start shedding layers as we climb up to the viewpoint

The glacier next to the beach is really pretty – the terminus of the glacier is covered in picturesque jagged crevasses. The glacier is known to be very active with frequent calving. Sure enough, as we are busy admiring the penguins we hear a loud crack and a roar as a big chuck of the glacier overhanging a rock crumbles in a cloud of snow

View of Neko Harbor and the glacier from the top of the viewpoint

As we carefully make our way back down the hill, we see the morning kayak group returning from the ice fields – today would have been a great day for kayaking, but at USD$295pp it’s way too expensive for us to go every day. We booked a kayak tour for tomorrow – keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds out!

The Gentoo Penguin rookery at Neko Harbor

Before heading back to the zodiac, we hide out at the crossroads of a penguin highway to try and record some video footage of the passing penguins. Lindsay jams the GoPro selfie stick in the snow and steps away to allow the penguins to approach in peace. We wait patiently, and it seems to be working! A trio of Gentoos waddles along – as they come to the crossroad, it looks like one is going to walk right up to our camera!

Wait, wait! Why are they all running away? YOU BITCH!!! An oblivious fellow cruiser doesn’t see our camera and not only chases off the penguins, SHE SITS DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SHOT! Lindsay indulges in some mild, under-the-breath cursing, but evenually forgives the innocent accident. Igor, on the other hand, has decided to hate her forever. It’s been over a week since “The Incident” and he still give her the evil eye every time we pass in the ship. Bitch better keep a lifejacket handy.

Somehow time has just flown by and it’s just about lunchtime by the time we return to the ship. Despite “The Incident,” this morning has been pretty perfect – we raised a toast over lunch to our good luck as the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. The rest of the afternoon was spent in leisure as we waited for the rest of the groups to take their turn on shore. As we sailed away from Neko Harbor, the winds died down again, giving us more breathtaking mirror images of the passing mountains and odd-shaped icebergs.

A glass of Nicolas Feuillatte, a shrimp-parm wrap, and an al fresco table in Antarctica…sorry, I know y’all must be jelly…

Dark clouds roll in, giving the Antarctic landscape a new, dramatic look

When the wind dies down, we are once again treated to rare, mirror-images of the shoreline

We pass many odd-shaped icebergs as we sail away from Neko Harbor – this one seems to be melting from the inside, with a little freshwater pool sitting in the middle

The Glaciologist on board (yes – that’s a real job) goes nuts when Igor shares this picture. The grooves in the ice were actually formed before the iceberg broke off of the glacier – most likely carved by a rock as the chuck of ice slowly slipped sideways. The streaks of brown were created by layers of dirt that landed on the glacier inbetween the seasons – each winter a new layer of snow would bury the line of dirt

Finishing off the day with a decadent dinner (poached quail egg with truffles, anyone?) and dessert (sharing a “chocolate bomb” with toasted marshmallows!)

As if the food and (ahem!) stimulating conversation wasn’t entertaining enough for Lindsay’s husband, Igor excused himself in the middle of dinner because he was SO DISTRACTED by the view out the window ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT he just had to get up to take a picture. Yes, yes, dear – it’s very pretty.

December 28th, 2016

Day 274: Antarctic Cruise Day 10 – Yankee Harbor

OUR FIRST DAY IN ANTARCTICA! As of today, we have officially set foot on all seven continents at some point in our lives, so we can cross that off our bucket lists. J

Our first landing in Antarctica was on a small, protected beach called Yankee Harbor (named after the American whalers who used to camp out on the beach in the 1820s). The anchorage was protected by a 1KM-long gravel spit that juts into the water, creating a practically wave-less harbor that is easily accessible for cruise ships. In fact, Yankee Harbor is so popular, a second cruise ship was visiting the beach that day as well.

Since IAATO regulations only allow 100 people to go ashore at any one location at a time, our captain had to negotiate our time slot with the other ship. All the guests were divided into 5 groups and randomly assigned landing times. The first group had to get up at 5:30AM (hey – the sun doesn’t set in Antarctica, so we have plenty of daylight to work with!) for their 6AM landing…poor souls. We got lucky and ended up in the last group – we were a little antsy, sitting around waiting for our turn at noon, but not only were we well-rested for our first visit the shore, we also got the best weather as the morning clouds burnt off by the early afternoon.

Watching Gentoo Penguins as they “porpoise” through the water (i.e. jump out like a dolphin)

Igor waits impatiently on deck for our turn to go ashore. As he jealously watches the earlier groups head out to the island, he spots a few humpback whales and penguins breaching the surface of the water

Yankee Harbor, Greenwich Island – within the South Shetland Islands along the Antarctic Peninsula (check out that HUGE ice sheet coming down to the water!)

