Posts In The “Destinations” Category
Stonington Island in Marguerite Bay is the site of two early research stations. East Base, the oldest American Antarctic station, was built starting in 1939 but hasn’t been used since 1948. The British Base, Station E, was used for many historic survey missions in the 1940s and saw use until the mid 1970s. From Red…
After our second night at sea through the Drake Passage, we woke up in Antarctica. Massive icebergs floated everywhere, some surprisingly close to the ship, in an endless variety of fantastic shapes and sizes. Ashore, steep and snow-covered slopes soared straight up from the water. Antarctica is much more mountainous than we were expecting. Taking…
Our two-day crossing of the infamous Drake Passage from Ushuaia to the Antarctic continent was wonderfully calm. We passed the time at the bridge, taking in several educational seminars, and just enjoying being on board the National Geographic Endurance. The ship’s public areas are comfortable and generously laid out, never feeling cramped despite a full…
Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina, is the departure point for the majority of Antarctic cruises. Our flight there from Buenos Aires was delayed by the overnight return of the victorious Argentinian World Cup team. Over a million fans had traveled to the airport to greet the players, abandoning their cars and walking when…
On our second day in Buenos Aires, we took a bus tour through the city as part of our Antarctica cruise package, followed by dinner on our own overlooking Puerto Madero. Buenos Aires is a striking city, full of grand historic buildings, extensive parks, impressive monuments and much public art. We particularly enjoyed our visit…
We reached our sixth continent when we landed in Buenos Aires, with the seventh soon to come. After an enjoyable flight across the country from Seattle to Atlanta, we embarked on a 10-hour, 5,080-mile (8,175 km) trip south. Our Buenos Aires hotel was in Puerto Madero, the old commercial port district that has been beautifully…
While the previous two years certainly had more big and unexpected plan changes for us, our first full year of living back on land was surprising in the new hobbies and activities we participated in, most that we’d not even considered six months earlier. Another very nice surprise for us was that Spitfire the “wonder…
We had a fabulous trip to Antarctica and currently are returning back to Argentina across the Drake Passage. Our southbound crossing was blissfully calm, but it looks like we won’t be so lucky on the return. Our current position in the Drake Passage We had a fabulous trip to Antarctica and currently are returning back…
Wishing you all happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year. Christmas Eve 2022 in Antarctica Wishing you all happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year.
We had a busy two weeks before our Antarctic cruise, where James was away on business for three days and we attended a Seattle Kraken hockey game and two Seattle Seahawks football games. The second football game, two days before we departed for Argentina, was even more exciting than normal. Amazon Prime Video has exclusive…
Prior to our Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Encore, we had close to zero interest in cruising in general and none on the really big ships. But while sitting on our balcony watching the Encore depart from Pier 66 below us, in one of James’ spur-of-the-moment suggestions, he said “I’m not interested in big boat…
We arrived into Argentina on December 19th, the day that Argentina would take on France to decide the winner of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Everywhere we went, people were setting up televisions indoors and out in preparation for the game. Our hotel setup two and we watched the game from there. The game was…
The Miami Cruise Terminal is the busiest passenger port in the world, handling 6.8 million travelers in 2019. The facility has room for ten large cruise ships and has recently seen a number of upgrades and new construction projects to support the burgeoning industry. In 2018, Royal Caribbean opened the 170,000 sq ft (15,000 sq…
The infamous 500-mile (800 km) Drake Passage between south America and Antarctica is considered one of the most dangerous crossings in the world. Waves and currents that meet no resistance from land masses elsewhere are amplified here, the narrowest passage around the Antarctic continent, producing seas that can regularly reach 40 ft (12m) in height….
The summer weather in Seattle continued from September into October, with a high of 81°F (27° C) on October 15th, 20 degrees F (11 C) above the average for this time of year. The dry weather resulted in many burning forest fires and Seattle’s smoke-filled skies made the city among the worst in the nation…
The Georgetown Steam Plant was built in 1906 along the Duwamish River to power Seattle’s streetcars. The advent of hydropower soon made the plant noncompetitive, and it was used only as an emergency backup starting in the 1920s. Decommissioned in 1977 and declared a National Historic Monument in 1984, the plant houses the only two…
Friday Harbor is the only incorporated town in the San Juan Islands and the main transportation hub, with frequent ferry, float plane and small craft traffic. The many restaurants, bars, and other attractions, plus a wonderful waterfront setting, make the town an exceedingly popular summer tourist destination, and accommodations, flights and ferry reservations book up…
Point Ruston in Tacoma, the inspiration for Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction novel Dune, was once one of the most polluted superfund sites in the world. In writing the first best-selling science-fiction novel with an environmental theme, Tacoma-born Herbert was influenced by the foul-smelling smoke that spewed from the ASARCO copper smelter at Point Ruston. After…