Our group is at the airport in Buenos Aires & we are ready to fly to Ushuaia!

Cute photo, Andrea!

Have a ton of fun, Gang!

Have a wonderful time - sure hope somebody signs up for an internet package!

yay for you

Had an easy flight to Ushuaia, then we were taken to a local restaurant for a Patagonian lamb luncheon. It was delish!!

Lamb grilling



Family style service



Empanadas



Local beer



Beautiful flowers

Lamb again...Ngaire is in heaven!

Oh Andrea, yech, yuck, or whatever for that first one, but thank you for taking us along!!!!!!!! You all need a bit of sustenance before heading out to sea. Bon Voyage and we will await the next chapter!

i so love flat crystal.......i actually love her more in her real form! but she always looks good.

Lucky travelers....ENJOY!

Finally relaxing on board on our way to the Faulklands. Rocking and rolling but getting my sea legs again. I am sure it will get worse than this. Washing my hair in the shower this am was thinking they needed grab bars in the shower, then realized I was leaning against them! So excited just to be here. Nice small little ship, wonderful company too. Interesting learning about life on this ship as so different than the Regent routine we are so used to. We are off to lunch in a while and as I slept in I missed breakfast so I am hungry!! More later...

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful journey! :hug:

I so wish the ship had a webcam, this is a cruise that would be fun to follow along step by step!

It is 6:10 AM and the first zodiac landing will begin at 6:30. We are in the 2nd group so it won't be long now! Saw a few penguins in the water last night during dinner as we were coming into Coffin's Harbor, can't wait to see more of them today. I am sure everyone will report when we get back. After this landing we are moving to another part of New Island (Faulklands) and will have another landing this PM. More later...

Posting for Andrea:

Looks and sounds like everyone is having a wonderful time. Love the pics!!!

What wonderful photos. Thanks,

It looks pretty warm there!

AfterThoughts of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires was a total surprise to us. Being a spanish speaking country in Latin America, we didn't expect to find a city that was so not Spanish. It was just as Italian, English, Russian, Jewish, French as it was Spanish in culture, architecture and food. For example, it is one of only two cities in the world to have a kosher McDonald's. I was surprised that both of our guides were of Ukranian heritage. While cosmopolitan, I didn't see one person of African heritage and only a few of Asian heritage. I saw only one building with spanish architecture. This is so different from what I expected given it's proximity to Africa and Asia.

While Spanish street grid structure was the original layout of the city, the European diagonal layout broke the grid and wide boulevards common in Paris and Madrid are now the city structure. While the buildings at a quick glance seem to be similar to those found in France, under closer examination, they are really ecclectic in design. There is art deco mixed with a bit of Italianate, mixed with English Tudor and Georgian. Italian restaurants are much more prevalent than Spanish cuisine and Argentinian cuisine equates to a great steak house.

Weather wise, snow is rare. It does get down to about 32 and summers are hot. Houses are air conditioned. All have washer dryers, but, interestingly, do not have dishwashers. Microwaves are also rare. Household help is affordable and most homes do have someone who comes in to clean and many go out to eat often.

I could easily live here - with a dishwasher, mind you. It's a comfortable life...so comfortable that crime is a problem. Folks never wear gold jewelry or expensive watches.

BA Shopping: I saw a distinct lack of expensive jewelry stores. There were stores with artistic silver pieces, but that was it. Leather was abundant and fairly reasonable. There  were crap leather factories with Snookie like leather outfits on Calle Florida in the Downtown area. All the guidebooks and our guide recommended this area and I dragged Doug from shop to shop, but I wasn't impressed. However, the more expensive areas of the city held a shopper's paradise with exquisite, high quality clothes and leather goods. The shoes were gorgeous and the purses yummy. The leather was so soft and the styles were fantastic. I could have shopped for days, once I made my discoveries. I held back but only because my suitcase was filled to the brim. I found some buttery soft teal woven wedges and coral heels, and a funky woven knapsack, a black and sterling classic bag for me and a tan one for my daughter that sells for many many thousands in New York but was kind of a bargain (affordable somewhat-thousands less) here...

