Friday, November 18--Tom and I left home right before lunch and drove to Oxford to meet Josiah. We were early and had time to eat lunch at Oby's, go to Wal-Mart for Tom's supplements, and then go by Square Books before going to Josiah's office to meet him at 4:00. He drove us to Cracker Barrel in Southaven for supper and then on to the Regency Inn and Suites at the airport. We picked it because of the location, and it was mostly ok--except that it took ten minutes or so for the water to get hot and the tub didn't drain very well--and the liner was too short so Tom got water all over the floor the next morning.
Saturday, November 19--Tom
got up at 5:00 from a wake-up call since he didn't set his iPhone correctly. I
got up at 5:30 and did my exercises. We opened the restaurant at 6:00! The food wasn't great, but it was reasonably
priced. We had two eggs each, an order of bacon, orange juice, and tea and
coffee for about $13. The shuttle was ready to go when we checked out at about
7:15, and the ride to the Delta terminal took all of maybe three minutes. The
driver was even cheerful! I had already
printed out boarding passes and paid the luggage fees so we left our bags at
the check-in outside and went straight through security--no problems except
that we both forgot to remove things-and were waiting for our flight with lots
of time to spare. There was a couple from Missouri sitting next to us waiting
who were celebrating their 30th anniversary with a cruise. He worked for
AT&T, and asked
questions--some of which he could answer--about the various networks. The flight from Memphis to Miami was
uneventful, and when we reached Miami we found that the hotel was simply at the
end of the concourse so within walking distance without even going outside. We
had salmon paninis at the restaurant at the top of the hotel and returned for
supper. Tom had lamb and I had French onion soup and a little of his lamb. We
finished with a piece of key lime pie. We spent much of the afternoon walking
around the Miami airport.
Sunday, November 20--We left the room at 6:00 am, walked to the LAN counter, and went through security with time to get breakfast at McDonald's. Our flight left at about 8:30, and they fed us a second breakfast! The flight to Bogota was about three hours. We had to disembark and then reload so we were actually on the ground in Columbia for about 20 minutes. The next leg of the flight took us to Santiago and was another five and one-half hours so that we were in Santiago at about seven in the evening. We had another meal on this flight. We had to change planes there and left for a Buenos Aires at 10:00 to arrive at midnight. This flight was very rough. There was so much turbulence that they were not able to serve our snack.
Monday, November 21--When we reached Buenos Aires we went through customs--and did not have to pay the entry fee since we'd paid it in January. (hooray!) We followed directions to the red and white transportation desk for transport to the regional airport. We were supposed to go in a van, but something happened and we went in cars instead. Our driver dropped a woman at the bus station on the way to the airport. When we reached the regional airport there wasn't much open, but a little before 3:00 am the check-in counter opened. We went to check in and I couldn't find my passport! We went back to the transport company to get them to check the car in which we rode, but Tom found my passport in his pouch. We could not imagine how it got there. After checking our bags we walked on toward the gates, but they had not posted our gate so we couldn't enter. I lay down on a rug with several others who were trying to sleep, but couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. I waited for Tom at one of the food court tables and then we went to the gate--which had finally been posted. The benches there were more comfortable. At about 5:00 we saw our gate posted and went there. The benches were even padded! We were waiting for the plane to load when we discovered that there was more than one flight to Ushuaia and that we were at the wrong gate. We rushed over to the next gate where they were already loading our flight. The flight was uneventful and we were met at the airport in Ushuaia at about 10:00 or 11:00 am when we landed. He brought us to Los Cauquenes in a van and checked us in. The staff was quite friendly--as they should be at a luxury hotel! Lucas showed us to our room with a short tour of the facilities and answered many questions. We slept for a couple of hours, then I went swimming. The pool is heated. It is inside, but a part of it is outside and by ducking under the divider, I was able to go outside. Tom stayed to watch in case I had any problem. After the swim, we took a taxi into town for about 28 pesos and had supper at a place recommended by the concierge here at the hotel.
Tuesday, November 22--We spent much of the day walking around Ushuaia. We missed the shuttle we had wanted to take, so we took a taxi into town. We then had lunch at the place we'd had supper last night. We walked all over town. The sidewalks here are a challenge! We were told that each establishment was responsible for its own sidewalk. We were looking for the hotel in which we stayed last time, but we never found it. We had supper at Maria Lola's. Ani, from OAT recommended it last time and we had enjoyed it so we had asked the concierge to make reservations for us. Since we eat so much earlier than other here, the reservation really probably wasn't necessary!
Wednesday, November 23--We went into town on the shuttle--almost--It was so crowded that the concierge had to add two taxis to get everyone into town. I wanted to get a plug that would allow me to plug my iPad charger into the converter I have, and the concierge, Francisco, told me where to buy it. I was able to buy it--a neat gadget that connects just about everything. After buying it we looked at the memorials that seemed to be about Ushuaia's history and the
Falkland Islands and then went to look at a cemetery that I'd been noticing and wanted to see. It wasn't as old as we'd hoped, but only from about the 1920's. After that we walked along the shore toward the center of town where we sat and watched the ships before looking for a place to eat. We found a restaurant that was pretty good and had mediocre soup and half an order of lasagna each. The lasagna had bits of chicken as well as ham and spinach. It was pretty good. After lunch and looking at things I would like to buy, but didn't we took the shuttle back to the hotel where we took a nap. We then went swimming and sat in the hot tub outside before getting back in the pool and swimming inside. We walked along the beach for a few minutes and saw rocks covered with something that looked as I would think mussels look. We had a Quark meeting at 6:30 so we ate dinner at the hotel, which was very nice. The view from the dining room is fantastic as there are mountains in every direction and water directly behind the hotel.
