Final days of the Cruise Update #5

Montevideo Uruguay was out last official port, and a very sad realization that this cruise was coming to an end. We reached Uruguay early in the morning and it was so beautiful and sunny, we didn't know much about Montevideo and so we decided to do the Hop-on Hop-off bus which would give us a tour of all the important sites. However, we had about half an hour before the tour was supposed to start so we decided to walk around the old town and over to a beach. We walked all the way to the other side and as we sat facing the water, rain started to sprinkle, this was a good clue that we should head back to the port for our bus, however before we had even walked two blocks it became a full blown torrential downpour and the streets started flooding with the rain. we didn't want to miss our tour and so we would run between buildings with awnings but after a few blocks we were all so wet that it didn't even matter and we just walked down the main street as everyone stared at us. when we got to the bus we had to ring out our clothing to try and dry it. the bus also had surprisingly really good wifi and this was the first wifi we had seen since Ushuaia 10 days earlier.

After taking the bus for almost the entire loop we got off at a beach as it had dried up and was back to being hot and sunny, and got some McNuggets and then sat on the beach. Roeland and Emma helped me find a Suarez jersey for my friend Charlie from UBC and afterwards I went and explored the city a bit on my own. Because Carnival was the next week, every street I turned down there were practice parades and drums and live music. It was beautiful. Miguel and Gilad made it back to the ship at the very very last minute almost 20 minutes after the deadline and they had to run almost 5 km to get back, but we all made it! That night we watched the sail away and hung out on deck as long as possible before having dinner the five of us (Roeland, Gilad, Emma and Miguel). Saying goodbye to all of our friends on board and packing up our bags was ridiculously hard.

Summary of days at sea:

So much of this cruise was spent at sea, and there were so many activities that we had the opportunity to take part in. Most afternoons were spent in the cafe listening to live music and cuddled up under blankets, with Roeland and Emma journaling and me writing for this blog.

My favorite memories: all four of us signed up to be part of a "Family Feud" game show where Emma, Gilad, and I were all picked. Emma and I were on seperate teams both as the "brothers" of the family meaning we went head to head against each other. Our questionwas "what is most commonly in a mans wallet, I hit the buzzar first however I decided my first answer condom did not seem apporpriate for the audiance of the crusie and so I went with credit cards, well cards turned out to be the second most popular answer giving Emma the chance to steal and of course, the most popular answer was condoms.....

Miguel and I post dancing with the officers

On one of the last nights on board they held a "Dancing with the Officers" based off dancing with the stars were 8 passengers were paired up with 8 officeres and then preformed in the theater in front of hundreds of guests. It was really funny, I eneded up paired with a guy named Jak who was awesome but while we were dancing to the very first song he spun me around very intensly and right as the music turned off I lost my balance and face planted on stage as everyone else froze. Just a bit embarassing.



We also went to the wildlife lectures, painting classes, watching movies on the stern of the boat, random auctions and free champagne events. We spent most nights in the Constelation Bar, or at Silent disco in the Martini Bars, and became friends with many of the preformers, hanging out with David a Singer on board from England for a lot of the trip and inviting him to diner with us a few times.

Update #4 Falkland Islands and Puerto Madryn

After visiting Antarctica our next stop was the Falkland Islands and then Puerto Madryn, Argentina. We had a day at sea before reaching the Falklands as well a day at sea between there and Puerto Madryn. This gave us time to research both ports as well relax a bit from the craziness of Antarctica.

Emma and I went to the lecture on the Falkland Islands which was very informative, teaching us things like
1.there are penguins everywhere!
2. they are British (no matter what an Argentine will tell you), and they use Falkland notes (which are almost identical to British notes except have a penguin where the queen should be), as well except British notes and US dollars.
3. there is no ATM on the island however almost everywhere only accepts cash.... They told us to go to the grocery store which accepts card and to get cash back and they have only one wifi line on the whole island which is down when cruise ships are in town.
4. there is one restaurant a British Pub, whose menu includes fish and chips or chips and fish.
5. their total populaton is less then that of the cruise ship (counting passengers and crew).

