Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 19

The day started early as we had to be packed and gone from the ship by
about 8:30 am. SO after breakfast we said a quick goodbye to the rest
of the group and others we had met on the ship and headed off to the
buses. They dropped us and our luggage at a place where we could store
our bags for the day and then Gary and I headed off for a walk up and
down the main street looking for coffee. Unfortunately most places
didin't open until 10 am so we had a bit of a wait. We then had a
relaxing coffee and a bite to eat and connected up to the wifi to
check messages and say hello to the folks back home.
We then checked in on our respective hotels to make sure we were
booked and that was all good, so it was a walk back to the luggage
store with a detour around the port to have a look at the docked
cruise ships. There were six all up including ours, which would be
restocked and ready to leave on another trip by 6 pm this arvo. The
weather was once again superb with blue skies and a temperature of
around 15 deg C. I went back to the hotel and checked in properly and
then got myself organised and had a bit of an afternoon snooze.
Unfortunately the room was very hot with no way to control the
temperature so I ended up openning a window to make it less stuffy.
Around 3'ish I went for a wander up the main street for a look in the
gift shops but most of it was so tacky, I didn't end up buying
anything, so it was back to the hotel to read a book. I was getting
hungry around 7'ish, so it was back up to the main street where I
found an all you can eat Argentinian BBQ place (300 pesos, roughly
US$15), unfortunately it wasn't open until 8 pm, so I went for a walk
down to the harbour. Four of the cruise ships had already left and one
big, very fancy one was in the process of leaving, so I sat and
watched that for awhile. The BBQ place was very good and I made sure I
obeyed my general rule of having so much main course that you don't
have room for dessert. Back at the hotel I repacked my bags and got
ready for the plane trips home.
The next day I would be checking out at 10 am, catching a taxi to the
airport, then hopping on a plane after lunch for a three and a half
hour flight back to Buenos Aires, then about six hours in the air port
lounge before heading off on a 13.5 hour flight to Auckland. Then
another four hours in the Auckland airport lounge before the final
three and a half hour flight to Brisbane. So with the time difference
I'll leave Friday lunch time and get into Brisbane roughly Sunday
lunch time. Not looking forward to this.

Argentina_Antarctica_Day17 and 18

The first night sailing home went quite calmly and at the moment the Drake Passage seems to about the same, maybe a bit calmer than our trip to the south over a week ago. Now we have to fill in the days on the ship, so we'll have a few photography sessions and I'll see if I can finish off a couple books, as well as to continue to sort out my photos of which I have taken over 5,000 so far. I've thrown out quite a few as some of the ones taken from the zodiacs end up having focus problems or someone stands up in front of you while trying to take a photo. I've generally left on Continuous shooting mode for when there is wildlife around, so I generally end with at least two photos of everything.
After lunch we have a mini-Australia Day celebration in the Observation Deck, with some munchies, an Australian flag "Borrowed" from the captain and some Australian Crawl playing in the background. Then its a relatively lazy afternoon reading and organising photos before the dail y recap and Briefing which is followed by dinner. The chef had organised Pavlova for dessert and we had a chorus of Waltzing Matilda and rousing cheer of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Ooi, Ooi, Ooi. Dinner lasted a while as we sat around chatting, before finally heading off to bed.
The seas were still fairly gentle overnight and seemed even calmer the next day. I'm not even feeling the need for Kwells. Today is our last day at sea, so its time to start packing our bags and making sure everything is organised for disembarkation tomorrow morning about 8am. We are having a final photography get together this morning to handle any last minute questions as well to look at a slide show that Michael has prepared showing all the high points of the trip so far. After lunch we had a lazy afternoon reading, snoozing, and starting to pack our bags. At the final briefing session they had a great presentation of some of the photos taken over the duration of trip as well as hints on how to fold the big yellow jackets, so that they fit into out luggage. Then there was a final cocktail party, followed by dinner and a chat in the bar with our fellow travellers, before a reasonably early night in bed. At this stage we were well in the lee of South America so the seas were very calm and no one seemed to be suffering from sea sickness. Tomorrow would be an early rise as we leave the boat in Ushuaia and start out journey home.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 16

