We arrived at Cierva Cove at 7 am and I had my typical hot chocolate up in the Dome Observation Lounge on Deck 7. The weather did not look particularly appealing, though it was calm, so the kayakers were able to go out. For me, I decided to skip the day's zodiac excursion. It was nice. I took a long hot shower, read my book, and just enjoyed some me time. L went and said it was actually pretty good, though it did start to snow. They saw more swimming penguins and humpback whales, but they may have even seen a blue whale! It was not a humpback and was huge, so that was exciting. He also showed me a video he took of two penguins walking along a mini iceberg.... and one fell off! So ... read more

Every day just kept getting better and better and today was amazing. We had an earlier breakfast than usual and our group D was among the first to board the zodiacs around 9:30am. The weather conditions were ideal for us, so even the third kayak group got to go out and started before we did. We were supposed to go to the Useful and Danco Islands, but the weather conditions were not great, so we instead journeyed to Cuverville Island which changed some of the timelines around. No problem for me getting ready today! I was about to go see some penguins! This was amazing. We did a zodiac landing and got to wander around the island which has a huge colony of Gentoo Penguins, one of the three types of penguins we would encounter and ... read more

We set off from port a little after 6 in the evening, heading down the Beagle channel. First, we had a safety drill, getting to our muster stations and putting on our life jackets. Then we had a briefing in the auditorium where we got to meet the main members of the crew as well as the expedition team. While in the auditorium, we felt the boat starting to move, so we missed the actual departure. However, instead of having the 'meet the neighbors' in the hall, they had it in the Dome area on Deck 7 because it was a pretty nice day. That evening we were among the first to try dinner at the Madeira restaurant. It was a very nice experience that we continued to have throughout the trip. L had the scallop ... read more

Our third day in Buenos Aires started off with a nice breakfast before walking once again to the hop-on-hop-off bus stop near the zoo. We waited for about thirty minutes, enjoying the dog walkers who were in charge of anywhere between 5 to 15 dogs; this is such a dog friendly city - we saw them everywhere! We just had two stops until we reached our planned destination: La Recoleta neighborhood. Here is where the famous La Recoleta cemetery is located but there are additional things to see, including some more colorful buildings. This is a very upscale neighborhood as well. As we walked to the cemetery, we passed by the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar, which is painted a stark white, in contrast to the adjacent multi-colored cultural building. It was surprisingly peaceful and the ... read more

After A left late at night, I slept in a bit and left around 6am, with the guy, Pascal, who had picked me up when I first arrived. Throughout the trip, I had loved seeing the beautiful purple jacaranda trees, but never got a good picture. He stopped a couple of times so I could try again; pictures really do not do them justice. Maybe next time.... Airport check-in was fairly easy and we were loaded onto a very small plane with entrance at the back end. After we arrived in Zanzibar, the plane continued to Dar es Salaam. It was called "Precision Air" which had me a bit nervous, but it seemed to be a well run operation! Flying over Zanzibar I was a bit blown away with the condition of the buildings - I ... read more