You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Nov 23, 2022 10:00 PM Happy return from Antarctica
The goal was achieved despite strong winds on Weddell Sea and storms. I saw emperor penguins in their natural habitat. So far from civilized world! Last two days were very tiring because there were heavy storm in the Drake Passage.
This morning I disembarked our brave ship in Ushuaia: tired but happy!
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Nov 21, 2022 10:00 PM Deception Island
This was my second visit, after years on this interesting island, where ships sail into caldera of former volcano. There are not many animals here birds, few penguins including chinstrap and fur seal) but the landscape is great. Some travellers from our ship were bathing in the hots springs...
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Nov 20, 2022 10:00 PM Penguins from Hope Bay
Today the show was falling when we were landing with our zodiacs in the Hope Bay on Antarctic Peninsula. Adelie and gentoo penguins were waiting for us here. For many of my companions it was their first, long-waited step on the Anctarctic Continent. The penguins were very funny, but it was not so pleasant to photograph them in the falling snow. "Esperanza" Scientific Base was visible in the distance, but all bases during the season 22/23 do not accept visitors due to the pandemic of Covid...
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Nov 19, 2022 10:00 PM Only the icebergs...
Strong wind! Enjoying the great views of the floating icebergs we are trying to find the calm place to land. Unfortunately the sea is too rough to land even in the zodiacs.
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Nov 18, 2022 10:00 PM The wind is too strong to fly!
Return from the land yesterday was very emotional: we were waiting in the tent near the helicopter few hours for the better conditions to fly.
Second landing at Snow Hill was planned for today, but the wind was to strong for helicopters. The power of wind was increasing so capitan decided to escape from the sea ice area. Everybody on the ship keeps the fantastic memories of yesterday... Emperor penguins were unforgettable!
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Nov 17, 2022 10:00 PM Emperor penguins are waiting!
Yesterday our little ship entered Weddell Sea. Today in the morning the sea was shining and the wind was calm enough to fly by helicopter to the emperor penguins colony on Snow Hill. What a day! We landed on the snow field and then walked to the colony. aroud a thousand of fancy penguins were waiting there. Some of them were walking slowly to the distant sea for the food. I am so happy - the dream came true!
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Nov 16, 2022 10:00 PM Adelie Penguins on Devil Island
We survived two-days stormy passage through Drake Strait and today we landed with our zodiacs on Devil Island.
I took us about half an hour of walk to get to the other side of the island to the big colony of the Adelie penguins. They are nesting on the slope - thousands of them! I took some good pictures...
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Nov 13, 2022 10:00 PM End of the world...
Locals proudly say that Tierra del Fuego is the end of the world. If you don't agree Ushuaia is the southernmost town in the world... In the morning I went with my backpack to the town. Ushuaia changed a lot since my last visit - it is more elegant, cleaner and bigger... Believe or not - it seems that it is my fifth visit to "the end of the world" In the little port I see from the distance little, navy-blue ship. It is "Ortelius". I will be embarking at 2 pm and then the big adventure will start. Yes, there is satelite internet on the ship, but it is very expensive and not reliable in the Antarctic. So, do not be surprised if the next message will appear here only on November 24th. Please keep your fingers crossed for the good weather in the stormy Drake Passage and for the favorable ice condition in the Weddel Sea. I hope that emperor penguins are already waiting there for me! :)
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Nov 12, 2022 10:00 PM Stopover Buenos Aires
My favela was still sleeping when I was going in the sun and 27 deg Celsius to the Sao Paulo GRU airport. All on time! But beware those Brazilians... Terminals 2 and 3 are one by one in one building. Imagine me, when I entered the building and I didn't see my flight on the long departure list. Cancelled?! No, what they invented is that in terminal 2 only flights departing from this terminal are on display. If you want to see the rest - go 50 m away to terminal 3... But who knows?
On the 2.5-hours GOL int'l flight they served small sandwich and glass of coke... We landed in Buenos on time. It is warm but no sun here! How many times I have been to Buenos? Seven? Jorge Newbery AEP airport is just in the centre of the city - from the waiting hall I see the high buildings of downtown. My flight to USHUAIA should be "en horario" - very soon!
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Nov 11, 2022 10:00 PM Sao Paulo in Brazil...
Three different songs from three loudspeakers. Noise. Shouts. Motocykles.... I live in dirty favela close to the airport. Sao Paulo is the biggest town in Brazil. I stay in the poor quarter close to Sao Paulo airport, trying to adjust to the new time zone and to the new environment... First and the most important: my onward travel. In the night when I arrived it wS not possible to check-in online and to get the boarding passes for the flights to Argentina. In the morning I found my shortest way to the airport (2 kms walk to the station Aeropuerto and then free shuttle bus to terminals). Once there I was asking at the airline desks for boarding passes. And I was lucky to got them! Hurrrah! My English and smiles help! Then I went to the supermarket to buy some food. Half kilo od bread costs here 7 reais (1USD is worth 5,30 BRL) One kilo of bananas - 6,50. A one litre bottle of cachaca national booze - from 20 reais. Tomorrow morning I will be flying south!
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