Today is the last day where we get to go out on the zodiacs, so it was a relatively early start for breakfast. It was a bit windy but as the ship entered the Graham Passage the wind dropped off as we were protected. Then it was into the zodiacs and out for a couple of hours of cruising. The scenery was spectacular with the harbour surrounded by glaciers and mountains. Our first sight was a leopard seal making a meal of a poor ex-penguin while swimming along. Then there was seals and penguins on the ice floes and the beautiful scenery. The sky was blue and it was quite warm.
Back at the ship we had some lunch and got things organised for an afternoon excursion while the ship sailed to Mikkelsen Harbour. This included the ship sailing through the Graham Passage for some more spectacular views. Once there we had another cruise around before landing on D'Hainaut Island to look at the penguin colonies and tons of whale bones on the beach. There was also an old shed that w as part of an Argentine base. The wind had picked up a lot and it was getting quite chilly, so we headed back to the ship a little early. We got out of the wet weather gear for the last time and headed off to the evening briefing followed by dinner. I had an early night in bed as we were heading north to Ushuaia via the Drake Passage. It was time to start taking the Kwells again in case things got rough.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 15

The weather was looking quite reasonable as we all headed off to breakfast at 07:30. Today we were headed to Danco Island where we would land and view some penguin colonies, both Gentoo and Chinstrap. We landed on a pleasant rocky beach and then went on a walk up to a high spot across some snow to see the penguins. It was a relatively easy walk up the hill but by the time we were walking down it had gotten pretty slippery so a slow and careful descent was needed. Then it was back onto the zodiac and a cruise around the surrounding islands. Some great icebergs and some very lazy seals reclining on them in the sun.
After lunch the ship had moved to Foyn Harbour and the views were spectacular. The remaining clouds had gone away and we had beautiful blue skies for an afternoon of zodiac cruising. This afternoon we got to see lots of Humpback whales as they were cruising around and feeding on the krill. There was also seals and penguins on the sea ice and some very inter esting looking icebergs. We found out that the small off cast icebergs are called Bergy Bits.
Back at the ship it time for the brave souls to undertake the polar plunge. They put the gangway down beside the ship and 50 or so of the 180 passengers jumped into the cold, cold water. I had fun just watching the reactions, there was quite a few swear words involved when people first hit the water. After the days briefing and dinner, I spent some time up on the Observation deck just watching the whales swimming and feeding around the ship. It was a very serene experience, except of course for the engine noise from the ship.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 14

They got the campers back on board about 7 am, ready for breakfast at 7:30 am. They all seemed to have enjoyed the experience and didn't really get cold but they did find it a bit uncomfortable and very bright as the it never really gets too dark at the moment. The weather was still around 0 Deg C and there was a bit of wind but no snow. We then got into our outside gear for a landing on the Antarctic continent, previously we had landed on islands.
We landed at Brown Base in Paradise Harbour and went for a walk through the snow up to a high point behind the base for a great view. As we were in the first zodiac ashore the walk up through the soft snow was very challenging and I sunk down to my knees a couple of times. There was also a small penguin colony here with some newly hatched chicks. Then it was off for a cruise around the harbour and the cloud layer started to lift and there was some nice blue sky in places. There was some nesting cormorants in the cliffs an d then some spectacular glaciers. The weather was quite comfortable without the snow blowing. Back to the ship for some lunch and we cruised to Cuverville Island where we would have an afternoon landing. The sky is clearing even more and with the blue shies it is really looking picturesque.
In the afternoon we landed on Cuverville Island to see More Bloody Penguins. The weather was clearing up nicely as the day went on with more and more blue sky showing. Wandering around the island looking at the nesting Gentoo penguins got quite hot and I needed to open up the big wind proof jacket to let a bit of breeze in. Then the cruise around the island by zodiac was sensational with warm and sunny weather giving the photos a bit more of a summer feel. Back at the ship, it was hot shower time and then a quick briefing from the crew before a BBQ out on the pool deck for dinner. Very nice bbq ribs, chicken wings, etc. with a glass of mulled wine to warm you up while sitting outside. Then a fter a chat and drinks it was off to organise a few photos. A couple of people stayed up to about midnight when the sun finally started setting and the photos show a very orange sunset.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 13