We watch zodiacs carrying a dozen guests zip back and forth from the ship to the shore (there’s a close-up of that MASSIVE ice sheet)

Finally! It’s time for our group to go ashore! We zip up our parkas, clip on our lifejackets and head down to the zodiacs

Our new couple of boots get a thorough washing before and after we go on land (to prevent transferring any illness from one penguin colony to another). We step into the zodiac and drive over to Yankee Harbor

We had an hour and a half allotted to explore the island (although, Igor soon learned that no one was *really* keeping track of how long we stay…if we stayed an extra 30min here and there, it didn’t hurt anyone…). The #1 attraction, of course, was the PENGUINS! Yankee Harbor is home to 5,466 nesting pairs of Gentoo Penguins (we know, because Alex Borowitz, a researcher from Stonybrook University, had to go and count each penguin 3 TIMES). Of the three types of Antarctic penguins we saw during our trip, the Gentoos were the healthiest population because they had the most flexible reproduction habits. As the climate changes, they had no trouble moving their nesting sites to cooler locations and delaying/speeding up mating to fit that year’s weather conditions. Overall, the population of Gentoos are on the rise in the Antarctic – it was nice to hear that the environment wasn’t all “doom and gloom”.

A couple of boots in Antarctica!

Igor taking pictures of the Gentoo Penguin colony in Yankee Harbor, with our ship in the background

We have to follow the IAATO guidelines regarding how close we can get to the wildlife (no closer than 5m). To comply with this, the Expedition Team set up flags and ropes for the guests to stay within. Now, that being said, the birds have no idea that this rule exists and would often walk up to *us*! After all, they are curious creatures and do not have an instinctual fear of humans. As long as we are not standing in the middle of a “penguin highway,” we are not required to run away to maintain the 5m distance from the birds so we are able to get quite close and we get some AMAZING pictures!

The Gentoo Penguins build their nests out of rocks, so that the eggs will stay dry if it snows during incubation. While many of the eggs in Yankee Harbor have already hatched, we still see several fathers hobbling around, picking up rocks (often stealing them from other nests!) and presenting them to their mates. The mothers and fathers take turns sitting on the eggs – when one mate gets tired or hungry and wants to switch shifts, s/he throws their head back and starts calling for their mate to come home

Another mother calls for her husband, while he’s busy stealing the neighbor’s rocks

So many baby chicks! Gentoos typically lay two eggs per season, so there were a lot of these fluffy little guys

Fat, lazy slugs…I mean, Elephant Seals! About a dozen of these tubers of blubber were sleeping (and burping) on the beach. The poor guy on the right looks like we may be recovering from an Orca attack – feel better!

These Elephant Seals look pretty gross, because they are molting. Unlike dogs, who just shed their fur, Elephant Seals undergo what is called a “catastrophic molt” where they shed both their fur *and* and layer of skin. The whole process is rather itchy and uncomfortable, so we see many of the seals wiggling around and scratching.

“I’m done!” This relatively small Elephant Seal looks like he is done molting – it takes him about 10min to wiggle his way down to the water. Hard work, buddy – you’ve earned a break.

Although Elephant Seals are the world’s biggest seal (breeding males can weigh over 6,600lbs and be 30ft in length – that’s equivalent to 7 polar bears!), they are not penguin predators – they only eat fish and krill – so the Gentoos are fearless, walking among the slumbering pennipeds. These Elephant Seals aren’t that big – they are juveniles (around 3-4 years old) and aren’t big enough to fight off the dominant males and claim a “harem” of females to breed with. Not only are they quite young, but because they can’t feed while they are molting (not enough insulation for the frigid waters until they grow their new coat of fur and skin) they are losing a lot of body mass

While the penguins have nothing to fear from the seals, the Skuas are another story. These huge, gull-like birds often set up their nests adjacent to penguin colonies as they prey on penguin eggs and chicks

Sadly, this little Gentoo chick was victim to a Skua attack. Since Skuas don’t have any thumbs to tear the meat apart, it’s a gruesome scene as the bird repeatedly shakes the corpse to break away bite-size pieces. Circle of Life, yo.

After two hours of snapping pictures, we start to make our way back to the zodiacs, when all of sudden we notice something…different! A Chipstrap Penguin! Looks like this little guy got lost and followed the wrong penguin home. (There is a Chipstrap rockery on the neighboring island, so he’ll find his way back eventually)

All good things must come to an end, so at 2PM we had our All Aboard so the other cruise ship could have their turn visiting the beach. The weather that afternoon was GLOROIOUS, and the views we got of the Antarctic Peninsula as we cruised further south were AMAZING.

Scenic cruising along the Antarctic Peninsula

It’s so beautiful…I think Igor is about to cry…

Postcard-perfect pictures of the Antarctic Peninsula

Seriously…it doesn’t get any better than this!

Icebergs floating in the Bransfield Strait – nothing too big to worry about, just the perfect size for seals and penguins to take a little break

Late that afternoon, our Captain came on the PA to share an exciting piece of news: the weather was so phenomenal that he had decided to take us on a detour to visit Deception Island! Deception Island is the flooded caldera of an active volcano, which has a narrow opening on the northeast side of its perimeter – it earned its name because it took sailors decades to realize the opening led into a protective harbor in the middle. The 230m wide passage into the caldera – called “Neptune’s Bellows” due to the strong winds that can blow through the opening – can be very dangerous in bad weather and have sunk several ships over the years. Most cruises to Antarctica (especially in ships our size – the biggest that can make landfall) have to bypass Deception Island – several members of the Expedition Team and repeat guests told us this was the first time they could *see* the island, let alone sail inside! We’re just lucky, lucky, lucky!

