Antarctica, Day 1

Okay – so maybe titling my first entry “Antarctica, Day 1” is misleading…because we are not technically in or on Antarctica, yet – but by this time tomorrow we will be on our way! Oh, I am really excited – as this is a destination and trip I have been eager to experience for many years. My curiosity began yeas ago when discovering the children’s book, Ice Wreck by Lucille Recht Penner and using the book to teach reading comprehension skills to my students at the time. I can still remember sharing the same level of wonder with my students learning about this epic adventure of people exploring an inhospitable world of snow and ice, getting ship wrecked and living together on an ice floe for months before eventually reaching people who could help. The captain Ernest Shackleton kept his crew alive and well with games, team work and sense of purpose and hope. My students and I were fascinated by the ups and downs of this story and it left a sense of longing in me ever since. While I am not roughing it the way Ernest did, I am off on an adventure! Obi and I left NYC from JFK on Christmas day – an evening flight departing at 9 pm. I’ve never traveled on Christmas day before – and couldn’t help but notice so many people – adults and kids (mostly adults) in PJ sets. Yes – even full body onesies adorned with reindeer, mickey mouse, Santa or candy canes. I laughed, a lot – sorry but it was funny and I guess a Christmas holiday travel fad? Our flight was smooth – no issues along the way, just long. Obi and I were eager to get some sleep – with an Advil PM we each slept a few hours (Obi was in major discomfort due to a medical issues described below). We landed in Buenos Aires about 11.5 hours later and had seven hours to travel from one major airport to another. Thankfully our luggage was on the belt and we hoped in a taxi to the next airport for our second flight. We needed to expend some time so we ate a bit and wandered outside along the water (watching locals fish) for a bit before checking in our luggage. Being so tired my eyes stung as they adjusted to the sun – yes, warm sun. We should have been wearing shorts and sandals it was so warm. The second flight was to Ushuaia, the southern most city in South America. Much to our surprise we were seated in first class! We had seats 1D and 1F – when I made the booking I selected these seats (and remember thinking, “oh, how cool the front row seats are open!”) though given the website was in Spanish with some English translation – clearly I missed any notifications about the price of the seat and accidentally booked first class! Funny enough the price was reasonable which is also why I never was suspicious. We were secretly very happy with this accident. This flight was just under 4 hours – and so after being up all night, a little extra leg room and cozy seat action felt great. Though the best part was flying over the mountains surrounding the city of Ushuaia, capped with snow on the side where the sun sets. There was a ruggedness to these mountains, the tree line dramatically stops with brown rocks and dirt then snow. No trials just unchartered terrain begging to be explored. It made for a dramatic landing with some turbulence from the wind jumping off the mountains tips. Once again, our luggage arrived safely and we hoped in a cab to the hotel. It was just about 9:30 pm and the sun was reflecting off the water like a mid-day summer at the beach. It was so bright outside I hardly felt the urge to sleep. Though once settled in we were clearly very tired and fell asleep (mostly through the night). We’ve learned that the weather here can change in a heartbeat – and today we experienced warm sun, heavy fog, high winds, rain and snow. The winds are so strong that at today’s tour ‘meet and greet’ with the tour company’s crew we learned that our boat returning from Antarctica will be delayed so instead of a 3pm launch, we are now scheduled to depart at 7:30 pm. So, let me back up a bit, Obi and I are taking our official honeymoon – to Antarctica a 14 day excursion with a company called Intrepid. This is a company with a boat small enough that it can allow people to get off the boat and onto the land (other cruises here do a “drive by” approach and people can’t get off the boat). It will take us two days to cross the Drake passage then we spend about 10 days traveling to various points for excursions in the morning and afternoon (hiking, penguins, glacial walks – who knows what is to come). I also signed up for kayaking so I will get to this multiple times on the trip as well. Obi and will also do a day paddle boat ride together. So today, after walking through Ushuaia for the day we made out way to the Wyndham Garden Hotel which was booked for us through the tour. There was a scheduled meet and greet with some of the trip guides and guests. We met a few folks on the tour and had some entertaining conversations with one of the kayaking guides, Little Rich. He’s a very tall, very robust man (nothing little about his physical appearance) who nearly got Obi to agree to the Antarctic plunge – yes, this Franimal needs no convincing to jump into freezing water with a rope tied around her waist! But that will be a story for a future entry. Obi and I invited a lone traveler who we met to join us for dinner. She is from Canada and works in data entry so her and Obi share similar professional interests. We met about five people – who were all very lovely and just as eager as we are to get on board. We did learn from the sales rep joining our trip that folks on the current boat trying to get to Ushuaia, will most likely miss their flights tomorrow given the delay from weather. Ack – it’s something we need to be prepared for. Weather here is unpredictable and so – to my MMFS friend’s reading this, sorry in advance if our return through the Drake passage is delayed.