There was an early Brekkie as we were to make a landing at Damoy Point, however as we were getting loaded onto the Zodiacs they decided that the conditions weren't good for a landing so we cruised around for an hour and a half looking at penguins, seals and icebergs. The wind was blowing at 20 or so knots, it was 0 Deg C and there was snow in the air, so I left my big camera in the water proof bag and used the little waterproof Olympus camera. I managed to get a nice shot of a penguin swimming through the water. Then it was back to the ship to warm up and have some lunch.
We had a couple or hours spare in the afternoon, so I caught up with some of my photos and then got ready for our next excursion. We had a walk around Jougla Point on Wienke Island to see some more nesting Gentoo penguins. There was some left over whale bones from the old whaling days. Then it was off to the english base at Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. They have a hut set up as a museum and gift shop, it also functions as a post office. There is a small penguin colony here as well but I'm almost starting to feel penguined out. Form memory this afternoons trip was the first where we didn't have any show blowing around.
Once again it was back to the ship to warm up and there was some spectacular views as we cruised to Paradise Harbour where we would anchor and put ashore the hardy souls who were going camping. There were a few from our group who were looking forward to it but I think my nice warm bed in my cabin was looking pretty good. Then it was dinner and after a bit more scenic viewing of the Harbour the campers were put ashore at around 9 pm and they would be brought back to the ship at around 7 am the next morning. I slept very well thinking of the campers sleeping on the shore in their Bivy bags, trying to get warm and comfortable.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 12

Had a bit of a sleep in this morning as Brekkie wasn't until 8am. After this we all got dressed in our outside clothing as we were going to spend a few hours cruising around the Yalour Islands in the Penola Strait. I'm getting the dressing down to a fine art and I have a routine sorted out. The temperature outside was around 0 deg C and there was a slight breeze and light snow. The snow made taking photos a bit of challenge, trying to keep the camera dry as well as getting the focus in the correct position. We saw quite a few seals, penguins and interestingly shaped ice bergs with the snow coming down harder the longer the cruise went on. Then it was back to the ship to warm up and have some lunch while it sailed to Petermann Island for our next adventure.
Petermann Island is the site of a Adelie penguin colony and we went ashore to see the birds on their nests. There were some chicks hatched as well as some birds still sitting on eggs. The penguins were wandering ab out not really caring about us humans at all, although they were very wary of the Skewers as they were trying to steal the chicks for a quick meal. We did a bit of walking on the snow here and I think I just about have the hang of it, short steps, being ready for each step to sink down into the snow and going slow. You get very warm walking around even though it was still snowing fairly heavily, which was making it hard to take photos. We then got onto the zodiacs for a cruise around the island and I put my big camera away in the dry bag and used the little Olympus water proof camera because there was too much snow and wind to keep the camera dry.
Once again we saw penguins and seals along with some great coloured ice bergs. For a little bit the cloud and mist lifted and we saw some great mountains behind the island. Our zodiac driver was the same wild one we had the other day and he got us in close for photos by simply pushing the small ice floes out of the way with the zodiac. There was a very impressive inlet around the back of the island that was ringed with tall icey peaks. Very Spectacular. It is a little worrying when you lose sight of the mother ship and everything looks grey but the drivers always seemed to be able to find their way back.
Before dinner we were sitting in the Observation deck having a chat about the photos we had taken when the ship started going through the Lemaire Passage. We had a great close up view of the glaciers and mountains on either side of the ship. There were also seals and penguins not only on the ice floes but also swimming along beside the ship, we even had a Mincke Whale go past. There was lots of intersting ice bergs to see but it was still chilly outside taking photos as the wind was still blowing in quite a bit of loose snow. After dinner we had a another photo session in the warmth of the Observation Deck as the snow continued to come down outside. The ship anchored up near Damoy Point as that is where we w ould explore the next morning. Then it was off to bed as there was an early morning of exploring coming up.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 11

