About South Georgia Island

South Georgia Island has an astonishing concentration of wildlife and awe-inspiring scenery ranging from 7,000-foot Mountains and mighty glaciers to deep fjords and low-lying grassland. It is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and inspiring places on earth and certainly has more wildlife than virtually anywhere else on the planet. Thousands of King Penguins, Wandering Albatrosses nest, southern elephant seals, and thousands of fur seals breed. Go here for the full package. Here's the Wiki page for South Georgia Island

Setting Sail Today

It's 10/29 and we will set sail on the Sea Spirit at around 4PM today for South Georgia Island which lies about 1400 miles east of here. We hope for fair seas and sunny skies but as we've seen so far down here in the southern lattitudes that may not happen consistently. The shot on the right was taken from our hotel room the morning of our departure. This will be the last post until we get back in two weeks as the internet is not an option on the boat. I will have limited email and telephone options.

After checking our bags we will head back into town for some additional sightseeing and then on to the ship around 3PM. Today one of our stops will be the famous Ushuaia Jail/Museum. The shots below are from the internet as we have not been there yet.

 

 

 



Ushuaia Day 2

Marty and I got an early start and headed out to visit the Tierra Del Fuego National Park which was about 15 miles away. Marty warned me that I probably would not find it to be spectacular like many of our western parks but interesting nonetheless.As far as the weather goes it was typical of this area with cool temps and windy conditions.We first stopped at a large fresh water lake named Lago Roca that is more in Chile than Argentina. After that we made our way to the literal end of the world where the road ends for good. There is a sign there that marks the spot accordingly. On our way back we stopped at the Ushuaia Golf Club where people were actually playing in 40 degree weather and windy. We also stopped by the memorial that Argentina erected to the fallen soldiers who were killed in the 1982 Falklands conflict.

 

 

 

 

And where would we be without today's bird shot. I think this was South America's version of the Canadian goose.

On to Ushuaia

Day three started off with nice weather like the others and was going fine until we checked in for our flight to Ushuaia. When I started the process the gate agent informed me that my camera bag was too heavy for carry on and that it would have to be checked. They did not have a limit on checked bags so I ended up with three. Needless to say, I was petrified at the thought of sending the $12K worth of photo gear off into the bowels of Buenos Aires’ local airport baggage system. It is what it is and I can only hope it arrives in Ushuaia. I did get a plastic shrink wrapping of the entire bag that provides some sense of security but only some.

 

Our flight down was uneventful and all our luggage showed up with my camera bag being one of the last ones off. We were picked up at the airport by the travel company and taken to our hotel for the first of two nights in Ushuaia. Tomorrow we will stay at another hotel that will be our first night of the 15 day South Georgia Expedition. Because we will have a full day to ourselves we rented a car and will take a road trip tomorrow to the Tiera Del Fuego National Park. The weather was very nice when we arrived but is currently raining and predicted for Sunday.

 

For our last non-covered meal we went to a fantastic seafood restaurant where we had king crab served in a sauteed fashion. All in all the food has been great and the sights so far have been incredible.

 

And what trip with Al and Marty wouldn't be complete without some bird shots. These were hanging around the harbor and do look different from our varieties.

 

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

Today we pounded the pavement from around 8:30AM to 10PM looking at and photographing many interesting sites in Buenos Aires.

Day two in Buenos Aires began with a short walk to visit to the Plaza de Mayo where the Casa Rosada (Pink House) is located. The significance of that location is where Eva Peron addressed the masses when First Lady of Argentina. There are other government buildings surrounding this plaza and they even had an “Occupy Buenos Aires” encampment on the grounds. After that we visited the Cathedral Metropolitano where the remains of General Jose de San Martin is located. He was often called the George Washington of Argentina and is a very famous person and even has two permanent military guards at the entrance.

Continuing our morning walk we headed over to Puerto Madero where the old city harbor was located in years past. It now houses a yacht club and many upscale hotels and restaurants. This location also has the very beautiful Puente de la Mujer (Women’s Bridge) that provides one of the many crossings of the harbor. This is only a pedestrian crossing but was designed as a swing bridge so that large vessels could pass.

We next caught a cab and headed over to the colorful area of Caminito in the La Boca district. This community has the aura of a street bazaar with many shops selling art and always the proverbial tango dancing. We had lunch in a local bar and then headed by cab to the Cementerio de Recoleta where all the important people from Buenos Aires are entombed.

One of the most famous occupants is Eva Duarte (Peron) who was the inspiration for the musical Evita. Her crypt is not fancy in comparison to the others but is a very popular stop for tourists. In many of the crypts the caskets of the deceased were clearly visible through the gates or glass windows that you could peer into. It appears that the surface capacity of the cemetery had been reached.

A short walk away went to see the Floralis Generica which is a 66 foot tall steel and aluminum generic flower that actually opens and closes each day. Adjacent to the “tulip” is the very large Faculty Building of the University of Buenos Aires. We returned by cab to the area by the hotel where some last minute shopping took place.

After a short rest we headed back to Puerto Madero where we took some late day shots of the Women’s Bridge and then had another great steak dinner at Cabana Las Lilas located on the waterfront. We walked back to the hotel via the plaza where was located for some night time shots of the Pink House.

As we walked around Buenos Aires it was apparent that they have no personal injury lawyers as the streets and sidewalks are in need of repair in many places. It's still a beautiful city but it is showing signs of age.

Tomorrow we are off to Ushuaia where we will begin our trip to South Georgia on Monday.

Nightlife in Buenos Aires

After a well needed afternon nap we headed out for a steak dinner and a tango show. The resturant we ate at was typical of the Argentinian steak houses (not a Brazillian Churrascaria). The meat is cooked over an open pit and served in big portions. We both had the small t-bone and it was plenty to eat. After we finished eating we walked around a bit more and took more pictures.

 

Our next stop was a tango show at one of the city's oldest clubs El Viejo Almacen. This club was small and the quality of dance was terrific.