Ok, now it's official, this is happening!

So, we've been spinning our wheels for months and months with no real movement on the trip since we bought our plane tickets a million months ago.  But NOW, it's serious.  Amy and I paid the balance on our trip and we are COMMITTED.  

In fact, today is exactly four months until we depart from Montevideo, Uruguay for our cruise.  

I filled out my 'get good to go' info.  No comment on the grammar.  It is quite intense.  I can't finish personal info because it is too early to choose my jacket.  And it doesn't like our flight info because we are arriving too early.  Both of those are going to involve a phone call I think. 

So, that's the big news. And that's kind of it.  Now we wait.  Again.  For months. Four long months.

What idiot said anticipation is half the fun. It is not.  There are no penguins in anticipation.  

I guess it's time to think about what shoes to take. It's gonna be a long summer!  

Here's a couple of little videos.  

The best things about an Antarctic cruise.  And the worst things about an Antarctic cruise. 

And the obligatory picture of penguins

What time is it in Antarctica?

Today is  6 months from when my vacation starts. Not my actual trip, that is tomorrow, and not the cruise that is the 22nd, and not landing on Antarctica, that is sometime next month (pending weather, as they like to say in the fine print).  But I am going to revel in today's 6 month mark.  Partly because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, but mostly because it is snowing today (in APRIL!, in VICTORIA!) and I need something to get through this ridiculous winter (yes, I see the irony).  

Anyhoooo, no shopping to report although my friend Carolyn lent me some waterproof pants.  They are about 12 inches too long but I will make them work.  That's what tall boots are for, to hide excessive hem.  

Here's a question to ponder:  what time zone is Antarctica?  I mean, the south pole is at the bottom of all 24 time zones so which one is THE one?  Turns out, each station just picks the time zone of their home base.  So, the bits sort of close to New Zealand and Australia use time zones from that side of the planet.  The peninsula, where we will be, uses Argentina time zones.  

 

Next logical question is: how much daylight there is in Antarctica in early November since this 'shoulder season'.  24 hours!  

But we'll be on vacation and it will be daylight all day, so really, what is time?  

Or place for that matter.  Here is the map that came with that sunlight graph - this is the location of Vostok Station

In research news, I read a book called The Birdman of Antarctica about a guy who signed up for a season counting Adelie penguins near the McMurdo Station.  Their camp was where Cherry camped from "the worst journey in the world' which I never managed to pick up again.  I may be spurred to read more.  

I went to a ballet (Ballet Hispanico hosted by Dance Victoria).  It was a dance version of Eva Peron's life story.  It was really good but not exactly biographical, more suggestive of the occasional choreographed cough with a lithe swoon. But it made me remember that there is more history to be learned than just Antarctic history.  Biography of Evita on its way.  

No trip is complete unless Air Canada is terrible!

You all know I have had my problems with Air Canada over the years/trips.  And of course, why break such a long streak.  But instead of focusing on how very, very much Air Canada sucks, let's all appreciate how awesome RBC Travel is.  

As you will remember from my December post (BUSINESS CLASS!!), I had points so I bought my amazing, business class tickets through RBC Travel.  I can't even remember if I booked them online or called the RBC Travel agent but I'm pretty sure I booked them myself to save the $10 'phone booking' fee.  But no matter that I didn't even pay that pittance of a booking fee, they still took care of me.  

On Wednesday, I got an email from RBC Travel telling me there was a change to my flight and I need to call them ASAP!  I had received a couple of other itinerary change emails where they changed the times of one or other of the flights, a few minute here, a half hour there.  No panic, the connections were still fine.  But this time, there were ALERTS! and red letters!  This is serious!  

We were scheduled to fly Victoria to Calgary, Calgary to Houston, Houston to Buenos Aires.  Freaking Air Canada cancelled the Calgary to Houston leg and didn't replace it with another flight!  

