South Africa, South America, Antarctica... and all points in between...
I arrived in Cape Town after about 20 hours in a charter flight from New York—it was supposedly the charter plane that the Buffalo Bills football team uses. We had major problems refueling in Ghana—seems the airport official wanted a cash bonus payment—took over 4 hours to settle—we couldn’t leave the plane.
Toured Cape Town yesterday. Took a cable car to the highest point, Table Mountain, for a beautiful view of the city and seaside. Shopped at the Waterfront area of Cape Town and, yes, I will be throwing away clothes that I brought with me in order to bring back all the souvenirs.
More later. We are now sailing for Tristan da Cunha, which is the most remote island in the world. The inhabitants are all descendents from shipwreck survivors.
December 24, 2003 Will Santa Find Me?
Today is Christmas Eve and we were scheduled to get off this ship--we've been sailing since Saturday and today is Wednesday--but the island of Tristan da Cunha has not been dredging their harbor, so our tender boats cannot take us ashore.
Instead, the country's postmistress came on board to sell stamps and the country's Immigration official came on board to stamp our passports (for $28)...the country has 300 residents and all these officials look oddly similar. I think
There is some hanky panky going on within families!
A boatload of ladies from the island just came on board to sell their knitting...not much to do here but knit, I suppose.
Yesterday, I lucked into a great opportunity. I just happened to have my camcorder in hand, and it just happened to be charged and have film in it...I walked out on deck and this English woman shouted as loud as she could "TURN ON YOUR
CAMERA!!” I did and started filming and asked her what I was filming, and then saw about 8 whales jumping out of the water (to see our ship) and blow out of their spouts. They were black and white and looked like Free Willie (God rest his soul)...It was amazing. Only a few of us saw it and then the captain announced over the loudspeaker for everyone to go look.
Since we can't go ashore today...and we have several days cruising the Antarctica coastline, we will not be ashore until January 3rd...That’s two full weeks at sea. I'll walk like a drunk when I do get to shore...course I may be drunk if I don't get on land soon anyway.
Miss our smoked turkey from Greenberg's in Tyler (Oprah even recommends 'em), but I think we have plenty to eat on board.
Having fun. The Olympic speaker from the last cruise and one of the singers (Merle...) are on this ship and I had dinner with Merle (she sang with Frank Sinatra back in the day....)
All OK.
December 26, 2003 Happy Holidays from Way Under
We are still about 1000 miles from Antarctica, very rough seas last night. I went to the Disco with some girls from our Dinner Table and you should have seen us dancing with the ship's tossing and turning. It's hard to look cool when you can barely stay upright.
The fog is thick today as we go "souther". Colder with every nautical mile. We have one more day of sailing before we begin the Antarctica "sights"--Sigma Island, Deception Island, Espernenza Station, Elephant Island (our first sight)...
Anyway, busying myself with reading, movies (there's a nice theatre on board but no popcorn or Sour Patch Kids candy...or Dr. Pepper!)
Christmas, I went to church services and caroling program. Nice day. Great food and even had Egg Nog at Breakfast.
Continue to meet many folks with ties to Tyler, Texas, everywhere I go.
I mentioned that we were at Tristan da Cunha and it was billed as the most remote place on the Planet. I heard from Otha Spencer and he said that "Commerce, Texas, is the most remote place on the planet...thought there was an error in the
Travel marketing..
Later
December 29, 2003 More from the Cold South
We have been traveling for days and days and only now are reaching the outer regions of Antarctica. About 1200 miles north of the Antarctic, we began
Seeing huge icebergs. This excited the crew--they weren't expecting there to be ice so far north. Then, a heavy fog engulfed the ship, so the captain slowed us to a snail's pace.
We have zigzagged for a thousand miles in very rough seas. I've seen whales, seals, and penguins following the ship. Icebergs are plentiful—one was 2 miles long above the water. No telling what we couldn't see.
I took a tour of the Bridge and the crew was on "State of Readiness", so we were limited on the time of the visit. The ship has radar, which can "see" the icebergs above the water. We don't have sonar for seeing underwater...My luck...
The days are long here. The sun rises about 4 a.m. and sets about 11 p.m. But, it is getting colder with every nautical mile we travel south. And, THIS is the summertime???
We will cruise in and out of several bays beginning tonight at 8 p.m. for the next four or five days. I'm still looking forward to actually taking a small aircraft, which will land on the 7th Continent.
I broke my camera that I bought for the trip...again, my luck continues...but like I need a camera now! (Bought some throwaways in the boutique)
Hope these messages aren't boring...just delete 'em if they are. It's good to have some contact with the Real World. Cruise Ship World can be Creepy.
January 1, 2004 Happy New Year
Wishing everyone a happy new year and want to let you know that I'm grateful you are part of my life this past year and for future years to come.
We are in the Antarctic Circle and have been for several days. I never imagined that this place was so beautiful. The huge mountain ranges, covered with ice and snow, along with the gigantic icebergs (some ten times the size of Texas Stadium--my reference for size of big things), make Antarctica definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. And you only see 1/8th of the icebergs!
The first thing you notice is the quietness. No sounds. The next thing you notice is the clean air (no pollen).
I've seen blue whales and killer whales, along with more penguins that I can deal with.
For the past two nights, we have experienced no darkness at night. Earlier, the sun would set about 11:30 p.m. and rise about 2 a.m. Now, we are in total light so it's hard to sleep with sunlight peeping through the windows.... and I'm always afraid I might miss something interesting outside.
Went to a huge New Year's Eve party last night and had a great time partying in Antarctica.
Our next stop will be the Falkland Islands.
January 2, 2004—More From Antarctica
I bet I've overloaded everyone's mailbox capacity with these Travel Logs, but here's another one. Really, it's hard to get a satellite link for emailing, so once I do, I guess I go overboard.
We are just now leaving the Antarctic Circle. The weather, in just one afternoon, can be sunny, then cloudy, then dreadfully windy, then heavy snow. We made a snowman/woman on deck and used fruits for his/her features...pathetic and sad, really, but what else can we do on ship...drink?
There are lots of "naturalist fanatics" on board this ship and they stand on the back decks 24/7 with huge camera lens and telescopic binoculars. They are the diehard searchers of any bird, bug or sea mammal. I go back there for about 10 minutes and then I lose my focus. Hard just to stare out at the water without my mind drifting.
The penguins stand on the floating icebergs and, seriously, they are lined up at attention as if posing to have their picture taken.
The sea lions lie on the icebergs and when we get close, they just roll over and expose their privates. I don't know the meaning of this, but it could be their expression of opinion of tourists.
I am one of five Texans on board. Most of the passengers are from South Africa, Australia, or England.
