December 24 - 26

Travel Days

Merry Christmas!  Christmas officially started before we got airborne.  Due to the cold temps in Calgary we had to go for de-icing, so left a bit behind schedule.  Kudos to WestJet for providing free wifi (but no movies) so I was able to check the NORAD website to see where Santa was.  He was in the US – Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho – while I was looking, so no chance to see him out the window. 

Thumbs down to WJ, though, for providing no food other than a couple of cookies for a 7.5 hour flight.  Oh well – I did  manage to get a few bites of a turkey dinner in the lounge at the airport before they closed.  I’m not going to fade away any time soon. 

I spied Ron’s curling friend  and his wife when they arrived from a Vancouver flight, and had a nice chat with them.  Then we ended up sitting in the same row; what are the chances?  The pilot made up some time and we got into Panama City just about on time.  I was looking at the news while on the plane and saw that there were 50+ flight cancellations across the country today (yesterday?) along with hundreds of delays.  So – I feel very fortunate to be in Panama on time.  I talked to one weary traveller a few times at the airport.  A lawyer from Regina  who has a place in a gated community in Panama where his extended family of 13 were coming to celebrate Christmas.  Seven from Saskatoon made it ok, but 6 of them from Regina had been trying for 3 days; ugh!

Everything looks lovely and green outside the airport in Panama.  I have a long layover here and I suppose I could go out to explore, but with next to no sleep last night and another night of flying ahead, I think I’ll just stay at the airport.  Which, I must say – is no hardship.  It’s big, modern, and air-conditioned.  It’s about 30C outside.  Lunch at an Olive Garden, and consuming more Antarctic info.  And – the next flight is now scheduled to leave early. 



Next update - waiting in Cordoba, Argentina airport for my last 4-hour leg to Ushuaia.  Apparently Cordoba is Argentina's second largest city.  The airport seems to be quite small and low-key, though.  It certainly has my vote for a transit point (vs. Buenos Aires) if just travelling through Argentina. 

That last flight to Ushuaia couldn't be over soon enough for me.  Everything, end-to-end, was on time and my luggage arrived with me.  So - all is good.  I'm at our lovely hotel which sits up above the city.  I'm assuming I'm looking out over the Beagle Channel.  It's only 11am-ish on the 26th and my room isn't ready yet.  Can't wait to fall into bed! 





Room was ready earlier than promised.  Napped for awhile, then out to explore the (muddy) forest trails on the property.  Early to bed for this traveller...........




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
The outing that I've chosen is called "Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctic Peninsula".   "This epic voyage takes you on an incomparable journey, visiting enigmatic Subantarctic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula...... discover the fascinating history of the islands and encounter the spectacular birdlife found here.  Feel awed in the presence of the king penguin colonies in South Georgia, some of the largest on Earth.  Immerse yourself in the serene grandeur of the Antarctic Peninsula as you embrace the true spirit of exploration and adventure."     There are lots of providers running expedition cruises to the Antarctic these days.  As I started looking at this in the summer I came across a website with a fairly comprehensive "Cruise Comparison" chart.  It listed no fewer than 42 ships representing 22 different companies, ranging from Ultra Luxury to Budget.  I'm in the "Premium" category, just above "Budget".  I'm goin...
Read more

January 16

Days 19-21  Falklands-Malvinas (Cont'd) After three days at sea we pulled into Stanley Harbour just before breakfast this morning.  It's a Falklands requirement that we go to Stanley before we land anywhere else, so given that we want to be back at sea by mid-afternoon that kind of limits our options for seeing much of the islands.  Oh well - we've been lucky with the weather up until now.  We probably missed out on seeing nesting albatrosses and rockhopper penguins but we've seen albatrosses in the air and, lord knows, we've seen hundreds of thousands of other penguins.   I see my phone automatically updated to a new IOS overnight.  What I didn't realize right away was that when it did that it took my phone off airplane mode and dropped the wifi.  So - I can't wait to see my bill for roaming charges; ugh.......... We started ferrying guests to land shortly after 8.  They had arranged for a big bus to take us out to Gypsy Cove.  I signed...
Read more

January 17

Day 22  At Sea With lectures and film presentations to complete our Antarctic experience, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the magic of the South Atlantic Ocean and the life that calls it home.  There is time for reflection and discussion about what we have seen and experienced.  We hope you become ambassadors for the Antarctic region, telling your family, friends, and colleagues about your journey to this magical part of the planet, advocating for its conservation and preservation so that they might one day visit the region to experience what you have been lucky to see and do here. As we approach the tip of South America, our Captain may sail close to legendary Cape Horn, weather and time permitting.     Well, this was pretty much a wind-down day.  A session on procedures for tomorrow.  A last trip to the gym.  A hilarious and very successful auction run by Gaby to raise money for two charities  - South Georgia Heritage Trust and ...
Read more