So, I called RBC Travel, expecting to be on hold for hours, the norm lately for calling any CSR for any business.  But Riha answered right away!  I assumed they just cancelled me because of my super-cheap Business Class seats but no, Riha said the entire flight is gone (shades of LOST).  She checked, the only other option was Calgary to Houston at 6am.  Which would have meant a hotel in Calgary.  

I suggested I am open to whatever combination of Victoria to any Canadian city to Houston she can find as long as we get to Houston in time to get our flight to Buenos Aires.  Off Riha went to her own experience of trying to get through to someone at Air Canada.  She assured me, as she put me on hold, this is Air Canada's fault and she will find a solution.  

I was on hold for over an hour, medieval lute music playing the whole time, before she came back on and said that she found a flight that works.  Victoria to Vancouver, Vancouver to Houston, Houston to Buenos Aires (this leg unchanged).  And still Business Class!  Book it I cried!  Already did, she exclaimed!  

I sent the info on my new flight to Amy.  Amy called her travel agent people, they fixed her up and now we are both good to go!  

Air Canada never sent me a notification.  I wonder if they would have if I had booked my flight through them.  Either way, I am pretty sold on travel agents now.  Even the cheapest ones available.  I hear horror stories about cancelled flights and dealing directly with airlines (and let's face it, I am asking for trouble with Air Canada AND United!).  I know, I know, travel agency is a dying industry, but this and my previous experience with a cancelled flight make me hope they stick around until I'm too old to travel (so another 47 years). 

Endurance Found!

I mentioned that I was doing some reading on Antarctic history.  Most of the explorers' diaries are a total slog.  I ended up reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.  

Seriously, this is an incredible story.  Endurance was the name of Shackleton's ship which became trapped in the ice in the Weddell Sea.  He and his crew lived on ship for about a year before it was crushed and eventually sank. Then they lived for many months on the ice.  And then when the ice started to melt, they made a harrowing dash for land in three tiny boats.  The hardships they endured were unbelievable. 

Anyway, as I was reading the book, I googled some stuff and found out that there was currently a group searching for the Endurance at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, which is very deep, and very cold and usually frozen and/or stormy. So, not easy but Shackelton had recorded the exact location of the ship when it sank. 

Today, they found it!!! And it is intact and upright!  So beautiful.  

There was a photographer, Frank Hurley,  on board the original voyage so here is what it looks like trapped in the ice.  

Intact

Crushed by the ice

Living on the ice

Here's a History Channel summary of the story that I haven't read

Here's a video of the wreck if you just want to see how cool it is! 

Here's info on the expedition to find the Endurance. 

This one is for Amy: 

BUSINESS CLASS!!!!

OH MY GOD!  So, I have been tracking tickets to Buenos Aires for a couple of months.  And they have been cheap.  I have enough travel points to buy a ticket up to $2000 (not including taxes).  If I buy a ticket to South America, I use 100 000 points whether the ticket is $900 or $2000. So obviously, start big and work down is my 'flight search' policy.

happening!  

Business class tickets to Buenos Aires on my dates: $2179 (give or take $20 depending on the day).  I had to wait until my return date was finally available.  It seemed too good to be true.  I went in to see if it was true and got far enough into the booking process to see that the seats available were not in the business class section.  Oh, well, as I suspected.  I was at work, trying to research/book during lunch so I abandoned the process because I wanted to read the fine print (so unlike me but there are new 'cancellation' considerations these days).  

Today, I went in and started the process again.  This time, I think I chose the Air Canada version of the flight instead of the United version.  Same flight, different flight numbers.  I know this because the first time I was in the booking part, I could not choose my AC seats but I could choose the United seats and they were in the deepest, darkest, back of the bus, economy section.  But this time, oh glory be to the gods of wide seats and free booze, I choose the Air Canada flights (despite my well documented issues with Air Canada).  I could see the AC seat selection were Business, front of the plane.  I choose my seats.  But I couldn't choose the United seats.  Those are the important ones.  Flight down is 9 hrs, 50 minutes.  Flight back is 10 hrs, 25 minutes. It told me to go to United's website.  I got my confirmation email with my booking numbers.  I signed onto United and it let me choose my seats, which I figured was a miracle in itself.  Seats available:  BUSINESS CLASS!  No seriously:  BUSINESS CLASS!!!!!  Is it wrong to be this excited about my seats!  I don't think so.  