There is a tremendous amount of culture here...of living...of enjoying life. I will certainly return and maybe longer than a vacation. We saw a tango show and it was very expensive but highly enjoyable. The music, singing, and dancing were very professional and not schmaltzly. I don't know if I would rush to do it again because it was so expensive, but it was worth doing. I enjoyed it so much, though, the next time, I would do what the locals do. The tango shows are for tourists. I would go to a tango hall  to watch the experienced tango dancers at a milonga (tango salon). The best dancers come to these these shows to show off and we probably should have saved our money and gone to one of these.

One of our cab drivers recommended the Japanese Gardens, but it was so hof we never did this. We also never did a walking tour or visited the Ecological Reserve.

We did a wonderful city tour with Signatures Tour company. We visited the famous Plazo de Mayo, the political heart of the city, cordoned off for demonstrations in front of the presidential palace where Evita addressed her adoring fans. We also took in the Recoleta cemetery  where Evita was laid to rest finally with her family.

Restaurants: las Lilas, el Mirasol, Marcelo, and Jauna M were all very good. However, the most highly acclaimed El Mirasol, was our least favorite. Our favorite was recommended by our concierge and was a wonderful little steakhouse in the Recoleta area-Juana M- at which we had a tasty set of beef ribs, a terrific filet minion and a juicy mustard brisket accompanied by a bottle of wine, dulce de leche ice cream along with an unlimited salad bar all for $30 per person. This restaurant is a real find.

BA Museums : There are all sorts of gardens and museums and we only saw Four...the   Evita museum, the Malba Latin Arts museum, the Theatre Colon opera house tour, and the art museum in Tigre. I can't say that they compared with any museums such as those in Paris, St. Petersburg  or Amsterdam, but they weren't huge or overwheming either. The Evita museum was interesting and worthwhile, there were some rather famous Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo works in the Malba and the Opera House was impressive. 

BA Hotels: We can recommend both the Hilton and the Hyatt. Both are in very nice neighborhoods, the rooms rooms quiet, comfortable and modern and service levels excellent. We also heard great things about the Park Tower, Marriott and the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons and the Hyatt are within walking distance to one another. I really liked having the outdoor garden at the Hyatt and the shopping in the vicinity. Restaurants were abundant in both areas.

Travel Day to Usuaia

We  left Buenos Aires at 6 am on Friday after 5 fun filled days to go to the domestic airport. Other than some cab drivers having difficulties knowing where certain hotels are located, we found them all very nice and the fares were reasonable. The domestic airport was about 15 minutes from the hotel and we unloaded our bags, hugged hello and went downstairs to wait for the plane to Usuaia which left at 8:30. We had all dreaded the 11 pound carry on rule but it was a non event and we were allowed to bring on board whatever we wanted.

The flight is about 3 hours as we we going to the southernmost city in the world, so we all settled in, excited, to finally begin our adventure. Silverseas had chartered this flight and we all looked like happy campers. The flight was a bit delayed, so it was a welcome sight to finally see land and a beautiful view it was! The snow white peaks of the Andes jutted out from the blue sea that separated Chile from Argentina. LAN Airlines must have a plot against us as our bags were again the last 4 bags off the conveyor belt for the second time on this trip, giving us some angst, and we sighed with relief as we dumped our bags off with the Silverseas rep and got on a bus for a brief tour before going to lunch. Lunch consisted of beef empanadas, grilled lamb, salad, ice cream before we were finally shuttled wearily to the ship.

Most Antarctic visitors begin or end their journey in Ushuaia. The tour guide pointed out that Usuaia was no longer considered the southernmost point. Puerto Williams, 28 miles SE on the Chikean side of the Beagle Channel actually is more southern as it is no longer a naval base, having grown into an actual town usurping Usuaia's distinction. Argentinians point out they are still the most southern CITY.

Usuaia has prospered and grown from 7171 inhabitants in 1975 to 57,000 today due to company tax breaks offered by the Argentinian government. Tourism and skiing have continued the town's prosperity.