The temperature stays right at 32 degrees all day and night. This is the height of summer and is the only reason we are able to cruise so close to Antarctica. The pack ice usually extends about 100 miles from the shore! We are only the 3rd ship this size to travel here. We are told, since the beginning of time, less than 200,000
People have traveled to Antarctica. Visited the Falkland Islands yesterday--over 100 islands, 15 occupied by 2300 residents, all British rule. The Argentines invaded who knows why?) In 1982 and planted land mines all along one side of Stanley.
January 4, 2004 The Falklands
Two girls from California, a guy from Romania and I privately rented a taxi tour yesterday and the guide took us to some remote penguin colonies--surrounded by land mines! The trail was well marked and we got up close to several King Penguins--they nest in the side of mountains in mini-caves and we were able to stand at the entrance and watch the mothers/dads protect their babies from our cameras.
One thing I've learned is that Penguin Poop is Pink. Apparently, their diet consists of lots of small red fish, so if you ever see a pink iceberg, you know that penguins use it as a floating toilet.
Also, the sea lions (elephant seals) have an enemy--a tiny bird about as big as a sparrow that picks at the sea lions' noses. There's absolutely nothing the monstrous sea lions can do but growl and fuss. Funny, but pathetic.
The Falklands' most interesting thing was rock glaciers. Along the sides of the mountains, there are rivers of slowly moving rocks that slide down...much like ice glaciers but these are Rock...scientists have no explanation...something about the Ice Age.... but these are rocks...was there a Rock Age?
I did learn another lesson. When my camera broke, such bad timing, I did purchase a good camera at an exorbitant price at the onboard boutique...There are times, you just have to suck it up and take it. But, the photo ops have been so wonderful; I couldn’t leave here with some cruddy photos.
Tonight, we sail around Cape Horn, the southernmost spot where the cold water of the Atlantic meets the warm water of the Pacific. We have been told to get ready for a bumpy night! I think old-timer sailors would mark the occasion by getting their ears pierced. I don't think that'll be my mark of passage, we'll see.
Tomorrow, I'll be in Argentina, looking for soccer and rugby shirts of their national teams. Then, Tuesday, I fly to Antarctica and land for several hours. Plan to wear four pairs of socks, two pairs of thermals, several layers of shirts, and a hunter's overall suit. I don't know if I'll be able to lower my arms but this is the real reason I wanted to take the trip. I think we visit an experiment station, have a barbeque and see the wildlife.
Love to all...Did the Cowboys beat the Panthers?
We don't get scores.
I hope someone at black-eyed peas for me
Yesterday. Perhaps I'll have Prosperity by Proxy
In '04....
January 5th—Argentina
Hey there. Crossed under the Cape Horn (most southern Americas spot) and have now traveled Cape to Cape--Cape Hope (most southern African spot).
Went to Ushuaia, Argentina, today, the most southern city. Great tour with a private taxi that I shared with a guy from Florida to many remote, off the beaten path spots. Beautiful, majestic mountain ranges of the Andes with mirror-type lakes of spring water. Huge waterfalls from the ice and snow covered mountaintops. Glaciers that are thousands of years old.
Spotted Condors--so rare--and almost petted a red fox (not the comedian)--which is also rare.
Argentina is definitely a naturalist's paradise, but with their economy in the dumpster, it is also a shopper's paradise. Great buys on their national soccer and rugby and polo teams along with leather goods...
We are now in the Beagle Canal (in Chile), which is named for Darwin's boat, and the naturalists on board on in frenzy, trying to spot every species. They keep track on a bulletin board and you should hear them scream when there's something new added to the board. I might just make up something and put on it if I only knew what would be impressive enough for their yellin'.
Thanks for the Cowboys' scores.
I've been playing Cribbage daily and haven't lost a game yet.
Tomorrow, we leave at 6 a.m. for the Antarctica landing.
Hey, the only casualties from the land mines in the Falklands (truly the only ugly aspect of this
January 6, 2004 Sad Story
Here's my sad story. As you know, for six months or so, I've planned, prepared and purchased for a landing in Antarctica. The tour company sent a list of required garments to wear on the day of the landing--all bulky stuff that crammed a full suitcase.
We had a huge celebratory dinner last night and I got up at 4 a.m. in order to hear my alarm clock set for 4:30 a.m., the backup wakeup call on the automated service, and my double backup wakeup call from the Purser’s Desk.
Anyway, long story of many details, 44 of us were in the room, waiting for our garment (and undergarment inspection). We were flying 3 hours each way on a propjet with high wings, landing at a Russian weather station (seems like the Weather report would be the same each day: cold, cold...what do they study?)...
The Excursion Director came in the room as we were taking photos working ourselves into frenzy. I had dinner in November with her husband on the Pacific cruise--he was our Staff Captain.
She said that the visibility was only 100 yards and the pilot needed a mile's worth. The trip was cancelled. We are refunded our money for the tour, but not for all the shopping beforehand that they required.
It was such a shock. We thought at first she was joking and then, just simple emotional devastation.
This would have been the 7th continent that I set foot upon in the past 9 months. I can't say that now.
I did successfully spit from the deck onto a floating iceberg, so I guess my story becomes "I used the bathroom and/or spat on 7 continents in one year..."
Something good will come from this. I've had such a charmed life; everything seems to work out for me. If the pilot had risked the flight, which knows what would have happened. We would have been flying over the Andes and I think about that Chilean flight where the passengers ending up eating each other after their crash.
I do have some happy stories to tell but will bore you with those later. We are so let down right now but what better reason to do Tequila shots could you ask for?
January 6, 2004—Stories that are not sad…
Here are the happy stories:
First, Mom emailed me much after these actual events, but now I've been told the awful truth. Mom is graciously taking care of my nine year old, perfectly spoiled Siamese cat, Edna, while I'm on these trips. It seems Mom was having a hectic day, giving the yard boys and the garbage men their Christmas gifts, running errands, and entertaining holiday guests.
It also seems Edna went out (she goes out briefly, sits under the azaleas, and smells the air for perpetrators but always comes right back in the house) but no one noticed when and if she came back in. Edna is a recluse in an aloof sort of way.
The NEXT morning, Edna didn't appear for her breakfast ritual and a mad search ensued. The neighbors were put on Elevated Alert and Mom called The Tyler Baptists and a prayer chain was put into place for Edna's safe return. I am serious.
After what I assume was a fretful day of worrying and hollering for the damn cat (I'm sure everyone was rehearsing how they would tell me...), Edna appeared at the patio door, came into the house with a dramatic entrance and has been playing the
Role of Mistreated Feline ever since.
Never doubt the power of a Baptist prayer chain.
Second story: I decided to split taxi fare with a ship friend in Argentina. We saw a Range Rover and a driver who looked competent. We went up to him to get his prices to go to the end of the Pan American highway.
What the driver asked was: "Are you tourists?"
What we both understood him to say: "Are you terrorists?"
