February 21nd, 2006 Day 47 of our cruise of 105, South East of Capetown, South Africa. Crossing of the south Atlantic was comfortable, more of a swell last night going from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean; I put a pillow on the outside of my half of a king size bed so that I don’t fall out of bed but it is not really necessary. We enjoyed Capetown. Living in the Waterfront area was a treat, close to any tourist need possible. We traveled through town with no difficulty. I did not see the townships or the shanty towns; our friends did and they never felt in danger. They did stay with some friends in Hout Bay and were puzzled by a locking metal gate between the living area and the sleeping quarters. Lovely town ... read more

February 13th, 2006, Day 39 of our cruise of 105. Weather was perfect with sunny skies, light seas and balmy temperature, nice to get out! Slow day at sea, few activities and I missed the watercolor class at 1 because we were doing our morning walk- late because we got up after 10 Then read this afternoon ( 3 to 5) then walked again We then joined the “Secret Society” for “coffee” on deck 8 aft Quick shower 7:30 birthday party for Gerald (76) in a verandah suite( we play trivia every day at 11:45 with Anne and Gerald) Hi Brenda from England, nice to hear from you, safe trip to you, check my husband’s blog at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=273494, he is Ides of March. Hello my children, love you Jock of March, Ides of Muscle and Pirate ... read more

February 9th, 2006, evening after cruising between non- South Oarkney Islands and South Georgia tomorrow at 7 am; we are out of the Antarctic Circle. South Georgia was a whaling station that closed as late as 1965! Formal tonight, the grouch, who is not a grouch anymore, does not know yet. We smile and laugh a lot, and gossip about other passengers. Day 35 of our cruise of 105, 70 to go. It being a sea day, out of Antarctica, activities resumed. At creative writing class, we turned in our romance poem for publication of the best in the daily program at Valentine’s day. Here is my contribution: Together Lovingly Dating passionately Rearing family instinctively Empty nesting thankfully* Exiting peacefully Together, Forever *kids, don’t take this too personally Our next assignment is an Ode to the ... read more

February 5th, 2006, evening after cruising the Gerlache Straight of the Antarctic Peninsula We will be here for 3 days, weather permitting and then make our way to Africa by the 18th. Day 31 of our cruise of 105, 74 to go. Yesterday, as we arrived in the Antarctic, for lunch, we were feted with a snowflake buffet; there were carved ice shrimp boats and sculptures of Antarctic themes- see devilled eggs picture. Superbowl Sunday, Terry is with the crowd, I can’t find him! He just walked in!! He tells me that he was sitting with a fine gentleman from Toronto called Ross, rooting for Seattle-Hello you all from Sea Hawk country. We spent the whole day on deck, in our pink and gold “Circle of the Sun” outfits; temperature is in the freezing range. We ... read more

January 31st, 2006, evening after Port Madryn penguin colony at Punta Tombo. Day 26 of our cruise of 105, 79 to go. Arrived in port at 8 am, boarded the bus at 8:30 for a total drive time of 4 hours each way, painful, flat dirt road and scrub brush only. We saw only 2 small town, 2 farms and one gas station in all that time. The ground is very dry as the western Pacific moisture does not come over the Andes. Penguin colony was a treat, they just walk all over from their burrows to the ocean and back, while the humans are contained inside fencing. Dads, moms, juveniles and babies are all over the place, apparently 1 000 000 of them. 42 degrees of latitude south, 64 degrees of longitude w 18 degrees ... read more