Probably should have posted this a few days ago, here's the map of our route:

24 hours in - we sail south in search of adventure! Some notes on the last week:

Our couple of days in Santiago and Valparaiso were perhaps more pleasant than electrifying, but pleasant is also good!  Chileans seem to be very friendly people, and we took the Santiago metro around town several times - with Barbara hobbling a bit with her recent knee issues, I don't think there was one subway trip we took in which someone didn't jump up and offer her a seat.  Including a 16 year old kid with his baseball cap on backwards - I'm unconvinced this would have been the case on, say, the New York subway.  And people would rush up to us to help if we displayed momentary confusion about which direction to walk around town, or how to use the transit system, they really are remarkably friendly and anxious to help.

This ship is identical to the the Sojourn, on which we sailed last year on our big trip from Singapore to Athens, so there is no learning curve about where everything is or  just about the general shipboard routine.  All that will change, though, when we get to Antarctica and the Zodiac landings there - I've read fairly extensively about how this all works, and they apparently have it all down to a science, how to get people from the ship to the Antarctic landing sites, safely and efficiently.  And there is a 16-member expeditionary team who will accompany us, and they will give exactly 42 different onboard lectures over the next few weeks, concerning the wildlife, geology, whales, seabirds, photography; all manner of things that we will be experiencing - the cruise line is quite dedicated to making all this as educational and informative as possible, not just a comfortable but superficial "drive-by" of the white continent.

The further south we sail, the later the sunset gets - tonight's will be at 9:25!  When we are in Antarctica, it will practically never set at all.

Tomorrow morning we dock in Puerto Montt, at the north end of the Reloncavi Sound.  From there, for the next 4-5 days, we will be slowly cruising the fjords and glaciers of Patagonia, and then after that, it's across the infamous Drake Passage, to the actual Antarctic mainland itself!

We are underway! Our beautiful ship sails out of Valparaiso harbor, in search of adventure!

Shoes, bicycle parts, dolls......all become Christmas trees in the Plaza de Armas.

The view of Valparaiso's beautiful harbor from our hotel. Tomorrow our ship will have docked here, having completed its run from Buenos Aires, via Antarctica. We will board just after lunch time, and commence the same journey, but in the opposite direction.

We have made our way to Valparaiso, about an hour and a half west of Santiago, and right on the coast. Lots of sidewalk markets, including this guy selling canaries.

We wandered by an entire block whose sidewalk was one continuous line of fortune tellers and tarot card readers.

Had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called "Aqui Esta Coco". Coco, the owner, wears a seafood hat on the home page of the restaurant's website, so who wouldn't want to go?! Chile produces excellent king crab, so.....mmmm. Besides, it's on the hat.

Guy in gold. No clue.

Our first stop this morning is the wonderful Pre-Columbian Art Museum.

Mounted policeman, checking his iPhone.

Santiago, at least the parts of it that we wander, has beautiful views of the Andes, nice leafy "un-trafficked" streets, friendly people, and interesting shops and restaurants. If we look around and momentarily wonder which direction to go, people invariably come up and offer their help. Our first dinner here is conger eel!

We have made it to Santiago, Chile. About 14 hours of travel time so might be about time for a quick na zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So, we are.....

.....halfway there, at our two hour layover in Panama City.  I sincerely hope this will turn out to be the least interesting blog post of the next 4 weeks.

We fly to Santiago, Chile Wednesday morning the 16th, arriving after long flights, on the 17th. We will explore for a few days and then board the ship in Valparaiso Sunday. Stay tuned!

Antarctica, here we come!

We will spend Christmas and New Year's just about as far south as you can go, in the Earth's basement. Details to follow....

For any friends and family who may check in here, stay tuned for big news!