We both denied any terrorist links and he insisted that we looked like "terrists". I even opened my camera bag to prove I didn't have explosives, but he kept saying we were "terrists" and he knew one when he saw one.
We thought the driver carried the conversation a little too long and both of us got bent out of shape. The ship friend even heatedly pointed his finger at the driver's chest and said "I'll be damned if anyone calls be a terrorist." The driver told us our ship was full of them.
We finally haggled on a price and started a huffy silent ride out of town.
Then a light bulb went off above my head and I said, "Mark, do you think he called us'tourists'?"
The driver started jumping up and down and said, "Yes, Yes, I see them all the time and you look just like them! Terrists!”
January 7, 2003 The Naturalists
Ok. The main difference between the Naturalists and me is what we take ashore. When I come down the gangway, I have a Chilean beer (Austral) in one hand and a MasterCard in the other.
The Naturalists scoot past me; complete with their tripods, three-foot camera lenses, and highly sensitive sound equipment that includes giant microphones on extension poles. They record all sounds of nature.
One of the Naturalists is named Sasha, but I call him The Cut Up. Whenever a new species is sighted, he (no lie) lays on the deck face down, rocks back and forth on his belly, and barks like a seal in celebration. The other Naturalists can be seen snickering beneath their binoculars.
Can you tell I've observed the Naturalists more than Nature Itself?
I wish I knew some highly sought after sea mammal that I could write on the marker board. I can't even lie good.
The Naturalists call me "Tex",'cause they think that's original-giggle every time they say it. One old lady has called me "Eric" since Day One and I can't correct her now. In fact, she corrects anyone who calls me by my right name.
One Naturalist from Hungary told me a great story. He just finished an extended safari and I asked what his best impression was. He said he saw lions eating a giraffe and asked the guide how they kill the giraffe--the guide said the lions bite the jugular vein high up on the giraffe's neck.
The Hungarian, a distinguished man who sounds just like California Gov. Ahnald S..., asked how they reached so high on the giraffe. The guide showed him over the next few days.
The lions find a grove of trees, chew the base of its bark and then push the narrowest trees to the ground. They then round up a giraffe and herd it into the grove of fallen trees. The giraffe trips on the trees and the lions go for the jugular. Ingenious, huh?
He said the lions feed for several days, then the hyenas, then the smaller animals, birds, then bugs, ants...Circle of Life stuff...
January 8th—Chile Report
We have been cruising the Chilean fjords after a couple of days on the Magellan Strait.
I had forgotten from History lessons how important the Straits of Magellan were to the world before the Panama Canal was built. Narrow and rocky with the cliffs extending from the water to magnificent heights. We have seen several large glaciers (the naturalists pronounce them "glass-e-ays") One glacier we saw this morning is the largest in the world...
There were several shipwrecks along the Magellan Strait and one had an interesting story to it. In 1964, prior to its maiden voyage with passengers, the crew did a test run. The captain decided to modernize the language on the ship and
Began using "right" and "left", rather than the standard "starboard" and "port". When he was leaving the bridge for the night, he ended his conversation with the pilot by saying "Alright, Sailor". The pilot mistook the captain's way of saying "goodnight" as a directional order and plowed the ship into the side of a cliff full speed ahead. You can still see the wreckage.
Someone has been putting jokes on the naturalist's marker board and they really are
Stirred up about it. Under "things you have seen in the air", someone wrote "A Chilean Airline 737" and under "things you have seen in the water", someone has written such things as: Moby Dick, Salt, and Plastic Bags.
There is a huge notice in block letters on the board today that reads "No Silly Things Please" but of course that has just motivated everyone on board to put jokes there now.
We are now entering the Pacific off the coast of Chile--it has one of the longest coastlines of any country--and are heading for the lake area. I'm to white water raft on Saturday for a 12-mile course with Level IV rapids.
Hey, I just got back from the white water rafting adventure. We went 12 miles in Level IV (highest rating is VI) in a river that flows between five volcanoes--the most recent was active in 1998! Yikes!
The water is glacier melt-off so, yes, it is cold! And yes, I did get wet! I asked the guide if it would be OK if I went into the water and rode some of the rapids while holding onto a rope--great fun and I definitely drank the water in Chile.
We misunderstood the guide today...He said, "One major activity in Chile is cattle raising". We thought he said "cattle racing" and have been laughing about betting on Bossie to show...would really take a long time for that kind of race.
We spent three days cruising along the Darwin Channel, retracing Darwin's 1831 discovery cruise on his ship, the Beagle.
The naturalists (not Nudists by the way!) are still steamed about their nature board. I really act sympathetic with them and have completely won them over. But, I must confess, I wrote something on the board as well.
Under the category "Things we have seen in the Water", I wrote "Mrs. Higgins, Aloha Deck, Cabin 362, doing the breast stroke, 8:15 p.m."
Others have posted seeing:
"Things we have seen on Land"
--Abominable Snowmen
--Big Foot
--My ex-Wife
"Things we have seen in Water"
--U-Boats seeking to destroy us.
--Jimmy Hoffa's body (OK, I wrote that one, too
But I hadn't planned on admitting it.)
--Viking Ships
--Pirate Ships
--The Captain--Let the Mutiny Begin
My friend from Cooper High School, Michelle Alley Koster, lives in Comanche, Texas. She sent me a website with hard to spot birds and one of them was the Blue Footed Booby. I haven't worked up the nerve to put it on the board because I'd likely be invited to speak at the Naturalists' daily lectures and then what would I do?
We sail towards Santiago tonight. Had our fourth formal night last night and will have a goodbye celebration in the disco tonight.
Have lots of photos, videos and stories that I didn't email...no need getting myself indicted...
Anyway, time to throw away things I brought and pack things I bought!
Thanks for being there to receive these idiotic messages. Good to know there's someone there to listen...er..read.
I'll do a summary soon and send out. Found a great poem by a Chilean poet today that I'll forward along with some final thoughts.
Travel is a wonderful way to remind you that there is a happy life waiting for you back home.
Love to all.
Will be back in Tyler, Texas, sometime Tuesday.
January 9th—Chilly in Chile
Got home earlier this week, after a whirlwind
tour of the countryside of Chile (beautiful
Hillside vineyards, well maintained crop fields,
and wonderful horse farms) as well as sightseeing
and shopping in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
Great to be home and planning my next career
move. We’ll see what happens.
Here’s a few final thoughts and reviews:
--What do you call someone who speaks three
Languages? Tri-lingual
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bi-lingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language? American
--How to Clean Your Cat
Open the toilet lids.
Place detergent in bowl.
Find the cat.
Soothe him/her while bringing her to the toilet.
Quickly, place cat in the toilet and shut the lids.
Stand on the lids while the cat self agitates.
Flush toilet twice to cleanly rinse the cat.
Standing as far away from bowl as possible, lift the lids and be sure all doors are open leading to the outside of the house.
Let cat air-dry.
