February 8 ~ Swimming in the Antarctic

Two landings today - both on Deception Island. Once again we have been
granted beautiful weather - sunny skies, fluffy white clouds, and golden
sun to warm us.

During this morning's landing we walked along the beach at Whaler's Bay
and met up with a pair of chinstrap penguins who, for the right price,
would pose for photos. Needless to say, we paid up - and shot until,
with a wave of their flippers, they dove into the incoming waves and
left us. When we got back to our landing spot we had the marvelous
opportunity to "swim" in a thermal pool. This "pool" was dug by
members of the crew, was directly on the edge of the bay, and was
DELICIOUS. Those of us who took the plunge changed out of our many
layers of clothing behind a rusted out whaling station. It was GREAT. I
didn't bring a bathing suit, but I didn't care. Clothing back on, we
headed back to our ship and were greeted with hot cocoa laced with rum -
mmm, mmm, good!

After another wonderful lunch, and a few moments to nap, we donned our
gear and headed out to Telefon Bay - no wildlife (other than all of us),
but the stark beauty of life amid volcanoes. The entire landscape looked
as if belonged on the moon - stark and empty. Black and white or brown -
those were the choices. We had a long walk up a steep incline to get to
the top where we could have an incredible view of the entire Caldera. I,
and many others, hiked half way up, rested a bit, and hiked back to the
beach. Every so often there were strong gusts of wind to remind us that
we are not in charge. When we were safely back in our Zodiac, we took a
bit of a tour and found out that the mountain we had been hiking on was
actually a glacier. Back to the ship - no cocoa waited for us at the top
of the stairs this time - and out of our gear for the last time today.

For those of you who are asking "How are Bob and Felice?", here's the
story. Felice is fine. She and I went ashore together this morning, but
after lunch she fell asleep while studying and missed the shore
excursion. Bob? He's been asleep the entire day. Perhaps we'll see him
out and about this evening. This is NOT mal de mer. This is a virus that
is traveling the ship. We are all making every attempt to keep ourselves
germ-free.

There is a briefing that begins - oops, five minutes ago, after which
there will be dinner and a couple of movies. It seems to be getting
choppy. I am headed to the briefing. Talk to you soon.

TheWanderingJu ~ Judi

February 8 ~ Headed to Deception Island

Thursday, February 7 - At Sea

Noticed that the e-mail address I used to send yesterday's report to
Felice and Bob's BLOG was incorrect - as was the day of the week. It is
so easy to lose track of time - very long days filled with lectures,
landings, meals, and "Gear on, gear off". For those of you who may
remember the movie The Karate Kid, you will recall the line used by Mr.
Miagi (my excuses to the Miagi family for butchering their name), "Wax
on, wax off". We are doing much the same thing, and for Floridians,
whose gear consists mostly of shorts and tank tops, it is a chore that
leaves one breathless. But, I ramble. To Felice and Bob's friends and
family; in order to read yesterday's report, please click on the link
that will take you to my BLOG.

Friday, February 8 - At Sea

Yesterday was sent from heaven - blue skies, fluffy marshmallow clouds,
calm seas, seals (brown fur and elephant), penguins (adelie and
chinstrap), and the promise of more to come. We had two landings -
morning and afternoon (please forgive me, I did not bring my notes up to
the library, and have forgotten a few facts). Our morning landing, which
I wrote about yesterday, was on Penguin Island. The name of the island
we visited during our afternoon landing escapes me, as does the name of
the Polish Antarctic Station we visited. What a glorious afternoon it
was. I was much stronger, walked the beach, took dozens of photos,
tripped and fell over a whale vertebra (no injury to me or my cameras),
and saw my first penguins close up (having missed the chinstrap colony
in the morning), and visited at the Polish station. We were well
received and felt like honored guests. One woman, a 25-year old marine
biologist, left her husband behind and came down here for a three month
opportunity of a lifetime. Another woman, also a marine biologist, was
here for her 6th or 8th year.

We returned to our home, MV Polar Star, did the "Wax on, wax off"
thing, went to the evening's briefing, and readied ourselves for
dinner. Felice took a couple of naps throughout the day, but said she
was fine. After dinner, Felice went straight to bed, with a low grade
temp, and Bob and I went to a lecture on Whaling. Half way through, he
headed back to the cabin - not feeing well - and later in the evening he
joined our little group of "unwells". Both of them are still asleep,
and I am sure they will be up and about by breakfast. It is lousy to
feel so lousy on this once in a lifetime adventure. However, we know the
drill - "Man proposes, G-d disposes.", "The best laid plans...",
etc. We, the entire ship are just going with the flow and pushing
ourselves to grab each and every experience.

We will write later this evening after our two landings on Deception
Island - knowing full well that those plans can change as quickly as the
weather in Antarctica. It is GLORIOUS here, and I feel privileged and
fortunate.

TheWanderingJu for Judi, Felice, and Bob

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Another Attempt

Wednesday, February 7 - At Sea

Weather cooperative, company excellent. We had our first landing this
morning - Penguin Island. There were seals as far as the eye could see -
and penguins at the far end of the island (where I did not go - still
feeling weak). This dressing, undressing, redressing thing is exhausting
- even for the people who are 100% healthy. We are wearing so many
layers, but learning to cope. Felice and Bob get into shorts and
tank-tops as soon as they get back on board. We had a delicious lunch,
and are being called for this afternoon's landing - another opportunity
to "dress up" We've had so much trouble sending these e-mails. Below
you will find a few we sent out but are fairly sure did not get through.
They are unfinished because the system truncates them. But, it's
something to read. Will try to write tomorrow morning - depending upon
our schedule.

