ANTARCTICA!!!

                                                                    The first two full days of the cruise we spent at sea. We were still in the tropicalness of Argentina, so we spent our days laying by the pool and drinking margaritas.

 Every evening we would have a cocktail and watch the sunset over the Atlantic with absolutely nothing to impede the view. It was spectacular.

After two and a half days on the boat, Laurie and I were excited for our first port of call, the Falkland Islands. This little island in the middle of nowhere actually belongs to the United Kingdom, so they speak English and use the pound as their currency. That is pretty much the most exciting fact about the Falkland Islands. That, and the fact that sheep out number people 3 - 1. We didn’t have anything planned, so we just wandered the little town, and were done in only a few hours. It was probably the most boring place I have ever been.

Our next port of call was Antarctica. I was a bit disappointed because when we originally booked the cruise, we were actually going to be docking in Paradise Bay, Antarctica but changes to the law now prevented us from doing so. Antarctica is the most untouched place on the face of the earth, and it is important to protect its ecological surroundings. As of 2012, large cruise ships are no longer allowed to enter into Antarctic waters, to help preserve its environment. We were the last cruise ship of the 2011 season and therefore the last cruise ship ever to sail to Antarctica. Tourist boats are still allowed, but only small ones. When we were looking at prices, these trips ranged from $16,000 to $25,000 for 10 days. Way too much for me…I could travel the world for a year with that kind of cash!! Tourism to Antarctica has risen exponentially in the last 10 years and has left a lasting impact on the pristine environment. These recent changes will help preserve the ecosystem, but will drastically increase the prices for tourism to Antarctica. To date, of the over 7 billion people on this earth, only 600,000 of them have ever been to Antarctica. And I am one of those people.

We were going to be cruising by Elephant Island, Antarctica at 7 am, so we put on nearly all the clothes in our bags and were up having breakfast by 6 am. I did not want to miss a thing!! One look out the window and my heart fell in my chest. It was so cloudy and foggy you could not see anything but grey haze out the window. We ate breakfast and then got a spot inside on the observation deck.

Laurie bundled up...inside. It was that cold!!

 As we got closer to Antarctica, the fog started to fade away. My first glimpse of the last continent was a bright white iceberg that seemed to glow in the greyness of the sky.

The water was rough, tossing the huge ship from side to side. Chunks of ice floated all around in the water, bobbing like rubber duckies in the bathtub. The fog lifted even more, and I could see the barren land of ice and rock. It looked absolutely inhospitable and amazing.

I could not stand to be looking at this through the window any longer. I pulled my toque down, nearly covering my eyes and zipped my jacket up to the top. I was going to brave the Antarctic weather. I ran up the stairs to the outdoor observation deck and was nearly blown off the boat.

Being blown away...and wearing nearly everything in my backpack

 The winds were so strong that I could not breathe if I faced into it. But this was a once in a life time experience, so I stared out at the end of the world and turned my head when I needed to breathe. It was beautiful and intense. Most people in the world would never get to see this sight. That alone was awe inspiring. The land was nearly black, mountainous rock; the snow was stark white and made for such a sharp contrast. There was an ice sheet that jutted out of the land and stretched on for miles and miles. It is difficult to describe in words and impossible to capture in a picture. It truly is one of those things that you need to see to understand.

Ice sheet

Looking off one side of the ship, you could see a dark and scary storm cloud moving in at an alarmingly fast pace. It was moving faster than the ship and was quickly impeding our view of Antarctica. When we couldn’t see anymore, Laurie and I decided to have a nap while we cruised our way to Paradise Bay, Antarctica.

That damn cloud!!!

 I awoke a few hours later to an announcement. Due to a storm, we could not venture any further into Antarctic waters. The waves were 24 feet high and were going to get higher. Paradise Bay was experiencing a blizzard and visibility was zero. It was not safe for the ship to proceed. With no visibility, we risked hitting an iceberg, destroying part of the fragile environment, and possibly suffering the same fate as the Titanic. That storm cloud I saw earlier was the reason I could not make it any further into Antarctica.