Sincerely,
The Dog
Other things I forgot:
--At one point in Antarctica, icebergs surrounded us, but the ocean water temperature rose to about 100 degrees. There is volcanic action on the ocean’s floor there and the water is heated.
--I spoke to the Captain and expressed my disappointment that I would not be able to say that I had “set foot” on 7 continents this year. He assured me that we sailed way below the 60-degree latitude line, which marks the Antarctic region. He said that every time I set foot on the ship for about 8 days, I was setting foot in Antarctica. Sounds good to me.
--The first iceberg I saw was about as big as a car and I took tons of photos of it. Later, we saw icebergs as big as football stadiums, then one that was 2 miles long, and later, one that was 37 miles long—these things are floating! During the night, the senior officer said he saw one that was as large as most of our New England
States!
--Interesting thing I saw was an iceberg flipping—the submerged portion had melted so that it was top-heavy and it started spinning in the water. Impressive.
--One woman, whose family had something to do with the construction of the ship, lived on the ship year-round in a double owner’s suite. Wherever the ship goes, so goes this woman. She was odd and I only saw her on New Year’s Eve with
A hat made of plastic grapes.
Enigmas—The poem
Enigmas
By Pablo Neruda (he’s the Chilean poet who took self-exile to Italy. Recent movie, Il Postino, was made about his life there. Found this poem during the cruise and thought it expressed the excursion appropriately.)
You’ve asked me what the lobster is weaving there with his golden feet?
I reply, the ocean knows this.
You say, what is the aecidia waiting for in its transparent bell?
What is it waiting for?
I tell you, it is waiting for time, like you.
You ask me whom the macrocosmic alga hugs in it arms?
Study, study it, at a certain hour, in a certain sea I know.
You question me about the wicked tusk of the narwhal,
And I reply by describing how a sea unicorn with the harpoon in it dies.
You enquire about the kingfisher feathers, which tremble in the pure springs of the southern tides.
Or, you’ve found in the cards a new question touching on the crystal architecture of the sea anemone, and you’ll deal that to me know?
You want to understand the electric nature of the ocean spines?
The armored stalactite that breaks as it walks.
The hook of the anglerfish, its music stretched out in the deep places like a thread in the water.
I want to tell you the ocean knows this, that life in its jewel boxes is endless as the sand, impossible to count, pure.
And among the blood-colored grapes time has made the petal hard and shiny, made the jellyfish full of light, and untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother of pearl.
I am nothing but the empty net, which has gone on ahead of human eyes, dead in these darknesses, of fingers accustomed to the triangle, longitudes on the timid globe of an orange.
I walked as you do, investigating the endless star, and in my net, during the night, I woke up naked, the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind.
On Monday, disembarked the ship at Valaporias, Chile, a small fishing village, and traveled by bus to the capital city of Santiago. Such a beautiful drive through mountains covered with vineyards, valleys of every kind of fruit, vegetable and orchard imaginable. We stopped at a ranch and met Chilean cowboys—cabelleos.
Santiago is a beautiful city that changes. Part of it is very colonial-south American, while other parts look European in the architecture and landscaping. We traveled to the part that looked like America—past the multimillion dollar US Embassy, to the Hyatt, four minutes from the Mall. It was a great transitional day—ate at KFC, drank Cokes at McDonald’s. I’m telling you, when America comes into a country, we do it in grand style. The mall was just like the Mall of America—only pesos was the exchange.
Saw some Hili’s from Easter Island—those huge black-carved statues of large faces that no one really knows how they got to Easter Island—Chariots of the Gods’ Mystery…Anyway, someone at sometime had pirated a couple and were displayed in Santiago.
Left Santiago at 10:30 p.m. Monday night on LAN Chile (Lineo Aero Natcional Chile—The National Airline of Chile). Slept most of the way.
Arrived Miami 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning. You would think a good time to make it through Customs/Immigration…not at Miami. I can’t describe to you in words how utterly WILD it was. You know those moving sidewalk escalators without the steps at airports? I was on one and far in the distance at the end of the walkway, I spotted trouble.
There was such a throng of people at the end, waiting to get into the Customs arena, that there was no room for the travelers on the moving sidewalk to exit. No exaggeration, there was literally a dogpile of travelers, suitcases, pow-boom, that’s all we heard—I was walking, then running backwards, rolling my carryon luggage as fast as I could move it…
The long lines were rough, but a customs agent noticed that I was from Texas—said he grew up in Killeen and gave me a wink. He then put on this air of authority and pulled me out of line—the other passengers thought I was in trouble but really the guy just acted like he needed to search me (for a second I was worried), but he winked again, stamped my passport, winked again, and said “Say hello to Texas for me”. I avoided about an hour wait and made my flight to DFW.
Anyway, made it home. So much laundry. So many photos to develop (11 rolls). I’m switching to digital now.
I may be putting everything on a website soon. (Any volunteers to teach me how to make a website?)
Here’s some final thoughts and observations:
On Monday, disembarked the ship at Valaporias, Chile, a small fishing village, and traveled by bus to the capital city of Santiago. Such a beautiful drive through mountains covered with vineyards, valleys of every kind of fruit, vegetable and orchard imaginable. We stopped at a ranch and met Chilean cowboys—cabelleos.
Santiago is a beautiful city that changes. Part of it is very colonial-south American, while other parts look European in the architecture and landscaping. We traveled to the part that looked like America—past the multimillion dollar US Embassy, to the Hyatt, four minutes from the Mall. It was a great transitional day—ate at KFC, drank Cokes at McDonald’s. I’m telling you, when America comes into a country, we do it in grand style. The mall was just like the Mall of America—only pesos was the exchange.
Saw some Hili’s from Easter Island—those huge black-carved statues of large faces that no one really knows how they got to Easter Island—Chariots of the Gods’ Mystery…Anyway, someone at sometime had pirated a couple and were displayed in Santiago.
Left Santiago at 10:30 p.m. Monday night on LAN Chile (Lineo Aero Natcional Chile—The National Airline of Chile). Slept most of the way.
Arrived Miami 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning. You would think a good time to make it through Customs/Immigration…not at Miami. I can’t describe to you in words how utterly WILD it was. You know those moving sidewalk escalators without the steps at airports? I was on one and far in the distance at the end of the walkway, I spotted trouble.
There was such a throng of people at the end, waiting to get into the Customs arena, that there was no room for the travelers on the moving sidewalk to exit. No exaggeration, there was literally a dogpile of travelers, suitcases, pow-boom, that’s all we heard—I was walking, then running backwards, rolling my carryon luggage as fast as I could move it…
The long lines were rough, but a customs agent noticed that I was from Texas—said he grew up in Killeen and gave me a wink. He then put on this air of authority and pulled me out of line—the other passengers thought I was in trouble but really the guy just acted like he needed to search me (for a second I was worried), but he winked again, stamped my passport, winked again, and said “Say hello to Texas for me”. I avoided about an hour wait and made my flight to DFW.