Calm waters in the Bransfield Strait as we sail up to Neptune’s Bellows – the entrance to Deception Island’s hidden harbor

Sailing inside an active volcano – Deception Island!

Inside the Whalers Bay, where we see the rusting remains of the New Sandefjord station. Back in the summer of 1912-13, the waters of Whalers Bay turned red as over 5,000 whales were hacked to pieces in order to boil out the precious oil from the meat and bones. Nowadays, the buildings are used as a research station. Sadly, we are not permitted to make landfall within Deception Island (only ships with fewer than 300 passengers are allowed) We’re a bit jealous as we watch the smaller cruise ship that was behind us in Yankee Harbor stop and ferry its guests to shore.

A clear view of the 230m-wide “Neptune’s Bellows” – alternately called “Hell’s Gate” and “Dragon’s Mouth”

As we sail past the headland, we can see thousands of little black dots covering the cliffs – an estimated 50,000 pairs of Chinstrap Penguins are nesting on Deception Island

December 27th, 2016

Day 273: Antarctic Cruise Day 9 – The Drake Passage

Today marked a transition in our journey, where our trip changed from “scenic cruising” to “expedition-mode,” as we left human civilization and entered the dreaded Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is the turbulent body of water between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. While it is infamous as having the “roughest seas in the world,” the 1,000KM crossing is the shortest route from any continent to Antarctica (which is why over 90% of all expeditions leave from Ushuaia, Argentina, rather than South Africa or New Zealand).

We were expecting to suffer the “Drake Shake,” especially since our cabin was at the very bouncy position at the front of the boat. When we woke up, we peeked out our balcony window and were greeted by the sight of massive white caps and stormy skies. We popped some seasickness tablets as a preventative precaution and stumbled about our activities as the ship lurched back and forth.

We wake up to rough seas – we are about halfway through the Drake Passage. Winds were gusting over 50 knots!

Luckily for us, the swell didn’t last very long. Around noon, the clouds started to part and the wind died down. All of a sudden, we were sailing through a relatively calm “Drake Lake”! We were soon to discover that we were just starting a week-long stretch of abnormally good weather. Igor spent the afternoon on deck with the Expedition Team, looking for whales (didn’t spot any) and watching huge albatrosses soaring gracefully behind the Quest as we continued our journey south.

Crossing the Antarctic Convergence, where the relatively warmer (4⁰C), blue waters of the north meet the ice-cold (+2⁰C to -2⁰C), sleet-colored waters of the Southern Ocean. Despite the drop in temperature, Igor keeps an eye out for albatross.

Our day was surprisingly busy for an at sea day as we had a lot of prep work to complete before our arrival in Antarctica the next day. First of all, all the guests on the ship had to attend a mandatory briefing from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) – an organization that sets strict guidelines for *anyone* setting foot on the continent, to ensure the environmental protection of the most pristine land on the planet. Many of the rules were quite obivous, following the standard, “Leave nothing but footprints; take nothing but photographs; kill nothing but time,” mantra of most eco-tourism outfits. However, the IAATO guideline included an extra layer of protection by requiring all guests to undergo a Bio-security check – similar to Chile, Australia and New Zealand’s prohibitions against foreign foodstuff and soiled shoes, only WAY more intense.

In order to get the greenlight to get off the ship, we had to bring EVERYTHING we planned to bring offshore (pants, hats, gloves, cameras, backpacks, hiking sticks, tripods, etc.) to the Expedition Team for approval. Every item was thoroughly inspected for bits of dirt that might carry bateria and seeds that might accidentally introduce invasive species, and then vaccuumed clean for extra measure. It was a bit time consuming, but it’s a relief to know that a even a huge commercial operation like Seabourn goes the extra mile to ensure that their trips do no harm to the environment.

Everyone on the ship must attend the mandatory IAATO presentation if they want to step foot on Antarctica.

Our rental boots arrived the night before, so we try them on to make sure they fit before storing them in our assigned locker at the back of the ship, where our used gear goes through a Bio-security check and gets vaccuumed clean of foreign contaminants

December 26th, 2016

Day 272: Antarctic Cruise Day 8 – Ushuaia

Our day started pretty early…actually, let me start that again: *Igor’s* day started pretty early today when the captain made a 6:30AM announcement that we would be doing some scenic cruising through “Glacier Alley”. He immediately jumped out of bed, grabbed the camera, and sprinted up to the 10^th floor Observation Bar and snapped pictures of the many glaciers that spill into the Beagle Channel. Lindsay was pretty content with the glacier we saw the other day, so she slept in while he documented the wonders of nature.

Sailing into the Beagle Channel – a narrow straight that cuts through the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago

Sailing by a half-dozen glaciers in the appropriately named Glacier Alley

Big blue glaciers tumble toward the shore in Glacier Alley

We arrived in Ushuaia (Argentina!) just before lunchtime. Since we only had a half-day stop, we stuffed ourselves as much as possible during breakfast so we could explore as much as possible without stopping for food.

