Antarctica Day 14: Disembarkation, and return to USA (hopefully)

The alarm went off WAY too early. but our checked bags were ready to go and we just had to shower, and head up to breakfast, and then pack our carry on bags. Breakfast was good, the usual. Then we packed up our bags, ready for the disembarkation at 815. 815 came and went and it wasnt unil about 845 that they were ready for us to walk off the boat. Most of us, were required to go on a bus tour through the national park of Ushuaia before the charter flight departed at 130.

We learned that the ship would have to be sent up to montevideo (A 4-5 day ride) to be drydocked and inspected. which means the tour that was supposed to depart today has been canceled. The ocean Endeaver is an ice-breaker ship from Nassau which has a double houl BELOW the water level, since whatever iceberg hit us caused damage ABOVE the water line, it was not as reinforced.

Anyway, we all boarded a bus, and drove off the deck. We wanted to pause to take a picture of the damage but the tour guide would absolutely not allow it. mad that we couldn't get a picture, we really didn't pay attention to the details of ushuaia or the park where we were going. It was also cold and rainy and grey where we were so we were not wanting to go outside the bus. Lets be honest, we were ready to just go home.

At 12 we were dropped off the airport, went through security and waiting for our charter flight. We landed, and everyeone said their goodbyes. Matt and I looked at the loads for delta (915 pm departure) and United (10pm departure). Both looked open, but delta is known to weight restrict. United had like 40 seats, and we were #30 on the list. which is also nerve wrecking. So we decided to try the delta, and use the united as a back up. Well, its a good thing we were in contact with Tom and Dennis, Tom is a united pilot who was able to find out that they will not weight restrict on the 787's.
Apparently road construction outside of the airport made commuting to the airport impossible. The line for revenue passengers on delta was steady, with the last revenue passenger not dropping off bags until 20 minutes prior to departure. Getting nervous about the weight restriction and the fact that we were #13 on the delta list with 26 seats open, we had decided if we didn't hear by 20 minutes prior we would jsut go to the united flight. (gives us 5 minutes to walk there 20 minutes to get through security and then get to the gate). Just as we were about to turn, the gate agent came over and tells ALL of the standby passengers, Sorry it is weight restricted. Frustrated for everyone else that they couldn't get a single standby passenger on board, we bolted for the united flight, which had started to clear some of the higher up standby passengers.

Luckily in security, a woman was walking through asking for united, and we got to cut the security line. then we made it out of customs and to the united gate after weaving our way through the duty free shops. Got to the gate to great tom and dennis, who were patiently waiting to see if they would get the first class seats that may be available. Said our goodbyes. And Tom wanted to make sure we wouldn't have any issues getting on, and if we did to text him and he would talk to the captain and get us on board. Thank goodness because the loads later in the week did not look nearly as good. Sure enough, we got seats, economy comfort. and we managed to sit next to each other after the pilot with the 12 year old daughter also on the antarctica cruise were upgraded to first. Then we rode the plane to houston. About an hour before landing, the captain came on the intercom saying that just after we left buenos aires, the computer malfunctioned setting a slower than usual max speed the plane could fly, still safe, they decided to continue to houston instead of turning around to buenos aires. we would be arriving two hours later. Doesnt matter to us, as we had no idea what time our flights were even going to be.

Made it through customs, decided to try for the 1045 delta flight home. Went to chili's for brunch. and then realized matt left his ipad on the buenos aires flight. talked to a couple gate agents, but have come to the realization it is probably gone. Got seats on the delta flight home. and we are ready to just be home. But boy, what an adventure it was, and to be honest, the cruise was spectacular, for an expedition, the cruise staff were spectacular and the food was definitely better than expected. I would want to go back! Even with the rocking of the drake. Now, we just have alot of laundry and a lot of pictures to sort through. And we need to start brainstorming some more travel goals, but maybe well get our student loans paid off first :-)

Antarctica Day 13: Northbound on the Drake

Woke up to our alarm at 830 to enjoy our buffet breakfast. Then we just kinda laid low while dealing with the rocking of the ship along the drake passage. Cheli informed us that the boat has been patched, and if we continue the speed we are going, we will make it to Ushuaia on time, which is INCREDIBLE since we spent a day drifting westward in the drake while the ship was temporarily repaired.