We landed in port on Valentine's Day and the four of us took the 11km "walk" to the penguin beaches and old defense cannon and the walk back because we didn't want to pay 10 pounds to take the shuttle bus each way. However, it was beautiful and so much fun. Everyone even speaks with little British accents and the houses look and feel as if you are in the country side of England, Emma felt at home. The Penguins were so adorable although we couldn't get too close to them. The island also has old telephone booths which I used to call home to Seattle for 5 minutes, and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Port Stanly and soaking in the sun before being tendered back to the cruise.

On the walk to the Penguins we found a beach covered in abandoned ship wrecks which we of course took the opportunity to climb all over them which had incredible views although some of the wooden boards were so rotten that they fell through to the water when we stepped on them, but we all survived! One of the shuttle buses even stopped as a photo opp of us climbing all over the wrecks.

The Falkland Islands still have lots of land mines left over from the war with Argentina, and so it is HIGHLY advisable to stay on the trails and not tread anywhere that isnt marked clear because they are still working on extractng all the left over mines. This means we didnt get as close to the penguins as we had hoped but we still go to see what is potentailly the cutest animal known to man in the wild just chilling on their beaches. 

Puerto Madryn was incredible. The best day of the entire cruise (minus actually being in Antarctica). Puerto Madryn Argentina is famous for its wildlife park and our plan was to get to the shore, and rent a car so that we could drive our selfs out there because the tours they were offering on board were rediculously expensive. However, when we got to shore we started looking for a place to rent a car and after being told no by 4 different agencies and walking almost 3 kilometers we had to change our plan because we were running out of time. The problem was some were out of cars, some required us to return it the next day, some were out to lunch and wouldn't be back for a few hours, some wouldn't rent to a non-argentine license. But while Emma had been traveling in Central America the earlier year she met two guys who lived in Puerto Madryn and we happened to run into them in the street! They gave us the idea of renting bikes and hitting the beach. Which is great except I don't know how to ride a bike. I told them maybe we could find a tricycle, because I have tried to learn many times and I just can't quite do it, but tricycles I can! Well that wasn't happening I even asked in Spanish if the rental places could give me training wheels. They also had paddle boards for rent, so we thought about renting two bikes and two paddle boards for the afternoon and trading off throughout the day.

However, Roeland, Gilad and Emma wouldn't give up that they didn't want to leave me out (I told them I would just sit on a beach with a beer and wait for them) and they were insistent that I could learn. So after persuading the opener of the rental place to let us "borrow" the bike for 10 minutes so that I could try and learn to ride a bike, beacause I told him I wasn't going to rent it for an hour if I couldn't ride it. We took it to the sidewalk and somehow with minor tears and lots of frekaing out, I DID IT. We went back and forth on the side walk with Roeland or Emma holding onto me and me trying to peddle but I couldn't do it on my own, so after our 10 minutes were up, I gave up and told that there would be no way that I could do it on my own without someone holding on to me which would be no fun for any of them to ride with, we turned around to head back to the beach and on the way there, they let go of me and I just did it! I rode back and forth all by my self and I was so excited I started screaming and crying with excitement, I learned to ride a bike! So we rented 4 and went our for over an hour of riding up to the top point of Puerto Madyrn, there we had another problem, I couldn't quite get down the hill. After almost 20 different Argentinean people proceeded to get out of their cars while driving and attempt to help Emma coax me down the hill I finally made it back to flat ground to finish our bike rides. While we were riding around the city a dog followed us for almost the whole time and hung out with us at the top of the "mountain" too.

From there we had a great lunch on the beach and laid our in the sun with the dancers and singers form the ship, as well playing in the waves. We didn't have any beach towels with us so Emma and I went in search of someone who might be selling sarongs or scarfs that we could use as sargons and as towels. Someone no one was selling anything like a towel. However we did find someone selling complete linen sets, comforters, sheets and pillow cases and so we bought it which actually worked amazingly well and we got it for 200 pesos which is like 7 dollars.

