GLOBAL ODYSSEY 2010 BLOG #29: RUNNIN’ THROUGH ANTARCTICA

We’d been sailing through Antarctic seas for three days and describing things is still a bit beyond us. (Sam wishes his cousin, John Pyeatt, was along to add his expertise. He’s had more experience of the region – through his meteorology – than we have).
In any case, Antarctica is a sort of blank screen on to which people project what they want. When Sam first saw it, he recalled the stories of Edgar Allan Poe (yes, that Poe) and H.P. Lovecraft’s quote “at the mountains of madness.”

Mary thought that it was beautiful, but her northern upbringing left her with few delusions of what it would be like to live there – winter might be one long snowstorm/blizzard. Of course, that is something that some of you have been enjoying back home! ☺

Most people seemed caught between the “pristine Antarctic” (have they looked at their wake?) or the “cute little penguins” approach.
The one thing we can tell you is that you won’t disembark – regulations governing the cruise limit that to smaller vessels and groups. So if “stepping on shore” was your be-all and end-all, you should be prepared to pay $4,000 each for that flight!

Viewing the scene from the ship is a good – and cheaper – second choice, though one subject to a crapshoot. The weather and visibility can be great or they can be foul. And if you don’t have binoculars or a good zoom on your camera, you’ll miss seeing most of the penguins – at least as Individuals.

We had a contingent from Palmer Station come aboard and make a presentation followed by questions, although it became obvious that they were there to give us very simple answers while the audience was trying not to ask dumb questions. The real story behind this seems to be those guys and girls are hungry and there was good food to be had on the ship!

Much more useful was the commentary of our ice pilot, Captain Toomey, who has been in the business a number of years and who has a great grasp of the history and stories of the region – it’s almost like listening to yarns told by an “original settler,” as his connection with the region goes back some time.
The main thing to keep in mind about visiting is that plans will change – the weather put us through a number of course iterations (the ice pilot had Plans A, B, C, D … we managed B or C) – so be happy with whatever “gift” you receive. Neither of us could really get into the “Antarctic worship” of some of the passengers – pristine it’s not, but just like everywhere else it has its very special attractions and we can see why, for some, it would be the high point of the trip.
And Mary must add that lest you get the wrong idea, we are delighted that we were able to go and see it. It is quite beautiful and amazing in its own unique way.

GLOBAL ODYSSEY 2010 BLOG #28: AROUND THE HORN

Another shorty! What can you say about “cruising the Horn?” If you think about it, it’s not the act itself, but the whole related experience. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we had – for the Horn – great weather and got some good shots.
We now have the certificate! Unfortunately (or fortunately), we only had a bit of the flavor of the experience which came with it. This was due to an unexpected “shift” at sea we experienced while sitting in the Lido Restaurant. We watched our dishes and glasses slide across the table for an instant before reaction kicked in and we caught them. The galley wasn’t so lucky.

Have you ever been at a restaurant when a waiter dropped a tray and broke a few dishes? Everything stops. Now think of the sound of a hundred or more dishes breaking in the galley. It went on and on and on, and a cloud – of steam, grease, soup, whatever - rose over the mess. Apparently, this is not an unusual occurrence; it seemed to be cleared up in about four minutes and Holland America went on as if nothing had happened.

Sam fortunately thought of posterity and begged a broken dish (are you surprised?). It’s now, along with the certificate, the only “proof” that we survived the seas and the Horn – if he pulls it out when you are visiting, don’t let the real story slip!

GLOBAL ODYSSEY 2010 BLOG #27: AT THE UTTERMOST ENDS OF THE EARTH

Did anyone think they would get through all these blogs without a reading recommendation? Well, one of the great things about Ushuaia, Argentina is the number of books they sell (it’s a jumping-off port to voyages to Antarctica and seems to have a thriving publishing industry), and Sam managed to squeeze trips into town both before and after his tour here – no mean achievement.

What he thinks a lot of you would enjoy is E. Lucas Bridges’ “Uttermost Part of the Earth,” a classic from the 1940’s that has recently been republished. The Bridges family was intimately involved with Tierra del Fuego and its tribes, from their conversion in the 19th century to later development and the subsequent loss of most of the native population.  (One pure blood survives today.)  It’s an epic story and Bridges is a wonderful writer. OK, end of plug. Reading it, however, did give Sam and extra appreciation of what he saw on this trip. The drive up to Lake Escondido offered amazing views of the Patagonian forest and the surrounding hills.

Sam persuaded the guide to let him run back and photograph a group of roadside shrines, so guess what you are going to be seeing a lot of pictures of?


The area is a former sawmill operation and we certainly stopped at a location which has been converted from a “mill town” to a restaurant – the technique that they used to barbeque lamb in the backroom was the same used by the Patagonian Indians to cook their kills, supposedly keeping the meat from being “fatty.”

On the way back, Sam asked the guide about a graffiti, “English = pirates” and whether it related to the Falklands War. He replied, “A lot of people lost a lot of sons – it’s hard to talk about.”  So there’s a lot to be seen and experienced, both the obvious and what lies underneath the surface. This is a stop where we could easily have stayed a couple of days – we both want to return.