The stuff I hate to write

With social media it's easy to show people the good stuff - just the stuff you want them to see.  Hence why I wrote a blog entirely covering 3 days of nothing.

When people ask us about this trip it's a complicated answer.  In short, this trip has been... no bueno. We will have been gone for 12 days and 8 of those days have been pretty much been just travel. We were forced to stay in Buenos Aires (on the way out) and Santiago (on the way back)- two cities we didn't want to go to, but we tried/are trying to make the most of it and do something while we're there. 

Buenos Aires, as stated before, isn't a city that excites Mike or myself. We are adventure and nature/scenic travelers. We want to see mountains, lakes, iconic landmarks, do hikes, bungy jumping, white water rafting... We are not big museum or art people. One of the top things to do in Buenos Aires is visit a cemetery... we heard good things about it from people on our ship, but we still have no interest in it.

Santiago is where we are headed today on the way back home. We were there a couple years ago for our honeymoon and did not have a good visit. (due in part to me being sick, us being super tired, it being a cloudy day, and the city not being of interest) Since we are stuck for almost a day there we decided to do a star gazing tour (tonight) and Andes mountain hike (tomorrow). We are HOPING there is some redeeming quality of this stop.

Since this trip is a HUGE trip - Antarctica -I enlisted the help of a travel agent. I don't know if I could have done things differently had I done it myself (I think I probably could have) ... but I know at one point I did ask the agent if we could stop somewhere else - other than Buenos Aires and Santiago and the answer was no.  I know there are certain flights and certain times for those flights which probably has something to do with it, but I would have gladly traded Buenos Aires for a day at the end of the world instead.

Antarctica, for us, was literally only a few hours on land. THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS TRIP!!! It was so beautiful and we both really enjoyed our few hours there, but was it worth 12 days and the expense? I'm sure Mike would answer with a very quick NO!! I semi agree, but at the same time I also don't regret it. Yes, there are so many things I wish we could have done differently, but I'm a travel nerd and I had to do it. I had to see my 7th continent and Antarctica is absolutely beautiful!

The tricky part about this, too, is expense. I know there are other options for Antarctica that involve doing some adventure activities - like kayaking out on the water, snow shoeing, glacier hike, etc. It sounds like the tour after ours was actually 5 days of just sailing around Antarctica. (flying in/flying out, but actually sailing Antarctica.) Now THAT would be an ideal situation, but I can guarantee it is way more $$$$.

In short: we both LOVED Antarctica, but we disliked the route we took getting there.  There is a better, easier way, that would have made this so much more enjoyable, but again..... $$$$$$

I think it would have been absolutely amazing to do a trip of Torres Del Paine (where we were on our honeymoon) and more Patagonia and then fly in and out of Antarctica with more time on the continent and more adventure activities. #idealsituation

It is what it is though and there's nothing we can do about it now.  I think part of the planning was wrong thinking on our part... I was thinking Antarctica was going to be so cold -20 something and so I only want to spent a couple days there. In reality, the place we went was 32 degrees (basically the same as back home) and with all the layers on we weren't cold at all.

If you are contemplating going to Antarctica ... good luck! (I really do mean that) There are so many factors that go into this trip.  I would recommend flying in and out of the continent (although I know that's expensive) and spending more time on land.

SUPER 7 HERE WE ARE!

Something I did really enjoy though was the people we met on our ship. Many of them had the same goal of reaching #7!  There is something about being surrounded by fellow travel nerds... “How many continents are you at?” “How many countries have you been to?” “Where is your next trip?” I love being around people who are so excited about exploring the world.

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This is what we came for!

Jan 17: Where do I even begin?! The excitement started when we spotted the first iceberg. Everyone had the biggest smiles on their faces and was excitedly pointing and screaming at the big chunk of ice. When they actually announced “land ho!” no one could contain their excitement... even the penguins! We saw them jumping out of the water near our ship.  :)

We had our first excursion at Aitcho Island which was our first step on land!!  So many people joined the 7 continent club today and there was SO much excitement. SO MUCH. We saw tons of penguins-they were fascinating to watch. It was absolutely beautiful just like I thought it would be. But man, does it smell!! (Where the penguins are, anyway) The weather was 32 degrees and we had many layers on so it didn’t even feel cold at all.

