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Antarctica and South America (1992)

a travel blog by shoshtrvls


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Day 11

Antarctic Peninsula, Argentina

Today we were back at Deception Island, and the weather, but not the wildlife, cooperated. We first took zodiac cruises around Bailey Head, hoping to see leopard seals munch on unsuspecting penguins. No such luck, however, as the penguins refused to jump into the water. Then we sailed through Neptune's Bellows and into the caldera, an active volcano. In certian parts one could see the steam rising from where the warm water met the cold air.

After lunch we made our last stop in Antarctica -- Hannah Point on Livingston Island. This stop essential brought together all of the wildlife we had seen over the last few days -- chinstraps, gentoos, fur seals. In addition there were several macaroni penguins -- fatter than the others with Bright orange feathers on their heads. They were also mellower and seemingly not disturbed by our presence. There were also numerous petral chicks -- big and fluffy. But most interesting were the molting elephant seals -- at least thirty of them -- lying along the beach.

We then said good bye to Antarctica with hot cider.

Before and during dinner (with Cory, Carole, Bob, Joan and Rod the racist), Peter Deeth began circulating a petition "censuring" Travel Dynamcis for the Falklands fiasco. The letter was completely negative and failed to recognize how incredible this trip really was and how great the on board staff was. He got few signatures fortunately.


permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 10, 1992 from Antarctic Peninsula, Argentina
from the travel blog: Antarctica and South America (1992)
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Day 12

Antarctic Peninsula, Argentina

Another day at sea -- through the Drake Passage, lectures on humpback whales, flora & fauna of Tierra del Fuego, ice (which I missed) and krill filled our day. The seas were much rougher than on the way over, although still bearable.

Dinner was delightful, with Bill and Ruth, Carole, Corey, Franklin, and George and Chris Llano. Bill bought some champagne and we toasted to new friends and Antarctica and listened to George's tales of his life.

permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 11, 1992 from Antarctic Peninsula, Argentina
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Day 13

Ushuaia, Argentina

The morning was spent at sea as we slowly made our way up the Beagle Channel, waiting for the Argentine pilot to come aboard. Eventually he did and we sailed toward Harberton, Natalie and Tom's farm. It was truly an idyllic place, nestled at the end of a large cove. After so many days of only sea andice, the luch grass and green hillsides were a welcoming sight.

After a tour of Natalie's flora preserve and the farm itself, some of us took a short walk out to the bone house and to a lake for birdwatching.

We stayed at Harberton several hours before continuing on to Ushuaia. Once docked, the finale was upon us -- the Captain's Dinner. I "dressed" by putting on clean clothes -- which were quickly dirtied by the spilt baked alaska. Post-dinner was again spent with the Smiths, the Rodenbachs, Corey and Carole.



permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 12, 1992 from Ushuaia, Argentina
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Day 14

Ushuaia, Argentina

This is what one calls a wasted day. (This is being written on the train, hence the scrawl).

In the morning we were all bussed to Tierra de Fuego National Park. While the scenery was spectacular, no one was really in the mood for it. Additionally, the guides constant repeating of every word was annoying, to say the least. (I told Kyle we should tip her to shut up). Then we walked around Usuaia until lunch, a sad affair of fried fish and potatoes. Lunch was outdone only by the drary and endless 5 hour flight back to Buenos Aires. Moreover, our final dinner was a but of a let down -- Carole and Cory were about ready to fall into their plates. However, the food was marvelous and Bill generously picked up the tab.

permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 13, 1992 from Ushuaia, Argentina
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Day 15

Posadas, Argentina

A traveling day. Early in the morning I purchased my train ticket for Posadas then bid a fond farewell to most of the group as they were leaving for Miami at 9:00. I then walked up Calle Florida to the Plaza de Mayo -- typical in every way. Lunch was with Chris Downey, the NASA doctor, Kyle, Peggy and Judy.

Around 2 p.m. I headed for the train station. It was interesting to watch the scenery change, from suburbs to slums to beautiful ranches and polo fields. There were lots of birds to see, and I had the good fortune to be seated next to an extremely nice woman named Angela. Language was definitely a barrier but we both tried hard. She kindly pointed out sights to me, provided company during dinner and was, on the whole, a pleasant companion.