Ushuaia’s big claim to fame is its location as the southernmost city *in South America* (although, technically, the Chilean *village* of Puerto Williams is even further down, just across the channel). As such, about 90% of all expeditions heading for Antarctica either commence from here or at least pass through as their final pit stop for supplies. The entire town is “duty-free,” so the shopping options are plentiful, and apparently the local economy is doing great! While the rest of Argentina is suffering from raging inflation and unemployment, Ushuaia has some highest wages the country, drawing thousands of Argentineans down to the “end of the world” for work.

Coming into port in Ushuaia, Argentina!

We are not the only cruise ship in town today, the Crown Princess – a 3,000-passenger behemoth bound for Buenos Aires – dwarfs our 450-person vessel as we both tie-up to the pier. Luckily, we have a 30min head start, so we are able to disembark and pass through the Argentinean customs house without fighting our way through hundreds of cruisers

During our briefing the day before and while speaking to some of the expedition team who had visited Ushuaia before, we were warned that the weather could be quite poor – it was snowing heavily when the Quest passed through a week ago during the previous cruise, and it could get so windy that Ushuaia could feel even colder than Antarctica. After our expectations had been set incredibly low, lo and behold!, we have a gloriously warm and sunny day! We took advantage of the great weather and headed out to the Martial Glacier for a hike up the mountain.

We totally luck out and have a beautiful sunny day for our hike up Cerro Martial – some of the expedition team who have visited Ushuaia several times before told us this is the first time they have ever seen the peaks of these mountains – they are usually covered in clouds and fog even in the summer

Shedding layers of clothing as we hike up the Cerro Martial

It’s getting so hot in the sun, we actually duck into a forest path so we can walk in the shade

The tiny Martial Glacier at the top of the mountain is kinda cool, but the real prize is the stunning panorama of Ushuaia. We can even see our ship (and the monster beside it)!

We reach the top of the hiking trail just in the nick of time – clouds are starting to roll in and we feel an icy sprinkle of rain

Igor can’t resist touching the snow before we head down

All this hiking is making Lindsay hungry…good thing she snuck a few Christmas cookies in her pocket before getting off the ship! Thankfully, this isn’t Chile, so the regulations on foreign food aren’t as strict anymore

Once we got back into town, we headed over to the tourist information center to find out if we had enough time to catch the uber-touristy “Train to the End of the World,” located inside the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The ship had offered an excursion to the train and had warned that because there were two cruise ships in town, there was a high likelihood that all the trains would be chartered and sold out. Luckily for us, the park decided to run extra trains today for that very reason, so we hailed a taxi to the station.

The ticket office had room left on the 3:40PM train, which would get us back to the station at 5:15PM if we took a roundtrip ticket. Lindsay started to freakout that that was too close to our 6:00PM All Aboard time – after all, if we missed the boat here, we were royally fucked as there would be no way to catch it before it heade to Antarctica! The ticket agency made a suggestion: we could buy a one way ticket, and arrange for a taxi to meet us inside the park – turns out, the train moves at a ridiculously slow speed, and a taxi back from the park would take half the time the train would, getting us back to port safely at 4:45PM.

Playing the tourist at Ushuaia’s “Train at the End of the World”

Since the train goes into the Tierra del Fuego National Park, we have to pay the hefty admission fee in addition to the train ticket

All Aboard our steam engine locomotive! This thing is *ancient* – originally built by prisoners in the late 1880s when Ushuaia became a penal colony (a ploy by the Argentinean government at the time to increase the population of their southern territory), the train chugs along at about 10KMPH

The scenic train has one stop for pictures about halfway through the route. We arrive just as the Seabourn-chartered train stops, heading in the opposite direction – therefore we are surrounded by a throng of orange jackets as we wander the short hiking trail up to a teeny waterfall. When we get back on our train, Lindsay puts her face to the glass and stares down our fellow cruisers as they head back toward the boat (they probably all think we are idiots and got on the wrong train…)

The train’s slow pace allows us to soak in the beautiful landscape of the Tierra del Fuego National Park

When we reach the station inside the park, we breathe a sigh of relief when we see a lone taxi car waiting by the side of the road. Assuming it’s ours, we start to open the back doors, when the driver starts to tell us in Spanish that he is waiting for another fare – he was meeting a group of three. OK, hopefully our taxi would be along any minute, right? Lindsay started freaking out again – there is no cell reception inside the park and if we let the train leave before our taxi arrived, we would have no way of getting back to town.

10min later, our taxi still hadn’t arrived…but the taxi’s missing fare hadn’t either. Clearly they weren’t on the same train we were, so we convinced the driver to take us instead – same money, right? He agreed and told us to go ahead and get in. About halfway back to town Lindsay overheard the taxi dispatcher call him on the radio, saying his original fare was looking for him. Tough shit, guys – you should have been at the station when you said you would be! Maybe they can take our wayward taxi.

Sailing away from South America – next stop, ANTARCTICA!

December 25th, 2016

Day 271: Antarctic Cruise Day 7 – Punta Arenas

Merry Christmas! It may technically be summer down here, but we still had to bundle up in our jackets and hats for our port of call visit to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is the southernmost “city” in Chile (there are still a few more villages, etc. in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago). This was actually our second visit to Punta Arenas as this was the base for our trip to Torres del Paine National Park when we first visited Chile two years ago. As such, most of the tours the cruise ship offered (a daytrip to Magdalena Island to see the Magellanic Penguins, even an 11-hr excursion via plane to see Torres del Paine @ USD$1,209pp) we had already done. Since most shops and museums were closed for Christmas Day, there wasn’t much for us to visit independently – we just took the ship’s free shuttle into town and slowly walked our way back to the pier, exploring the city on foot.