At first, I was really upset. We had paid so much money for this cruise, and I had not been able to see what I wanted to. After speaking with other guests, I came to understand, that because Antarctica is so extreme and remote, this happens often. You put your fate in the hands of the weather, and cannot win every time. At least I was lucky and was able to see anything at all. So, even though it was not everything I expected, I checked Antarctica off on my list of continents. Six down, one to go!! Then I proceeded to look into Antarctica trips from New Zealand. I need to see more.

Since we had turned back early from Antarctica, we arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina a day early and had two days to explore the little town. Ushuaia is considered “the end of the world” or “fin del mundo” in Spanish. It is the southern most city in the world.

There was a lot to do here, and we spent the first day wandering around, taking a tour of the city and marvelling at the beauty of this little town. On one side it is framed by the beauty of the Atlantic, on another side the breathtaking, snow capped Andes and on the other side, the National Park of Tierra del Fuego.

The City of Ushuaia

On our second day we went on a tour to Beagle Channel (where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet). We set sail on a yacht, decked out in some serious boating gear, consisting of pylon orange, XXXL water proof jackets and pants.

 The first stop was an island where sea lions and flying penguins hung out. The flying penguins are apparently penguins that got part way through the evolution process but not all the way. They look exactly like the non evolved penguins, but had reached the evolutionary point that allowed them to fly.  We went for a hike on an island and learned about the natives, who were nomadic naked canoers. Westerners killed them off with disease and guns.

As we left Ushuaia, we sailed around Cape Horn, Chile. For some reason, the cruise gave us certificates saying that we have been to Cape Horn. Not sure why…or why we didn’t get them for Antarctica too.

We had a few more days at sea, then reached Puerto Madryn, Argentina. We were back into the tropical weather and finally, for the first time on this trip, I was able to put my toes in the sand. We spent most of the day walking along the beach.

Next we headed over to Montevideo, Uruguay. It was the 21st country I have been to. We walked around the city, saw the touristy sights and walked along the beach boardwalk. It was a Sunday and most things were closed, so we were only there for a few hours.

 The next day, we were arriving back in Buenos Aires and were no longer going to be living in the lap of luxury. It was back to the backpacker life, with cramped dorms, dirty bathrooms and chocolate-less pillows.

Up next, Iguazu Falls and the quest for Brazilian visas.
Join me as I TRAVEL MY LIFE AWAY!!!

Life on a Boat

The Celebrity Infinity

There is only one way to describe it. LUXURY! After months of broken down buses, having no idea what you are really eating and bathrooms that made me physically gag, the cruise ship was pure and utter luxury. As soon as we stepped foot on the boat we were greeted with champagne. The crew called us “madam” and showed us to our floor. There we were greeted with more champagne and our stateroom attendant showed us to our room. Stateroom attendant - we had a guy who’s only job was to make sure we had everything we ever needed at every moment of every day. Such a change from waiting 20 minutes at a hostel reception desk to complain about a drunk guy who peed in the corner of the 20 bed dorm 4 hours ago and no one has yet to clean it up.

Our room was spacious, had a window looking out over the sea, comfy beds, bathrobes, was cleaned twice a day, and we never had less than half a roll of toilet paper. I do really wonder what they did with all those partial rolls. 

Our stateroom

After we got over a fit of giggling like little school girls over the decadence of it all, Laurie and I went out to explore the ship. It was a pretty large ship, carrying 1950 passengers and 550 staff members. It was like an entire city had been shrunk down and put on a boat. There was a movie theatre, a library, a casino, a spa, a gym, multiple restaurants, hair salon, indoor and outdoor pools, a shopping area, games room, internet area, cafes and lounge rooms, a running track, a playground, a dance club, 4 hot tubs, a stage theatre, observations decks and a buffet area. You could even get botox on the boat!!! 

