UPDATE Jan 9, 2012 – For both Aerogal and TAME flights, fuel surcharges can now be paid in advance to our offices. There will no longer be any payments made locally at the airport. Please see additional details in comments section below. All flights starting on January 1, 2012 to the Galapagos, will be subject to a fuel surcharge. It does not matter when the flights were booked, and applies [...]
We received the most charming holiday card in the mail last week from our travelers, Sandi and Joe Costa, who joined us on a custom Peru adventure in October. And while I’d like to take credit for the Mick Jagger sighting, I’ll admit, that wasn’t part of the original itinerary. Enjoy a little holiday cheer, compliments of the Costas… Saludos! Twas a year full of wonder and shiny new things [...]
Since the eruption of Chile’s Puyehue Volcano in early June, flights in Argentina’s Bariloche region have experienced disruptions. Waiting for the dust to settle, the airport is taking advantage of this time to do a little updating and maintenance work. Originally scheduled to reopen in this month, it was announced that the Bariloche will now be closed until Feb. 2012. Here is an official statement released today (Dec. 12, 2011) [...]
December 3, 2011 We arrived at Macquarie Island about 7am. The sea was calm and the weather was foggy with light mist. We were met by park rangers from the ANARE station for a walk around the Isthmus. The Isthmus was teaming with wildlife including huge male elephant seals, king penguins and rock hoppers. We spent about 2.5 hours on the Isthmus and then took a quick zodiac ride to [...]
December 1, 2011 and December 2, 2011 The days were spent cruising north to Macquarie Island. The time was spent attending lectures, cleaning our gear for our anticipated visit to Macquarie Island. The sea was rough with swells up to 20 -22 feet which was enough to cause some passengers to stay in their cabins. Other passengers boldly ventured outside on the fly bridge. (This is Laurie’s fourth visit to [...]
November 27, 2011 The Ross Ice Shelf came into view about noon. Size of France and is about 600 miles The vastness cannot be captured in with any lens. The icy cold winds coming off the shelf stirred my imagination about the explorers that had to tackle this massive piece of ice before beginning their journey to the south pole. November 28th, 2011 Sadly, we continued to head north out [...]
The bad news: American Airlines filed for bankruptcy this morning. The good news: At this time it looks like “business as usual” for travelers during the Chapter 11 process. Here is the official statement our flight partners received from Derek DeCross, American Airlines Vice President of Global Sales. I’ll keep you updated on changes — or check out more information on the restructuring on American Airlines website. November 29, 2011 [...]
November 26th, 2011 Much to our surprise, the winds increased to 44 knots which again prevented the helicopters from flying to Ross Island for sightseeing. The expedition leader gave up on the weather and decided we should head north, approximately 140 miles northeast to the Ross ice Shelf. Then, as soon as ship started backing up, the wind speed decreased to 30 knots, just enough for us to take a [...]
November 25, 2011 Our plans for visiting McMurdo and Ross Stations, Scott’s Discovery hut at Cape Evans and hiking Observation Hill were delayed by the weather. Here in Antarctica, “weather is our master”, our expedition leader, Shane Envoy, has reminded us many times. Whiteout conditions and 40 knot winds lasted throughout the day with temperature of 30 degrees below zero when considering the wind chill factor. During the afternoon, the [...]
November 24, 2011 Our visit to the Adelie Penguin Colony was cut short by white conditions with 40 knots per hour winds. All passengers were on the island which was a ten minute helicopter ride from the icebreaker. After one hour on shore, the wind and snow flurries increased until the icebreaker was no longer visible from shore. By that time, we were spread out over a one mile stretch [...]
