Recap

As a recap, here is a list of DeDe and Pop Pop’s highlights from the trip:

1. The people we met – there were so many people with multiple talents: a classical concert pianist, a classical concert singer, the man who first climbed and mapped Antarctica’s highest two mountain peaks – both all ice and rock over 16,000 ft., a young couple on a world tour – he a trader and she a product manager for Skittles, the National Geographic and Lindblad photography teams, the naturalists and scientists studying marine and wildlife on Antarctica, the Antarctic dive team, and people from all over the world: Australia, Bonaire, Britain, Canada,Switzerland, and all over the U.S.
2. The vastness and sparseness of Antarctica – ice, rocks, and lots of space. One time we thought an iceberg was two miles away. The captain hit it with a GPS – it was 12 miles away, and very big!
3. The king penguin colony in South Georgia – standing with 300,000 to 500,000 penguins is amazing – especially watching the personal interaction of the individual birds.
4. The rest of the area’s wildlife – birds, seals, and whales - and the geology, and the interaction of the two dynamics.
5. Albatross in both South Georgia and the Falklands – these birds are so awkward on land and so graceful soaring in the air – it is no wonder they can stay aloft for months at a time.
6. The Lindblad response to the earthquakes in Chile – they threw resources at a problem, and were there for all their travelers. We appreciate their commitment, expertise, teamwork, and diligence.
7. The links to the Shackelton rescue both in Antarctica and South Georgia – we got a minute taste of the Shackelton men’s experience by being there in the summer, and hiking 4 miles over a ridge 1,000 ft high (it was very steep, both up and down). That was certainly small potatoes compared to an 800 mile ride in a tiny boat in the dead of winter, almost without navigation, and a hike over 9,000 ft and 20 miles after near exhaustion. And the men who stayed on Antarctica over the winter under two wooden life boats had no picnic, either.
8. The photography lessons, the critiques, and the individual attention - having six photography experts, each with their own style and point of view, was a learning experience. We were at the bottom end of the photo food chain, with our little point and shoot cameras. But we learned that with good positioning and composition, and pretty good editing tools at our disposal, we were able to improve our picture taking significantly.
9. The concert in the “Bistro Bar” and the personal story and presentation of climbing Antarctica’s Mountain peaks –these were unexpected treats, from our fellow travelers.
10. And finally, but not trivially, learning to blog over time and space – DeDe and Pop Pop loved doing it, getting better as we went along, and knowing that others were able to share our experience in part.

Thank you to all who traveled with us and followed us on our blog.

Coming home

We were stranded in Ushuaia for two days, due to the Chilean earthquake and apparent Argentine intransigence. Special thanks to Bud and Kendra, trip leaders, and the entire Lindblad team for all their attention and efforts to get us home with minimal disruption - including flying a special charter from Miami to get us all back to the states. The earthquake had left all South American travel in shambles. For example, in Santiago there was a cruise ship where over 2,000 passengers were not allowed to
have anyone disembark, nor shore passengers to board, because there were no hotel rooms certified safe!

We, however, arrived home safe, sound and exhausted. We had as good a trip as could be expected considering a five hour leg, an hour layover on the plane, a two hour leg, a two hour layover off the plane, and finally a five hour leg to Miami (all with three bodies in three seats in steerage). But it was better than it sounds. Mike Nolan, one of the Lindblad photographers, sat with us, and he used to be a deejay, so we had a group sing-along with Mike, Jake (from Bonaire), and Juan (from Canberra) leading the way. The sing-alongs and the layovers really helped break up the tight space for the rest of the trip.

From there it got much better. We hustled in Miami, and our expected layover of ten hours was not only cut to an hour and a half, but we were upgraded to Philly, and arrived back in Philly by 11 am, and home before noon. After showers, Donna called friends and crashed around 790, while I went to our club, where the National American Paddle Tennis Association (APTA) finals were being held. It was unreal - "A game of which I am unfamiliar," as someone once said.

The Philly clan arrived and we had a great time with a Chinese dinner and watching the Oscar prelims, the Red Carpet. Pop Pop fell asleep twice prior to heading upstairs before the actual show started, and never heard a thing until workers arrived yesterday am, installing new wiring in our basement and finishing the work on our family room.

Just prior to our trip, and while we were gone, we had over fifty inches of snow - in PA, not Antarctica! We have pine boughs down everywhere, and mold (yuck)in our basement. We have things to do and miles to go before we sleep.

P.S., The pictures are our last day in the Falklands, a scene in Ushuaia, and a scene from our sing-along.

One more time ...

One of the best lines of the trip came, unfortunately, this am. Bud, our Expedition Leader, started, “I hope you are sitting down.” Fast forward, it is now 4pm, and the plane from Lima, Peru, has just left Lima for a six or seven hour flight to Ushuaia so, at best, we leave tomorrow. On the return trip, we will need to land in both Lima and La Paz, Bolivia, so there is a chance for continued unexpected events. It’s now getting old. Even after that flight, we need to get from Miami to Philly, and finally, to 790. Yoicks!

P.S.: Here's what a baby albatross looks like.

Ushuaia - fin du monde

We’ve returned from a long am walk in Ushuaia. Ushuaia bills itself as Fin du Monde, or End of the World, because it is the most southern city in the world. The city sits in a bowl of mountains surrounding it, except for an exit to the sea. It’s a pretty town (larger than we thought – 60,000 people) that is oriented to hiking, climbing, and outdoors in Patagonia. It is quite pleasant, sunny, and close to 70 degrees F today.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a flight early tomorrow am.

Ushuaia - again

Well, it is a beautiful day in Ushuaia – good news! We are still here – bad news. At this time, we expect to fly to Miami tomorrow am, but the plane is in Lima, Peru, awaiting Argentine paperwork. We don’t know if that means security or bribes that is gumming up the works.

We can’t wait to get home to hug everyone. Hopefully, we won’t be updating this message tomorrow am.

Albartoss and Rock Hoppers

Rock hoppers and albatross – we had a beautiful pm. There was a pleasant walk (about 20 min.) to cliffs overlooking the opposite shore of New Island. Our pictures don’t do justice to the heights, so here are close-ups of two birds.
BTW, we have had no adverse effects from the earthquake. But we also do not know if we can fly in or out of Santiago. Hopefully, we will hear more on that tomorrow.

Carcass Island

Can you imagine living 35 years on an island named Carcass running a sheep farm? We met the McGills (H&W) who have done just that. It was a pretty island, and hiking up the hills was peaceful and calm – but 35 years?! This pm we’ll see New Island, a home of nesting Black Browed Albatross and rock-hopper penguins.

Hydroponic gardening

Today we are in Stanley, the main town in the Falkland Islands. They are partly noted for their colorful roofs. Yesterday, both DeDe and Pop Pop had a massage. We were so relaxed we missed blogging (also, in part, because we were still at sea, and did not have much to report). This pm, we are going to a hydroponic (?) garden. We’ll be learning what that is.

Wow! We just got back from the Stanley Garden Centre. They have acres of support fields, and lots of smaller Quonset huts for starting seedlings. But the main growing area is a large series of Quonset huts covering 1/3 of an acre. In this structure they grow everything in fertilized water in a self-contained, recycled system, with no soil. There they grow peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, beans, etc. At the height of the summer, they harvest ½ ton of peppers, and over one ton of tomatoes per week. It is amazing how efficient agriculture can be.