Outdoor pool area

The food…oh my god the food!! I could write an entire post about the food. The buffet area had enough food to stop world hunger, every day from 6 am until 10 pm. At breakfast you could have 8 types of bacon, eggs of every variety, fruit, waffles, grilled veggies, muffins and anything else you could possibly imagine. During lunch you could eat from the carvery, the Asian station, the Indian section, the English section, the healthy area, the soup and sandwich stand, the salad buffet, the grill, and I could go on for ages. There was an equally diverse selection for dinner. Dinner was also served as a formal sit down multi-course affair. The food there was fancy, presented exquisitely and amazingly delicious. Every night we could choose from the standard menu which included things like caesar salad, french onion soup, lobster bisque, sirloin steak, and grilled salmon. There was also a full menu that changed every night. It had 5 appetizers, 4 soups, 6 entrees and 5 desserts to choose from. They were all 5 star restaurant quality, using some ingredients I have never heard of, and fancy sounding French words to describe to the dishes. There was also an ice cream stand that was open for 14 hours of every day. And if you were still hungry after all of that, there was a comprehensive room service menu available 24 hours a day. One night there was even a CHOCOLATE BUFFET…have two words together ever sounded so sweet??? Needless to say, I gained weight on the cruise. But it was worth every delicious calorie!!!

Ice sculpture / mimosa station at brunch

Chocolate Buffet

More chocolate buffet...it was never ending!!!

Every night after we returned from dinner, our room had been tidied, our beds turned down and a chocolate on our pillow. Once our stateroom attendant learned that we liked the orange chocolates the best, we always had a handful of orange chocolates on our pillows. He also left us the next day’s program so we could lay in bed and plan the next day.

During our days at sea, there were plenty of things to keep us busy. There were poker tournaments, trivia sessions, karaoke, joke-a -thons, bingo, bands, liquor tastings, painting classes, seminars on everything from teeth whitening to nutrition to diamonds. There were bands playing, pool volleyball, games of family feud, catch phrase and pictionary, napkin folding and cooking demonstrations, line dancing classes, Pilates and Yoga classes, and if eventually you got bored, there was a bar on nearly every deck. Every evening there was a show. Sometimes it was a musician, other times a Broadway type production, sometimes dancers and cirque de soleil  type fiyers. Every time it was amazing. The crew also aimed at getting the guests involved. I participated in a jewelery fashion show, where I paraded around in thousands of dollars worth of diamonds while others oohhed and ahhhed. Other guests put on a play. At the end of the cruise there was a show put on entirely by the guests, showcasing some of the best karaokeers, joke tellers and photographers. 

Tango show

Me and more than $8000 worth of black and white diamonds. If you are wondering what I want for Christmas......

The crew on the boat was beyond amazing. They worked so hard and so many hours to ensure that our cruise was everything we wanted it to be. Anytime we needed anything, it was brought to our room within minutes. Everyone said hello to us every time we passed. They held the doors for us, offered to carry our trays in the buffet area, and took our plates away as soon was we were finished. I have not been treated better anywhere and loved the living the pampered life.

We met a wide array of people on the boat, but no one quite like us. We were younger than most, by nearly 20 years. Many had been going on cruise vacations for years and years. We met some people who had been to all 7 continents on cruises, others who were on a family vacation, some who were just there for the party but no other backpackers. A lot of people were interested in why “people like us” were on the cruise. I think our lack of formal clothing gave away the fact that this was not our allotted 3 weeks of annual vacation. There were the die hard trivia junkies who attended every session and argued if they got an answer wrong, the Aussies who always had a drink in their hand, Steve-o, who was the life of the party where ever you went on the boat, and ancients who could barely walk and you knew this would be their last vacation. 

All in all, the cruise was a fantastic experience. It was so different from the way that Laurie and I usually travel, and gave us a glimpse of the non backpacker travel life. Although I loved every minute of the luxury, I still prefer roughing it with my backpack. I won’t be upgrading from the backpacker life to the life of luxury anytime soon.

Up next, the ports of call (where we stopped) on the cruise and my ANTARCTIC EXPERIENCE!!