Over night we had sailed north can crossed back over the Antarctic Circle and then sailed around the top end of Adelaide Island and come south across the Antarctic Circle again but there was no Champagne for the these extra crossing. :( After Brekky in the morning we were split into two groups, one heading off to explore in the zodiacs while the rest of us stayed on the boat and then after a couple of hours we would swap around. I spent my couple of hours getting photos organised and camera batteries charged. This time getting dressed for the zodiac cruise took only 15 mins and I made a few changes to make it a more efficient process. One thing I learned not to do, is to get everything zipped up too early as it generally takes 15 mins or so of organisation in the hot ship before we get outside and it was easy to get too hot in all the layers.
This morning we were heading off to explore Detaille Island in the north end of Crystal Sound. There is a hut here which was originally used as a British Antarctic Survey Station until it was abandoned in 1959 and it is kept as a place of historical interest. The hut is built of fairly thin plywood and there is not much insulation, so it would have been very chilly in the winter. They had to abandon it as there was so much ice in 1959 they couldn't get a ship in to resupply the explorers. The disembarkation from the zodiacs was pretty tricky here as you had to get out of the boat and onto a steepish rock shelf before climbing up about 10-15 metres of shale to the flat snow. Unfortunately, one lady slipped on the shale and hit her nose, breaking it. Fortunately the ship's doctor was right there and was able to look after her right away.
After the shale we hit the snow which had been tramped down by the previous groups a bit, however I still managed to sink down to mid calf level and go down on the snow. No damage done except to my pride. There was also a snow hill to climb, behind the hut for a great view out over the surrounding countryside. I managed this without falling over and the view was spectacular. After 45 minutes of looking around it was back down to the zodiac and time for a cruise around the island. We saw some more seals and great scenery and we were watching some penguins on the rocky shore just before we were about to head back to the ship. Then our zodiac ran out of fuel. :( They always carry a spare tank so the driver had to get it fitted, but he had trouble getting all the air out of the lines, so one of the other zodiacs started towing us back to the ship. In the mean time the wind had picked up a bit and a bit of light snow was starting fall. The engine finally got started and we then motored back to the ship with no further problems. I had worn the same clothes as yesterday and found that I was too warm while walking around on the snow but just right when we were out on the zodiac.
We had a nice warm lunch and an hour or so to ourselves as the s hip cruised a bit further into Crystal Sound looking for a place where we could have another zodiac excursion. They eventually found a place and this time I was dressed for the cold in about 10 mins. We were in luck as there were three Emperor Penguins to see on a sheet of ice, apparently they aren't normally seen in this part of Antarctica. After this, we saw an Elephant seal also a bit unusual and then many other seals and smaller penguins on the ice floes. There was some really spectacular ice formations and the blue colour of some of them was amazing. Our zodiac driver was a bit of a wild one and used the zodiac as an ice breaker to push through some of the smaller sheet ice to get a better view. Once again as we started to head back to the ship some snow started falling and I was very glad that I had all of my warm layers under the outer water proof layer.
Back in the warm ship we had a bit of a get together to discuss the day's photography with everyone agreeing it was spectacular. I then got my photos downloaded to the computer, backed up and this blog written up while waiting for the evening meal. We are sailing north again, heading to our next stop for a bit more exploration. The wind has picked up so the ship is leaning a bit but there is not much swell so it is a pretty comfortable ride and makes it easy to go to sleep.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 10

We had a fairly early morning start as there was a celebration to be had as we crossed over the Antarctic Circle. The circle marks the northern limit of the area in which the sun does not rise on the summer solstice (June 21) or set on the winter solstice (Dec 21). There was champagne consumed and the expedition crew had a fancy dress theme going on. Then there was Brekky followed by a presentation on the types of penguins that we would see and then a bit of lunch. All this time we were heading south to Marguerite Bay which was just past Adelaide Island. There was lots of ice we went past and saw seals having a lazy time on some of the sea ice. We didn't get all the way into the bay as the ice was moving around too much. However, we all went off for a Zodiac cruise for and hour and half and it was pretty spectacular.
It took me about 30 mins to get dressed for the zodiac trip as I had to work out how to get all the layers on in the proper order. First there was the t ermal underwear top and bottom followed by polar fleece tracksuit pants with waterproof over pants. Then a warm T-shirt on top with a polar fleece jumper, over top of this was the provided waterproof jacket which had an inner layer of polar fleece which can be zipped out. Then there was the life jacket and finally a water proof pack for the camera gear. I almost forgot the balaclava and two sets of gloves, a thin inner set for operating the camera and a thick water proof set to go over these and keep my hands dry and warm in the wind.
The zodiac cruise started out great and we got to see some Adelie penguins, seals and some amazing formations in the ice bergs. It took awhile to get used to the zodiac and how we could move around a bit to take photos. There were 5 people down each side of the boat and one side would kneel down while those behind would stand up giving everyone a chance to take photos. As it was getting time to head back to the mother ship the wind and swell pick ed up giving us a very wet but fun ride home. I forgot to mention the snow that was also coming down as we sped home. Back at the ship we dried off a bit and changed out of our wet weather gear, had a bit of a debrief and then a nice warm dinner. We finished dinner late and then I spent a couple of hours downloading and backing up photos before going to bed. In the meantime the ship was heading back north along the coast of Adelaide Island.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 8 and 9

