Dodging Icebergs in Antarctica

The last three days have been spectacular. We've had unbelievably good weather. In fact, one of the wait staff told me that he'd been here 6 times before and this was the first time that he'd seen the sun. It was in and out for us on all 3 days. The time between sunset and sunrise was about 3 hours (and never got dark in between), so some of the best lighting was between 10pm and 4am. Who needs to sleep anyway!

The aptly named "Iceberg Ally" was fascinating. Large or small, I loved looking at the variations of size, shape and color. To give some perspective, I included a picture of one with penguins on it. I also included a picture of the route that we followed for anyone who is interested. I have so many pictures to go through, but hopefully these few will give you an idea of what it was like.

We're now back in the Drake Passage heading for Cape Horn and then docking in Ushuaia, Argentina tomorrow afternoon. For tonight, it's all about partying! Happy 2010 to all!!!

PS to Matt and Kira: how's everything going? Still hanging in there????

Sue: what picture?

Love those King Penguins!

Spent the day in the Falkland Islands. Boggles the mind that there was a war over this place not long ago. But, nice people and great penguins! Half the fun of this excursion was the off-roading over the bogs to get to the beach. A long, but fun drive. I took twice as many pictures as I took of the previous penguins; at this rate I'll need to do about 5 photo books.

Mom - I see that you've posted on a blog for the first time. I'm impressed!

Kenzie - It was good to hear from you. I'll drive up there one of these days with your mom as I'd love to see the area (and you!). Probably won't be for a while as they may not let me off work again for a while :) Have a great vacation!

I'm going into a "dark zone" for the next 5 days while we're around Antarctica. Will post again as soon as we have reception.

Merry Christmas from Penguin City!

Our port of call today was Puerto Madryn, Argentina. From there I did an excursion through the barren Patagonia plains to Punta Tombo Nature Reserve to see a colony of nesting Magellan penguins that number more than 1/2 million. Let me tell you, these guys were EVERYWHERE. we had a perfectly beautiful day with the typical Patagonian winds, but warm with blue skies - couldn't have asked for a better day. Basic rules for viewing: stay on the trail to avoid stepping on a nest and penguins always have the right of way. They're really quite busy and the path to the sea reminded me of the mass turnpike at rush hour.

I've posted a few of my 357 pictures (got a bit carried away). The penguins are obvious; the other llama-type animal is a "Guanaco". I'm not sure if there is another English word for it that I should know, but will check it out someday.

I hope that you all having a wonderful Christmas. Thanks for my gifts and the card from my work friends. And a special Happy Birthday to Matthew!

It's now 12:15am my time, so Merry Christmas!

Magnificent Iguazu Falls

We flew from Buenos Aires to a 2-gate airport in the middle of the rain forest just a few miles from the falls and realized pretty quickly that I have to thank Sandra for recommending that I do this excursion. Pictures just don't convey the magnitude of these falls. There are actually 275 waterfalls over a two-mile stretch of rock. We walked more than 5 miles on catwalks above, below and all around the falls. Very cool!

I've posted a couple of pictures of the falls along with a couple of wildlife shots. Note the pictures of the fools in a boat going so close the falls. Yes, I did that. If I had simply jumped in the river I doubt that I'd have been as wet as I got on that boat! Soaked to the bone! But, it felt good on such a hot day and it was one of those experiences that I just couldn't pass up.

It's all about the Tango!

I got a nice overview of Buenos Aires today. There is a lot of French-inspired architecture and that along with the tree-lined avenues, sidewalk cafe's and monuments at every turn gives some areas a definite feel of Paris. I had the obligatory viewing of the balcony where Eva Peron gave her speeches (and Madona was filmed for the movie) and the Recoleta Cemetery where she is buried. I have to say, I didn't have a particular interent in going to the cemetery, but it really is quite impressive.

The La Boca district was my favorite area of the city. The tradition of multi-colored homes comes from years ago when people didn't have money to buy paint, so they would ask for what ever leftovers they could get from ships in the port. It's a fun (and touristy) section of town with lots of shops, street vendors and restaurants/bars. Most of the bars have tango dancers and musicians playing to the patrons who sit at their sidewalk tables. Very lively!

Days are getting longer - about 15 hours now. What a nice deal that is! I'm off to Iguazu Falls tomorrow for an all-day adventure. We leave around 6am and don't get back until 10pm. Weather report is for 90 degrees with 90% humidity - yuck!

Glad to hear that you'll have a white Christmas. Stay safe and warm!

Back to Rio

Great city! I had already done the usual tourist attractions like Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer when I was there a few years ago, so instead I went to the Botanical Gardens with a private guide by the name of Bruno. Annette- was that the name of the guide that we had in Salvador? This guy was just as cute :) Anyway, it was a beautiful, clear day in the city, and yes, you can see the Redeemer from just about anywhere.

Pictures include a row of palms and some marmosets in the Botanical Gardens. We were surrounded by about 20 of them jumping through the trees. I didn't have my camera with more zoom, but you should be able to tell how cute they were. Also included are a sand sculpture on Copa Cabana Beach, a picture of the city at sunset as we departed and a small boat in the fading light.