We spent a couple hours on land, came back and did the polar plunge, had dinner and then were out again for a little zodiac boat tour.  The polar plunge was a huge success! I didn’t think too much of it...(kind of like bungy jumping - the more you think about it the more likely you chicken out!) They put a safety strap on you just in case... the strap itself was cold (and I instantly regretted my decision) but next thing you know I’m jumping in the water! A lot of people did it.. bragging rights!! It was fun and I’m so glad I did it. There was such a fun energy during the plunge! The first picture is Mike and I before the plunge and the second picture is of us afterwards. (with our new friends from Cali!)

This whole day has been marked by an incredible energy... so much excitement from everyone... I just loved that aspect of it!

The boat tour was, again, SO beautiful. The sun was setting which made it even more so. It was a beautiful day and we kept taking a million pictures of the same thing over and over again...  hoping to capture even an ounce of the beauty.

Part 1 of the Antarctic Journey

This entry is going to be a little different... Today’s date is January 18th, but I’m only going to write about the 14th -16th for now, so you can get the full experience.  ;)

Jan 14th- We arrived in Ushuaia last night, had dinner, walked around town. Ushuaia is known as the end of the world and I had fun singing, “it’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”

We waited all day today to board the ship. Boarding didn’t start until 3pm and we had to check out of our hotel at 10am... Ushuaia is very pretty, surrounded by mountains, lots of trails... but unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy. We did end up taking a taxi to a glacier parking lot, but didn’t do the full hike because it was strenuous and we already fell on the trail twice. (And got super muddy!)

We waited and waited and waited and waited until finally we boarded the ship! Woohoo! 4 days since we left home and we’re finally getting somewhere!

The Ocean Nova is pretty nice. It’s no Royal Caribbean or anything, but it’s nice for what it is. (definitely better than I thought!)

We had our first stop Puerto Williams.... the southernmost town in the world. We didn’t get off and, according to those that did get off, we didn’t miss anything. It was raining, the museum in the town was closed, and there was nothing really to do.

We did have a briefing in which they told us over and over that we need to be flexible this trip. Weather could change things, outside forces could change things... and we need to be flexible.

They told us that tomorrow (the 15th) we actually have a really good chance of going to Cape Horn! The leader said of the 20 times he has done this trip he has only made it to Cape Horn 7 of those times. This is because the weather and the sea make it very challenging to land.

MOOD: Happy to be on the ship (finally!) and excited to be one of the lucky ones to go to Cape Horn! There is a definite energy being around fellow travelers. For many, this marks #7 for them so there is a lot of excitement!

Jan 15th: We were just told we wouldn’t be able to go to Cape Horn because we have to drop off a Chilean pilot to a navy ship. (Don’t ask)

MOOD: Seriously?! The weather is perfect for Cape Horn and we can’t go because of the Chilean navy?! FRUSTRATED(!!!) Once again we are reminded to be flexible.

This means all day today and all day tomorrow we will be stuck in the ship with no stops.

Other MOOD: seas are rough and people are getting sick. I’ve been taking Dramamine, but my stomach has been a little blagh. Feels best when I lay down.

Jan 16:  Spent most of my day yesterday and today in bed. Haven’t felt like I was going to get sick (thankfully), but , my stomach feels better when I’m lying flat and don't want to risk it!

They have presentations on the ship which is on a higher deck... (higher deck is a no go for me because it makes me feel worse so that’s unfortunate) I did watch one “movie/documentary” about the drake passage and that was kind of cool.

I tried to sit through one or two other presentations these past couple days, but I ended up leaving due to feeling bad. The presenters (and I’m sorry for saying this) aren’t very good at engaging the audience.  It should be all about storytelling and getting people excited, but it felt more like a (boring) lecture.