It was the perfect day with my misfit family. That night we had an amazing dinner too.

Cruise Cruise Cruise! Update 2

After the first few days at sea we were starting to get a routine on the ship, our dinners continued to be some of the best moments on board and we began making friends with many of the other passengers. On Thursday we reached Ushuaia our first port of call. This is also where I met Roeland only two weeks before. We had the amazing opportunity to go Helicopter Trekking to Laguna Esmerelda, which was the one hike I had missed out on doing last time I was in Ushuaia. We also had the most amazing weather, it wasn't windy or raining, which it had been the entire week that Roeland and I were in Ushuaia the last time, even Anita was surprised and happy with the weather. This was also the first helicopter ride for both me and Roeland. It was the most amazing day!

We got up early to the familiar views of Ushuaia, and spent about half an hour wandering around the city and then got picked up for our tour. We met our guide Anita and she was with us for the helicopter ride as well the hike which was incredibly beautiful. The views were unbelievable and it was amazing to see how tiny Ushuaia looked from up above.
Anita had expected us to be an older couple and so she had brought tea along with her and was prepared to carry all of our stuff the whole hike. We ended up having the best time hiking with her and Laguna Esmerelda is beautiful, and muddy. But look at that color!  Plus I now want to get a helicopter license.

That night we had dinner just the two of us because we couldn't find Emma and Gilad on board (the ship is really big) but we all reconnected and went to the juggling show which was really cool he did it with glow in the dark balls so they looked incredible when all the lights in the theater were turned off. We went to bed early because the next morning (at around 5am we would be arriving at Cape Horn (the most southern tip of South America and where the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean meet). It was a cold and gloomy morning, and we could clearly feel the temperature shift as were were nearing the South Pole and Antarctica.

However after a few hours of enjoying the view and watching the Chilean coast guard we left Cape Horn and continued south in just open ocean as far as the eye can see. All 4 of us went back to bed and slept until early afternoon. Emma and I had a posh girls lunch in the formal dining room and spent the afternoon relaxing before going to watch the wedding game show.

For anyone who has ever taken a cruise before, you will know that almost always there is a marriage/couple game show to test who knows each other best and it is always hilarious. Well the four of us had been talking about it, Emma and I insisting that it was worth watching because you would be rolling on the floor laughing at some of the things they make the contestants do. So Emma and I found Roeland and headed to the theater to watch. There were two couples on stage but one set of empty chairs. Next thing we knew Roeland and I were asked to join the game show!

The only problem was, we'd known each other for 2 weeks not 27 years like the other couples. This game became a defining moment for us. First off they had us announce how long we'd known each other and where we met. As the last couple to be questioned when they got to us we told them we met in Ushuaia, and everyone thought we'd met the day before. After explaining that we'd actually known each other for a lot longer then one day, two whole weeks, Alejandro our cruise director couldn't believe it was real. The first challenge was they took all the women backstage and asked the guys questions, then they brought us out one at a time blindfolded, and we had to feel the men to decided who was our husband. However what I didn't know was that while I was feeling one guy they were switching the other guys so I felt up Roeland 3 separate times yet I thought they were different guys each time, it was extremely confusing, then they have you kiss the guy you finally decide is your husband, but before they took the he blindfold off they switch the guy making it look like you kissed someone else's husband. I did ok with this, according to Roeland I always knew it was him or not but was just confused because they kept switching them. The questions part we failed. Badly. The next round they took the men backstage and asked us questions to test the men, we failed again. However we redeemed ourselfs in the last round, which was to pop balloons on stage in "certain" positions. However it wasn't enough to bring out the win.

The cruise however filmed the entire show and played clips of it on TV in all the rooms and around the the entire ship, 24/7 for the next two weeks, everyone on board knew about our love story and called us their favorite couple. 