Annette- congrats on becoming a grandmother again! In case you're wondering, I didn't make it to the night market - what a bummer!

Carrie- I'm sorry that you're feeling so lousy, but it's good that you got this over with. You'll be glad that you don't have to deal with it in the Spring. Right? Feel better soon.

Thanks to all who have sent emails. Just to let you know that I'm not answering all and am not checking my Comcast email every day because it's just too slow and using up my precious internet minutes. But, I do love to see them!

Beth- I didn't notice that all of you were on that email thread, so didn't intend to slight you or any of the others when I asked Tina to do that special task. Feel free to give extras to the mother!

Hope that you're all keeping warm!

Last Ports on the Amazon & Calm Days at Sea

I've been getting messages that it's time for an update, so thought I'd better interrupt my relazation to check in. The last few days have been cruising towards Rio de Janeiro and althought I prefer days in port, I have to say that I could get use to these lazy days. I'm keeping busy with various shipboard activities, coctail parties and late night entertainment. Pool to the jacuzzi is the best part of the day. On all sea days they provide art classes, so this is fair warning to the Vitale family that you will be receiving my homemade Christmas gifts on Raupie Day. And yes, you should be afraid indeed!

Pictures are from the last two ports on the Amazon: Boca de Valeria and Santarem. Theme for the day seems to be cute kids. The little girl dancing was with the adult "greeters" who were dancing on the dock in Santarem and she seemed quite serious about keeping up with her mother. My big learning experience was seeing how Brazil nuts grow - it was like opening a can of nuts... well, I suppose if you normally open a can of nuts with a hammer and chisel! By the way, all the kids love Kimo!

Carrie- thinking about you. Let me know how things go. Hi to the whole gang.

Beth- glad you finally got on. Happy Birthday again to my girl Katherine!!!

Three Days in Manaus

Hello from the very hot, dry Amazon. The rainy season should be starting any day, and for those who live here it can't come soon enough. Accourding to one guide, the rivers are at the lowest point since 1918, making travel on small tributaries impossible and leaving those who live off the main rivers without a means of travel into Manaus for supplies and trade. Most of our excursions had to be altered in some way to accommodate the travel limitations, but its been interesting nonetheless.

Pictures: one of many monkeys at a jungle lodge, some of the homes along the Rio Nigro in Manaus, and a couple of shots at a re-creation of an early 20th century rubber tree plantation. They demonstrated how the rubber was tapped and then formed into large "balls" for shipping (and yes, they do bounce!). I also threw in a model of the famous opera house made out of 30,000 Legos for Alec and a guy on the street doing one of those "dice it and slice it" domos that was pretty entertaining. Who can find Kimo?

Trivia for the day: where are the only blue Coke signs in the world found?

That would be Parintins, a town on the Amazon known for its annual folklore festival. What was once a violent rivalry between two families is now a friendly dance competition between the Red Team and the Blue Team. People show their team support by the color seats they take in the stadium, what they wear and even the color of their houses. Thus, the red AND blue Coke signs. Costumes are elaborate and the dances play out folk stories.

Photos include some of the wall of art surrounding one of the team's practice stadium and costumes at the location where they're made and stored.

Incarcerated on Devil's Island

Since I last checked in, I spent a day in Barbados on a catamaran sail and doing some snorkeling. The water was so warm and clear that I could have stayed in it for hours on end. Yesterday we visited Devil's Island, French Guiana. It's actually a cluster of 3 islands with Devil's Island, the one reserved for political prisoners, being the most harsh. For more info, watch the move "Papillon". These days there are people who vacation there, although I can't for the life of me imagine why. Luckily Kimo and I were only incarcerated for a few moments! We turned onto the Amazon about an hour ago and will cruise upstream all day tomorrow before our first port of call on the river.

Annette: Yes, the food is fabulous and I've met a lot of nice people to go to shore and socialize with.

Bob K.: I see that you're being as creative as ever. However, consider this a veto of the most recently proposed Harvey Ball. I simply cringe at the thought of what you would consider the appropriate color indicators. :)

Happy Thanksgiving from Antigua!

I'm getting ready to go down for Thanksgiving dinner but first wanted to say that I hope that you're all having a very happy one. Tina- I'm sure that there is a magnificent turkey coming out of your oven tonight! So sorry that I'm not there to do The Ring!!! I had such a wonderful day on Antigua and then back aboard the ship with a great jazz band playing as we departed. I could live this life forever. I spent much of the day on a jeep tour, swimming in the warm waters and wandering the streets with a gal from So. Africa. She's on for the full cruise as well and has already invited me to visit her. I told her that it's a BIG mistake to invite me anywhere as I'm very likely to take her up on it!

Happy Thanksgiving to all - especially to the mother :)

ps to Emma: Kimo was in my beach bag today, but I was having so much fun in the water that I forgot all about him. My friends at work will be after me for that! I'll try to have him in another picture soon.