Yesterday we sailed south of the Antarctic Circle, which is a first for me. I overheard some people chatting, who said they had overheard a woman ask a crew member, where the best place on the ship would be, to see the Antarctic Circle as we sailed over it. 🤦‍♂️ I’d like to find her and offer her my picture of it.

We’ve had a bit of bad luck over the last few days - wind/chop/ice conditions have precluded a few landings. That’s just the way it goes down here, not unexpected, of course. Yesterday, instead, the ship offered the “Polar Plunge”. Nope. nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. NOPE.

Indian Market dinner one night, sushi the next. Nice work if you can get it.

Dressed to kill.

 

Sharing the fun with the National Geographic Explorer.

Just wandering out on deck, any time, can be an adventure.

Yesterday the weather gods decided to throw us a curve. So one could either sing 🎶 “Oh, the weather outside is frightful….” 🎶 or “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas”, 🎶 depending on how you look at it. Did curtail the afternoon landings, just too much wind and chop.

Cruise ships have come a long way.

Whale bones. And the dark blob in the upper right is a snoozing Weddell Seal.

Trouble sleeping the other night. Got up, puttered around, opened the shades. At 1:06 AM. “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more”

So, this was new (to me). The captain plowed 100 yards into the pack ice, a red carpet was rolled out from the zodiac platform, and guests wandered out onto the ice. I think our three previous visits were the wrong time of year - there’s a relatively short season/weather window, when the ice is not too thick/strong and thus prohibitive for the ship, nor too thin and weak for people to safely walk around. A new, fun thing! (Pretty much the same experience as Shackleton. 😎)

Hmmm. Mighta been some large-ish birds ‘round here.

This morning’s landing was at Brown Bluff. Absolutely wonderful icebergs everywhere. The seas were very choppy though, which made getting in and out of bouncing zodiacs much more of an adventure. And by the time the zodiac hit the beach, we were all thoroughly soaked from the spray.

On our way out of the narrow channel, we came across at least a dozen (or so) humpbacks. Not a great vid here - they were several hundred yards away.

Pretty light on the penguins, but there will, of course, be thousands to come. Some interesting old scientific buildings & equipment, from ages past.

First stop - Whaler’s Bay on Deception Island. We’ll be on the Antarctic mainland tomorrow.

Conditions on the Drake Passage have been so favorable, we’ve made enough time to do a landing this afternoon, rather than starting tomorrow. We’re on approach to Deception Island, with porpoising penguins all around us.

The Ceremonial First Bit of Floating Ice! This “iceberg” is itty-bitty, but we’re gettin’ there!

Flew from Hawaii to LA, LA to Houston, and Houston to Buenos Aires. Had an overnight there, then took a flight chartered by the cruise company, from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, the port where the ship docks. I dont know what the “seat pitch” was, but I could touch the front of my seat with my thumb, and the back of the seat in front of me with middle finger, at the same time. Had to sit nearly 90º sideways for 3 ½ hours. I’ve been on cramped flights over the decades, but this one just might top the charts.

GOAL !!!!!

To break up the long trip, I stayed overnight in L.A., went to see my beloved Kings come from a 2-goal deficit, to defeat the mighty Dallas Stars, 3-2, at fancy-schmantzy Crypto.com arena. Barbara says I have a phobia about being late to anything - wonder where she gets that idea? 😎

Antarctica visit #4, starting…right now!