We then packed our stuff as best we could, made sure we had enough clean clothes to get through the next two days. Aboard the ship, we have woken up for breakfast, eat, sleep wake up for lunch eat, sleep, wake up for dinner, eat sleep. I hope my jeans will still fit when we get home! We then had lunch, and I worked out for a half hour, before a history of antarctica lecture. After that, cheli came out and informed us of the disembarkation details. Then, we had captains farewell cocktails (in which case the captain 'was too ill to come down') (or he doesnt want to talk to the group after one of his mates ran the ship into an iceberg) followed by a charity auction. They had some pretty neat things they were auctioning off, the flag we held on neko harbor, a map with each spot identified on it, the modular art depiction of our ship going to the antarctic, a whiskey similar to that of shackelton, and then, something they have never offered before, and something they hope to never offer again-- a piece of steal from the ship that was ripped apart by the iceberg that hit the ship. That went for 1300$.  and then the farewell dinner. It has been a very great trip meeting a lot of really cool people who like us are also meeting their goals of stepping foot on antarctica. Also, we are the group that has survived our ship running into a huge iceberg.

After dinner, we had a photo presentation of all the photos people had collected, which was very nice, including a wedding picture of the couple that was married by the ship captain our last day in antarctica. We then enjoyed each others company, swapped emails/ facebooks and danced the night away, ready for breakfast at 630am.

Antarctica Day 12: Westward across the drake Passage

Had trouble waking up at 8 for breakfast, but we went, and then came back down to fall back asleep. At 11 we were woken to Cheli saying they had a meeting with information that was very important for everyone to hear. Curious as to what it was, I went well matt took a shower. Sat next to Tom and Dennis, the United pilot and his father in law, who had too much fun on the dance floor. Debating about what the very important meeting was going to be about. We have basically been cut off from the outside world, with very limited news coverage. Tom thought it was going to be something about france nuclear weaponing bombing syria. Then Cheli came out and began addressing us as a whole, "last night, our ship hit an iceberg on the stern and suffered significant damage. We are not in imminent danger, as the whole is above the water line and the crew thinks they can have the problem fixed. But in the mean time we are going to be cruising at no faster than 5 knots, and to the west to block the waves so the fixes can be worked on." "We do not know what this means for our voyage home, but we will have to continue at this pace until about midnight tonight when the repairs should be completed" "wifi and internet have been turned off, and Quark will go above and beyond to ensure everyone's travel plans are met". Then, the lightbulb went off, wow, that was the loud bang we heard last night, the iceberg ripping into the stern of the boat. We didn't find ou until later, it was a good 20 foot long skinny hole just below our 4th floor porthole windows.

Trying not to freak out, I went and told matt what was talked about. The story we figured was one of the assistant mates missed the hour in advance radar notification, and saw the iceberg at the last moment, turned, and then the rear end of the ship hit the iceberg riping the side and putting us into this problem. Not sure what flights will look like, hopefully everyone will get a flight and us standbys will be okay. We continued to nap and watch game of throwns and had lunch, then napped, and went to a presentation on solan, who worked for a summer at the southpole research facility, had a recap where we talked about mammalian mating, as well as congradulated the recently married couple, had dinner and watched across thin ice. Cheli came around during dinner and said that if we maintain the pace we are going, we may actually make it to ushuaia on time despite the gapping hole. Well see. Time to watch game of throwns and go to sleep! Last day on the hboat tomorrow. and hopefully we will be going north on the drake!

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Antarctica Day 11: Dako Island and Willemenia harbor

Woke up at 730 not wanting to get up for breakfast, but we had to as our disembarkation crew was the first to go at 830. Had the omelete and hashbrowns and then prepared for our zodiak to Dako Island. It was a mile and a half cruise to Dako island, which was a hike to the summit for a 360 degree view, as well as gentoo penguin breading grounds. Arrived, and started the hike. One of the expedition visitors brought a penguin suit halloween costume and put it on and got some hilarious pictures infront of the penguin colonies. Then we proceeded the twenty minute hike to the top, for some splended 360 degree views of the island and surroundings. Knowing this was the last time we would be standing on antarctica we tried to soak it in. The air smells so clean and fresh although it is cold. We stayed well beyond our alotted time but loved every second of it. Watched some more penguins fight over the pebbles and then made the hike down to the zodiaks. Made it back to the ship after a detour by an iceberg with some weddel seals on it. Then crawled into bed and took a nap. After lunch we went to another location where we would zodiak cruise.

however, it was snowing and windy in this location, so making sure we super bundled up for the no longer than one our and a half ride. It was snowing and wet and slightly miserable. It truely was what I was expecting when I think of Antarctica. We zodiaked back to a ship wreck that is sticking out of the water. An old Whaler ship that burned down. After about an hour, we found a weddel seal and found our way back to the ship. Freezing cold. Had dinner and were preparing to leave the antarctica peninsula estimated to hit the drake at about midnight. After dinner, there was the antarctica party, complete with a wedding party, who were married by the captain on Dako island. And then a dance party. A lot of the older gentleman would dance (unlike matt) which was a lot of fun. However, as the night progressed, dancing became harder and harder with the waves and the increasingly intense rocking of the ship.