This literally makes me want to cry with happiness

All told, $200 bucks for my BUSINESS CLASS tickets (just the taxes).  Lie-Flat seating! With bedding and sleep themed amenities.  (I don't even know what that means, but I'm going to find out!)  Chef designed onboard dining experience!  Access to United lounge!  Two closets!  So many coffee stations!  

So, there you go, it is getting harder to say this might not happen.  Let's all hope and pray that Omicron (which we are not talking about) is quick and gone and no new, even worse, Covid variant shows up before November, 2022.  I was saying to Amy, if we had gone this year, we would have been in a bit of a safety bubble, mostly post-Delta and pre-Omicron.  Let's hope Oct/Nov 2022 is even better!  

Less exciting but still trip related, I have started doing a bit of research on Buenos Aires.  As in, I googled 'which area is the best to stay in...'.  Palermo is top of the one list I looked at.  Okey Dokey.  Booking.com, my old and trusted booking friend.  I found a two bedroom apartment in Palermo.  Not in the super-trendy Palermo Hollywood or Palermo Soho sub-neighbourhoods, but not too far (and about $1000 cheaper, thank you very much).  It is in Alto Palermo.  I can walk for trendy.  

The cool kids are in pink or aqua, we are in blue (with the 
smart-with-their-money kids).  

I booked this without consulting Amy.  We haven't even really talked about what we want to do in our week in Argentina before the cruise.  Do we want to stay in the city (which seems huge and diverse) or travel around a bit?  Staying in one place seems like to wise thing to do right now, but who knows in 10 months.  My booking.com reservation is cancellable until end of Sept so we have lots of time to consider our options.  

I have since has a one minute conversation with Amy to tell her I was sending her the flight info (so she can book with her travel money) and the apartment info and she said "if someone else wants to plan, I am all for whatever that plan might be'.  I am writing that down as a contract.  I may have completely changed the wording but the thought is probably, mostly (somewhat, maybe) right.  

Then I read the second paragraph in that one 'where to stay in Buenos Aires' site.  It says Palermo is not close to the 'sights'.  Next research:  how to get around Buenos Aires.  Super-duper subway system is how.  Called the Subte.  

Way up in the top left, by the green D, is Palermo station.  

Some cross referencing with a Subte map with some streets on it and the Booking.com map, I can see the place I booked is three blocks from the Bulnes stop on Linea D.  Linea D takes up to the Cathedral where we can catch Linea E with goes through San Telmo, where the touristy sights are (or some of them).  So, boom and Bob's your uncle.  I have started planning!  I'm sure there will be lots of Subte'ing!  Lineas H & F might get us to some good spots too.  Oh dear, now I am looking at San Telmo neighbourhood apartments.  Never read the second paragraph, it just complicates decisions.  

In shopping news.  It is snowing in Victoria right now so I have had to shovel my walk a couple of times and the weak point in my cold weather gear is my hands.  I ordered some expensive gloves (50% off boxing day sale and $10 bonus discount, so not too bad).  They should arrive in a couple of weeks, hopefully too late to test them in frigid weather (because I am done with Victoria having frigid weather!).  

We don't like the snow
 but we do like the live bird show

The Thruple makes her first appearance

The one year mark (Oct 22, 2021) before our cruise passed by and I barely noticed.  This trip has been so far away for so long, I kind of forgot to think about it.  

I am trying to read some Antarctic history books but the first one I tried was "The Worst Journey in the World" about the fateful (and fatal) Scott expedition.  But it is DENSE.  It is barely readable. I should be called "The Worst Writing in the World".   I have a new appreciation for editors, let me tell you.  This book is a solid  block of text, barely a paragraph break, let alone a chapter break.  Oldy-Timey books about exploration by ship involve a lot of weather reports and wind speeds and the word 'lee'.  