Our ship was smaller than I imagined, looking like a miniature cruise ship. It was nicely appointed inside, check in was fast, and our luggage was quickly delivered. Now the unpacking...

Dinner was at 6:30 and we had a great meal. Nightfall doesn't come until around 10 pm and we enjoyed the very calm seas. Folks went to bed fairly early even though our first day was a sea day. I love nothing more than the gentle rocking of a ship and the butler brought me the pillow menu of about 8 different types. I made my selection, settled in with my tea and had nodded off before I knew it.

Our ship: Silver Explorer

Our room is the top category. There is one slightly higher...not too much larger in size...but it is a deck higher and it has French balconies. We have large picture windows. When  you enter our room you have about a 10 foot by 3 foot hallway with a closet doorway to your left. In front of you there is a 12 foot by 9 foot living room with a couch and two chairs, coffee table, two end tables, built in fridge, flat tv above it, full size desk with mirror over that. There is a picture window in the room. Facing the couch there is a pocket door leading to a good size bedroom with a king size bed, a cupboard and another tv. Off of this room, another door leads to the walk in closet. This closet is huge. It is about 15 by 12 and has two benches for sitting down. It is really a dressing room. For those who know Regent ships, it is more than 2 times as big as a Regent closet. The marble bathroom has a separate tub and shower and is quite large. My only complaint is I wish the room had more outlets.

We have a great housekeeper and butler and we found AMEX had left a nice bottle of Dom Perignon in our suite and a box of candy. We were also delighted to find out we have free laundry. I am incredibly impressed with the service levels already. Our butler asked me if there was anything special I wanted. I told him Ginger beer. He had never heard of it. I wasn't adamant about having it. Nevertheless, while still in port, they went out and found it for me. At dinner, the waitress asked me what I wanted to drink. I said a virgin mojito. Today, when she saw me, one was waiting. You never have to stumble for you key in the hall. Someone will help you into your room with a general key.

Sea Day 1

Today we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. Dolphins chased our ship right under our window and albatrosses darted and weaved into the waves. The sea was like glass, the sky was robin's egg blue and the sunbeams were blinding.

Doug likes to get up early to go up to breakfast, so his alarm nastily jarred me awake from my dreamy sleep. I snarled and sent him away and rolled back to sleep for a bit longer before getting up to attend the first lecture on the Falkland history at 10 am.

Falklands 

The Falklands were first discovered in the mid 1500's but not colonized until 1764. I learned interesting facts that northern American never learn about such as the French first settled the Falklands; a woman, Jeanne Bare, was really the first person to go around the world; that the English settled West Falkland and the Spanish settled East Falkland; that both countries abandoned the Falklands in 1806 leaving it in a period of lawlessness until 1833. It had a pretty nice whaling industry until the Panama Canal killed it's business opportunities almost overnight. This was coupled with WWI in the Southern hemisphere causing the Falklands to miss out on the rise of technology and fall back on the sheep farming industry. Of course, we all remember the Falklands war caused by a slight oversight in historical documents which failed to mention who owned the islands. Today, things have styled down and children can be educated in England  with today many returning to the Falklands. There is sustainable fishing, ecotourism, wildlife management and, while they are not sure if there is anything there, they are looking at oil drilling.

Proper Antarctic Behavior

We had a mandatory meeting today to learn how to conduct ourselves. Believe it or not, there are 40,000 visitors each year from November to February to Antarctica, the largest wilderness area in the world. By comparison, the Arctic witnesses about 15,000 visitors per year. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) has been formed to prevent the introduction of non native species and to protect the wildlife in this area as wildlife shows little fear of humans. Therefore, it is incumbant to teach us to negotiate the animals with respect, taking care to not disturb them no matter how tempting, and take with us only our memories and photographs.
 
Our lecturer shared that fue seals will charge at you. If this happens, we are to stand our ground, clap our hands and (hope lol) they will stop a meter from us as they consider this a game. If we run they will keep coming. In fact, the game can be funny...sure! On the other hand, elephant seals are more aggressive and run very fast. If you see them, clapping won't help ... No game here. Give them a wide area. Now, molting birds look miserable and feel miserable too. They are stressed and cranky. Leave them alone. Some birds will charge you. If one does, put a hand over your hand and back away. If you move forward, you could get a hole in your head. It sounds like we are in for an adventure. We were given meter distances for staying away from the birds so as not to encroach on their territory as well as all sorts of other rules.

