Blogs from Antarctica - page 8

I spent a few days (just over a week) in southern India. It was enough time to meet a friend in Bangalore (Bengaluru), and to get a tiny bit of walking in hill-stations (especially Ooty) in the 'Nilgiri' region... read more

Withdrawal? Yes! I am back in the US and soooo sad to leave my sweet penguins behind. No more watching them swim by the ship or our zodiacs. No more chatting to them they peck me. No more watching them waddle around or learn to swim. Sigh. I miss Antarctica!... read more

Wow, what a day!!! We began the morning with our captain navigating through a narrow passage that had us squeeze between a mountain and an enormous iceberg. It's hard to even describe but it was an amazing thing to witness. The passageway is a wonderland of icebergs, whales, and seals with a few penguins scattered in. We saw Minke whales this morning which is exciting. Also our first sighting of crab eater seals that were chilling out on the ice. Going through the narrow passage also made you keenly aware of the huge mountains of ice and snow just over your head and brought back thoughts of watching Ice Road Truckers when they would have to close for snow control and blow up snow caps to avoid avalanche. It was truly amazing to take it all ... read more

The winds pushed us faster than expected so we made it to the Southern Ocean and our first land sighting early this morning. Because of this we had a bonus landing on Penguin Island. Penguin Island is home to a volcano which we think is extinct but need to research it once I get home and on solid wi-fi. Last night we had a briefing and were sent to sign up for landing groups. Our little crew all became Adelie's so we could stick with Matt (from UK) who is doing kayaking. There are four groups and we will rotate being the first onto the zodiac's at our landings. This morning we were fitted for our water proof boots and had to go through contamination examination with our gear. My gloves, camera bag, and anything with ... read more

Less than a week to go and my anxiety about getting myself around Argentina is growing. My 3 months of Spanish is 9th grade has completely abandoned my brain and while I find myself understanding basic greetings my responses come to me in Kiswahili. Como esta? Nzuri sana. Perhaps I will randomly come upon the one Argentinian who speaks Kiswahili? Hey, I met a couple from Tanzania in the Austin airport as I ate ice cream for breakfast so anything is possible! I did find an airport transfer company that was recommended on Trip Advisor and had an English booking system, so I am set for my arrival in Buenos Aires on Sunday. I have 5 hours to get across town to the smaller airport so even with some issues should be fine. Let us discuss ... read more