I will end with two more anecdotes about today’s adventure. Obi and I went to the most southern museum in town, an old prison turned into a combination of four deferent museums. The prison cells have been turned into various rooms – one prison wing holding art work, another as a gift shop. They kept one wing in it’s original state so you really got a sense of the experience being inside a prison. A portion of another wing was dedicated to learning about the history of the first indigenous people who lived in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of Ushuaia the Yamana people. They were nomads mostly traveling in canoes made from tree bark. Their homes were temporary and often left for other people to live in or for when they returned. Like many indigenous groups, the Yamana eventually encountered explorers from Great Britain who tried to evangelize them or bring them back to London. Some of the Yamana were taken and given clothes (European clothes) and basic wood homes – but over time, disease and competition for their natural resources seals, whales and trees eventually killed them all. It was not until 2021 when Argentina eventually registered the legal status of the Yamana people of Ushuaia.

I will end with a final story. Yesterday, after landing in Ushuaia, Obi and I were on line to get a taxi and the person ahead of us had missed their connecting bus and needed a way to get to their next destination. He and his wife were trying to coordinate a day long taxi drive which sounded complicated and unlikely to work given the weather issues (predicted for today). We did not hear the end of their conversation because our taxi came. Then today, at the cafe where we ate breakfast there they were – the stranded couple. On our way out I walked over to say hello and ask if they had sorted out a plan. The four of us got into a conversation – they are also visiting Antarctica on their honeymoon but had planned to volunteer as doctors on another land based trip before their cruise. The reason why they missed their bus was because on their flight (the one right before ours) to Ushuaia (also from Buenos Aires) a man had a seizure and as doctors onboard, they helped – and given his medical state demanded the plan turn around and land back in Ushuaia! It was a wild story! On their plane, they also met a doctor who will be on our trip – not as the official trip doctor, as a traveler. Obi is currently experiencing some uncomfortable medical challenges with an over active bladder (mostly like a result of prostatitis) which has been an issue since September. So we explained to our new friends that we will be talking to the doctor on board. The two of them jumped into gear and basically Obi had a medical appointment with these two doctors right there in the cafe! Aside from a physical exam – they concluded that his diagnosed prostatitis was never properly treated. In the UK which is where they work (they also work in Australia) when a man has prostatitis it’s standard to prescribe six weeks of antibiotics because it’s hard for the antibiotics to reach the prostate and prostatitis a strong bacterial infection. So when they learned that Obi only did two weeks of antibiotics they were pretty confident this is why his symptoms have never fully stopped and are now back again stronger. They looked up the various antibiotics he should take and were willing to write us a prescription if needed. They told us the local pharmacies here don’t require a prescription and gave is the names of the first choice antibiotics for Obi. We walked to the pharmacy across the street and using Google translate on their computer communicated our needs. Much to our relief and surprise, they had what the doctors had recommended! Without a proper urine analysis we don’t fully know what is happening with Obi but given their help Obi is going to try this plan and see what happens. It’s funny – you never know you will meet and when. Obi had a very difficult flight given his physical symptoms and so this felt like a small miracle to meet these two doctors and get some help.

For now, so long – tomorrow, fingers crossed I will be writing to you from the Ocean Endeavor heading out to sea.