The Feared Drake Passage

All travelers to Antarctica have heard and been terrified by stories of the Drake Passage. This body of water between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is known for the intense storms that race through the passage. Today the weather gods were kind to us and we sailed south in relatively calm conditions.

After breakfast, we gathered in the lounge to meet the expedition team and learn more about the alliance between Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. The first presentation of the trip, by our photo team, taught us all about getting to know our cameras.

Later in the day Steve MacLean gave an excellent talk where we learned all about the wind, currents and the productivity of the Southern Ocean. This was followed by some time out on the sun deck learning about the various seabirds swirling around the ship.

The last presentation of the day was the very important briefing about landing in the Antarctic. We also had an overview of what we hope to see and experience on our exciting expedition. After dinner, the seas were calm and the day ended with a stunning sunset. All and all it was a wonderful first full day on board National Geographic Explorer.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina for Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving in the United States brings families together to celebrate and gather in each other’s presence. It is often accompanied by at least one large meal of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and topped off with pumpkin pie for dessert. Often, a good football game or two is part of the day. While the traditional meals and activities may vary, for most it is a day of reflection and catching up with family and friends who may have not seen each other for years.

We however arrived this morning in Buenos Aires, where there is no mention of Thanksgiving or turkey.  The ever efficient National Geographic/Lindblad staff met us in the BA international  airport, put us on a bunch of buses, and led us on a tour of the city and into the Cesear Park Hotel.  It's a glistening and quite upscale facility in an excellent position on Posadas in Recoleta. It is across the street from the upscale Patio Bullrich shopping center and is surrounded by lots of excellent restaurants and shops. A light lunch is served on the mezzanine floor and there's a briefing before we set off on a quick city tour.  In the late afternoon there's a cocktail party and then we're released to go find our dinner.

Some opted for sandwiches in the hotel bar, but we headed off down the street to an empanadas place that Marcia had identified earlier.  We had locro, a stew made with pumpkin, maize, beans and different combinations of meat cuts, bacon and chorizo. A pitcher of the local red wine was perfect.

Somehow, I never missed the turkey feast.

Thanksgiving Day in Ushuaia

Our day began in the luxury and comfort of the Cesar Park Hotel with an early breakfast for the Lindblad/National Geographic group.  It was an ambitious breakfast buffet, including omelets prepared to your order.  I think, however, our entire group of punctual, purposeful Americans coming down to eat at such an early hour seemed to overwhelm the Argentine staff.

I had to admire the organizers' ability to get four or more large coaches into downtown Buenos Aires' narrow streets and even under the hotel's porte-cochère, not to mention the ease with which they got all 148 of us onto the coaches in good time for our trip across town to the domestic airport.   

Miami and the South Beach Excursion

We are here in Miami with the whole day to kill, so what to do?  Maybe a trip over to the much discussed South Beach area?  A quick search on the iPhone shows it's not so far -- about 17 miles -- and not so impossible to get to with a taxi.  The concierge shows us a hop-on-hop-off bus tour that looks like a good way to do it, so we buy it from him.  Well, part of it.  He charges $15 per person and then we'll pay more at the tour office in South Beach.

Our guides on the tour bus seem inordinately fascinated by the rich and famous people who live or lived in Miami.  There are several islands out in the bay that seem to be enclaves of such people.  Our bus drives out the MacArthur Causeway across Biscayne Bay, and we're introduced to Palm Island and Star Island and their residents.

But the real treat is South Beach, or SoBe as the natives put it. This was one of the first areas of Miami to be developed for tourism and snowbirds.  But after a roaring beginning in the 1910's and 1920's, it became by the 1980's a haven for criminals, Cubans and little old ladies. Before the days of Miami Vice, South Beach was considered a very poor area with a very high rate of crime.  Then the beautiful people moved in.  Fortunately that also rescued the  art deco, streamline moderne, and nautical moderne architecture for which South Beach is famed.

After the South Beach tour, we thought we might save time and distance by taking the city tour bus back in the direction of our hotel.  Bad idea!  We got caught up in pre-holiday traffic jams that seemed to never end, and our bus crept along.  There were no taxis in sight.  We needed to return to our hotel, pack our bags, and get to the airport in good time to catch our evening flight to Buenos Aires.