I was very fortunate to grab a kayaking spot on this trip because we got different views than being on land.  I should get some photos from my kayaking partner once he's back in the US and the Cruise is going to post a website link to view photos in a couple of weeks.

Our meeting point each day before paddling was in the library.  We met one last time to turn in our gear in the afternoon and had a champagne toast to celebrate.

​Our two kayak expedition leaders were Michelle and Alex, below.

Our last full day in Antarctica had more typical weather.  The expedition leader, who's Canadian, called it 'sporty' weather, which meant that I got drenched riding in the Zodiac and the water was too rough for kayaking.

​First, we had a landing on Elephant Island, where there were hundreds of elephant seals.  On one stretch of beach, I stopped counting at 100 seals and there were probably another 50 further down.

​We also saw southern Petrels and were warned to stay clear of them since they projectile-vomit on you if you agitate them.

​After lunch, we just stayed on the boat and cruised along to see some whales.  There was a humpback that was feeding right beside the ship.   I managed to snap a photo though it's not very good.

Our Expedition Leader said that only about 20% of the days are sunny with little wind, and we got three of them in a row.  A few of us took lunch and carried it up to the deck to enjoy the view.

​After lunch, the entire ship went to Jougla Point, where whalers used to bring their kills.  We spent an hour there and then spent an hour at Port Lockroy, which has a post office, museum and gift shop.  It is run by four British ladies who live there for five months of the year.

The next morning everyone got up early to take photos when we went through the Lemaire Channel.  The Expedition Leader said that it was only the second time in the last seven trips that the ship was able to make it through the channel du to icebergs.

​We had our last kayaking trip in the morning around Petermen Island and saw Adele penguins, and some crab-eater seals swam pretty close to our kayaks.

After kayaking in the morning we made a quick stop on land where the other passengers had spent a few hours.

We went kayaking again in the morning in Neko Harbor and saw a lot of penguins and a whale very far off in the distance.

​We had lunch outside on the deck, and then after lunch I opted out of kayaking to join the landing at Paradise Island where we also had a zodiac tour around the island.

​Before dinner, about half of the ship did the polar plunge off of the gangplank.  I only swam around for about 30 seconds and I couldn't feel my hands when I tried to climb the ladder out.  But it was fun...

​We had a barbeque for dinner which was also outside on the deck.

After almost three turbulent days, we arrived in Mikkelsen Harbor before lunch.  After we ate, there was an excursion planned.  Most of the passengers went to the island, and I jumped on a zodiac with the other kayakers.  They really have the system down.  They string up the kayaks and pull them with a zodiac to a certain point away from the ship, and then we get into our kayaks from there.  For the first day, I had a single (next two days shared a double with a guy who wanted to take pictures....)

​I chose not to take photos from the kayak since I have already damaged one phone during my travels. 

​It is almost impossible to describe the feeling I had sitting on the water and looking at the landscape, with penguins swimming right in front of me, a humpback whale about 100 yards out, a leopard seal on a chunk of ice that I circled.....but Antarctica is the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion....

​After our first ride, we went ashore and had about 20 minutes to view the penguins.

We spent two and a half days crossing the Drake Passage on our way to Antarctica.  It was the wildest ride that I've ever experienced.  The Ship Doctor said that he treated 60 of the 117 passengers for sea-sickness.  50 knot winds +, and waves like I've never seen before.  I didn't get sea-sick, though.  Thank you Dramamine and Jameson's...

​We would be eating in the dining room and things would just start flying around when a big wave hit.  People started flying around at one point.  And fortunately no one got injured too badly.
​
​Below is a picture of me on the bridge. My roommate and I spent about an hour and a half up there and saw the biggest swells.  One was so bad that I had to hang onto the wall when things came crashing down.  I have no idea how many dishes and glasses got broken on this cruise, but it was a lot....

​Another picture shows the main lounge.  The crew had many lectures set up over two days to keep people entertained and informed.  For the sick people, they had a constant video feed and you could watch from your cabin if you were too sick to go upstairs.  There were probably seven or eight lectures during the passage on various topics, such as the history of Antarctica, different mammal and bird species on the continent, geology of Antarctica, etc.

​I also signed up for kayaking, and was one of the 16 lucky people that got to go kayaking on this trip.  It was well worth the additional charge.  They couldn't offer to everyone because we got fitted in dry suits and measured for our kayaks, and the logistics of getting everyone ready each day was pretty complex.  We had three meetings/fittings before we landed in Mikkelson Harbor.

I was offline for quite a while recently, as I'm just back from Antarctica and trying to upload all of my photos in Punta Arenas, Chile, which could take several hours.  Data onboard was very expensive and slow so I only sent a few texts and made a phone call before it ran out.
​
​Once my photos are uploaded I'll post the day-by-day trip in more detail. 

​Prior to boarding the Sea Adventurer for Antarctica, I spent a few days in Ushuaia, AR.  They put us up in a hotel the day before we launched and I met my roommate, Nick.

​Ushuaia isn't very big but they have a lot of restaurants and stores for tourists.  Before we boarded the ship on January 14th, we walked around town and visited a museum that used to be a prison.  I also bought some Dramamine for sea-sickness just in case...

​We boarded the ship around 4:15pm, checked in, had a briefing and tour, and we sailed a little after 5pm.  We spent 5 hours or more on Beagle Bay, Chile, getting fuel for the trip through the Drake Passage.

​Below is a view from our hotel, overlooking the Airport.

​Some pictures of Ushuaia City Centre and the Museum.

​Our ship below is the small one farthest to the left the left with the blue hull.  We had 117 passengers and about 70 crew members onboard.

I have been just relaxing in Buenos Aires the past several days since getting back from Iguazu Falls and am burned out from sightseeing. 

I found a nice apartment/hotel with a kitchenette in Recoleta.  On Sunday I found an expat bar and watched the Steelers beat Miami.  There was a guy that graduated from Pitt and another guy, a corporate pilot, that used to live on the South Side.  And another guy who worked there was from Long Island, so he was familiar with Ronkonkoma and Patchogue.

​Today I went to a Patagonia store and bought waterproof pants, long underwear and a pair of gloves for my Antarctica trip.  It was the most expensive store that I have ever been to.  Not sure if it's that expensive in the US or not.  But I think that I have everything I need for the trip now and they have a shop on board, so I'll buy whatever else I need there.  And I'm sure that it will be even more expensive than the Patagonia store.

​I read that I can store one of my bags with my summer clothes at EZE airport.  Since we are flying back from Antarctica to Chile, I'm only allowed one checked bag and one carry-on bag.  I started my RTW trip with just one checked bag but bought a second duffle bag when I left South Africa and started buying a few cold weather items.

I decided to buy a ticket from Punta Arenas (through Santiago) back to Buenos Aires instead of trying to do the 11 hour bus ride back to Ushuaia and flying from there. Unfortunately I already bought a round trip from BA to Ushuaia so I'll have to eat half of the flight.  I wouldn't have chosen to fly back to Argentina but my round-the-world ticket has me going from there to Lima, Peru and I do need to pick up my second piece of luggage.