Anyway, made it home. So much laundry.
Toured Cape Town yesterday. Took a cable car to the highest point, Table Mountain, for a beautiful view of the city and seaside. Shopped at the Waterfront area of Cape Town and, yes, I will be throwing away clothes that I brought with me in order to bring back all the souvenirs.
More later. We are now sailing for Tristan da Cunha, which is the most remote island in the world. The inhabitants are all descendents from shipwreck survivors.
December 24, 2003 Will Santa Find Me?
Today is Christmas Eve and we were scheduled to get off this ship--we've been sailing since Saturday and today is Wednesday--but the island of Tristan da Cunha has not been dredging their harbor, so our tender boats cannot take us ashore.
Instead, the country's postmistress came on board to sell stamps and the country's Immigration official came on board to stamp our passports (for $28)...the country has 300 residents and all these officials look oddly similar. I think
There is some hanky panky going on within families!
A boatload of ladies from the island just came on board to sell their knitting...not much to do here but knit, I suppose.
Yesterday, I lucked into a great opportunity. I just happened to have my camcorder in hand, and it just happened to be charged and have film in it...I walked out on deck and this English woman shouted as loud as she could "TURN ON YOUR
CAMERA!!” I did and started filming and asked her what I was filming, and then saw about 8 whales jumping out of the water (to see our ship) and blow out of their spouts. They were black and white and looked like Free Willie (God rest his soul)...It was amazing. Only a few of us saw it and then the captain announced over the loudspeaker for everyone to go look.
Since we can't go ashore today...and we have several days cruising the Antarctica coastline, we will not be ashore until January 3rd...That’s two full weeks at sea. I'll walk like a drunk when I do get to shore...course I may be drunk if I don't get on land soon anyway.
Miss our smoked turkey from Greenberg's in Tyler (Oprah even recommends 'em), but I think we have plenty to eat on board.
Having fun. The Olympic speaker from the last cruise and one of the singers (Merle...) are on this ship and I had dinner with Merle (she sang with Frank Sinatra back in the day....)
All OK.
December 26, 2003 Happy Holidays from Way Under
We are still about 1000 miles from Antarctica, very rough seas last night. I went to the Disco with some girls from our Dinner Table and you should have seen us dancing with the ship's tossing and turning. It's hard to look cool when you can barely stay upright.
The fog is thick today as we go "souther". Colder with every nautical mile. We have one more day of sailing before we begin the Antarctica "sights"--Sigma Island, Deception Island, Espernenza Station, Elephant Island (our first sight)...
Anyway, busying myself with reading, movies (there's a nice theatre on board but no popcorn or Sour Patch Kids candy...or Dr. Pepper!)
Christmas, I went to church services and caroling program. Nice day. Great food and even had Egg Nog at Breakfast.
Continue to meet many folks with ties to Tyler, Texas, everywhere I go.
I mentioned that we were at Tristan da Cunha and it was billed as the most remote place on the Planet. I heard from Otha Spencer and he said that "Commerce, Texas, is the most remote place on the planet...thought there was an error in the
Travel marketing..
Later
December 29, 2003 More from the Cold South
We have been traveling for days and days and only now are reaching the outer regions of Antarctica. About 1200 miles north of the Antarctic, we began
Seeing huge icebergs. This excited the crew--they weren't expecting there to be ice so far north. Then, a heavy fog engulfed the ship, so the captain slowed us to a snail's pace.
We have zigzagged for a thousand miles in very rough seas. I've seen whales, seals, and penguins following the ship. Icebergs are plentiful—one was 2 miles long above the water. No telling what we couldn't see.
I took a tour of the Bridge and the crew was on "State of Readiness", so we were limited on the time of the visit. The ship has radar, which can "see" the icebergs above the water. We don't have sonar for seeing underwater...My luck...
The days are long here. The sun rises about 4 a.m. and sets about 11 p.m. But, it is getting colder with every nautical mile we travel south. And, THIS is the summertime???
We will cruise in and out of several bays beginning tonight at 8 p.m. for the next four or five days. I'm still looking forward to actually taking a small aircraft, which will land on the 7th Continent.
I broke my camera that I bought for the trip...again, my luck continues...but like I need a camera now! (Bought some throwaways in the boutique)
Hope these messages aren't boring...just delete 'em if they are. It's good to have some contact with the Real World. Cruise Ship World can be Creepy.
January 1, 2004 Happy New Year
Wishing everyone a happy new year and want to let you know that I'm grateful you are part of my life this past year and for future years to come.
We are in the Antarctic Circle and have been for several days. I never imagined that this place was so beautiful. The huge mountain ranges, covered with ice and snow, along with the gigantic icebergs (some ten times the size of Texas Stadium--my reference for size of big things), make Antarctica definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. And you only see 1/8th of the icebergs!
The first thing you notice is the quietness. No sounds. The next thing you notice is the clean air (no pollen).
I've seen blue whales and killer whales, along with more penguins that I can deal with.
For the past two nights, we have experienced no darkness at night. Earlier, the sun would set about 11:30 p.m. and rise about 2 a.m. Now, we are in total light so it's hard to sleep with sunlight peeping through the windows.... and I'm always afraid I might miss something interesting outside.
Went to a huge New Year's Eve party last night and had a great time partying in Antarctica.
Our next stop will be the Falkland Islands.
January 2, 2004—More From Antarctica
I bet I've overloaded everyone's mailbox capacity with these Travel Logs, but here's another one. Really, it's hard to get a satellite link for emailing, so once I do, I guess I go overboard.
We are just now leaving the Antarctic Circle. The weather, in just one afternoon, can be sunny, then cloudy, then dreadfully windy, then heavy snow. We made a snowman/woman on deck and used fruits for his/her features...pathetic and sad, really, but what else can we do on ship...drink?
There are lots of "naturalist fanatics" on board this ship and they stand on the back decks 24/7 with huge camera lens and telescopic binoculars. They are the diehard searchers of any bird, bug or sea mammal. I go back there for about 10 minutes and then I lose my focus. Hard just to stare out at the water without my mind drifting.
The penguins stand on the floating icebergs and, seriously, they are lined up at attention as if posing to have their picture taken.
The sea lions lie on the icebergs and when we get close, they just roll over and expose their privates. I don't know the meaning of this, but it could be their expression of opinion of tourists.
I am one of five Texans on board. Most of the passengers are from South Africa, Australia, or England.
The temperature stays right at 32 degrees all day and night. This is the height of summer and is the only reason we are able to cruise so close to Antarctica. The pack ice usually extends about 100 miles from the shore! We are only the 3rd ship this size to travel here. We are told, since the beginning of time, less than 200,000
People have traveled to Antarctica. Visited the Falkland Islands yesterday--over 100 islands, 15 occupied by 2300 residents, all British rule. The Argentines invaded who knows why?) In 1982 and planted land mines all along one side of Stanley.