Thanks for coming along - Judi, Felice, Bob, and the entire Antarctic
Peninsula.

MONDAY - Felice Report (Judi in bed)

Greetings from Drakes Passage, and what a ride it's been so far. We
left the port last night at 6pm. All was smooth sailing. But not for
long. We first went through Beagle Channel, which was smooth and
beautiful. Out one side of the ship was Chile and the other side
Argentina.
Then we got in Drakes Passage (check it out in an atlas, or wikipedia or
google it for more info) at about midnight. The winds were 30-40
knots, the seas were 35-40 FEET. What a ride! The furniture danced all
over the room, crap was falling off shelves, and we were sliding on the
sheets. All three of us are wearing our sea-sick patches. Apparently

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TUESDAY - Felice Report:

Good Morning Everybody. It's 7:50 am and all three of us are here.=20
Yes, Judi is here. She's finally better. She slept all day yesterday
and all night with no problems. Other than feeling a little weak,
she's fine. We're waiting for breakfast and have already seen some
Cape Petrol (birds). Again, check out Wikipedia or google. They're
beautiful.
There's been a change of schedule due to the weather. In order to keep
Judi (and everyone else) from being sick we're heading further east and
will make our first landing tonight at Elephant Island, where Shackleton
is throwing a party for us. We're finally gonna find out if penguin is
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TUESDAY - Judi Report

I do hope this reports gets out, because somehow, our e-mails have been
bouncing back. With a strong feeling of faith (and a heart filled with
hope) I am writing - for the first time - and do hope you will see this.

We are close to Elephant Island, and will be going ashore around 8:00
tonight. It has been a day filled with lectures (I got everybody's
attention by snoring in a corner) and we left our cabin a few moments
ago to get our first glimpse ff a an iceburg. It was COLD on the bridge
so I did not stay outside for longer than it took to snap a couple of
photos. They are calling us for another lecture. I am sure we will write

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February 4 - Ushuaia At Last

What a day we had yesterday. If you have traveled in a group, you know the drill - bags outside your hotel room by a certain time (for us it was 8:00), breakfast, meet in the lobby for a tour of the city. We did all of the above - went to the cemetery where Eva Perrone is buried (could have spent hours just walking around this interesting cemetery), strolled through an artisans market, had another delicious meal (huge portions for the carnivores in the group), and headed to the small airport for our flight south - they even fed us on this flight - my favorite, a ham sandwich.

As we descended through the clouds, Mother Nature got my attention - black mountains peaked with snow resembling melted marshmallows, waters filled with white caps, and wind, lots of it. The landing was rough, the pilot expert in his execution. We are here. There were "greeters" to gather our flock together as Gabe and Bob and a few of the other men pulled our cases off the luggage carousel. (Here we are, Felice and I, with our packs.) When we walked outside the wind was so strong that it nearly took me off my feet. I was unable to walk to the bus, it was that powerful. A man standing nearby had to hold onto me and push me in the direction of our bus so I would be standing in a windbreak.

We drove through Ushuaia, up into the mountains, to our beautiful home for the night, Hotel del Glaciar. Dinner was late, perhaps 10:30. However, when it is so light and bright outside, we forget. By the way - who won the Super Bowl?

We overlook Ushuaia Bay, and this morning´s sunrise was filled with the promise of blue skies and soft breezes. Time for breakfast. Today we tour a National Park here and have a bit of free time in town before heading to our home for the next eleven days - MV Polar Star. Until next time.

Me - TheWanderingJu

February 2 - Hola a Buenos Aires

We have arrived. Had a great flight - drooled all the way to South America after a terrific meal - including ice cream for dessert (one of the MAJOR food groups). This Business Class section had seats that reclined nearly flat into a bed, along with a big comfortable pillow, a down-filled comforter, a Bose noise cancelling headset for listening to the movies and music that were all available On Demand. Took off late, landed safely (the most important part of any flight).

Our hotel, Hotel Elevage, is beautiful. One little glitch - when I arrived I had been put into a room with a woman who was signed up as a single supplement (having paid extra for the privilege), and it took a lot of work on Gabriel´s part (he is our wonderful guide) to get me a single room of my own. While I waited I read - then taking the pillows off the back of one of the couches in the lobby, I napped. Patience is always a virtue - my room is wonderful.

We toured a bit today, will tour again tomorrow before heading back to the airport for our flight to Ushuaia - approximately 3 1/2 hours. It is HOT here - warmer than the weather I left behind in south Florida. Hard to conceptualize that it will be cold very soon. Our meals have been exceptional. There are a number of us who are vegetarians and we are being well fed.

I am on a computer in the lobby area, and on a time budget. There is a card reader attached, no luck getting photos attached. Time marching on. Must close this. Until next time.

Judi a/k/a TheWanderingJu

February 1 ~ Outta here!

One hour until I leave for the airport ~ Backpack 35 pounds - a number of which I will be wearing for the flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia; Carry-on 16 (but small enough to NOT be questioned - one would hope). Weight is nothing to worry about for this flight, and it will all get sorted out before the next. That being said, I am as ready as possible and anxious to begin the adventure. See you the next time I have Internet access.

Judi a/k/a TheWanderingJu

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