(I discovered that I lost my necklace).



permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 14, 1992 from Posadas, Argentina
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Day 16

Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

We arrived in Posadas about 9:30 a.m. in torrential rain. Angela kindly guided me to the city bus which took me to the main terminal. Because of the rain and my extremely poor Spanish, I could not figure out a way to stop at the Jesuit ruins in San Ignacio Mini before going on to Iguazu, so I bought a ticket for the next "rapido" bus to Iguazu.

This gave me about two hours to spare (during which time I probably could have hired a taxi to take me to the ruins) and in the rain there really wasn't anything I could do but hang around the bus station. Admittedly, however, for the first time this trip I really began to feel like a traveler. There were no other tourists on the train (or at least not in Pullman class) or on the bus.

The bus traveled through mostly rainforest area and I quickly realized why we are losing so much rainforest -- every couple of Miles was a logging company. I've never seen anything quite like it. Each enterprise seemed small, but taken together it is clear that the impact is tremendous. There was some attempt at reforestation, although ti seems that those little trees will take forever to grow.

Also along the way we stopped in several small towns. They all seemed clean and some had very nice homes -- quite a contrast to the one room wooden shacks we passed in both the train and along the main road.

The bus arrived in Puerto Iguazu around 5:30, an hour later than I expected. I checked into a cute hosteleria near the bus station, showered, and trapsed into town

Being Sunday evening, the town was dead; being a tourist destination, the tourist office was open. So in I went, for 5 - 10 minutes of essentially useless information. So now I am sitting in a cafe in the center of town watchign it wake up for dinner.

As I walked further on, I met up with a fellow Lonely Planet traveler -- Matthew from Australia. We shared a pizza and conversation and agreed to meet the next day to explore the Brazilian side of the falls.

permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 15, 1992 from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
from the travel blog: Antarctica and South America (1992)
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Day 17

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

After cashing a traveler’s check (with some difficulty re: matching signatures), I met Matthew for our trip to Foz de Iguazu. The bus was easily identified and we stopped at the border for passport control as Matthew did not intend to return. While we were quickly able to catch the next bus, we were not as able to find the right place to get off. So, instead of ending up at the bus terminal, we wound up at the bridge leading to Paraguay.

The border guard was quite nice and stamped my passport without charging the usual $3.00. Good thing too, as our stay was less than 1/2 hour. Needless to say, the comparison to Tijuana is highly unflattering to Mexico. Ciudad de Este (or whatever it is called) is a pit in the truest sense of the word. Matthew and I couldn’t even find a slum to have a beer in. Needless to say, we hightailed it out of there rather quickly and made our way to the center of Foz.

permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 16, 1992 from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
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Day 17 (cont.)

Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

Unlike Puerto Iguazu on the Argentine side, Foz seems to be a metropolis, and a none too pretty one at that. After some stops at the Varig office (to buy my plane ticket to Rio) and the tourist booth, we eventually found our way to the Brazilian side of the Falls.

We were dropped off in front of a lovely pink hotel, reminiscent of the Beverly Hills Hotel. From there we could view the falls, as well as the many raccoons so trained by previous tourists that it was possible to pet them (as they sniffed and scratched your bag for food).

A short path led to different views and different falls, eventually ending right next to a rather large on. Admittedly, the sope of the falls was tremendous, but I did not find them as beautiful or majestic as the guidebook suggested.

Back in Foz, Matthew and I said our good-byes and I returns to Puerto Iguazu for dinner and bed.


permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 16, 1992 from Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
from the travel blog: Antarctica and South America (1992)
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Day 18

Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

This morning I went to the Argentine side of the falls, which was far more spectacular than the Brazilian side. First I did the "interior circuit," a trail which wanders through the jungle, passing under, over and through some of the falls. I also took a boat ride to the base of several of the falls, which was pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, by the time I began to return, the tourists had arrived. This made the remainder of the circuit, as well as the "superior circuit," which goes over the falls, a pain. Most spectacular, however, was "devil's throat," not even the other tourists could spoil looking down that raging water.

After the falls, I took a bus to the airport and flew to Rio. (At the bus station I had an interesting conversation with a Frenchman and an Argentine graphic designer).



permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 17, 1992 from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
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Day 18 (cont.)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Upon arriving in Rio, I checked into a great hotel in Copacabana which actually cost less than the guidebook said!

permalink written by  shoshtrvls on March 17, 1992 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Welcome to my travels. On this site you'll find recent trips and some very old trips. You'll note that for some trips I wrote very detailed reports (at least in the beginning), for others, I didn't even take notes of where I was on what dates. Nevertheless, I've done my best to document, to...

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