January 4, 2004 The Falklands
Two girls from California, a guy from Romania and I privately rented a taxi tour yesterday and the guide took us to some remote penguin colonies--surrounded by land mines! The trail was well marked and we got up close to several King Penguins--they nest in the side of mountains in mini-caves and we were able to stand at the entrance and watch the mothers/dads protect their babies from our cameras.
One thing I've learned is that Penguin Poop is Pink. Apparently, their diet consists of lots of small red fish, so if you ever see a pink iceberg, you know that penguins use it as a floating toilet.
Also, the sea lions (elephant seals) have an enemy--a tiny bird about as big as a sparrow that picks at the sea lions' noses. There's absolutely nothing the monstrous sea lions can do but growl and fuss. Funny, but pathetic.
The Falklands' most interesting thing was rock glaciers. Along the sides of the mountains, there are rivers of slowly moving rocks that slide down...much like ice glaciers but these are Rock...scientists have no explanation...something about the Ice Age.... but these are rocks...was there a Rock Age?
I did learn another lesson. When my camera broke, such bad timing, I did purchase a good camera at an exorbitant price at the onboard boutique...There are times, you just have to suck it up and take it. But, the photo ops have been so wonderful; I couldn’t leave here with some cruddy photos.
Tonight, we sail around Cape Horn, the southernmost spot where the cold water of the Atlantic meets the warm water of the Pacific. We have been told to get ready for a bumpy night! I think old-timer sailors would mark the occasion by getting their ears pierced. I don't think that'll be my mark of passage, we'll see.
Tomorrow, I'll be in Argentina, looking for soccer and rugby shirts of their national teams. Then, Tuesday, I fly to Antarctica and land for several hours. Plan to wear four pairs of socks, two pairs of thermals, several layers of shirts, and a hunter's overall suit. I don't know if I'll be able to lower my arms but this is the real reason I wanted to take the trip. I think we visit an experiment station, have a barbeque and see the wildlife.
Love to all...Did the Cowboys beat the Panthers?
We don't get scores.
I hope someone at black-eyed peas for me
Yesterday. Perhaps I'll have Prosperity by Proxy
In '04....
January 5th—Argentina
Hey there. Crossed under the Cape Horn (most southern Americas spot) and have now traveled Cape to Cape--Cape Hope (most southern African spot).
Went to Ushuaia, Argentina, today, the most southern city. Great tour with a private taxi that I shared with a guy from Florida to many remote, off the beaten path spots. Beautiful, majestic mountain ranges of the Andes with mirror-type lakes of spring water. Huge waterfalls from the ice and snow covered mountaintops. Glaciers that are thousands of years old.
Spotted Condors--so rare--and almost petted a red fox (not the comedian)--which is also rare.
Argentina is definitely a naturalist's paradise, but with their economy in the dumpster, it is also a shopper's paradise. Great buys on their national soccer and rugby and polo teams along with leather goods...
We are now in the Beagle Canal (in Chile), which is named for Darwin's boat, and the naturalists on board on in frenzy, trying to spot every species. They keep track on a bulletin board and you should hear them scream when there's something new added to the board. I might just make up something and put on it if I only knew what would be impressive enough for their yellin'.
Thanks for the Cowboys' scores.
I've been playing Cribbage daily and haven't lost a game yet.
Tomorrow, we leave at 6 a.m. for the Antarctica landing.
Hey, the only casualties from the land mines in the Falklands (truly the only ugly aspect of this
January 6, 2004 Sad Story
Here's my sad story. As you know, for six months or so, I've planned, prepared and purchased for a landing in Antarctica. The tour company sent a list of required garments to wear on the day of the landing--all bulky stuff that crammed a full suitcase.
We had a huge celebratory dinner last night and I got up at 4 a.m. in order to hear my alarm clock set for 4:30 a.m., the backup wakeup call on the automated service, and my double backup wakeup call from the Purser’s Desk.
Anyway, long story of many details, 44 of us were in the room, waiting for our garment (and undergarment inspection). We were flying 3 hours each way on a propjet with high wings, landing at a Russian weather station (seems like the Weather report would be the same each day: cold, cold...what do they study?)...
The Excursion Director came in the room as we were taking photos working ourselves into frenzy. I had dinner in November with her husband on the Pacific cruise--he was our Staff Captain.
She said that the visibility was only 100 yards and the pilot needed a mile's worth. The trip was cancelled. We are refunded our money for the tour, but not for all the shopping beforehand that they required.
It was such a shock. We thought at first she was joking and then, just simple emotional devastation.
This would have been the 7th continent that I set foot upon in the past 9 months. I can't say that now.
I did successfully spit from the deck onto a floating iceberg, so I guess my story becomes "I used the bathroom and/or spat on 7 continents in one year..."
Something good will come from this. I've had such a charmed life; everything seems to work out for me. If the pilot had risked the flight, which knows what would have happened. We would have been flying over the Andes and I think about that Chilean flight where the passengers ending up eating each other after their crash.
I do have some happy stories to tell but will bore you with those later. We are so let down right now but what better reason to do Tequila shots could you ask for?
January 6, 2004—Stories that are not sad…
Here are the happy stories:
First, Mom emailed me much after these actual events, but now I've been told the awful truth. Mom is graciously taking care of my nine year old, perfectly spoiled Siamese cat, Edna, while I'm on these trips. It seems Mom was having a hectic day, giving the yard boys and the garbage men their Christmas gifts, running errands, and entertaining holiday guests.
It also seems Edna went out (she goes out briefly, sits under the azaleas, and smells the air for perpetrators but always comes right back in the house) but no one noticed when and if she came back in. Edna is a recluse in an aloof sort of way.
The NEXT morning, Edna didn't appear for her breakfast ritual and a mad search ensued. The neighbors were put on Elevated Alert and Mom called The Tyler Baptists and a prayer chain was put into place for Edna's safe return. I am serious.
After what I assume was a fretful day of worrying and hollering for the damn cat (I'm sure everyone was rehearsing how they would tell me...), Edna appeared at the patio door, came into the house with a dramatic entrance and has been playing the
Role of Mistreated Feline ever since.
Never doubt the power of a Baptist prayer chain.
Second story: I decided to split taxi fare with a ship friend in Argentina. We saw a Range Rover and a driver who looked competent. We went up to him to get his prices to go to the end of the Pan American highway.
What the driver asked was: "Are you tourists?"
What we both understood him to say: "Are you terrorists?"
We both denied any terrorist links and he insisted that we looked like "terrists". I even opened my camera bag to prove I didn't have explosives, but he kept saying we were "terrists" and he knew one when he saw one.