I've found that I can get a temporary email account for the trip and use that to send text emails but not with photos attached. So I'm emailing this to my travel blog (jcdmusing.blogger.com) and it should be automatically sent onto my Facebook account if everything goes to plan. :) However, I have no way to check my Facebook account and respond to posts there, that will have to wait until I return to civilisation.
Day 8
I ended up having quite a reasonable nights sleep but that may have been due to the Kwells I had taken. The sea was much rougher today although I coped OK, with the Kwells keeping me a bit sleepy but at least free of sea sickness. The day consisted of a series of presentations on what we can and can't do when we are on Antarctica as well as some wildlife presentations. Our photography group also had a meeting to make sure we had our cameras setup properly and to give us an idea of the conditions we would face. There was also a lot of food to be e aten and lots of stairs to climb while exploring the ship and as my knee was feeling a lot better this wasn't too bad. We also received our water proof parker and it is particularly warm.
Day 9
Another pretty good sleep and when I woke I thought we had stopped as it felt like the ship had stopped its rocking and rolling. The sea had just calmed down a bit but it got back to normal as the day wore on. More talks and presentations and we got out water proof boots. All our outer clothes that we were to wear when we left the ship got vacuumed to remove any extraneous seeds or dirt that shouldn't be transported onto the Antarctic continent. I had a bit of a practise at trying to photograph the birds flying around the ship but it didn't work real well as they move quickly and with the ship rocking and rolling its hard to get the focus right. I saw my first ice berg this afternoon, way off in the distance so once again the photos won't be wonderful. The meals so far have been g reat and there is no worry that they will run out of food. I had an early night in bed as we would be up fairly early for the celebration of crossing the Antarctic Circle.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 7

When I woke up my knee was still causing me grief, so I cancelled a trip to see the National Park which is just out of town. After packing up my bags I spent the day resting my knee and reading in the hotel lounge. We were picked up by bus about 3 pm in the arvo and taken to the meeting point just outside the docks where we met up with everyone else and then got bussed into dock area and taken to the ship - Ocean Diamond. Once on board we were shown to our cabins (mine was on the lowest passenger deck - Deck 3) where we could unpack our gear. We had a safety talk and lifeboat drill before we were able to leave the dock. They had to try a couple of times to get out from the dock as the prevailing wind just kept blowing the ship back onto the dock.
We were finally underway at about 18:30 and sailed smoothly out through the Beagle Canal. At this stage I had taken my first Kwell tablet, just to be sure. We had a nice dinner and after chatting with the rest of the photogr aphy people we all had a reasonably early night in bed. Sometime in the evening we would hit the rougher section of sea which is the Drake Passage.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 6

Not only does the sun go down late at night, it gets up very early as well. I was up around 6 am and took a walk down to the little beach behind the hotel, the sky was relatively clear and there was no wind to speak of but it was still pretty chilly. Then it was back to the hotel for breakfast before catching the shuttle bus into town to have a look around. I booked a boat cruise of the Beagle Channel for the afternoon and then spent the morning wandering around town, it is amazing how many gift/souvenir shops you can fit into the one street. At one stage I was passing the bank, just before it opened and there was a queue formed outside, I almost joined it. :)
Then it was time for a pleasant lunch in a little cafe, although their idea of a cappuccino didn't quite match what I was expecting. I walked back down the docks to catch the boat cruise with about 50 other people and it turned out that I was the only one requiring an English translation of all the safety instructions. The poor guide looked a little bored after going through everything in Spanish, then Portuguese and finally English. The weather was perfect with blue sky and not much wind. We cruised quite close to bird colony on a little rock island and then a seal colony before landing on an island to have a walk around to look at the plants and trees. Back on the boat we headed deeper into the channel to look at a lighthouse and another seal colony before heading back to port as the wind picked up a bit.
Then it was back to the hotel by taxi where I somehow twisted my sore knee. It was quite sore at the time making me limp around the hotel. I transferred and backed up photos and then it was time for a briefing from the company that runs the ship, there were probably 50 or so people there (20 were from my photographic tour). Some people gave the poor lady a hard time over what seemed like very minor things (i.e. how the bags were going to be transferred and what time th e sun goes down) but she kept her cool and handlied it well, although I did hear hear her later on the phone to her office and she was sounding a little less cool. Then we had a quick meet and great with the other people in our smaller photography group before having some dinner at the hotel restaurant. The crumbed calamari entree could almost have been a main course and was very nice.
Putting on my elastic knee guard and taking some anti-inflammatories helped settle down my knee a bit. We talked a bit more photography stuff and heard the horror tale of the two photographers leading the group. They had landed in Buenos Aires and as they were getting ready to board their flight to Ushuaia, the LAN (Chilean Airline) pilots went on strike. They had to scramble, try and get their luggage back, rebook another flight, organise different accommodation, etc. - very stressful. Thankfully all my travel so far has been relatively trouble free (says he touching wood) with the longest dela y being about 30 mins. I'm hoping this continues until I get home. :) Then it was off to bed for the last time on dry land for 2 weeks.