Scientific research has priority over everything. If we want to enter an area we must give 72 hours notice. We can be cancelled out of our tour at any time. We cannot enter a hut on shore unless there is an emergency. We carry 150000 pounds of emergency supplies when we go onshore. We must carry all sorts of clothing as weather is very changeable and we could get stuck there for hours unexpectedly.

Because we will be doing...

Our first stops are the Falkland islands, which comprise over 700 islands and are located about 300 miles east of southern Argentina. However, in actuality, the Falklands is an archipelago consisting of two main islands: east and west. The area of these islands is about the size of Connecticut.

The proximity to the mainland give rise to the fact that most of the animals and plants are also found in both places. These include petrel, albatross, penguin, gull, conmorant. These birds all feed at sea but all need solid land to nest.

We will have two walks in the Falklands tomorrow. We arrive at New Islands, Falklands, tonight at about 10 to 10:30. They will separate us into 4 groups and we will disembark by 6:30am. We expect to see 4 to 5 types of penguins and an albatross rookery. By 10:30 am, we will again set sail, this time for Saunders Island, about 50 miles away,  where will will see 4 species of penguins: Magelanic, gentoo, rockhopper, king, and a different type of albatross colony. We should arrive about 2 pm.

At 6:30 pm tomorrow we will have a meeting to debrief on what we have seen as we set sail for Stanley, the capital, 138 miles away. We expect temperatures in the 50s. The Falklands has a population of about 2600 with about 85% of the population residing in Stanley.

And so day 1 at sea ended...

This afternoon, there was a photography lecture then the Captain's reception. We all broke up into little groups and enjoyed our lobster dinner. An interruption  came about when a school of dolphin joined our ship and started swimming alongside us during dinner. This was the second time today this happened. Doug and I watched about 30 of them around noon today from our cabin.

The seas have been sooo calm. The captain says this is so rare. He said that usually few show up at the Captain's dinner because of the rough seas and seasickness. I barely feel any movement on the ship at all.

Our table tonight consisted if Ed and Mary and Pam and Jim and Ed entertained us with jokes and ordered creme brule for all special order. We all marveled about the man who lives on the Regent ships year round and tried to figure out how to take out time shares on him. Lots of laughs all around. Early bedtimes since we all had 5:30 am wake ups and long days of hiking this morning ... So cool...


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Thanks, Andi for a great report. BA was never before on my radar but now I am thinking that a visit is in order. Our trip to Antarctica remains one of the best, most memorable trips we have ever done and I hope the same for you all.
------------------
Helen

Hi from the Falklands
Everyone else out on 2nd trek of the day. Out of all passengers, I am the only one that had boot that leaked so 1st trip over the side of zodiac, boot filled with water. Since I am/have been sick had to return to ship without seeing a single seal or albatross, but now have new boot and hopefully pants, socks etc are drying as I type. I am NOT in a bad mood. This is still a wonderful trip with many days to go for wildlife sightings. Love our LCT group. Meeting lots of other nice people also. Not going to spend computer time reading other posts but hope they are also glowing reports. Tomorrow - Stanley, our only town.

what wonderful reports. andi, so thorough. thank you.

ah, the penguins. the penguins.

Wow Andi, what a fabulous report but loved yours too Betty. I wish I'd given you a 'flat Lee' to keep 'flat Crystal' company as its obvious I'm really missing a great time. Love 'food' photos Andrea and the others were great, so you keep up the good work too. Haven't forgotten you Beth - keep smiling! Lee

Here are a couple of pics from dinner last night. The lobster tail was absolutely delicious!





And a couple of pics from dinner tonight with a special guest!

Nice to see Turdkey is settled in. Great photos, Andrea!

Hey y'all, I am just loving this cruise. Internet is expensive so I haven't posted until now. We are having a ball and seeing marvelous wildlife...... more later. We hit Stanley in the AM.