About midnight we went to bed. To be woken about 3 am to a loud crashing, and scratching, and metal riping. Thinking we would hear an overhead announcement if it was something worrisome, we went back to sleep. Then we began hearing tools being whipped around below us. Now matt has chatted with others about the radar etc. capabilities of the boat. The boats radar can see up to 15 miles a head of us. and the boat is traveling at about 15 knots. Which means that if there is something that pops up on radar we have an hour to avoid it. And the boat is very strong and reinforced and ready for the ice we encounter. Knowing that was the case, we figured it was nothing bad. Just a lot of loud crashes, surely from the ice as we leave the antarctic and begin to cross the drake.

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Antarctica Day 10: Neko Harbor

Woke up to lovely Cheli's wake up call at 7 am over the loudspeaker. then slept until 730 before heading to breakfast and beginning our day. We were to Zodiak cruise Neko harbor first, and then head ashore for a hike up the ridge overlooking the beautiful harbor. Zodiac cruising with Dave, we saw some penguins swimming,t hey are rather abundant around here. especially the gentoo penguins. And we also saw some icebergs that looked pretty cool, were hoping for whales but no luck. Then after spending time in a line waiting to dock, we finally docked, and stepped foot on the antarctic mainland, officially having stepped foot on 7 continents. we took our picture with the antarctic flag, and then started up the penguin colony. there were actual pebbles at this location, and the penguins were quicky making their nests. it was rather entertaining to watch them, some penguins would try and steal other penguins pebbles and they would get in a fight about it. the pebbles are important for the nests because the nests need to be elevated and kept dry in order for the penguin egg and chick to survive.

After about 10 minutes watching them fight and succeed, we hiked up along the ridge for a fantastic view of the harbor, and the actively calving glacier. there were only a few rumbles while we were there, although large chunks look like they could go at any time. there also was a snow slide / avalanche on the nearby mountain that caused some loud rumbles. The view was absolutely amazing. after being stopped by the penguins fighting over pebbles we headed back to the ship, had lunch, napped and then proceeded to a harbor for a zodiac cruise. Disebarked and rode around the harbor looking for whales, seals and other things. Saw a snow petrol, and a bunch of icebergs before retreating back to the ship cold, waiting to hear if we would go camping.

A lot of deliberation went into deciding if we were going to go camping. The original places we were going to go had 40 plus knot winds, and the low tide and npredictability of the weather made it a touch decision, but Cheli and the team decided a middle of the night evacuation would be very challenging, enough that they canceled camping. Campers were allowed to camp on the deck if they'd like. It was bitter sweet decision, yes we would like to have been able to camp overnight on the antarctic, but sleeping in our bed also sounded nice. We stayed up playing cribbage and shooting the wind with others before calling it a night. Tomorrow we head to whilemina bay and Dako Island for a hike to the summit.

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Antarctica Day 9: Cuverville Island and Paradise Harbor

Woke up to the announcements that the weather was splendid this day, and we should be able to disembark and zodiak cuverville island. went down to breakfast, had a freshmade omelet, then got our winter gear on as we were one of the first groups to go. We climbed into the zodiak, after 'badging off the boat' and climbed in with 8 other people and were off. The views are absolutely breathtaking, with bright blue icebergs scattered throughout the ocean. A short 8 minute ride and we had arrived to Cuverville Islands, the largest Gentoo penguin rookery in all the Antarctic. It is estimated there were 3600 pairs of breeding gentoo penguins here. And with it being early in the season, many of them were coming in 'rafts' groups of penguins swimming together and arriving to land for the first time in nine months, to breed and raise their young Also with it being early in the season, the snow has not melted everywhere yet, so only a few locations have bare rock which is what is needed to build a penguin nest.

We spent 1 hour 45 minutes on Cuverville Island just soaking in the raw outdoors. The penguins are so hilarious to watch run/waddle around. some will even slide on their bellies. Some will fight with the others over who knows what. There even was a 'confused' adele penguin within the rookery. They are similar to gentoo, but do not have the orange beak and they only have white around their eyes. They bark a much lower baritone sound verses a Gentoo's high squeaky calls.