Antarctica and the Bikini Ladies

First off I will let Antarctica mostly speak for itself because the photos still can't do it justice but you get an idea for how break taking this place is. I was so excited to reach Antarctica that Roeland and I woke up too early 3 times, first off we had forgotten to turn off our 5am alarms from visiting Cape Horn, after that we went back to sleep but woke up about 40 minutes later thinking I had slept through Antartica and again around 7am at which point we decided to go and get breakfast because we were almost in ANTARCTICA!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our days in Paradise Bay, Elephant Island and sailing around. 

The Bikini Ladies

Emma and I decided to take a photo in Antarctica with the glaciers in the background in our bikinis, because why not?

When we reached Paradise Bay it was around 10am and Emma, Roeland and I had been watching us sail through the glaciers for a few hours, this also meant we were now very aware of just HOW COLD it was, we were in around 7 layovers of clothing our jackets sweatshirts and then very large blankets tied around us. But we were going to do this bikinis pic. Roeland at first seemed to think we were just crazy and decided to stay inside at a window with a view of the ice while Emma and I went off to change and get pictures. We put our bikinis on and bathrobes and ran through the boat to get to the top deck, that way nothing would be in the background other then ice. When we got up there in flip flops and bathrobes everyone started staring, when we took the robes off and stripped down to our bikinis everyone started pointing and calling out to us that we are "brave" "crazy". We ran to the edge to get photos, Emma with the go pro and I handed my phone to someone to take photos. Next thing we knew we turned around and there was maybe 20-30 people creating a semi circle around us, taking photos of us! Then different members of the crew came up to us asking if they could get a photo with us and following their lead other passengers asked for photos as well. After 20 maybe 30 minutes of this we were way to cold and convinced everyone to let us go inside, we very quickly found hundreds of layers and blankets and tea. Roeland then saw the pictures and of course now wanted one with us. As we had turned in the bay the front was facing totally different glaciers so we quickly changed back into our suits to grab photos with him, seeing lots more people along the way people began to call us the "bikini girls/ladies". However after taking photos for the second time it felt a lot colder, not only was there less adrenaline but the wind chill seemed to have increased. Once we knew we had at least one good photo of the three of us, Roeland, Emma and I ran into the indoor pool, appreciating the steam and warmth and then to the sauna, which has a huge port hole and view of the glaciers. Emma and I hung out in the sauna for a while enjoying being able to feel our toes and fingers and our private glacier show. After wards we dressed in more layers, more blankets to the point where we couldn't actually move our arms. Still everyone recognized us as being the bikini ladies, yelling at us for having clothes on now. Apparently the dancers on board saw us and decided to do the same and all put their swimsuits on to get a photo.

As just a few days before Roeland and I had participated in the marriage game show we became good friends with Rachel and Alejandro the cruise directors.  Seeing them on deck we showed them the photos, Alejandro was insulted we hadn't waited to get a photo with him in our bikinis, but we told him no way we're we dong that again, maybe tomorrow. They told us that because it was snowing the "Antarctica dance class" might be cancelled because the decks were to slippery. Emma and I promised that if it wasn't canceled we would be there dancing. When the time for the dance class came about we saw Alejandro and Rachel literally on the ground with towers drying the decks and tons of people had showed up at least 50. Emma and I with our blankets tied tight and zero arm movement took a spot in the back, watching everyone on board  attempt to dance to these Latino songs is almost as entertaining as the dance class itself. Roeland decided to sit and watch with Gilad. Just before Alejandro began we hear him stop the music, "how many of you guys on board today saw the bikini ladies?" Lots of cheers from the audience and Emma and I share an embarrassed side glance at each other. Then Alejandro continues "don't you think they should put their bikinis back on and come dance up here?" Which is met with responding cheers. "Now?" Emma and I ask in unison as the entire boat seems to be staring at us. They have no idea how long it took us to get warm before. But before we can think of a way out of this "Bikinis! Bikinis! Bikinis Ladies! Bikini Ladies" is being chanted from the upper decks and the main pool deck. With no other option Emma and I run off and change into our now cold and wet bikinis, we also put socks and tennis shoes on because our feet would never have recovered from that barefoot. Making our way back to the pool the class is in full swing and we strip out of our leggings and sweatshirts and Rachel pulls us on stage.... There we were on stage teaching the Latino dance class in Antarctica in our Bikinis, without knowing any of the dances. And in my case with absolutely no rhythm or dancing abilities, and Roeland stood smugly and warmly up on the top deck watching us embarrass our selfs for now the infinite time on this cruise. Luckily when dancing we were moving so much that we didn't have to worry to much about getting cold the only thing that was too cold was our hands. The class lasted a while, and at the end of it, Emma and I got a standing ovation from the boat, we also were roped into taking pictures with Alejandro, which turned into us taking pictures with 2000 of our best friends as every person on board started grabbing on to us and point at cameras for us to smile at. I never thought we would get away. If anyone reading this was on that boat and had photos of the Bikini Ladies feel free to send them to me!