We are on our own again in Punta Arenas – luckily the municipal tourist information center in open on Christmas Day, and we are able to pick up a map and get a list of the open museums

A statue of Magellan in the main plaza – legend has it that rubbing (or making out) with the foot of the Indian will bring you back to this part of the world again and again. Whatever – we didn’t touch any nasty foot the last time we were here, and – BOOM! – here we are, back again!

We walk up the hill to the mirador (viewpoint), and share the view with a kitty in the window

Have I mentioned that Chilean street dogs are the BEST?! We came across so many sweethearts today – we named the black one on the left “Christmas” and the German Shepard on the right is now “Hanukkah”

Christmas (the dog) escorts us to the Catholic church

As we walk across town, we pass by the Sara Braun Cemetery

The cemetery is full of a range of gravesites – elaborate tombstones, economic coffin lockers, and grand family mausoleums – and no two are alike! Someone around his making bank as a tombstone designer.

The back of the cemetary has several buildings full of “coffin lockers” – we notice one is open, waiting for a new resident

Since it is Christmas Day, most places are closed and the streets are empty, so we don’t have much left to do in Punta Arenas, other than walk 7KM across town back to the ship. We have nice weather, and we pick up another doggie friend on the way (we decided to stay with the holiday theme of the day, and named this one “Ramadan”)

What a Christmas treat – we get TWO shows tonight! A matinee guitar performance from our salty Latino singer, Nestor Santorio, and after dinner comedy & MAGIC from magician John Lenahan (photo from Google Images)

Even though it’s formal night, Igor’s foot STILL isn’t recovered enough for him to wear stiff dress shoes. We are willing to exile ourselves and have room service for dinner, but take a chance and call the hostess to see if they will give Igor a pass in the restaurant (I mean, come on! It’s Christmas!). Even with the ponytail, sneakers, and bikini-topped dress, they still let us in!

Christmas Dinner and beef tenderloin is on the menu – Igor finally caves, and breaks his vegetarian streak. And it was really, fucking GOOD. #sorrynotsorry

Pulling our Christmas crackers – Happy Holidays, everyone!

December 23rd – 24th, 2016

Days 269 – 270: Antarctic Cruise Days 5 & 6 – Cruising the Chilean Fiords

While the next two days were “at sea” days – meaning we didn’t stop on land – our route actually had us hugging the coast as we sailed through the fiords of Southern Chile. The scenery was breathing, and since we were close to land, the ship didn’t pitch up and down like it did our first day at sea (so no seasickness – yay!). Our cruise director kept us pretty busy with educational talks by the 20-odd naturalists on the Expedition Team and performances by the guest entertainers and staff, although we also had plenty of time to catch up on the blog and even hit the gym! (After our Africa trip, we know the dangers of endless buffets – we need to fit into our clothes at the end of this cruise!)

It’s two days before Christmas, and the ship has been decked out with gingerbread houses, trees and chocolate! Squeeee!!!!

Pancakes for breakfast, with REAL maple syrup

Igor braves the cool, windy weather on the front deck to join the naturalist team looking for wildlife. He sees lots of seabirds, including a huge albatross

After a couple hours of staring at an empty ocean, the naturalists and other guests get a bit bored, and start chatting. As a result, Igor is the only one on deck still scanning the horizon when he thinks he sees a whale spout…sure enough, when he raises his zoom lens he sees a POD of killer whales! “Uh, guys…I think there are some whales over there…” All the scientists immediately whip their heads around and lean over the railing looking for the orcas – even though they radio the captain to STOP THE SHIP, we are unfortunately already past them. Igor was the ONLY one to get a picture of whales that day!

Cruising through the Chilean fiords – since our cabin is on the port side of the ship, we always have a view of the shore when we are near land

Sitting down for another decadent dinner, Lindsay spots a familiar bottle of wine in the sommelier’s hand! In fact, she has to give mad props to her former colleagues on the Banfi/Excelsior National Accounts Team – both the Italian and Chilean sides of the portfolio are well represented – cheers!

Day 2 on our journey through the Chilean fiords, we start to see snow-capped mountains

Lindsay goes up on deck to admire the stunning, Patagonia scenery

Igor (in his hippie-pants!) in front of the Bruja Glacier – our first glacier of the trip!

