The Last Few Days and Off the Ship

We last left you in Stanley, Falkland Islands four days ago.  Since leaving Antarctica and the Falklands I think we went into a bit of a slump.  We were talking with our trivia friends last night on the ship about what was the best part.  Each person agreed, there was no one “best part.” Experiencing the wonder of Antarctica was the best part.  Antarctica becomes a part of your whole being and it beckons you to return.

The penguins were so funny!  Each species has such different personalities.  The curious, gentle Gentoo.  The stubborn Chinstrap.  The playful Adele. The quirky Rockhoppers. And the majestic King.  We didn’t realize there were 17 different species of Penguins, and we certainly didn’t expect the extreme differences in them.  If you are standing in the path of a Gentoo, he will stop, look at you a bit, then just waddle around you.  Not the Chinstrap.  The Chinstrap will stop and stare.  He will not move.  He will stand there as long as it takes for you to realize that you are in the wrong place. 

The shear volume of ice.  It is truly the white continent; everything white or a shade of white.  It’s like walking into an Ansel Adams black and white experience.

We had two sea days traveling from the Falkland Islands to Punta del Estes, Uruguay, traveling over 1,000 nautical miles or about 1,200 miles.  It was a long and peaceful journey. We were fortunate with good weather and kind seas.  While at sea, we tended to the important sea-day things such as Trivia!

The final day of trivia, our team ended in fourth place but it was very close. But wait – we had the chance to win or lose big.  Each team could bet all or part of their points on a final trivia question.  Most people on our team wanted to bet all; Mark was a bit more conservative and thought we should bet nothing.  He thought the final question would be so difficult that no one would win.  The team overruled Mark and we went for all.  The final question was difficult indeed – it was something about some obscure Dutch artist.  Wouldn’t you know it, Deb from Australia immediately knew the answer!  She didn’t even wait for input from her teammates. And YES!  We won!! Big time prize of Seabourn logo beach bags and bragging rights for winning the trivia tournament!!! It is the simplest things that can bring the greatest joy.   

Speaking of our trivia team, we were so fortunate to have a wonderful group of people who became friends and socialized throughout the cruise.  We are planning a reunion cruise in October 2020 through the Panama Canal.

And if you are one who likes to cruise, we highly recommend Seabourn. Oh my goodness.  At first blush it appears more expensive than others, but it is truly all-inclusive, which means you don’t pay for anything for 3 weeks.  Imagine our shock when we went to a restaurant in Punta del Este, Uruguay and they expected us to pay before we left!

Another cost factor was the staff, equipment, and tourist permit that was required.  The 20-person expedition team had extensive Antarctic experience and represented every possible discipline including sea ice and polar law!  The Zodiacs and sea kayaks had to be carried on the ship, deployed, and staffed.  Some Antarctic expeditions don’t go ashore because they do not have that type of permit.  Being in the middle of penguin colonies was well worth whatever it cost.

After the Falklands, we had two sea days getting to Punta del Este, Uruguay.  TripAdvisor describes Punta del Este as “the St. Tropez of Uruguay, thanks to its beautiful beaches, upscale resorts, and swanky nightclubs.” We saw some amazing sailboats and yachts at the dock.  Nicole and Dave, you should add this to your list of random places to go. We were only there for the afternoon and walked close by the dock area.  We had coffee in an open sea-side restaurant and watched the children play in the sand.  We had lunch at a close by restaurant where we saw the ship’s chef eating.  We asked him if he was tired of his own cooking and he said, “yes!”  By the way, the chef is British, at least 6’6” and weighs about 325 pounds.  Hard to miss.

Along with the big ships were a large number of fishing boats and a fish market right on dock selling their catches.

Seabourn had a professional photographer and an exceptional videographer as part of the expedition team.  They showed the 25-minute video at the Captains farewell event.  It captures the entire cruise experience.  When we returned to our cabins that evening, they gave us a memory stick with the video, photographs, and expedition team resumes.  We are so excited to share it with whoever is willing to sit down and watch it with us!  We will try to find out if they are going to put it online.

When we go back (and YES, we will return!) we want to go a few weeks earlier so we can see the chicks when they are smaller.  Seabourn has ordered two new ships even small than ours that can go to Antarctica and each will have two submarines and a helicopter for excursions.  We want to come back the second season with those ships so they have time to work out all the kinks.  The new ships are expected to do two-week excursions with multiple stops each day. 

This morning went without a hitch as we disembarked from the ship. The Captain was at the bottom of the gangplank with two of his officers to thank us for sailing with them.  Mark had arranged a driver through the hotel to pick us up at the ship terminal, which was a good thing because the terminal was a complete madhouse with 3 different cruise ships disembarking at the same time.  Our driver spoke no English but we did wonderfully on communicating with sign language, smiles, and nods.  As we approached our hotel in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Margo was a bit apprehensive because of all the graffiti.  We walked into the hotel and it is an absolutely delightful place in what we understand to be a good part of the town.  We are outside eating lunch before our 4-hour tour of the city with a private driver. 

Muy Bien in Buenos Aires!

It does feel good to be back in the land of free internet.