Captain’s Log: Finally Arrived Port Stanley in the Falklands and Leaving Ushuaia

March 31 – April 6

Hi All,

March 31: Ah, waking up to the sight of land and a bit of sun….yea….and pretty early we were through a wee narrow and docked at the wharf!!!!! After 4.5 days and trying to get over the disappointment of missing several days on South Georgia, we were all glad to see land and stretch our legs. Lucas, one of the kayak guides said it best in the daily Penguin New ” Twas’ the night before landing and all through the ship, not a joint was a groaning, not even a hip. 4+ days of tick-tocking, big seas and boat rocking, for the promised Falkland Islands, and a ‘weather permitting’ trip”!! Howard, Lucas’ boss, always ended his precap information with ‘weather permitting’ so a bit of a dig at Howard…we were all chortling at breakfast over that one:))) We later met Lucas in the Buenos Aires airport and he told us up to 20+ rooms/people were down and out during those 4 days from all the motion….yikes!!!

We spent a day in Stanley. We first went to Gypsy Cove, an easy 1-mile walk around beach sand and tussock grass and saw our first Magellanic penguins….cute guys that burrow in dens….as well as many vibrant birds!! Next was a walk in town…very historic, very British architecture, went to the museum….wow…small but packed with information and excellent review of the Falkland war in 1982 with Argentina. We then ended up at Globe Tavern….this is where Kathy and I spent a wonderful afternoon drinking a few pints with the locals in 2008 or 2009 when we were with Kathy’s parents on a Princess cruise celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary….alas it was closed….whaaaaaa…we ended up at the Waterfront pub/restaurant and it was full…but they sat us w/2 British Air Force helicopter pilots in Stanley for 6 weeks doing “exercises”. They are stationed at the British military base 20 miles from Stanley…about 3000 people there…wow!!! We had a delightful conversation while chowing down on some of the best fish’n chips we have had in a long time….made from King Clip fish, a very mild but sweet tasting white fish and served with green peas…odd, but tasty…we learned that was a very traditional British dish!! After they left we sat with a couple who were the interim minister at the local cathedral….retired and doing interim ministries seeing the world…good on them….the next Sunday was Palm Sunday and I asked him if he was prepared,….he looked at me and said oh yeah, I’ve been doing this for over 50 years…I just hope I can remember the good parts:)))

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294272-d3537403-Reviews-Waterfront_kitchen_cafe-Stanley_East_Falkland.html#photos;aggregationId=&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=209174718
https://www.britannica.com/event/Falkland-Islands-War

That night I went to a whiskey tasting on the ship, Kathy went to the room but was still awake when I stumbled in. We tasted Johnnie Walker Black, JW Blue, Chivas and a Glenfiddich…these were the 4 whiskies the ship carried. Again, Paz, the head barman and sommelier, gave a great education on each four as well as properly tasting whiskey. We first sniffed the aroma, then had a sip, then poured a little water and noticed all the changes!!! I have never tasted Johnnie Walker Blue Label….~$200/750ml in USA….sold for $22/glass on the ship….it was yummy…had a rich, velvety, somewhat smoky and a huge honey like mouthful!!!

April 1, Day 19: The next day we did 2 landings….in pretty miserable conditions…winds 25-35G55kts…yes 55kts…and of course a light rain…first was Carcass Island….and good for Captain Artem and Howard for finding a relatively calm Bay. But Howard is like my good friend Craig….oh sure John you can do this hike…easy peasy, only 4k (~2.4miles)…ok, I set off with such enthusiasm…lots of Kelp Geese, Magellanic penguins, wrens, hawks and DDG views….but then it got to be uphill, and more uphill….a lady named Jenny caught up w/me and asked if she could walk w/me…sure, but I’m kind of slow…she said yes you are and I love your pace…walk a bit, head up stumbling a bit over the rocks you didn’t see and taking pictures…perfect for me…so off we went and talked about Scotland, Alaska et al. Well we finally get to the top and ODG, everywhere was DDG…but we still had a long ways to go…oh bother she said, I think Howard misjudged the distance….it was closer to 5 miles…but we got to Leopard Beach….hmmm, no leopard seals:((( but lots Magellanic and Gentoo penguins….it was a very long and wet zodiac ride back to the ship but TG I was next to Max the driver…the people up front got soaked!! I came back to the room and stripped everything off…the clothes indeed were dry on the inside except for the mega sweat…thanks Howard/CRAIG:)))

After a wonderful, hot lunch and a power nap we were off again at ~2:30pm….Saunders Island….12,000 Gentoo penguins, some King penguins with chicks and another hike….Howard had been properly chastised at lunch for his distance estimation and he swore this was a short 2+ mile hike….but it would be steeper….I did make it almost, maybe another 0.25 miles to go straight uphill…stopped at the first mix of Cormorants, Black-browed Albatross and Rockhopper penguins (my first sighting…ODG what a sight and worth the hike)…but then my camera went crazy, taking pictures on it’s own….hmmm, me thinks it got too wet in the rain….oh, did I mention the rain…hard horizontal rain this time….arghhhhhh….so I dried it off and tucked it under my jacket for a few minutes and just watched the birds…took the camera back out and worse, constant picture taking….click, click, click. etc….ok, I’m done and down I went with the Guide Stephi walking with me…what a delightful person…in 5 years she has done over 40 Antarctica trips!! BTW, after drying the camera, taking the battery out, it came back to life the next day….dodged that bullet!!