The mountains in the background covered in glaciers are brilliantly blue, and un touched. I must say having been on the first boat to arrive to Antarctica this season has been ah-mazing. I really feel like the places have been un touched. we were stomping down the snow for the first time on cuverville Island. And the Rookeries don't smell of wretched penguin poop entirely, yet. Imagine, the seal / sea lion / penguin house at the como zoo, but as if it were un cleaned for 3 months. YUCK!

After our time on cuverville, we then loaded up into a zodiak for a cruise circumnavigating the island. Just to the north, is the mainland, antarctic peninsula. and we stopped for a few rafts of penguins, which had to contain hundreds of penguins to arrive to cuverville for the first time :). they were all swimming in the ocean as one, they would go under together and pop their heads out at the same time. then they would fly out of the water and land on their feet, touching ground for the first time in months. Kept our eyes open for some whales but had no luck. Then we completed the circle around the island, and took some breathtaking photos of the gorgeous ice bergs. We even came acorss a seal, not a leopard seal, some other kind, taking a nap while catching some rays. After we sped back to the boat as it was nearly time for lunch.

Enjoyed a light snack, and then picked up our camping gear for possibly tonight, and then we head to the zodiaks for some zodiak cruises around paradise harboer. We saw some nice icebergs and then heard of a whale sighting so we headed that way, only to find another zodiak stuck on top of a rather large iceberg, so we helped get them free and by the time we made it the whales were gone. Turns out they were Arneaux bottlenose whales and are very rarely seen. after two hours on the water, half of which had turned quite frigid, we retreated home to the ship to find out that camping has been canceled for the evening as it had started to snow horribly. We enjoyed a hot cocoa and listened to the recap where they talked about the whales and had video footage of them breaching. it was quite spectacular. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner, with an older gentleman and his son in law, who happens to fly for united. We talked about our return plans, which matches theirs, but we are going to be trying the delta flight first, as of ten days ago it looked wide open so well see when we get back to ushuaia. The night was passed with cribbage and bed time around midnight. which is when the sun sets down here. tomorrow we try camping again, as well as hopefully standing on the actual antarctic peninsula.

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Antarctica day 6: crossing the Drake passage

The rest of day 5 was pretty uneventful, we're on a boat. boarded, got our key to our room and were delivered to it by staff. unpacked our bags into the closet which was very nice to not be living out of a suitcase for a few days. Then ran upstairs to the welcome cocktail hour, met some of the staff, returned to our room to grab the camera, went outside and started snapping pictures of Ushuaia before we set sail.

The only beverages included are water, tea and coffee, may be hard to mix drinks with just that. Then we had the mandatory welcome meeting where they explained how things were goign to work for the next nine days at sea, incuding the horrible turbulence of crossing the drake. Soon after that we had dinner, joined a nice older couple from chicago and they were intrigued by how matt and i met online. After dinner we retrieved our bright yellow jackets. and our boot rentals then after that, we retreated to bed, as we had been up since 4 am.

Actual day 6 started out with brunch served at 730, we ate that, then went to short lecture on how to use our camera outside of the auto function. Then we had mandatory IAATO meeting discussing the rules of landing on antarctica etc. After that, matt and i grabbed our cribbage board and played a few hands. We also attempted to do some laundry in our sink, worked out pretty well, atleast our clothes now smell of laundry detergent instead of BO. before we knew it it was lunch time. just had some stirfry and some veal. then we went down to our room where i took a nap, these transderm patches are very drowsy i slept for about two hours while matt watched a movie. then we went back upstairs to play more cribbage and wait until dinner. We were one of the first ones in, and sat on the right hand side with a table for six. 4 asian tourists joined us. Did i mention crossing the drake has some rough waters?`it does. one of the people at our table had their iphone set as a level to see what degrees the boat was rocking it. about 10 degrees was the highest. I ordered the capresse salad and some beef stock soup. and then plates starting flying everywhere. another wave hit and all 3 peopl on my side of the table were pushing me into the wall, with dishes and nfood flying EVERYWHERE! poor older lady at the table across from us fell out of her chair and cut her hand on some glass. The staff worked very quickly to tidy the place up, the MD rushed into assist the cut hand, and we all pitched in to help with the cleanup. It was quite scary in the moment but afterwards seeing all the broken items and the adventure we were going on, people were very light hearted about it.

