Ushuaia to Home, Thursday to Friday, 13-14 March 2025

We woke up early and got our luggage out and had a final quick breakfast. We took a bus into central Ushuaia, had a tour of the local museum. The museum had been a prison when Ushuaia was a British prison colony (rather like Australia), to the museum has small wings radiating out from a central area which were, for the most part, the actual cells that prisoners were housed in. In addition to maritime history, local history, and of course prison history and various wars etc., it also had a small contemporary art exhibition. he bus brought us back downtown, where most of us got Ushuaia stamps in our passports and walked around the main street of town. After much searching I finally found a nice Antarctica baseball hat for Larry! We went to the hotel that was our gathering place, where a light buffet was available, and then we were called in groups to the buses to head to the airport. Off we went on the charter flight to Buenos Aires, arriving around dinner time. At that point there were more goodbyes as folks either went to transfer to connections, or for some, into Buenos Aires to stay the night and wait for connections the next day.  

We headed to our flight to Houston, which went smoothly, and then customs in Houston, and then transfer to San Francisco. Arriving in SFO we reclaimed our luggage - hooray - and took BART home, giving us a little time to re-acclimate. It was a 28-hour journey for the three flights, but I was glad to be home, midday. We did a little grocery shopping (we had tried to eat everything perishable before we left), started doing laundry (8 loads eventually) and opened a giant bag of mail. It had been rather nice to be away from daily life, cooking, cleaning, email, errands, for these past three weeks. And what an adventure it was! Truly the trip of a lifetime.

Falklands to Ushuaia, Wednesday, 12 March 2025

We had some wonderful final lectures for the naturalists, and did the packing. Our final dinner with the gang was so much fun, we are so lucky to ahve made these wonderful new friends who helped mkae this trip such a blast. 

Three weeks in this room passed quickly! We managed to get our parkas and jackets in the suitcases - just barely. Luckily we did not buy much beyond pins and yarn and baseball hats, so that all packed fine. We will have to have our bags out at 6:00am and leave soon after.

The seas were relatively calm and we headed to bed early for the early wakeup.

Falkland Islands, Tuesday, 11 March 2025

Today was our final day in the Falklands, and it has been an adventure. Last night remained very windy and choppy, but we were able to sleep and get up ready to go on our final day of being ashore. The morning expedition took us to West Point Island with large number of Gentoos and Rockhoppers ... I will never tire of seeing their amusing walking style on land. By now the Base Camp suit up and zodiac routine is second nature. It is hard to believe that soon we will be leaving the Falklands and heading to Ushuaia and home. We went to the spectacular Devil's Nose area, which involved a very long hike from a boggy landing through high tufted grass to a rocky descent to a large beach. The tall grasses were filled with Gentoo penguins nearby and in the distance. We finally arrived at the albatross colony, a real thrill after seeing them fly by the ship on their enormous wings (8' wingspan), and got to see many chicks ready to fledge, occasionally being fed by parents. The fledglings are quite large, about the size of a 4-5 pound chicken at the butcher. The penguins and albatross were mixed together, and we were able to get fairly close (still 2-3m away) because we were in the tall grass. Seeing the albatross adults soar over us was amazing. 

After lunch, we went out for our final expedition, landing at Marie-Paul and Luc's land called Grave Cove, which they allow National Geo folks to cross. We hiked to the beach, down a rocky slope, where I almost fell, for the third time on this hike, but managed to catch myself, it would have been a nasty fall on the rocks. The hiking sticks have been hugely helpful. The Rockhoppers and Gentoos were deep into their molting stage and looked kind of miserable. There was a sea lion in the shallow water attacking penguins one after the other, Reuben called him the serial killer - as he would attack a penguin and kind of toss it away without even eating it. A bit gruesome. The stunning black and white bird called Johnny Rooks (striated caracara) were flying close overhead. Hiking back seemed a lot easier.