We thought the driver carried the conversation a little too long and both of us got bent out of shape. The ship friend even heatedly pointed his finger at the driver's chest and said "I'll be damned if anyone calls be a terrorist." The driver told us our ship was full of them.
We finally haggled on a price and started a huffy silent ride out of town.
Then a light bulb went off above my head and I said, "Mark, do you think he called us'tourists'?"
The driver started jumping up and down and said, "Yes, Yes, I see them all the time and you look just like them! Terrists!”
January 7, 2003 The Naturalists
Ok. The main difference between the Naturalists and me is what we take ashore. When I come down the gangway, I have a Chilean beer (Austral) in one hand and a MasterCard in the other.
The Naturalists scoot past me; complete with their tripods, three-foot camera lenses, and highly sensitive sound equipment that includes giant microphones on extension poles. They record all sounds of nature.
One of the Naturalists is named Sasha, but I call him The Cut Up. Whenever a new species is sighted, he (no lie) lays on the deck face down, rocks back and forth on his belly, and barks like a seal in celebration. The other Naturalists can be seen snickering beneath their binoculars.
Can you tell I've observed the Naturalists more than Nature Itself?
I wish I knew some highly sought after sea mammal that I could write on the marker board. I can't even lie good.
The Naturalists call me "Tex",'cause they think that's original-giggle every time they say it. One old lady has called me "Eric" since Day One and I can't correct her now. In fact, she corrects anyone who calls me by my right name.
One Naturalist from Hungary told me a great story. He just finished an extended safari and I asked what his best impression was. He said he saw lions eating a giraffe and asked the guide how they kill the giraffe--the guide said the lions bite the jugular vein high up on the giraffe's neck.
The Hungarian, a distinguished man who sounds just like California Gov. Ahnald S..., asked how they reached so high on the giraffe. The guide showed him over the next few days.
The lions find a grove of trees, chew the base of its bark and then push the narrowest trees to the ground. They then round up a giraffe and herd it into the grove of fallen trees. The giraffe trips on the trees and the lions go for the jugular. Ingenious, huh?
He said the lions feed for several days, then the hyenas, then the smaller animals, birds, then bugs, ants...Circle of Life stuff...
January 8th—Chile Report
We have been cruising the Chilean fjords after a couple of days on the Magellan Strait.
I had forgotten from History lessons how important the Straits of Magellan were to the world before the Panama Canal was built. Narrow and rocky with the cliffs extending from the water to magnificent heights. We have seen several large glaciers (the naturalists pronounce them "glass-e-ays") One glacier we saw this morning is the largest in the world...
There were several shipwrecks along the Magellan Strait and one had an interesting story to it. In 1964, prior to its maiden voyage with passengers, the crew did a test run. The captain decided to modernize the language on the ship and
Began using "right" and "left", rather than the standard "starboard" and "port". When he was leaving the bridge for the night, he ended his conversation with the pilot by saying "Alright, Sailor". The pilot mistook the captain's way of saying "goodnight" as a directional order and plowed the ship into the side of a cliff full speed ahead. You can still see the wreckage.
Someone has been putting jokes on the naturalist's marker board and they really are
Stirred up about it. Under "things you have seen in the air", someone wrote "A Chilean Airline 737" and under "things you have seen in the water", someone has written such things as: Moby Dick, Salt, and Plastic Bags.
There is a huge notice in block letters on the board today that reads "No Silly Things Please" but of course that has just motivated everyone on board to put jokes there now.
We are now entering the Pacific off the coast of Chile--it has one of the longest coastlines of any country--and are heading for the lake area. I'm to white water raft on Saturday for a 12-mile course with Level IV rapids.
Hey, I just got back from the white water rafting adventure. We went 12 miles in Level IV (highest rating is VI) in a river that flows between five volcanoes--the most recent was active in 1998! Yikes!
The water is glacier melt-off so, yes, it is cold! And yes, I did get wet! I asked the guide if it would be OK if I went into the water and rode some of the rapids while holding onto a rope--great fun and I definitely drank the water in Chile.
We misunderstood the guide today...He said, "One major activity in Chile is cattle raising". We thought he said "cattle racing" and have been laughing about betting on Bossie to show...would really take a long time for that kind of race.
We spent three days cruising along the Darwin Channel, retracing Darwin's 1831 discovery cruise on his ship, the Beagle.
The naturalists (not Nudists by the way!) are still steamed about their nature board. I really act sympathetic with them and have completely won them over. But, I must confess, I wrote something on the board as well.
Under the category "Things we have seen in the Water", I wrote "Mrs. Higgins, Aloha Deck, Cabin 362, doing the breast stroke, 8:15 p.m."
Others have posted seeing:
"Things we have seen on Land"
--Abominable Snowmen
--Big Foot
--My ex-Wife
"Things we have seen in Water"
--U-Boats seeking to destroy us.
--Jimmy Hoffa's body (OK, I wrote that one, too
But I hadn't planned on admitting it.)
--Viking Ships
--Pirate Ships
--The Captain--Let the Mutiny Begin
My friend from Cooper High School, Michelle Alley Koster, lives in Comanche, Texas. She sent me a website with hard to spot birds and one of them was the Blue Footed Booby. I haven't worked up the nerve to put it on the board because I'd likely be invited to speak at the Naturalists' daily lectures and then what would I do?
We sail towards Santiago tonight. Had our fourth formal night last night and will have a goodbye celebration in the disco tonight.
Have lots of photos, videos and stories that I didn't email...no need getting myself indicted...
Anyway, time to throw away things I brought and pack things I bought!
Thanks for being there to receive these idiotic messages. Good to know there's someone there to listen...er..read.
I'll do a summary soon and send out. Found a great poem by a Chilean poet today that I'll forward along with some final thoughts.
Travel is a wonderful way to remind you that there is a happy life waiting for you back home.
Love to all.
Will be back in Tyler, Texas, sometime Tuesday.
January 9th—Chilly in Chile
Got home earlier this week, after a whirlwind
tour of the countryside of Chile (beautiful
Hillside vineyards, well maintained crop fields,
and wonderful horse farms) as well as sightseeing
and shopping in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
Great to be home and planning my next career
move. We’ll see what happens.
Here’s a few final thoughts and reviews:
--What do you call someone who speaks three
Languages? Tri-lingual
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bi-lingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language? American
--How to Clean Your Cat
Open the toilet lids.
Place detergent in bowl.
Find the cat.
Soothe him/her while bringing her to the toilet.
Quickly, place cat in the toilet and shut the lids.
Stand on the lids while the cat self agitates.
Flush toilet twice to cleanly rinse the cat.
Standing as far away from bowl as possible, lift the lids and be sure all doors are open leading to the outside of the house.
Let cat air-dry.
Sincerely,
The Dog
Other things I forgot:
--At one point in Antarctica, icebergs surrounded us, but the ocean water temperature rose to about 100 degrees. There is volcanic action on the ocean’s floor there and the water is heated.