Dramatically stormy clouds and spooky mist add atmosphere to the already stunning scenic cruising

The Wreck of the Leonora in the Smyth Channel

After two days of scenic cruise through the unpopulated lands of the Chilean fiords, we finally see some signs of civilization during the “golden hour”

The ships entertainment staff put together an impromptu Christmas Eve show, where each performer belts out their favorite carol while waiting for “Santa” to arrive, and gulping down real glasses of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne in between numbers

Unfortunately, we *just missed* the sunset by the time we went up to the Observation Bar after the show

Clouds rolling in on Christmas Eve night as we sail toward the tip of South America

Early presents! Every night our cabin stewardess, Kasandra, leaves us a wee gift (fancy soap, a booklet on Antarctic wildlife, etc.), but today our haul is extra special! A glass wine stopper and a plate of chocolate treats! FYI – those cookies were in Lindsay belly before the lights went out

December 22nd, 2016

Day 268: Antarctic Cruise Day 4 – Chiloé

We considered renting another car during our second port of call – the city of Castro on the island of Chiloé. However, even though the island is pretty small (only 120 miles from top to bottom) and has only one main road making it nearly impossible to get lost, we were starting to realize how stupid we were to rent a car the day before – if we had gotten into an accident, even a fender-bender where someone else was at fault!, we could have easily been delayed by police reports and missed the boat! How heartbreaking would it be to miss our ride to Antarctica, just to save a bucks on an excursion! So, we decided to play it safe, and explore the area on foot, staying a comfortable distance from our ship.

Walking around Castro was a pleasant way to spend the day – the city is particularly famous for its brightly colored buildings. “Palafitos” – the wooden houses on stilts that sit above the water – are the most iconic landmarks. The island also has over 150 wooden churches (originally built in the 1600s by the Spanish shipbuilders who colonized the area), 16 of which are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

An early morning arrival in to the island of Chiloé

Our ship anchors off shore of the capital city, Castro

Riding the tender into port

Chiloé is one of the major fishing hubs along the Chilean coast and the harbor is full of colorful boats

Walking through the streets of Castro at 8AM – no one is up yet, so the streets are deserted, except for the vigilant neighborhood dogs

Once again, we forgo an organized tour and decide to explore Castro alone, on foot. Once the municipal tour office opens for the day, we pick up a free city map and wander around, snapping pics of the famous wooden church, La Iglesia de San Francisco – one of 16 UNESCO churches on the island

Passing plenty of “street art” during our walk around Castro

Literally, soaking up the local color of Chiloé

Castro is full of color – from the beautiful flowers in blossom to the stunning waterfront houses

The palafitos of Castro – these colorful wooden houses on stilts are the most iconic sights on the islands, and one of the main tourist draws

Admiring more gorgeous palafitos in the Pedro Montt neighborhood in Castro

Chilean streets dogs are the BEST! Even though NO ONE SHOULD EVER DO THIS, we have totally been petting the stray dogs in almost every country we have visited. While the dogs in Southeast Asia were cute they were often very skittish. But the dogs in South America? Absolute love-bugs. This guy (we named him Fidel from Castro) put his paws on Lindsay’s lap when she stopped petting him – apparently he wasn’t done with his daily dose of affection

December 21st, 2016

Day 267: Antarctic Cruise Day 3 – Puerto Montt

Today was our first port of call: Puerto Montt, Chile! While technically in the Lake District of Chile, this area is on the border of Chilean Patagonia (we saw many hotels and shops calling themselves “Patagonia-this” and “Patagonia-that,” in order to attract tourists). We had originally booked a trekking tour with the cruise ship for today, but had to cancel it as Igor’s toe still hadn’t recovered enough for him to wear boots. We needed to keep our activities for the day sandal-friendly, so we decided to just explore the area on our own.

We also had a few errands to run: after several days of trying to organize a 4×4 car rental in Argentina for our upcoming road trip down Route 40, Igor got so frustrated with the lack of information, high costs and ridiculous insurance policies of Argentinean companies that he decided it would be easier to rent a car in Chile. Instead of driving down from Buenos Aires in a manual RV, we would now be returning to Puerto Montt and picking up a fully insured automatic 4×4 and driving it over the border into Argentina! (Ugh! We didn’t need to take a driving lesson after all!) The rental agency needed a copy of our driver’s licenses and passports for the border permit, so we decided to walk over and take care of the paperwork in person.

While we were at the rental agency, we decided to see if they had any cars available for the day – turns out the agency across the street not only had plenty of sedans free, they also had one with a manual transmission! Even though we were no longer limited to a manual car for our road trip, we decided to take one for a test drive anyways, just to see how difficult it would be for us – after all, it would be pretty cool to come back from this year-long trip with a new skill. We survived the day driving a stick shift (and even more importantly, so did the rental car!), but it got really stressful at the end of the day when rush hour traffic and fatigue set in – maybe we’ll stick with the automatic after all…

The clouds part as we come up to the shores of Puerto Montt

Catching a tender to shore

Chilean customs are very strict about bringing in foreign foods, so even though we just came from a Chilean port, we are not allowed to bring any snacks or a packed lunch off the boat – looks like we are skipping lunch again!

Walking across the downtown area of Puerto Montt

Instead of paying for an overpriced tour and sitting in a minibus with several dozen cruisers, we decide to rent a car and explore the area ourselves. We asked if the rental agency had any manual transmission vehicles so we could continue to practice the stick-shift skills we acquired in Bangkok…we decided to treat today as a dress rehearhsal for our Argentinean road trip next month

It’s a beautiful day for a Patagonian road trip! We get an almost clear shot of Volcan Osorno as we drive around Lake Llanquihue

When we stop for a photo op of Volcan Osorno, we notice a llama farm across the street – that’s what so great about independent travel, if you want to get out and feed the llamas, you can!