After dinner, which we still got the 4 courses, we played some more cribbage and then called it a night. Tomorrow, the crew expects us to be to the south shetland islands, and we are preparign to go ashore! oh, and wifi we have to pay for by the megabite. we did get 40 mb free, so we will try and update the blog as best we can, but the pictures may be far between :-/ its like 20$ for more internet, and it is kinda fun being of the grid for a bit :0)

Ready to fall asleep watching game of thrones, andrea and matt.
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Antarctica Day 8: Half moon and Deception Island

Woke up to breakfast about 730 at half moon island. Heard the announcements tht the wind was continually at average between 35 and 45 knots. in order to zodiak cruise, it needs to be less than 30. Continual reassessment and the decision was made to leave the port where we were and try an isolated deception island, which has a one way enterance inside to a couldera, of an active volcano. The campers met, and we had our choice between a bivi or a two man tent. we went with the tent option even though the bivi would take no time to set up. the tents cover everything, were the bivi, youre eyes are exposed tot he elements all night long, no thankyou. we napped while the boat moved that way, arrived there hoping the winds would be less, but they weren't. Unable to zodiak cruise, we went up to the bridge and soaked up the wonderous outdoors, the captain even brought the bow of the ship tapping into a giant icefield of sea ice. we took a group picture here. then it was time to leave to head closer to the antarctic peninsula. we retreated to our room to watch a few episodes of games of thrones, I worked out which i must add is very difficult rocking on a boat while riding a stationary bike. then dinner was served. we sat with a group of aussies, one was an older gentleman who is on a three year round the world sailing adventure. Apparently the harbor inside deception island was a very difficult passage to sail through, as the captain kept having the boat turn in the wrong direction due to the high winds. after dinner, we played one hand of cribbage and called it a night.

tomorrow is cuverville island and praadise harbour (antarctic peninsula) with our first opportunity to camp on antarctica overnight. well see, hopefullly the winds have died down!

andrea and matt

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Antarctica Day 7: South Shetland Islands

Woke up about 7 to go to breakfast, after recovering from the plates flying all over the place dining experience. and then we went back to sleep for a few hours. then woke up and played a few hands of cribbage before we attended the mandatory zodiak meeting where they discussed the procedures for touring and landing in antarctica. Had lunch, and then we started to prepare for our zodiaks. wool underlayer, and then our water proof layer. We are grouped into counts of 50, to prepare to go out on the water. We are the leopard seals group. when they call ourname we head to the mudroom, where we put our boots on, and our jackets and then step out onto the zodiak.

We learn the man overboard procedure as well as the guide overboard procedure and then went for a zodiak cruise around the area. There were some glacial icebergs as well as some sea ice. Then we headed towards the island, and you could see spots of black, which were all the tiny penguins :-0. there were two breeds on this island, gentoo, which are the ones with the orange beaks, and chinstrap penguins which are just white and black and have what appears to be a black strap under their jaw line. they are about half the height of your shin and squawk and move about. curious creatures they are. Luckily we are at the begining of the season, and the penguins are just arriving. apparently the rookeries stink horribly as the penguins stay in teh same spot for months on end, and that spot collects all of their poo. yuck.

After our hour long zodiak cruise, we were able to step foot onto the Aitcho island therefore, OFFICIALLY having walked all seven continents! we walked over a ridge and there were just thousands of penguins everywhere :-) such a cool experience. AFter about 45 minutes, and the camara guy dave fixing our camera, we headed back onthe zodiak to return to the ship. Matt and I popped open our champagne that we brought with to commemorate the experience!!

After warming up, we went to the captains welcome drinks in the lounge to celebrate our safe voyage to antarctica!! After the cocktails, it was roughly time for dinner, so we joined a table of South Africans and enjoyed dinner and dessert and a less rocky cruise. Then we went to our rooms and fell asleep rather quickly. The next day would start about 430 am with us departing to half moon island and deception island.

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Antarctica day 5: embarking on the cruise

Wake up call at 430 am. Yuck. Got ready. Packed our bags and headed downstairs for 5am breakfast. They took our bags and we headed to the breakfast hall for meat cheese bread breakfast with scrambled eggs and meat. Then we hopped onto the first coach bus to the airport. Forty minutes later we arrive. Took 5 minutes to get through security and had to sit in the tiny packed airport or two hours. Matt's favorite. We ordered 2 bottled waters (not chancing it with tap water) and a coffee. For 11 dollars. Just as pricey here as back home :-/. Then before we knew it. We were boarding the bus to take us to our md 80 for the 2.5 hour flight to Ushuaia. Of course there were two people that missed the boarding so we were stuck waiting for them. Found them and we were off. Matt and I began the series game of thrones. The last 40 minutes of the flight we were between the Andes and some other mountain range. Landed and were ushered to a bus to drive us into town. Our guide said we were able to bring our own liquor so we walked the town trying to find something. As we would be gone for 10 days! Found some, and a big bottle of water then walked trying to find a restaurant for some fresh king crab. Found one that had Parmesan crusted king crab (for 31$). We split it grabbed our tab and we're off to the parking lot to meet the tour group. Next is boarding, finding out room and setting sail across the drake. Someone else had been looking at the weather and said that the drake is like a lake now, not others that have been here spoke stories of being tossed out of bed in the middle of the night. We shall see!

