Flat Stanley: The ingenious little international phenomenon that encourages school children to expand their geography know-how and explore the world… arrived on my Missoula, Montana doorstep at the end of October, via US Post. He came compliments of my darling 6-year-old cousin, Evan, from Olive Branch, MS. The timing was perfect — I was only weeks away from departing on a two-week trip to Argentina and Antarctica. And while Stanley [...]
Roughly 3500 different varieties of potatoes grow in the Peruvian Andes. There is no limit to the number of dishes that these carb-rich spuds can provide, but Peru’s layered dish, causa rellena, is one of my favorites. A staple in Peru for centuries, the word causa actually comes from the Quechuan word ‘kausaq’ which means gives life. Causa refers to the yellow potato (papa amarilla), and rellena refers to the [...]
Antarctic traveler and travel writer, Chris Connelly, shares his experiences in the great white continent. I’m wearing snowpants for the first time since childhood, and I have on the same coat I wore several years ago while covering the Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. This coat comes with an extra dense fleece lining that can be unzipped and removed, and despite living in Wisconsin, where winter temperatures routinely [...]
On December 20th, the government of Argentina will start charging a “reciprocity fee” for travelers entering the country through Buenos Aires international airport (Ezeiza). At this point, travelers entering Argentina by going overland or by ship are not required to pay this fee. This fee only applies to citizens of the United States, Canada, and Australia. Each travelers has to pay the following amount: United States: $131 Canada: $70 Australia: [...]
An absolutely stunning day today! Due to departing Antarctica a half day early, the Expedition Leader requested permission for an additional landing in the Falklands. The landing was at Steeple Jason Island and the highlight was the largest Black Browed Ablatross nesting site in the world. Thousands of the enormous birds covered the beach and upland slopes – a literal sea of wings and squawking. Intermingled with these charismatic birds [...]
Yesterday’s attempt at the Shetland Islands was a bust, again due to weather. Winds were blowing hard, and word was that all the ships in the area that had planned similar visits canceled their trips as well. This meant that we immediately turned toward the Falkland Islands and have now been at sea for over 36 hours. Expected land arrival is tomorrow afternoon, which will mean my longest time ever [...]
November 29 This is it. Our last chance to make it to the Emperor Penguin Rookery at Snow Hill. At 5:30 AM, Shane’s voice wakes us with the announcement that visibility is only 100 meters and the helicopters need 300. We wait and see. At 7:45, he comes on again. Penguin Plunge will be at 8:30 sharp! What’s a Penguin Plunge? Its a jump and a swim in the ice [...]
November 26 Woke to poor visibility and the 5:30am announcement that helicopter flights to Snow Hill were delayed. An hour went by and another announcement came regarding further weather delay. Then, another announcement later in the morning that we had missed our daylight window. No worries, however, as we backed out of the ice and headed over to Paulette Island for our first landing via zodiac. Thousands of Adeli penguins [...]
Good morning great Adventure Life friends!!! Just a quick note to let you all know that we have fallen in deep deep love with Antarctica. I will fill you in on all the details when we get back, but let’s just say … spectacular. Here’s a bit of our checklist: kayaking through icebergs, camping on the continent, humpback whales, albatross, chinstrap penguins, gentoo penguins, elephant seals, weddell seals and the [...]
This morning I woke to ice on three sides of the ship. Being trapped with ice all around made for a wonderfully peaceful night of sleep and I felt energized all day. Weather around the ship was beautiful – sun poking through the sky and relatively warm. Unfortunately, 20 miles away, surrounding Snow Hill, was a wall of clouds that made helicopter visits to the emperor penguin rookery impossible. No [...]