These llamas are so cute! They totally distract us from the yawning doggie in the background – poor guy…

Our ship was docked at Puerto Montt for a good 10 hours, so we had plenty of time to drive around and explore the area. The tour we were originally supposed to go on included a visit to the Petrohue Rapids – when we looked at the driving time, it turned out the park was only an hour away, so we decided to head over there on our own. We took it easy, exploring all the flat walking trails, so that Igor’s foot could continue to recover. Afterwards, we still had several hours before we needed to be back on the ship, so we decided to take the long way back to Puerto Montt, circumnavigating Lake Llanquihue and passing through the scenic towns of Frutillar and Puerto Varas.

When we get to the Petrohue Rapids, we find the park overrun with bright orange Seabourn jackets – we caught up with the USD $184/pp cruise tour! Gotta admit, we’re patting ourselves on the back for finding a much cheaper alternative to the organized tour

The Petrohue Rapids in Puerto Montt Chile – the crystal clear, bright blue waters remind us so much of the Hokitika Gorge in the South Island of New Zealand

Igor admires the raw beauty of nature

“Lover’s Creek” – a calm, quiet little pool of water along the forest path

Lindsay is spellbound by the abundant moss growing on the trees in the forest

A clear, sunny view of Lake Llanquihue, framed by wildflowers

The sunshine can disappear at any time in Patagonia – as we continue our way around the lake, it starts to rain

The GPS on Igor’s phone has been on the fritz ever since we arrived in Chile (for some reason it keeps thinking we are in St. Petersburg, RUSSIA?!? Is this Putin’s doing?!?!), so we are trying to navigate ourselves the old fashioned way: looking at road signs and a paper map! We misjudge the distance and end up taking a gravel road detour. Luckily, it’s impossible for us to get truly lost (as long as we keep the lake on our left hand side, we’ll eventually make our way back to the road to Puerto Montt), so we decide to drive slow and enjoy the scenic route

Exploring the Lake Llanquihue area via self drive

We stop in Frutillar for a short walk along the lake front – on a clear day there is a spectacular view of Volcan Osorno on the other side of the lake, but the rain storm we passed through during our drive has now reached the mountain and blocked the view

We have about an hour left before we need to get back on the ship, but we foolishly decide to make a quick stop in the pretty town of Puerto Varas on our way back – there is a beautiful red and white church, Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, that we want to try and see. We’re only 20min away from Puerto Montt after all, and we see lots of orange-clad cruisers walking around the street, so we know we won’t miss the ship. Unfortunately, rush hour traffic has started to clog the streets by this time, and poor Igor is so tired he is forgetting how to shift gears. After we get lost and stall the engine about half a dozen times, we decide a close-up of the church isn’t worth the trouble

Catching our tender back to The Quest

Once we were back on the ship, we hurried over to the theater to catch the matinee show before getting ready for another excellent dinner at the ship’s white-tablecloth restaurant. Bon appetite!

A Chilean dance troop comes onboard to demonstrate several versions of Chile’s national dance: the cueca

The performers wrap up the show by inviting guests to dance the waltz – even though Igor’s foot is still recovering and he has to wear flip flops, we can’t resist getting on the dance floor!

When we return to our room, we discover we have a visitor on our balcony! Luckily she doesn’t seem too badly injured (looks like she might have flown into the side of the ship), and she wobbles away after resting for a few minutes. We’re still at port, so there are no worries about her getting safely back to land, but we learn later that “bird strikes” will become a big ecological concern as we start to head out into open waters – apparently birds can get confused by the ship’s lights on stormy nights and can get stranded at sea if they accidently land on the boat and get carried out into the Drake Passage

Whew! It’s getting windy! Igor nearly gets blown over as we walk arcoss deck on our way to dinner

Lindsay finally breaks her vegetarian streak as DUCK is on the menu tonight! Igor remains pescatarian…for now..

December 19th – 20th, 2016

Days 265 – 266: Antarctic Cruise Days 1 & 2 – Valpariso & Sea Cruising

Today we embarked on the most ridiculously extravagant portion of our-long trip: a 24-day luxury cruise from Chile to Antarctica to Argentina! I mean, we knew a grown-up gap year was a financially stupid idea to begin with, but no amount of YOLO-ing can justify this expenditure. We acknowledge that we are incredibly blessed to be able to afford this, and we can only hope that we are still young enough to replenish our retirement savings. J

Navigating Santiago’s metro system and bus terminal was a breeze, so we arrived in the coastal city of Valpariso a good hour before the ship started boarding. The only down side was we couldn’t really ditch our luggage and explore the city – Lindsay had the lucky chance to visit once before during a business trip, but poor Igor missed out on the artsy, bohemian charm of Valpariso’s San Franciscan hilly streets and graffiti-covered buildings. However, his disappointment was soon forgotten once we were onboard and served glass after glass after glass of complimentary champagne.

Catching a bus from the Pajaritos metro station in Santiago to Valpariso

We are among the first passengers to check-in and board the ship

Let the endless food and booze begin!!! We enjoy the first of MANY buffet lunches on the deck of the Seabourn Quest, with a view of the Valpariso harbor

When we enter our suite, we find a complimentary bottle of champagne…not only is it *true* champagne, it is Nicolas Feuillatte – THE SAME CHAMPAGNE WE SERVED AT OUR WEDDING. This is the HOUSE CHAMPAGNE on board the ship.

