Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:42 PM

So let me just say that here in ‘Minnesota, USA; ‘Hell Hath Frozen Over.’ 

I’ve lived here all my life and it is COLD. Everything you imagine a Minnesota deep freeze might be like… you right! So yeah, I am ready to get on that ship and hit Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama let’s go. And after that I’m fine with a little cool down as we cruise on down towards Patagonia. Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Robinson Caruso Island, Tierra del Fuego then off to Antarctica.  It will get progressively cooler as we sail south into what is summer in that hemisphere. Yet I expect it to get cold fast as we enter Antarctic waters, The Beagle Channel, Straights of Magellan, e through the dreaded Drake Passage past Cape Horn at the bottom of the world to finally reaching the Icebergs, glaciers and whales along the Antarctic Peninsula,   What I think are the South Shetland Islands, Deception Island and finally on to The Falkland Islands. All along the way trying new foods, meeting new people, having shared experiences. I’ll be very curious. I don’t speak Spanish, Portuguese or whatever dialect they speak. I will try not to look ignorant, be respectful, open minded and self-aware. 

I am looking forward to meeting new people, sharing meals, expeditions to exotic locations and also keeping each other safe. We have all seen the movies. David and I will keep each other safe.

I’ll wrap where I started. If Antarctica is anything as cold as Minnesota I may stay on the warm side of the glass.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Wednesday December 21st, 2022 In just 10 days David Shlay and I will be leaving for our Grand Voyage to circumnavigate South America and Antarctica. For us this will be a big adventure. We will be carried away on luxury ship Holland America the Volendam to the wilds of the Costa Rica Macaw Sanctuary, meet the fabled Blue Iguana at the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens on Grand Caymen. From there to the Panama Canal where will will board a small boat past the giant ships and locks to a quiet estuary where the monkeys come down from the trees and the Toucans call out from their perches. Then down the West coast of South America with stops in Manat, Ecuador, Peru (revolutions permitting) including the pre-Inca ruins of Pachacamec and several in Chile, on to the remote Robinson Caruso Island and its endemic Firethorn Hummingbird. If we are lucky we will see the Juan Fernandez Fur Seal, once thought to be extinct and now making a steady recovery. We will catch our breath and eat the delicio...
Read more

Happy New Year

Image
 Well David Shlay and I are bringing in the New Year on the train to Ft Lauderdale where we will spend 74 days on the Volendam 74-day Grand South America 2023 Voyage to circumnavigate South America and The Antarctic Experience. With stops in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Panama 🇵🇦, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, to the Falkland Islands 🇫🇰 , then up to Uruguay, Buenos Aries - Argentina 🇦🇷, Then a week touring Brazil 🇧🇷, Visit Rio de Janeiro and three days up the Amazon to Manaus and back before headed to Devils Island - French Guiana, Dominica 🇩🇲, Barbados 🇧🇧, Puerto Rico and home the end of March. We will start the year expanding our minds meeting new people, learning about other cultures, foods and visitors some of the worlds most beautiful places, all the e-bike filling my head with imagery I can transfer to feeding my private sanctuary over the next growing season.
Read more

Manta, Ecuador

Image
Wed January 11, 2023 We woke this morning to a harbor view of Manta, Ecuador. Distant green tropical hillsides set back from the bay filled with numerous small fishing boats.After catching our breath we hurried off for a quick breakfast of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns with a tall glass of prune juice and coffee. David had his usual everything vegetarian omelet.  We moved on to the Ocean Bar to meet our tour arranged by ‘Mary’ and we we placed on  group four. After an easy disembark from the Volendam we went to the beautiful port depot and waited and had the opportunity to purchase some local Tegu Nut carving, Ecuador hats and a nice variety of other locally produced handcrafts. I found two hats I liked very much and regret not buying them but figured I could pick them up on the return. Our first stop was the fish market where Tuna are the main attraction. There were of course a number of other fishes, shrimps, crabs, octopus and some other disgusting creature...
Read more