Drake passage

Yesterday was a relatively quiet day. We are experiencing what they refer to as “Drake Lake” where the swells are only 10 feet. Because of this we are making excellent time and should arrive in the South Shetland islands by tonight so we may have time to do a landing! Had a little bit of snow today as well. Despite the fact that the swells are mild, people aren’t feeling too great. We lost several of our group at various moments of the day as they battled nausea. I love the gentle rocking. Yesterday I cut a scopolamine patch in half and am wearing that. This has had the added benefit for drying out any nasal secretions, because of course now I have a cold. So altogether while I am somewhat drowsy, I am not the least bit seasick and I am almost disappointed that I played it safe. On the other hand, after watching more than one person hurl in public, it’s probably wise. Yesterday we learned about birds and whales, ID and some medical stuff, such as how to euthanize a beached whale that is suffering. The birds we saw were some petrols and a smaller albatross called a sooty albatross. Then there is the northern petrol. Coordinates today: S 59 degrees, 22.668’; W 64 deg 7.537 minutes. We did get our parkas which are very large for everyone. Mine is so big on me that I feel like a large blue marshmallow smurf when I wear it. Not so many great pictures, unless you like blue.

Pictures

Tierra del Fuego

Yesterday, we explored the area around Ushuaia.  We went to Tierra del Fuego national park, which is a nice place overall with some good scenery.  There were some bird watchers among us.  Mike for example, had a camera lens so big that he looked like he might fall over.  We saw a great grebe, which everyone got extremely excited over because I suppose that is quite rare.  We also saw an Ibis, which I got very excited over because their beaks are just so cool.  They are like curved daggers about 12” long.  I imagine the female turning her head to talk to her mate and accidentally stabbing him if he happened to be too close.  Oops, didn’t realize you were there, dear.
The highlight was a red fox which meant that the whole bus leaned to the right as everyone moved to that side to grab a photo. click click click.

There is supposedly this route 3 that ends in Tierra del Fuego and goes all the way down South America.  We encountered a group on their motorcycles, some of which had driven all they way down from Alaska!  That was almost better than seeing a great grebe.  One guy had stickers all over his beamer with different flags from several different countries.  At first I assumed they were places he had ridden through on this trip but then I noted Germany and Finland and said out loud, “Oh he just is putting the flags on, can’t have driven through those countries.”  And then this huge guy in motorcycle clothes comes up and looms over me.  He tells us that he is from Vancouver, has driven down from Bogota on this particular trip - but he ships his bike around the world and he actually had been to all those countries.  Of course he does this very politely because that is how Canadians are.  I stand corrected anyway.

Also there is a post office at the end of the world (fin de mundo) where for 10 pesos (about $2) they will stamp your passport (see picture below).  The man there kindly put a sticker on a page and then put a huge stamp that filled the whole page.  He then did a date stamp.  I didn’t even know that was allowed, to put a stamp there that wasn’t a country stamp.  We looked at the sticker and it’s a picture of himself!  Hilarious.  His name was either Lorenzo or Carlos, depending on who you ask. I suppose if I was Lorenzo/Carlos, I would change my name regularly, just for kicks, to confuse all the tourists.
(does this mean that I can put other fun stickers in my passport?)

Ushuaia

When we flew into Ushuaia the beauty was astounding. I started to cry with all these mixed emotions - the sheer beauty, the fact that I was actually here, in Antarctica! Wow! I can’t believe I am actually doing this! Morbidly I imagined ways I might not have to go home, and the only way I thought is if I die here. Maybe I can have a dramatic death, getting eaten by a leopard seal or maybe I can die of hypothermia or get stranded in one of the research stations. The dominant species that will replace the human race will find my naked body (because people who die of hypothermia take their clothes off, or so I heard) 10,000,000 years from now and try to extrapolate, like Otzi, what happened to me.  They will extrapolate that the human race lived mostly off of cafe con leche.

But I suppose the preferable alternative is to stay alive but still not go home.  I would miss my cats though.

Ushuaia is at the base of the Andes mountains.  The mountains seem to go right up to the sea, with not much foothills.  The town is set on the hill heading straight up to the mountain.  Everything here is at the "fin de mundo" Even next to the elevator in the hotel there is a plaque that says something like "ascenseurs de fin de mundo."