Trying on our bright orange parkas – stylin’!

Sailing away from Valpariso and heading south

Our first full day onboard the Quest was an at-sea day, which gave us plenty of time to explore the ship. While we’d both been on cruise ships before, the Quest was the smallest ship we’ve sailed. On our previous trips we’ve always booked interior staterooms (just a bedroom and bathroom – no windows) as those are the least expensive and we don’t plan to spend much time in our room anyways. The Quest, however, wasn’t big enough for interior rooms – all the rooms had either windows or balconies. As if that wasn’t exciting enough for us, turns out the Quest also doesn’t do basic bedrooms – all guest cabins are suites, and when we were booking, there was just enough vacancy that Seabourne offered to upgrade us from a window to a veranda at no extra cost.

The only downside to our lovely, spacious room, was the location. As we knew from our ferry experiences in Thailand, the top and front of a boat are the rockiest locations when passing through choppy waters – if one is prone to seasickness, the bottom and rear of the boat is the steadiest place to be. Since we got a “free” upgrade, our cabin was #502 – right at the very front of the ship. And boy!, once we got into open waters we could *feel* it! On previous cruises, the rocking of the boat as we went to bed was always gentle and soothing – like laying down in a hammock or a train ride – and lulled us right to sleep. During our first night on the Quest, however, the bow of the ship would sometimes pitch up and down so much our bodies would lift off the matress and catch a little air before thunking down! And this is only 30KM off shore! We were more than a little worried what the conditions would be like a week from now, when we sail through the Drake Passage – “the most turblent waters on earth”! Good thing we stocked up on Dramamine in Thailand…

While we couldn’t stomach sitting in our cabin for long periods of the day, the majority of the public areas on the ship are located in the aft (smart move!), so we spent the day attending presentations on the ports of call, the history of Chilean Patagonia, and an introduction to photography, as well as an intro to playing Bridge and a visit to the ship’s Bridge – you’d think days at sea would be very lazy, but we were kept surprisingly busy!

We wake up to a foggy, cloudy day for our first all-day at sea

Exploring the ship, and attending info seminars on the upcoming ports of call

A small tour visiting the bridge

Checking out the ship’s autopilot (we’re 30KM off shore, so…nothing really the bump into out here), and the captain’s whale-spotting cheat-sheet

That evening, we had our first formal night – after 6PM, jeans are banned in all public areas of the ship, and men are required to wear a jacket to dinner. It’s so fun to people watch on these nights – some ladies get really decked out with prom-like formal dresses, covered in sequins, and even the men can get rather flamboyant (although nothing will ever top the pimpin’ red suit and top hat we saw a guy sporting on a Carnival Caribbean cruise a few years back!). We, however, were pushing the envelope on what could be considered “formal” – does a dark blue suit count as “black tie”? And will anyone notice that Lindsay is wearing sandals and a bikini top instead of a bra under her backless bargain-store black dress?

Our first formal night! Igor sports his new suit and used shoes (unfortunately, they aggravate his injured toe – poor guy!), while Lindsay gets dolled up in her USD $10 Bangkok dress and Indian pashmina – bring on the wine, bubbles and caviar, baby!

December 16th – 18th, 2016

Days 262 – 264: Bangkok to Santiago

Getting from southeast Asia to Chile is a BITCH. We could not find a single nonstop flight from Bangkok to Santiago. Our final itinerary was a whopping 4-city marathon: Bangkok to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to NYC, NYC to Lima, and finally Lima to Santiago. We left at 8:30AM local time and arrived at 1:30PM local time the next day – all told, it was 40 hours from first take-off to final landing, crossing 11 time zones! The Premier Pass gained us access to two airport lounges, unfortunately, both were at the very beginning of the journey, so we weren’t that tired yet. Sadly, we were in the wrong terminal in JFK and we weren’t allowed off the plane in Lima, so we were absolutely exhausted when we finally arrived in Santiago.

Getting ready for the longest flight of our lives. Lindsay is going to need A LOT of coffee

The first of many breakfasts in the Bangkok Executive Lounge

Lunch in the Executive Lounge in Hong Kong

Igor’s parents come all the way out to the airport just to see us for 15min as we change terminals in JFK – I think they missed him…

Descending into Santiago at last!

Our “hotel” in Santiago – even though we found it on Booking.com, it felt like an AirBnB apartment rental – but at USD $50/night in the city center, the place was a steal!

Despite the jetlag, we had dinner plans for the evening. After working with Concha y Toro for the past 5 years, Lindsay had quite a few former colleauges in Santiago – so we took full advantage of Chilean hospitality to get our fill of fine wine, delicious seafood, and catch up on a year’s worth of office gossip! While we expected to be jetlagged, we had enough energy to destroy 4 bottles of Italo’s wine stash and didn’t notice how late it was getting until 1AM – since we hadn’t adjusted to the 11-hour timezone differece, and the change in hemispheres meant sunset was deceptively late, we completely lost track of the time! Luckily for all three of us, it was a Saturday so we could all recover the lost sleep the next day.

Seriously…we literally did nothing but sleep the next day. No pictures.