--I spoke to the Captain and expressed my disappointment that I would not be able to say that I had “set foot” on 7 continents this year. He assured me that we sailed way below the 60-degree latitude line, which marks the Antarctic region. He said that every time I set foot on the ship for about 8 days, I was setting foot in Antarctica. Sounds good to me.
--The first iceberg I saw was about as big as a car and I took tons of photos of it. Later, we saw icebergs as big as football stadiums, then one that was 2 miles long, and later, one that was 37 miles long—these things are floating! During the night, the senior officer said he saw one that was as large as most of our New England
States!
--Interesting thing I saw was an iceberg flipping—the submerged portion had melted so that it was top-heavy and it started spinning in the water. Impressive.
--One woman, whose family had something to do with the construction of the ship, lived on the ship year-round in a double owner’s suite. Wherever the ship goes, so goes this woman. She was odd and I only saw her on New Year’s Eve with
A hat made of plastic grapes.
Enigmas—The poem
Enigmas
By Pablo Neruda (he’s the Chilean poet who took self-exile to Italy. Recent movie, Il Postino, was made about his life there. Found this poem during the cruise and thought it expressed the excursion appropriately.)
You’ve asked me what the lobster is weaving there with his golden feet?
I reply, the ocean knows this.
You say, what is the aecidia waiting for in its transparent bell?
What is it waiting for?
I tell you, it is waiting for time, like you.
You ask me whom the macrocosmic alga hugs in it arms?
Study, study it, at a certain hour, in a certain sea I know.
You question me about the wicked tusk of the narwhal,
And I reply by describing how a sea unicorn with the harpoon in it dies.
You enquire about the kingfisher feathers, which tremble in the pure springs of the southern tides.
Or, you’ve found in the cards a new question touching on the crystal architecture of the sea anemone, and you’ll deal that to me know?
You want to understand the electric nature of the ocean spines?
The armored stalactite that breaks as it walks.
The hook of the anglerfish, its music stretched out in the deep places like a thread in the water.
I want to tell you the ocean knows this, that life in its jewel boxes is endless as the sand, impossible to count, pure.
And among the blood-colored grapes time has made the petal hard and shiny, made the jellyfish full of light, and untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother of pearl.
I am nothing but the empty net, which has gone on ahead of human eyes, dead in these darknesses, of fingers accustomed to the triangle, longitudes on the timid globe of an orange.
I walked as you do, investigating the endless star, and in my net, during the night, I woke up naked, the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind.
On Monday, disembarked the ship at Valaporias, Chile, a small fishing village, and traveled by bus to the capital city of Santiago. Such a beautiful drive through mountains covered with vineyards, valleys of every kind of fruit, vegetable and orchard imaginable. We stopped at a ranch and met Chilean cowboys—cabelleos.
Santiago is a beautiful city that changes. Part of it is very colonial-south American, while other parts look European in the architecture and landscaping. We traveled to the part that looked like America—past the multimillion dollar US Embassy, to the Hyatt, four minutes from the Mall. It was a great transitional day—ate at KFC, drank Cokes at McDonald’s. I’m telling you, when America comes into a country, we do it in grand style. The mall was just like the Mall of America—only pesos was the exchange.
Saw some Hili’s from Easter Island—those huge black-carved statues of large faces that no one really knows how they got to Easter Island—Chariots of the Gods’ Mystery…Anyway, someone at sometime had pirated a couple and were displayed in Santiago.
Left Santiago at 10:30 p.m. Monday night on LAN Chile (Lineo Aero Natcional Chile—The National Airline of Chile). Slept most of the way.
Arrived Miami 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning. You would think a good time to make it through Customs/Immigration…not at Miami. I can’t describe to you in words how utterly WILD it was. You know those moving sidewalk escalators without the steps at airports? I was on one and far in the distance at the end of the walkway, I spotted trouble.
There was such a throng of people at the end, waiting to get into the Customs arena, that there was no room for the travelers on the moving sidewalk to exit. No exaggeration, there was literally a dogpile of travelers, suitcases, pow-boom, that’s all we heard—I was walking, then running backwards, rolling my carryon luggage as fast as I could move it…
The long lines were rough, but a customs agent noticed that I was from Texas—said he grew up in Killeen and gave me a wink. He then put on this air of authority and pulled me out of line—the other passengers thought I was in trouble but really the guy just acted like he needed to search me (for a second I was worried), but he winked again, stamped my passport, winked again, and said “Say hello to Texas for me”. I avoided about an hour wait and made my flight to DFW.
Anyway, made it home. So much laundry. So many photos to develop (11 rolls). I’m switching to digital now.
I may be putting everything on a website soon. (Any volunteers to teach me how to make a website?)
Here’s some final thoughts and observations:
On Monday, disembarked the ship at Valaporias, Chile, a small fishing village, and traveled by bus to the capital city of Santiago. Such a beautiful drive through mountains covered with vineyards, valleys of every kind of fruit, vegetable and orchard imaginable. We stopped at a ranch and met Chilean cowboys—cabelleos.
Santiago is a beautiful city that changes. Part of it is very colonial-south American, while other parts look European in the architecture and landscaping. We traveled to the part that looked like America—past the multimillion dollar US Embassy, to the Hyatt, four minutes from the Mall. It was a great transitional day—ate at KFC, drank Cokes at McDonald’s. I’m telling you, when America comes into a country, we do it in grand style. The mall was just like the Mall of America—only pesos was the exchange.
Saw some Hili’s from Easter Island—those huge black-carved statues of large faces that no one really knows how they got to Easter Island—Chariots of the Gods’ Mystery…Anyway, someone at sometime had pirated a couple and were displayed in Santiago.
Left Santiago at 10:30 p.m. Monday night on LAN Chile (Lineo Aero Natcional Chile—The National Airline of Chile). Slept most of the way.
Arrived Miami 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning. You would think a good time to make it through Customs/Immigration…not at Miami. I can’t describe to you in words how utterly WILD it was. You know those moving sidewalk escalators without the steps at airports? I was on one and far in the distance at the end of the walkway, I spotted trouble.
There was such a throng of people at the end, waiting to get into the Customs arena, that there was no room for the travelers on the moving sidewalk to exit. No exaggeration, there was literally a dogpile of travelers, suitcases, pow-boom, that’s all we heard—I was walking, then running backwards, rolling my carryon luggage as fast as I could move it…
The long lines were rough, but a customs agent noticed that I was from Texas—said he grew up in Killeen and gave me a wink. He then put on this air of authority and pulled me out of line—the other passengers thought I was in trouble but really the guy just acted like he needed to search me (for a second I was worried), but he winked again, stamped my passport, winked again, and said “Say hello to Texas for me”. I avoided about an hour wait and made my flight to DFW.
Anyway, made it home. So much laundry.
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