That night was silent disco again, and of course the bikini ladies made one last appearance. However this was not the last time we were called the bikini ladies, that didn't end until even off the boat while I was in the Buenos Aires airport two days later someone in security recognized me as bikini lady. Three days later at lunch Emma and I sat at a large 8 person table and two of the couples both thought we were part of the cruise performers not guests and that our bikini dance class was our job, if any of you have seen the video of me dancing you should know that there is no way we were paid for that. 

Not only was Antarctica the most beautiful  and pristine place I have ever been but it was probably the most memorable and infamous experience of my trips so far. 

Layovers

Having to rearrange my flights out of South America only seemed to reinforce my belief that everything happens for a reason. While I had 3 days less in Prtugal I had an amazing time enjoying each layover around the world on my way to Europe. First off it gave me two extra days in Buenos Aires which allowed me to see the San Telmo Sunday market that I hadn't got to see before, as well time to explore La Boca, and one last night to see the best of Buenos Aires and thanks to Miguel I got to have the most authentic experience of my time there. Leaving the cruise and my misfit family was hard enough as is so having at least one more day with Gilad and half a day with Emma was better then nothing. 

My flight from Argentina took off for Miami around 9pm and I landed in Miami early at around 3:30 in the morning. When I landed I knew that I had almost a 15 hour layover until my 7pm flight (later to be delayed until 10pm) and so I was brainstorming what to do. Originally I had expected just to go to a beach and tan all day however after checking the weather before leaving Buenos Aires I realized it may not be the best. I then decided that maybe I should go to Cuba for the day, I could book a 5am flight spend all day and a 5pm flight back to Miami. As my backpack was already checked through to London I had nothing to worry about carrying. However this plan went awry when I checked my phone to see that supposedly there was a "surprise" waiting for me at gate G. My mom and my sister flew down to Florida to spend my layover with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Best surprise, even better then Cuba.

We spent the day at the beach, and did some shopping in Miami then they even drove me to lil'havana so I could get a Cubano in lil'havana, almost as good as going to Cuba itself. It was the perfect layover, and the first time I got to see my family in 2 months, and potently the last for the next 5 months.

London I had another long layover, the best thing about London is that the museums are free and for a museum addict like me this is a very beautiful system. I left the airport after checking my backpack into my flight to Lisbon, and headed staight to the metro and to the V&A. I had tea in the courtyard after spending all afternoon wandering around the galleries. Later I found a pub near by for fish and chips before racing back to the airport. The perfect day in grey and rainy London.



I had another fabulous layover in Barcelona about a week later on my way to Morocco. I found out that I would be in Barcelona (from 11pm to 6 am) at the exact same time that Emma from UBC would be there. After landing in Barcelona I immediately ran to baggage claim to grab my bag and then head out to find Emma for a few drinks before making it back for my next flight. Of course the airport lost my bag. 2 hours later I made the last bus from BCN to Plaza Catalunya at 1:05am. Luckily with my backpack in hand. We had an amazing night wandering the streets of Barcelona getting late night tapas and drinks here and there before I raced back to the airport.

I've learned that while sometimes unpleasant and seemingly unnecessary, layovers can be little gifts giving you the chance to see a snapshot of so many amazing places.