Back to Puerto Madryn

Today I took advantage of being on land again and did a little shopping and walked the beach with a friend. There were tango dancers and music at the mall which is made me really excited for the tango show I’m going to this week. I think it was the first time I’ve been off the ship in 2 weeks. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm.
 

 

 

 

 

Antarctica Again

We were just in Antarctica again. This time we were able to see Chilean and Argentinian naval bases as well as many cruise ships sailing by. It’s nice to know we aren’t alone in this seemingly deserted part of the world. People were everywhere. There was even a Russian spy ship there. While I was in the gym, I saw 2 whales outside! There have also been large groups of penguins jumping around in the water. You really never know what you’re going to see here, but it’s always amazing. American scientists stationed in Antarctica are actually brought on to speak to passengers each cruise. I’m hoping to go see them soon as we are going back one more time.

 

 

 

 

Castro, Isla Chiloe

 

We finally visited a new port, Castro, Isla Chiloe. It was the perfect, sunny day. They had a nice market where I bought a super touristy souvenir, a magnet! I walked around with one of the singers and we ended up eating lunch at a restaurant with a gorgeous view of our ship. And they had Wi-Fi, which is typically the deciding factor for where we go in port.

 

 

 

 

We Had A Kiki

So…I’m 23 now. I feel good about this age and year. On my actual birthday the girls took me to the sauna as well as out for birthday cake flavored drinks. My friend is in one of the bands at the bar we went to on the ship and they played me “Happy Birthday.” It was very sweet.  One of the singers turned 30 the day before my birthday and we decided to have a huge party together. The theme was “Let’s Have A Kiki.” If you don’t know what that is, I suggest you Google the song by Scissor Sisters or Glee’s version of it. Basically we dressed up like crazy people and danced around all night long. Loryn filmed everyone dancing and is now working on our own video to go with the song that will hopefully be finished soon...it's pretty insane ; ) The cast got me a really nice present that I’ve had my eye on, Burberry Brit perfume as well as phone and internet cards. Our cruise director made me this amazing raw apple pie that I love and I even got a card from the captain. It was a fun night!

 

 

 

Punta Arenas, Chile

I usually stay on the ship every time we are in Punta Arenas, Chile. It seems to always be super cold and windy. This time I was able to go on an excursion to see the sights of Punta Arenas. Our guide told us that Punta Arenas can have all four seasons occur in one day. It seriously alternated between warm and sunny and rainy and cloudy all day. We visited two interesting museums displaying the history and culture of the people of Punta Arenas, went to a neat cemetery and then shopped for a bit in the town square. To be honest, I signed up for this tour because I have a strange fascination with cemeteries. Cementerio Municipal has some of the most beautiful mausoleums surrounded by crazy trees that look like they are straight out of Mario for N64. Awesome. The picture of the statue was taken in the town square. If you rub the toe of the man that’s just sitting there chilling, it will supposedly bring you good luck. Weird… but I hope it works! Also in the square was a government building covered in paint from a recent protest. I think it gives the building character : )

 

 

 

Antarctica

I celebrated my New Year’s Eve in Antarctica. We all went outside at about 1am and it was still light out. The sun set and then rose again. We woke up on New Year’s day surrounded by penguins and seals floating on icebergs and humpback whales swimming past the ship. I can’t even begin to describe how cool it is here (in more ways than one). Best NYE ever.