So nice to hear from you Beth!

I suppose you have excursion choices in Stanley like any other normal port? I remember visiting a sheep farm and some other place with a garden and horses, and watching a sheep being shorn, peat being chopped, and enjoying not only the hospitality of the owners, but the drive to and from, with commentary about the Falkland war several years go, as there were some things still in the field connected with this "battle". Now that was one long sentence. ;)

Enjoying your reports, esp since we are going to be on Explorer in the Arctic this summer. Exactly how expensive is internet? I am spoiled with Regent. But I really do need to be in touch with home due to a 94 yr old mom.

$250 for 1000 minutes. If you have AMEX, you get $300 credit

Greetings from Stanley. Perfect weather day. Quaint looking village and I liked it a lot. Already finished with MAJOR retail therapy, quick buzz through the museum and walk to Cathedral. Even sat in the sun for a while. Hey, when you live in Houston that can be a rare pleasurable event. Obviously yesterday I meant to post penguins not seals. Still have not seen any (penguins)in the flesh but they are emblazoned on every possible item in the world in Stanley. You only have to check my suitcase - now. AND it only took me 2 days to figure out how to put on, wear and take off the zodiac life vest. Lectures this afternoon. Food at dinner last night was the best to date. I'll get used to the Silversea way yet. Until tomorrow.

PS
Flat Stanley and Crystal are in town right now. Lee, we are "working" on one for you. But only if you have taken a flat Betty and Beth to the Australian Open. :)

I don't know what the ship looks like, I am guessing this is it as seen from this cam?

Yup. Did you catch flat Crystal waving from the zodiac? It was so warm today, we didn't need jackets. I brought back a king, magrllenic and a rockhopper penguin.

Loving all seamail and pixs are great! Andi your detailed reports are so interesting! We loved BA (had short visit) but thought it was amazing.

Great pictures. Looks like you'all are having a great time.

Looks like Turdley is having a good time too! Are you going to South Georgia? Hope you see lots of penguins--but no worries, they're everywhere down there. Actually, I loved watching the whales when they were around--keep and eye out for them too.

So fun catching up on your postings and seeing the pictures.

If anyone happened to have bought an extra set of colored pictured coasters in Stanley, I'll buy them from you, one of my favorite souvenirs but were chewed up by a bored doggie back home.

Andi, I'm with the Argentinians who say Usuaia is still the most southern city. It was a big deal when we were there to make sure to get our passport stamped for that reason.

Betty, I so hope you're feeling better and keeping dry. This is too special of a trip to have anymore problems.

I finally caved in and bought the Internet service. This cruise is so absolutely amazing!

Betty - am not going to the Aussie Open this year (wasn't sure how the knee would be) but I'll definitely take you and anyone else who wants to go with me next year if I can join you on this fantastic experience.

We spent two glorious days in the Falklands where the weather hovered between 50 and 60 degrees, the skies were blue and the seas were calm. That's three great days on the roughest seas in the world and we are poised for two more calm ones before hitting South Georgia.

We were all ready for our first excursion on the morning on the 15th like children on Christmas morning who can't wait to open our presents. We had to be ready at 6:30am and we were all ready bright eyed and early, many of us overdressed ready for our zodiac ride.

The first thing we saw upon coming ashore was a giant jellyfish - the largest in the world, the lions mane jellyfish, this was a small one measuring only three feet across, but many are the size of blue whales, with 8 clusters of tentacles that can add up to 1200.

We hiked up to a ledge where we caught our first glimpse of penguins. These were the little punk looking rockhopper penguins with their red eyes and yellow Albert Einstein styled hair. They were small...about a foot tall but feisty, picking fights with another species of bird, the cormorant. It bears un uncanny resemblance to the penguins but it has the ability to fly. While it was interesting to see these two different species getting along, there was quite a bit of bickering about homesteads. The cormorant is known for it's ability to build terrific nests and there is a fair amount of interspecies thievery being committed.