It was a little bittersweet at dinner with our group, knowing that this was our last expedition together. As everyone on board was invited to submit 4-6 photos, the combined slide show of about 20 minutes was spectacular, some incredible photos, places and wildlife I didn't see, it was wonderful to see this.

 

Falkland Islands, Monday, 10 March 2025

 Today was an adventurous day. A rainstorm came in during the night, and it was rain a lot this morning. We were scheduled to land at Saunders Island Settlement and go to the sheep farm. This is where we are to meet Linda’s friend. After a wet ride to shore during which we were greeted by dogs on the bow of the incoming zodiacs, we walked up a rocky hillside to the farm, which had various barns and houses. There was a little store, really a table, set up in the barn, and we found Linda’s friend Susan, who gave us a bag with the gift that Linda mentioned. We also met Biffa, Ross’s mother, and asked if we cold go to the gravestone of Tracy to lay a flower there for Linda, and we arranged to go up after the demonstration. David did a sheep-shearing demonstration, expertly removing the wool in one large piece. Susan, Linda’s friend, then shook it out on a table in one motion, almost like rolling out a rug. We could feel the lanolin inn the wool, and David showed us the various grades of wool. Then outside (still in the rain) to see the sheepdogs at work. One of the other women (can’t recall her name) sent the dog out, and she Sadie the dog) ran Upp the hillside, expertly rounded up the sheep and nudged them down the hill and into the paddock. There she kept watch to make sure none o fate sheep tried to get out the open gate. Finally, Sadie was released, and the sheep ran out of the pen and back up the hill to almost the same spot they were before. Sadie and Lassie (the other dog) were soaking wet but were oblivious to the rain.

We then went with Biffa to the gravesite. It was a largish enclosure with about 8 graves, including Biffa’s father. She had planted up Tracy’s grave with multi-colored carnations, Tracy’s favorite flower, and we put the plastic flowers we brought from Stanley there among a few other plastic flowers, and I said a short prayer. We took photos of Biffa and the gravesite to send to Linda. We had a real sense of the loneliness of this site, and how hard it must be to live there. We headed back i the Land Rover to the barn, and worked our way back to the ship, with Lassie at the bow once again, barking all the way to the ship.

After lunch the rain continued and the winds picked up. Ross announced that we would go to the site of the albatross nesting area. We were in the first group off the ship, and there were large waves, we were rocking and rolling and getting drenched all the way to shore. Some folks took the option of walking to the nesting site, we decided to take the 4x4s, which the folks from the sheep farm had driven over. On the way out, we drive with David the sheep-shearer, and I realized I had never been in that sort of 4x4 backcountry drive. We bounced through holes filled with water, over rocks, and up and down hills I never thought a vehicle could get up, or down. A few times we listed strongly to one side or another, with 9 of us packed in the car it seemed not entirely stable. we got to the albatross nesting site, an it incredible windy, we later learned about 40 mph winds. We were standing on a fairly slick hillside in the pouring rain, and I could imagine that it would not be hard to lose your footing and fall down. We managed to get a few photos of the beautiful black-browned albatross, which are mostly white, sitting on their cylindrical nests. A few empty nests were filled with water. Suddenly the naturalists were telling us to move back and go to the cars, it turned out that Conor, one the naturalists, had actually been blown over and they decided it was too dangerous to be out there. we hustled back to the 4x4s and packed in for the bumpy ride back with Typhanie, who noted about halfway through that she was a bit short to be driving that particular car (being a short person I understand having to lean forward to see the road), but she was experienced so we got back fine. Then it became clear that the waves at the landing sit were way too high, and Ross took off running to another site farther down the beach while the zodiacs held in the water, which mats have been a bit nerve-wracking for the driver. He settled on another location, and we lined up to pile into the zodiacs, in water up to out knees, but we were already soaked. The zodiac was struggling against the wind and waves, and someone on board the ship directed Boris, the naturalist and driver, to take a different route back to the ship, it was that difficult. We finally made it back, and we could tell it had been a difficult task. Some zodiacs had turned back before even landing, the walkers were turned and brought back, and other groups were told in base camp that they would not be going. Everyone got back OK but the staff were clearly both excited by the challenge but slightly rattled too.