The bottom one might not be too historical 

I abandoned that one for a fun novel about an old lady who is bored so goes to the Antarctic.  After that, I dipped into some Cook diaries.  More weather.  Time to work on some Shackelton before I go back to Scott.  These guys are basically insane and suicidal but at least Cook and Shackelton waited to explore themselves to death on a different continent.  

Seriously!  Hit Enter every once in a while!  

On a more practical note, it is time to start considering our flights.  I am hanging out on Google flights.  Our dates aren't even available yet.  We are up to Oct 12 as the last day with tickets as of today.  I put an alert on our flight for Sept 2022 so I can see what is going on with prices.  I have $2000 worth of ticket with my Air Mile points.  

Business class tickets, to Buenos Aires return, have dipped as low as $2160!  They are bouncing up and down so Amy and I had a 'trip meeting' to decide if we want to book super early if the tickets are super cheap or wait until we have a better idea of what the world will look like in 11 months.  Book early and cheap is the decision.  I called my bank to make sure if I have to cancel, I don't lose my points.  I do not.  Done and decided. But not booked.  It is too early.  

prices at 12:15pm on Nov 17, 2021 

I bought a new travel computer.  It is teeny tiny (just one pound).  Of course, there won't be any Wi-Fi on the boat so expect to be blasted with 21 posts from Ushuaia.  

Oh gosh, I started this post on Nov 17 and now it is Dec 3.  I have been so busy.  I worked overtime three weekends in a row ,it is crazy at work.  And then I picked up a little 30 hour contract so I have been working a lot.  All for the penguin fund!  

Important shopping.  I bought these ridiculous slippers!  

Ridiculous yes, warm and comfy, also yes. 

So, that's it for now.  Just obsessively checking google flights even though November 2022 dates aren't loaded yet so there is nothing I can do but fret.  Two more weeks. Dates to Oct 28 today.  The world and/or prices just have to hang on for two more weeks!  

A reminder! Follow me to Antarctica!  

One more update (now it is Dec 11!).  Still waiting for flights (getting closer, just 10 more days, prices are holding steady) but I just checked G Adventures and our cruise is up to $22,400!.  It's like we are saving $7000 now.  And I see that our 'third bed' in our Triple room is sold.  Our Thruple exists!  We just haven't met her yet. So exciting.  

Hello Thruple!  You will probably read this one day and know we are/were keen to find out who you are/will be.  We may even stop calling you 'the Thruple' once we know your name (but I make no promises and I really hope you have a sense of humour!)  

10 months to go!  

No one say Omicron variant.   

Oh my god, it's still 16 months away!!

Really no updates, but the system crashed at work so I decided to spend my coffee break doing this instead of working like usual.  

I have been reading my Antarctic travel guide.  I am very excited about the Falklands.  Rockhopper penguins!  Can't say no to seeing this crazy bird with his crazy do. 

I am going to have to add some links to this blog for some shops in Stanley.  Shopping is going to happen!  

For example this:  Falkland Islands Wool Store that seems to have no internet presence except for the occasional mention on other sites:  here is a photo, which as you can see is not advertising by the business.  

Oh, I have fallen into a knitting and yarn on Falkland Islands vortex.  Back to work!  

Oh wait, THIS: 

______________________

Its a few days later.  Still daydreaming about the trip but this time on a Saturday when I have more time.  I found the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) website.  And a couple of very well made videos:  

Going Ashore in Antarctica.  I can't imbed the video so here are a couple of shots in case you don't have 2.5 minutes to spare

If you sense an attack!

Stop often and reflect on the beauty

You will see many types of birds

Species in their natural environment

and Cruising in Antarctica.  Ditto 

Last great wilderness on Earth

visit the snowy breathtaking scenes

Don't feed the animals!

disturbing the wildlife is prohibited

And this just in (in June):  The ocean surrounding Antarctic is now being recognized as the fifth ocean.  Unimaginatively, it is called The Southern Ocean.