Thursday, November 24--this
is the day of embarkation! Tom was up
early, and I slept until almost 8:00. We put our bags out to be picked up, ate
breakfast, finished up in the room, and waited for the 11:00 shuttle. We've
decided to meet the bus in town at 3:30. Tom has misplaced his green jacket.
With the help of the concierge, we finally found the hotel at which we stayed
last time, the Mil 810. The concierge
told me that it was a business hotel. We
had soup and salad at our 
little place in town and I bought some bibs, a hat, and booties for Merrymac. We met the bus at 3:30 and all went advising to schedule with the Sea Spirit underway by 6:30. The cabin is smaller than the one on the Clelia, but the storage is better, and I think we're going to enjoy our balcony. We had a lifeboat drill and and were able to look inside one of the lifeboats. It looked pretty crowded. Each one holds about 45 people.
Friday, November 25--after breakfast we had a lecture on birds and a little later one on the history of exploration in the region. They were both very interesting. Tom started feeling a little saw sick and took a pill and only a piece of bread for lunch. He then slept most of the afternoon. When he woke up he was better, but the water was also much calmer. I went to a lecture on the whales of the region and sat with Molly. It was interesting, but he had an Australian accent and spoke quickly so that it was very difficult for me to understand. We ate supper, which lasted a long time, and then went to bed. The ship was anchored for the night at Little Island, where our first excursion will be tomorrow.
Saturday, November 26--Breakfast was early today so that we could start our excursion at 8:00. Tom and I overslept until 6:15, but we still managed to get down for breakfast at about 6:45 so we had time to get on all our paraphernalia. It was really warm, so we didn't put on everything. I had my insulated pants and my waterproof ones with my silk undershirts and a sweater and, of course, my parka. Tom wore only his waterproof pants with a cotton turtleneck and a wool shirt. We both had gloves, and I took my sticks. We were in the Grease Group and loaded third--which is just right because that means we should be first for Stanley! We were loaded ten to a zodiac and taken to shore where we walked through an area with tussock grass ( I think they called it) where there were families of geese. The seemed interested in us and not the least bit scared. We walked around a curved section of the western coast where black browed
albatrosses, cormorants, and rockhopper penguins were nesting. Although the each sort of had their own section, there was certainly some intermingling. We ate lunch on the ship, and at about 3:00 started disembarking on Carcass Island for a two mile walk that turned out to be very rigorous. At the end of the walk we stopped at a farmhouse where they entertain tourists by supplying tea and various sweets--very good. One of the highlights of the walk trip were the dolphins that played in the wake of the Zodiacs. There were many of them and they came close to the boats We had a debriefing and then supper. Tom and I ate with Molly and we were joined by Val, one of the staff--very energetic! We were tired and returned to our cabin.
Sunday, November 27--We reached Stanley and were able to disembark on time--at about 8:30. Tom was particularly interested in Stanley so we caught the first shuttle into town. We were discharged at the Visitor's Center and then walked down the main street before returning to the Visitor's Center to use the bathroom. Tom had lost his coat in Ushuaia and saw a coat he liked at the Visitor's Center--a pretty red! It was cold enough that he felt the need for a jacket so he bought it. We then walked to one of the gift shops that was open where Tom bought a mug and I bought a scarf made in the Falklands from Falkland wool. We then went to Morning Prayer in the Falkland Christ Church Cathedral. They had a reception afterward to which we went. I asked about taking pictures, which they said was fine, and one of the men made a point of showing me their stained glass window showing a woman with a bicycle at the bottom. She was a nurse who rode around the island on her bicycle--I think he said in the 1950's. We had fun talking with the people from the church and one of the women offered to drive us to the Kristin. When we saw how far it was we were especially grateful! She offered to drive us back, but we discovered that there was a free shuttle that took us back. I bought a couple of books about the Falkland War. We asked the driver of the shuttle to let us out at the gift store and went across the street to a grocery/general store and then to another gift store where I found a silly ceramic penguin to buy. We went back to the ship a little before 1:00 (the deadline) and had lunch. We then had a nap. I napped only a short time and then watched the first installment of a film about Shackleton and his explorations. After that I went to a talk about photography. There are many really serious photographers on board--several of whom are professional photographers. There was then a debriefing for about thirty minutes and then supper. We sat with Beverly and Peter Pickford (pickfordwildlifephotography.com), who are photographer/journalists and with a couple of the expedition team members. After supper we returned to our cabin where I watched a documentary, The Blue Planet.
Monday, November 28--Breakfast and the "Geology of the Scotia Arc" by Luke Saffigna. Pat Lewis "Heard and unheard tales of eared and unearned seals". Tony Crocker "Penguins of the World". The lectures are good, but the rocking of the boat makes it difficult to keep my eyes open! We were at sea all day with only water around us. During the night it seemed as if there were a little more rolling, but it's mostly smooth sailing. The sky has generally been overcast, but no actual precipitation.