Stanley, Falkland Islands, Sunday, 9 March 2025

 Early morning the city of Stanley comes into view, with its brightly-colored roofs reminiscent of Norway. It is Sunday morning, so things are quiet. Ross announces that there was a mixup in the bus order for this morning, so not everyone who signed up for the morning farm tour will get to go, and we missed the cutoff by quite a bit. So on to Plan B.

As with other group tours that we’ve done, it is nice to have some time to ourselves without a schedule. So we decide to remain in Stanley for the day. We did a short (like 3 blocks) history tour with naturalist Eric along the Main Street at the waterfront, then headed for the museum. He assured us that they would be open for us. The museum was actually a complex of some historic buildings and the main museum. We visited the blacksmith shop, the old printing shop where the newspaper was published among other things, a sample wash-house for laundry, and a stable as horses were the only means of transportation through the mid-20th century. We went to the main musuem building - we were the first ones there and two older women opened the door for us. We spent the next three hours there, see every exhibit and item on the two floors, covering the history of the Falklands, the many battles, here and nearby, life of the sea, the maritime history of many ships including wrecks we saw later in the day, natural history, and life on the islands. It was very well done, and really gave a sense of the isolation here (mail once a month if they were lucky), radio in the 30s which was very important when there was a German attack on the sea in 1939, and television much later, with intent fairly recently. We got a hat for Larry in the gift shop … always want to support museums.

It was a beautiful day, cool but sunny, so we walked farther out of town, past the 1982 Falklands War memorial, past the WWII memorial, to the large WWI memorial to the many lost from the islands. There was a major sea battle near here in 1914 also, with a fabled German ship. It was very windy, as we had been expecting, and we saw some cormorants and ducks along the shore as we walked past most of the houses. After the memorial we turned around to walk back toward town. There was a marathon underway - the farthest south marathon n the world, the signage said - and we saw runners begin to come in, cheered by friends and family. We went into the Catholic Church, a lovely little place with some nice stained glass. I decided to sing “Ave Maria” but for some reason started fumbling the words, luckily a hymn book was nearby and I could run it again! I lit candles for Mom and Dad, Cathy, and Jim. We went to a small cafe arrived about 1:00pm, and of course many folks from the ship were there. we hated a delicious fish and chips and a lamb pie and one Guinness (from a can). Then out to the main road again, to check out the supermarket which also was a gift shop and electronics store, groceries were from Waitrose, a British chain. We visited the Christ Church cathedral, the farthest south Anglican cathedral in the world, whose soaring roof looked like the inside of a ship, not surprisingly. There we went inland a block and walked to the other end of town, where we got to see the houses that folks lived in, ranging from fairly new to quite old and a few deserted with broken windows. Getting building materials must be a complex process here.

Near the end of the housing area we diverted to the 1982 War memorial grove, where an individual tree was planted and signed for each person who died in the war against Argentina. It was quite moving, as next to the each tree was a sign with the person’s name and rank and group, plus smaller crosses and poppies likely placed by family. We continued down the hill to the main cemetery, where many graves were covered with artificial flowers. I found one that had blown away form the graves for tomorrow. We walked back toward the main pier, stopped at a few gift shops to get some penguin socks, a magnet, and a tea towel. we returned to the ship about 4:3, having been in Stanley for about 8 hours!  Our feet were quite tired and we were glad to have a small snack and then to read for a while.