We will have to pay for wifi so we may try just to post every two or three days. If we can! Who knows!

From the end of the world, matt and andrea

Antarctica day 5: embarking on the cruise

Wake up call at 430 am. Yuck. Got ready. Packed our bags and headed downstairs for 5am breakfast. They took our bags and we headed to the breakfast hall for meat cheese bread breakfast with scrambled eggs and meat. Then we hopped onto the first coach bus to the airport. Forty minutes later we arrive. Took 5 minutes to get through security and had to sit in the tiny packed airport or two hours. Matt's favorite. We ordered 2 bottled waters (not chancing it with tap water) and a coffee. For 11 dollars. Just as pricey here as back home :-/. Then before we knew it. We were boarding the bus to take us to our md 80 for the 2.5 hour flight to Ushuaia. Of course there were two people that missed the boarding so we were stuck waiting for them. Found them and we were off. Matt and I began the series game of thrones. The last 40 minutes of the flight we were between the Andes and some other mountain range. Landed and were ushered to a bus to drive us into town. Our guide said we were able to bring our own liquor so we walked the town trying to find something. As we would be gone for 10 days! Found some, and a big bottle of water then walked trying to find a restaurant for some fresh king crab. Found one that had Parmesan crusted king crab (for 31$). We split it grabbed our tab and we're off to the parking lot to meet the tour group. Next is boarding, finding out room and setting sail across the drake. Someone else had been looking at the weather and said that the drake is like a lake now, not others that have been here spoke stories of being tossed out of bed in the middle of the night. We shall see!

We will have to pay for wifi so we may try just to post every two or three days. If we can! Who knows!

From the end of the world, matt and andrea

Antarctica day 3: hotel check in

Woke up around 930 after falling asleep while watching ted 2 on our netbook. Had hotel brunch, showered and packed our bags. After finding the spot in our information about weight capacity of our bags, we slightly started to freak out. 20 kg for our checked bag and a measly 5kg for our hand baggage. How on earth and I supposed to carry my iPad, headphones, toiletries, back up headphones, netbook, real book, charges, purse, and other kings in 5 kg. anyway. We checked out bags at the hotel and ventured down Florida street again. Found the cafe we enjoyed the first night and had a baileys coffee And split a carne empanadas. Then we had a mimosa and split back to our hotel and attempted to check in 30 minutes early to our scheduled hotel. Got checked in grabbed our bags from the other location and brought ourstuff upstairs so we could remove the heavier items before getting weighed in. 13 kg and 4 kg and Matt's was 17 kg and 5 kg. sweet. Now after checking with he guys, we learned they will weigh our bags at the airport and if anything is over our bags won't be coming along. Poo. So back upstairs to add in our heavy objects and rearrange things hoping to meet the 50kg Max. After some adjustments. We were able to come in underweight. Just have o check my iPad the netbook our chargers and most everything. We dropped our bags off up in our room rest assured we won't be the tourists causing the weight problems on the chartered flight.

Then, with my stomach growling we set off for some pizza. Went to a place where hey had happy hour advertised previously with a patio along Florida Avenue. Ordered (with a lot of difficulty) the pizza special (grande pizza and 750ml beer). We enjoyed the margarita pizza with a lot of oregano and then waited forever to pay our bill ( come to find out apparently you need to o and seek out your server to pay the tab) and then can't forget about tipping like 10/15%. Oh did I forget to mention, it was Argentinas gay pride weekend so the entire time we were trying to enjoy a nice dinner out, there was nothing but loud drum beats, screaming persons, maxed out stereo systems and herds of people. Then after we found our tab we retreated back to our hotel room to retreat, and let introvert matt enjoy some peace and quiet. Tomorrow we embark on our flight to Ushuaia at 6am and then our cruise ship at 5pm to, the end of the world and Antarctica!! (Continent number 7!!!!)

Andrea and matt.