MOOD: GET ME OFF OF THIS SHIP!!!!! Everyone is getting antsy, some are getting sick, and everyone is ready to finally see what we came for!  They also told us we are behind schedule because of the weather so we might not see Antarctica until late tomorrow... which means almost 3 whole days of lying in bed. 

We left one week ago tomorrow. That means it has taken us a whole week to get to Antarctica.

Mood: AGHHHH

And we're off!

AT THE AIRPORT: When we arrived at the airport in Cincinnati I got distracted by a really cute service dog... I started following him and Mike was following me... we ended up at the wrong gate. LOL

Flights were okay... nothing exciting, but we got to catch some movies we’ve wanted to see! Best part was that the lady behind us said something about Antarctica. I turned around so fast and said "ARE YOU GOING TO ANTARCTICA TOO?!" She is (!) and upon further discussion we learned she’s actually going to be on the same ship we will be on!

One thing I love about travel is meeting other travelers and talking about... travel! There is something that instantly bonds us. Anyone who knows me knows I can talk and talk and talk about my favorite places to travel.

It took us about a day to get here to Buenos Aires...came to the hotel, ordered room service for dinner and then I slept for 12 hours. :)

Today we took a city tour of Buenos Aires. Let me start out by being brutally honest and saying this city has never been on either of our "let's go here!" lists. We had to stop here due to the nature of our itinerary so we decided to make the most of it and explore the city.

 The colorful houses of La Boca











Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum. It opens during the day and closes in the evening. It's solar powered!

Exploring the city

We had tapas for lunch which was a highlight for me! I LOVED the tapas in Spain and was over the moon when I was told about this tapas restaurant. 

We took a tour of Palacio Barolo which references Dante’s Divine comedy. It also had a view of the city from the lighthouse on top.

Pictured at right is the exterior view of the building. The Palacio Barolo was designed in accordance with Dante's Divine Comedy. There are 22 floors, divided into three "sections". The basement and ground floor represent hell, floors 1-14 are the purgatory, and 15-22 represent heaven. The building is 100 meters (330 feet) tall, one meter for each canto of the Divine Comedy. The lighthouse at the top of the building can be seen all the way in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Pictured below: a dragon of hell and the view from heaven

After the tour we went to Hillsong church. The services are in Spanish, but they were kind enough to provide interpreters. I have now been to Hillsong in Sydney, London, Amsterdam, Cape Town and Buenos Aires! 5 countries in total! Woohoo!

ALSO! Look who I found in Buenos Aires! This girl! 

We’ve been friends since the first grade and have traveled Australia together plus Grand Canyon and Vegas! It was super great catching up!

Heading to Ushuaia tomorrow and we’ll be one step closer to our ultimate destination! :)

Praying for #7

First, I'd like to say THANK YOU!! I'm glad that so many people are excited to hear about this trip! Your support means the WORLD to me!  :)

We're getting close to "go time" and I thought I would share a few things that have been on my mind recently. As many of you know, I'm a worrier...so if people feel inclined to pray, prayers would be much appreciated! 

1. There's always a slight, slight, slight chance we may not be able to go to Antarctica if the weather is bad. It sounds like this has only happened once in the (insert however many years they've been doing this) but that would be extremely, extremely unfortunate and I would be terribly upset if that were the case. 

2. I've been known to get airsick (and nauseous) at times so I'm hoping the flights and the ship are kind to me! There are rough waters and people often get seasick... I'm hoping I can avoid that!

3. About a month ago a plane presumably crashed on its way from Chile to Antarctica. I know this has nothing to do with us, but it's another thing to add to my list of things-I-don't-need-to-worry-about-but-do-anyway. 

We have been prepping for this trip for a while now and we are excited to finally see this beauty for ourselves! We have talked to a few people who have been to Antarctica and they have all said that it has been one of their favorite (if not their favorite) trips!

If anyone wants to follow along... we will be spending a day touring Buenos Aires, spending a few days on a ship exploring Antarctica, and then have a couple of days in Santiago. It's actually a pretty quick trip, but we look forward to sharing our photos with you!