Dinner was a special Filipino theme, as all the waitstaff and many of the kitchen staff were Filipino, and they were wearing traditional embroidered shirts which were quite beautiful. Dinner included a whole roast suckling pig which was delicious, chicken adobo, a lovely flan, and lumpia. After dinner, a local band played in the lounge, led, it turned out, by expedition leader Ross’ stepfather! They played a few hits form the 70s but most were 90s nd later. A few we knew the words to but as with most pop songs, you can figure out the chorus by the second time around. Folks were really enjoying it, and I was wondering when the dancing would start, figuring that Reuben would be the first. AT one point, he got u and went to the rear of the Ice Lounge where a few folks were dancing. I told Barney we should get up and dance too, so we waited for the next song, and then the small group wound its way up to the front right by the band so we just joined in. Dancing in between the chairs and tables was a bit tight, but folks of all ages were really enjoying it. We danced a good bit, yelling and singing (Barney ended up with a sore throat the next morning), and had a great time. John took a lot of incriminating videos including one of Barney and me doing some turns, which was fun. We danced some more, and decided it was time to retire, though the party was still going strong upstairs. It had been quite a day!

Falkland Islands, Day 1, Saturday 8 March 2025

 The sea settled a bit overnight and we were headed for Barren Island, at the tip of East Falkland Island. After we landed, we had a brisk and very windy walk up a small rise and over to the beach where there were some Southern Sea Lions, very shy, who skittered away from us even though we were quite a distance away. There were so many birds! Steamer ducks, a tiny Prion, the Southern Giant Petrel and Wilson’s Petrel. We came across several installations of petrel nests with fluffy gray fledglings in them. Eric the naturalist cautioned us to stay a good distance away, as when they are disturbed they will projectile vomit about 9-10 feet away. Fortunately we did not witness this, but we could see some of the birds beginning to raise their wings a bit. Several times we stopped to examine skulls and ones of various birds, which the naturalists are allowed to pick up here as it is inhabited (not allowed in Antarctica and on South Georgia). A very windy walk back to the shore with some dirt and sand blowing in our faces, and we headed back to the ship on a wet zodiac ride.

Arriving Falkland Islands, Friday, 7 March 2025

 I was very tired from being up late the night before for the board meeting, so slept as late as possible before breakfast closed. We enjoyed the introduction to the Falklands by Typhanie May, an 8th-generation Islander, whose family lives and farms there. Besides being quite self-sufficient from fishing license fees and tourism, sheep are a major source of income. The second lecture was about the albatross, the “masters of the wind.” Spending most of their lives in the air, staying with their mates for a lifetime which can be up to 70 years, they are truly incredible birds. We are seeing them more now as we get closer to land, and there were a huge number of them by the A23A glacier a few days ago. In the afternoon, I had to take a nap - unusual for me - and then we read a bit.

At about 5pm, there was an interesting game up in the main gathering area, the Ice Lounge: Ruskin would ask “who here …” and the question could be anything from served in the Peace Core to spent the night in jail to been to Mongolia to been in a bar fight. As folks raised their hands, some of the answers were from the least likely folks. One question was “who has ever been in a movie” and I raised my hand as did another woman, often he’d ask for answers, she answered, and then I answered “Amadeus,” after which Michael, one of the naturalists, came over later to say how much he loved that film.

We had arranged with Carlos the maitre d’ to have the large table for 14, which had mostly been used by a Chinese group from an organization called something like Signa. Reuben Finch and I arranged the guest list and Carlos offered to issue printed invitations, which were lovely little notes on ship stationery. We had a grand time I made a toast to the group and the trip, and a good time was had by all. The folks from Australia all seem to be really fun people so far, and I sat with an American couple who had worked in the oil and gas industry and the husband was involved in car racing, so we had a nice chat about my recent interest in Formula I and the “Drive to Survive” series, I will make sure Barney gets a chance to chat with him tomorrow.

Some of the group moved upstairs to the bar but we retired to gt a good night’s sleep at last, since the ship was no longer tossing and turning. We expect to reach the Falklands in the morning.