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Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 5

Very early start, as Leonardo was taking me to the airport, in fact it
was so early I ended up being the first in the queue for checkin. I
think I may now be as close as I'll ever be, to being a native South
American :). I was able to check in for both my flights today (Iguazu
to Buenos Aires and then onto Ushuaia) and they would organise my
luggage to be transferred. A window seat again and I had a quick
glimpse of the falls as we took off - a very spectacular sight. I was
back in Buenos Aires just before lunch time but at a different airport
to last time. I didn't leave the lounge area as I didn't need to pick
up my luggage meaning I didn't need to go through Security again.
Sat around the airport lounge reading a book, writing a few things for
this travel blog and generally being lazy. I had quite a good burger
at the Hard Rock Cafe but I'm afraid Argentinian coffee is not good.
Boarded the plane to Ushuaia and took off about 4 pm, the three and a
half hour trip to Ushuaia was good but I am getting sick of the
biscuits in the snack box they give you and I've sworn off their
coffee with powdered milk. When we got close to Ushuaia the scenery
became very picturesque with snow covered mountains behind the town.
Even before leaving the plane I could tell it was chilly outside as
the workmen had big thick coats, beanies, scarves and gloves. I also
got to see my luggage being offloaded from the plane before I
disembarked which pleased me greatly as I was worried it might go
missing in the flight changeover.
For a change my bag was almost the first one out on the carousel, so I
picked it up and wandered out to the Arrivals area to find people who
were giving me and a few others a lift to our hotel. We got dropped
off at the hotel and in the process I booked a trip out to the
National Park to fill in Saturday morning before we board the ship.
Then it was a quick shower and unpack before having dinner at the
hotel cafe. The BBQ'ed lamb and beef was excellent and the sautéed
shrimp and mussels for entree was also great. The sun only just went
behind the hills at around 10 pm and even now at 11 pm it is still
reasonably light outside. Time for sleep now as tomorrow I'll head
into Ushuaia and spend the day looking around.

Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 4

Another early morning as after breakfast Leonardo would take me to the
Brazilian side of the border to view the falls and see a bit of the
city (Foz de Iguazu ?). The border crossing went smoothly at both the
Argentinian and Brazilian stations. This part of Brazil certainly
seems a bit more prosperous than what I had seen in Argentina and once
again this city seems to be focussed on tourism. First stop was the
Bird Sanctuary where I was able to wander around for a couple of hours
looking at the amazing, colourful birds found in the jungles of South
America. I couldn't get good photos of many of them as they wer behind
wire mesh. There was also a butterfly house and many Bromileads in the
gardens.
Then it was across the road to the national park centre and time to
join my first queue for the day to get a day pass which would also
cover the bus fare to the walk alongside the falls.
Then another queue to get on a bus and a 20 min or so bus ride to the
walking tracks. There are not as many tracks on the Brazilian side and
they also had some where you got quite wet just from the spray thrown
up by the falls. the walk was a couple of kms long and involved a bit
of up and down stairs so my knee was starting to ache a bit. Once
again the views were amazing and the sheer volume of water going over
the falls is staggering. At the tourist centre at the end of the walk
I noticed they also had Coati wandering around trying to get food from
the tourists but no monkeys. A short queue and I was back on a bus to
the visitor centre where I had some lunch and a drink.
Leonardo picked me up and then we had a tour of the city, including
stopping off at a point where the Iguazu river met another river which
was much bigger. At this intersection you could see three countries,
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Then it was back to the hotel via the
Brazilian and Argentinian border stations, where once again everything
went smoothly. As the knee was aching a bit I spent the rest of the
afternoon resting up and organising photos before having dinner at the
hotel restaurant before having an early night as I needed to be up
early in the morning to catch my first flight.

Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 3

I was up relatively early and dressed for the Breakfast Buffet which
was quite nice, then it was back downstairs to meet Leonardo who then
drove me out the National Park and organised the tickets for entrance
as well as for the Jungle and River tour. First off, the Jungle and
River tour started out with a drive down a muddy dirt road for 5 or 6
kms through the jungle sitting in the back of a truck with rows of
seats bolted in. The only wildlife we saw was lots of butterflies and
one snake sitting up in the trees branches hanging over the road. The
rain forest reminds me a bit of Cape York as it is a similar sort of
sub-tropical rain forest.
At the end of the road we took a longish set of stairs down to the
river where there were several high powered boats waiting to take us
on a trip up the river to the falls. First we were issued with a dry
bag to put our packs and personal effects in and fitted with a life
jacket. We were also warned that we were going to get very wet. The
trip up the river was quite pleasant with many smaller waterfalls
along the way, but we didn't really get wet at all. Then when we got
to the falls we stopped for photos of two different sections and while
this was happening we noticed the crew had put on some very serious
looking water proof protection and we realised that we were about to
get very wet. Most of the rest of the passengers seemed to be more
interested in taking selfies than looking at the scenery.
Then the boat nudged in closer and closer to the falls and we got
wetter and wetter, I was taking movies with my underwater camera at
this stage and it got so bad you couldn't see anything for the spray
and water. This happened a few times and was very invigorating with
the water being a very pleasant temperature. Then it was a hig speed
run back down the river to the landing area where we got out of the
boat and tried to dry off a bit. We piled back into the trucks and
they drove us back to the central staging area of the park. This was a
great experience and a lot of fun.
I was going to take the small train up to the Devil's Mouth but the
queue was very long so I decided to walk the upper falls section. This
was very spectacular with some great views out over the many falls.
Back at the central area I had some lunch and watched the Coati (?)
trying to scavenge food from the visitors when a small herd of monkeys
arrived and stole the odd sandwich or two from the unwary tourists.
The lower falls walk was next and I was starting to dry out but got
wet again from the spray from the falls but once again it was very
spectacular and worth getting a bit wet. I finally headed back to the
train station where the queue was a little bit shorter, so I stood in
line and tried to keep cool as the temperature was up around 35 deg C
and the humidity was close to 100 %.
The little train trip was quite pleasant and a coolish breeze helped
dry me out a bit. A one km walk out over metal bridges to the Hell's
Mouth was interesting and hot as there was not much shade and then
seeing the amount of water and power of it as it flows over the top of
the falls was incredible. Once again everyone seemed to be trying to
take selfies making it hard to get into position for a good view and
photograph.
Then it was another one km walk back to the train and another very
long queue. I finally made it back to the park entrance and while my
shirt had dried out nicely my jeans and shoes were still damp.
Leonardo picked me up and he took me back to the hotel where I had a
relaxing shower and hung up my clothes so they could dry out a bit.
After a visit to the hotel restaurant buffet for dinner and then an
ibuprofen desert, I downloaded and started organising my photos and
then had an early night to bed after all the walking of the day.

Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Day 2

Had dinner in the hotel restaurant and went to bed early and got a good 4 or 5 hours of sleep before my body thought I should be up doing things. I repacked my bags and got ready for an early transfer to the airport for the next stage of my trip. Sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for the bus and listening to a medley of David Bowie music that they are playing. So sad to hear he had passed away overnight.
Lucky that I arrived at the airport with a couple if hours to spare as it was chaos. I managed to pick the correct very long line and eventually got checked in. Even the locals seemed confused by the process. For the first time I had to remove my shoes for the security check and managed to get through alright. Relaxing now in the gate lounge after the mêlée.
The flight got delayed a bit and after loading and unloading a bus to take us to the plane we finally got going. I think things are a little more chaotic than usual as it is school holidays here as well. The trip was very smooth and unfortunately I didn't have a window seat this time so I couldn't see the falls as we came into land. After picking up my luggage I found my tour guide who then drove me into town and dropped me at my hotel.
They didn't quite have my room ready so I went for a walk into town to have a look. Boy was it hot and humid. The town seems to be set up for tourism, with lots of hotels and restaurants.
Like most of Argentina that I have seen so far, it also has a rundown feeling to it.  With old incomplete buildings and infrastructure that looks like they ran out of money and simply stopped building. Back at the hotel I had a nice cool shower and relaxed in the air con before doing a bit of washing and organising for tomorrows tour. Then a buffet dinner at hotel restaurant before an early night.

Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Part 2

NZ to Arg.
After a couple of hours layover in Auckland it was back on another plane. The Auckland International airport is pretty big but still seems to have  the same sort of stuff as the Brisbane one, booze and perfume but they replaced opals with honey.  I still had a window seat but down towards the back and luckily a spare seat beside me again. This flight seems much more crowded with a very high percentage of the passengers returning home to Argentina from holidays in Aus and NZ, in fact there are dual announcements in English and Spanish.
The sunset was spectacular and dinner, consisting of stir fry beef and rice with ice cream for desert was pretty good as is the merlot they served with the meal. The entertainment system in this plane is much better with the touch screen being much more responsive. I started off watching the Fantastic Four and while it wasn't as bad as the reports, it wasn't a particularly good movie. I'll have to find something else interesting to watch now before I try and go to sleep. Only 9 hours to go, maybe I'll have another glass of wine.
There's now just 2 hours to go and the lights in the cabin have come on and brekkie will be served soon. I dozed off a few times but didn't really get much sleep and my bum is feeling very numb at the moment. Brekkie was scrambled eggs and sausage and baked beans and hopefully the coffee will wake me up a bit.
We've come in at the bottom of Argentina and we are flying north over dry brown areas of Patagonia. From the air it looks similar to what I have seen in outback Australia around Lake Eyre. The countryside got greener the further north we flew and it ended up being overcast and drizzly when we landed in Buenos Aires. Passport control and customs went very well, my only worry was that my luggage was amongst the last to come out. :( I was getting a little worried.
After some hurried directions I found the shuttle bus stop for the hotel and after about 15 mins wait the bus turned up much to my and 3 other tourists relief. The drive to the hotel suggested that the lanes on the road were there as a suggestion rather than a rule. Even though it was overcast the grass verge beside the freeway was bring used for picnics and friendly soccer games. Checking in went smoothly and after a nice hot shower I almost feel human again. I think I'll have a little snooze before dinner and an early night in bed.

Antarctica trip Jan 2016 Part 1

AUS to NZ.
Had a problem checking in via the kiosk as Auckland was just a stopover not my final destination. The nice Air NZ lady had to enter some primitive command line hell and sort it out but I eventually got my boarding passes and they took my luggage away.
Then it was off to stand in line for awhile until they checked my passport and took the form that said I was leaving the country. Immediately on leaving immigration I entered a shopping mall with all sorts of duty free items available, no Stolen Spiced Rum however. I tracked down a quite nice coffee and sausage roll and relaxed for awhile before going for a walk to stretch my legs. I found a comfy out of the way spot and watched as they unloaded and then loaded my plane. Boarding was painless and I ended with a window seat just behind the wing and a spare seat beside me do that I can spread out a bit. We ended up leaving a bit behind schedule but with a tail wind we should make up the time. Leaving from Brissy we flew over Stradbroke Island and then past the Gold Coast which looked nice and sunny.
The inflight entertainment system is driven from a touch screen tablet in the head rest of the seat in front but the touchscreen is not real sensitive.  But they do have a USB port to charge up phones and tablets. After searching the in flight entertainment system for something to occupy me, I ended up with the best of Queen to drown out the roar of the plane.
I wasn't sure if I was getting food as not all economy tickets got anything to eat. I ended up with Caribbean chicken and rice but I don't think I could have dried it out anymore if I had taken  it into the lab and put it in a vacuum desiccator with a kilo of silica gel beads.
The trip was very easy with no real worries to speak of. Hopefully there is free WiFi at Auckland airport so I can post this to my blog.
Had to go through security again even though we just came off an international flight. Looks like I get 30 mind of free WiFi, hopefully enough to get this posted before heading off to a 12 hour flight.