This was also our first close up of an albatross. It is a beautiful bird who only comes ashore for breeding purposes so there was a fair amount of preening and flirting going on. They had come on land in October to lay eggs (only one) and they rear their chicks for 17 weeks. Chicks don't breed until they are 10 years old so it's a good thing that their average age is 40 to 60, with some even living to 72.

We left at 10:30 knowing more than we ever thought we'd know about birds since we were told that there would be a second excursion at 2pm at another location 28 miles away.

About 1:30, the ship stopped, the zodiacs dropped and the scouts went out. A few minutes later an announcement came over the speaker to tell us that the water was too choppy for a safe landing here but we would go to another location and would depart at 4.

We were surprised at how warm it still was outside. This location was beautiful. The beach appeared miles long and was very, very wide with green craggy hills in the back. The beach was riddled with penguins running in and out of the waves and the hills were literally covered with penguins and a few sheep.

As we walked, we realized that there were little ghettos. While interspecies live together, penguin colonies live in their own housing developments. They are allowed to use the same beaches, playgrounds , eat the same foods, but not always at the same time or at the same location.

First we passed the Magellanic penguins, who must have had the afternoon shift at the beach. These little guys are pretty cute, mostly black, with a white chest, a white bulls eye around their face and a long tail. They waddle pretty fast side to side running right up to you on the beach without a care in the world. They are about 18 inches tall and live way up in the hills in burrows which we'll talk about later.

As we all walked further, there were some king penguins hanging about who are really pretty. They didn't really move about much as did the other penguins, but just kind of stood quietly as though they were in a wedding receiving line. They were dressed to kill in an white shirt with a blush of orange and yellow around the neck and a coat of elegant silvery grey instead of pedestrian waiter black.

Farther up the hill, there was a very crowded rookery of gentoo penguins. These fellows look a lot like Magellanic penguins only their beaks have a slash of red lipstick, their feet are orange and they have a white eyebrow. They were characters chasing one another, falling flat on their faces, walking right up to us and staring us down and screaming bloody murder.

Next to them, there was the king penguin colony. So separate and distinct, yet a stone's throw away.

All of the Silverseas red coats plopped themselves down in various areas, taking pictures, watching the behaviors only to be watched right back! The penguins would walk right up to a lens and stare right in.

At 6pm, there was a walk to a magellanic and rockhopper rookery and an albatross rookery. I was by the king penguins when I saw Doug start walking up a hill with a group. The hill was a rocky, steep incline, riddled with Magellanic penguin burrows every couple of feet which you had to navigate so you wouldn't fall in. I huffed and puffed my way up, being careful with my footing, and each time a penguin would pop up like "whack a mole" scaring the crap out of me. In addition, I had to negotiate around the sheep. I finally got to the fence with sweat pouring down me and 30 pairs of eyes staring at me because they had to wait. My poor, short little legs were so tired and my rubber boots were so heavy. I had to somehow get them over the wire fence. I lifted them with my best Rockettes kick and they kind of did a third Reich lift not very high off the ground. I felt that poor Doug wanted to disown me. Finally, the leader manually lifted my legs for me and I fell over the fence. I looked over the hill at the happy, content people waaaay down and realized I would have to do this again in reverse. What an idiot.


We had a nice time up top until it came time to go down. It took forever, Doug said "hurry up" and I said "@#%!?"

The wind picked up and it became harder to walk. I didn't want be the last ones back and felt hopeful as there were many others behind us. Soon though, they started to pass and I thought we'd never reach those zodiacs. I would end up living on the beach with the penguins. Poor Doug being stuck with the likes of me.

We did make it back. I had a bath, washed off all the sand and made it to dinner and marveled at how much new information now fills my brain.

Today, we awoke to a very warm day in the capital, Stanley. Here we learned that if you can make something, it can have a penguin on it. It was a great day for a walk and we found a wonderful and unusual gnome garden. There were gnomes of every size and shape...bride gnomes, golf gnomes, gardening gnomes....about 50-100 of them. We also took in a museum along the way. We topped off the afternoon with lectures and will now have two restful days at sea before reaching South Georgia.

Life is tough. But someone's gotta do it.