My morning run was mostly along the shoreline.  It was very picturesque in the morning sunlight, although by that time the sun had already been up for a few hours.  Despite a brief adrenaline-laced interlude of getting chased by wild dogs (that does seem to be the most ironic way to die) it was a very beautiful run.

For those "training hill" aficionados - try this one on for size.

The bay with Andes in the background.

Last day in BA

OK this is my last post before heading to Ushuaia.  Yesterday was a pretty busy day.  After only a few hours’ sleep, went for a run down in the parks.  There is a large cluster of parks about 1.5 miles from my hotel.  Then, after breakfast I met Oliver and we explored Buenos Aires by bus, foot, taxi, and subway.  We went to the Recoleta cemetery (Where Evita is interred) and had coffee in a number of cafes, explored Ave 9 de Julio, Plaza de Mayo, watched tango dancers, looked at Antique shops and had extremely yummy ice cream.  We covered an awful lot of ground in one day.  Then last night I went to a fancy (and likely overpriced, not sure how much I paid for it) tango show.  I was so exhausted though that I found myself distracted throughout.  The couple next to me was from France and one of them spoke English so I had someone to talk to.  Then finally back to the hotel.

Figuring out flavors was a bit tough in Spanish.  I decided anything with chocolat or dulce de leche was a good start.  

This morning I explored the parks some more while running.  There is a fitness path that is a 10K with stops for exercises.   Since it was Saturday joggers were out in full force.  Very much like central park in NYC.

Tango show.  

Happy Thanksgiving! Food coma...

Ahh, what a meal.  Comes on a wooden cutting board basically. Fries with an egg, grilled red pepper, steak, slab of grilled cheese, rice, a grilled onion and mashed sweet potato.    Top it off with some malbec!
Los Caberos restaurant in Palermo.
The best part of this meal was the price.  About 85 pesos which is $12 or so.

Brazilian side of Iguazu falls

Looking over the edge, this rainbow was more than 180 degrees!

Wall of rushing water...

Today we had a 1/2 day on the Brazil side of Iguazu falls.  This meant exiting Argentina, entering Brazil (stamp, stamp), and then back to Argentina (stamp).  Kind of fun getting all of those stamps in my passport.  It was just two of us today with Silvio.  My new friend for the day is Oliver, who is also from California but living in BA for 6 months or so.  The Brazil side of the falls is less impressive as far as getting close in but it is much better at capturing the full extent of the falls.  Imagine, if you can, a waterfall about 4 times the size of Niagara falls.  A guide said that the only people who go off the falls are suicides, the last one being 3 mos ago.  No way you could do this in a barrel!  There seems to be two main levels, each one a 200+ foot drop.  And of course, you can´t capture the whole thing in just one camera photo so photographs just don´t do it justice.  You can´t even see all of it with just one view point.  You have to walk all over, and they have designed these metal walkways that go over the water so you can feel the roar in your bones and you get soaked by the spray and the rainbows seem just beyond your reach.  And the little tiny falls that would be described as mere rivulets here would be considered very impressive by American standards (say, Yosemite at its best for example).  Would you agree Andrea?  So that was a nice morning and then Oliver and I had lunch at a restaurant in Iguazu.  Turns out we are both headed back to BA today and he lives just down the street from my hotel so may help guide me around BA tomorrow.

A completely random digression if I may- the other night I was in my hotel room and turned on the TV. I was so tired. It was animal planet and I instantly recognized the man on the screen.  Why, it´s Jackson!  He and I used to work together back in the day at the Boulder Humane Society.  He helped me buy my first guitar and here he is playing his guitar for cats.  Wow, that is bizarre, to see his voice dubbed over in Spanish halfway around the world.  I guess I don´t watch that much TV and I had no idea he had his own cat-whisperer type show.  Good for you Jackson!  Definitely a step up from where we were back then.  But then Amanda (Canadian friend from yesterday) was like, oh yeah, Jackson Galaxy, he´s real popular in Canada.  OK then.

Today, will fly to Buenos Aires. No stamps.