That day I did 7 miles, 17k steps, and 63 floors….I know that is not very much by many people’s standards but I was stoked…between knees and hips I haven’t done that in several years…surgeries and rehab are FINALLY paying off!! I may have had a few wee drams/glasses of wine to celebrate:)))

April 2, Day 20: Woke up to bright sunshine, windy, and 50*F….our last landing promised to be a good one….Kathy was in….but another 4 mile hike RT, w/~1200′ elevation….it seemed longer, higher, and steeper but the distance was right. The property is owned by Thies and Kicki who gave us the distance et al. What an amazing couple…circumnavigated the world in a 30′ wooden sloop, spent some years in South Georgia and Antarctica peninsula, now living in desolate West Point Island in the Falklands but yet planning more sub-artic voyages or maybe the Pacific South seas….we would have loved to have spent hours with them swapping stories but they were constantly surrounded by people and the opportunity did not come about…ugh!!! The hike presented more DDG views and at the end another Black-browed Albatross colony shared with Rockhopper penguins…they were tucked in some tall tussock grass but this enabled you to get quite close….amazing…the camera did work and I stood there ~30 minutes just taking in the nature show…Vicki, the nature guide, was also by me giving a wonderful commentary on the various behaviors…it was indeed a good way to end the cruise!!

Five Questions with Kicki Ericson and Thies Matzen

Sei Whales: wow, wow, wow….as we were getting underway from the Falklands to Ushuaia we were treated to a pod ~200 Sei Whales, the 3rd largest whale in the world….Blue whales being #1 and Fin #2….for about 1 hour the whale blows were everywhere….the Captain did a great job of slowing down and turning so we could all enjoy the show. Anna, the Expedition Logistic Manager was beside me at one time and I remarked this is great the Captain is trying to get some excellent views….she said it was in his job description…I said, really….this is an Expedition style voyage she said so yes…whoa. Now these guys don’t show any tail like humpbacks, they just have a huge blow and rise out of the water showing a little back and dorsal fin. I got some great pics but they really don’t show much except they are BIG!!!

April 3, Day 21: Our last day at sea….whaaaaaa. Jonathan showed us the documentary of being the first to successfully climb Mount Minto in Antarctica in 1988 with Greg Mortimer and 4 others….wow…incredible feat of strength, perseverance and endurance…we were very fortunate to have some of Jonathan’s and Howard’s experience onboard!!

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-89886-222-5

We then got the details for disembarking the next day….a rather sobering eventuality….and that afternoon Kathy and I packed…ODG, it has to fit, we got in all in coming….arghhhhhh!!!!

Later that night we had the Captain’s toast and farewell dinner. Russell also conducted the Finals of the Rocks, Scissor, Paper game….the woman who beat me did make the elite 8 but not the Finals…arghhhhhh!!!

April 4: Day 22: After our final, hearty breakfast served by Jose and Chester we were off to the Arakur Hotel….up in the hills with DDG views. The Beech trees were turning different colors…beautiful. Kathy and I took the shuttle into town, walked around a bit, bought some gifts and then made it back to the hotel for lunch, a power nap, then some catchup on emails/pictures and the blog. We also had a delightful dinner at the hotel with David and Donna, from San Diego, and reminisced about the cruise and swapped travel stories!!

April 5: Up early and out the door on the Transfer at 7:15am, made it through all Spanish speaking check-in/security and made the 9am flight. Landed on time in Buenos Aires, got all the luggage (2 carts:))), met our Transfer and went from the Domestic to International airport(~1 hr) by 2:30pm….hmmmm…went to the American desk and no one there….ugh…was told by another airline they do not open until 4:30pm….double ugh…so off to a café….found a small one then Hard Rock Café…then back at 4:30, got checked in and made it through security and found the AA lounge and had a delightful talk with David and Donna…the flight was on time at 11:45pm….and yea, AA did not downgrade me this time. Kathy and I were pretty much asleep quickly on the comfortable flat beds on the 787 Dreamliner.

We made DFW…ok, dear, we have 2 hours to make it through customs (30 minutes), Immigration (20 minutes as had to find all 4 bags), then walk, walk, walk….make it to the terminal change train (30 minutes)…then walk, walk, walk to gate…oh, they are boarding….and in our seat in 1.5 hours….yikes!!

We made in to our Brentwood home on Thursday April 6 in the afternoon and all was well…almost 36 hours since we left Ushuaia. Phil & Pam our neighbors had dopped off food in the fridge to tide us over until the Safeway run…wow…how thoughtful…we did make popcorn and a movie and early to bed….we were on Ushuaia time….+4 hours….but then up way too early…jet lag sucks:)))

The Plan: Over the next week or so I will go through all of the 4k pictures we took and post a few Galleries, a best of best folder and hopefully share the link of Max’s, the professional photographer, slideshow he made of the voyage which is outstanding!! After all that it is focusing on Mystic Moon and leaving for Sitka on 4/24…LIGI!!!!

Hope all is well!!

Cheers,

John

Wind Gust Grib from Windyty. South Georgia island is in the upper right of the storm and the pin mark is our location on 3/29/23

Wave Grib from Windyty on 3/29/23. The pin mark is our location on 3/29, 2-days after we left to run northwest away from the storm. White color is not good:)))