Trip Itinerary

This trip to Antarctica came along very suddenly. The half-price offer from Lindland Expeditions/National Geographic was too good to let go (and no single supplement either). So here I am preparing to board the National Geographic Explorer ship for 23 days - and this is for someone who has not been a great 'sailor' in the past. So I'll be drugged up with anti-nausea patches, and hope for the best.

The itinerary for this trip is different from most of those going to Antarctica. I will fly from LAX on February 11th via Lima, Peru, and Santiago, Chile, where the group will congregate. After a half day tour of Santiago (if I'm still awake - no sleep on airplanes for me!), we fly on the 13th to Ushuai, Argentina, cruise the Beagle Channel (test out the patches), and board the Explorer.

We cross the legendary Drake Passage (think barf bags) on the 14th, and we arrive in Antarctic waters on the 15th, staying through the 19th, exploring the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands. We will be exploring on foot, cruise in zodiacs and paddle in kayaks. And view lots of penguins and ice.

Next we travel by south Orkney Island - penguins, leopard seals and birds on February 20th, and are traveling to south Georgia Island on the 21st - oh boy, another day at sea. We are visiting South Georgia Island on Feb. 22nd to the 25th.

Here is where the trip is different from all others I've read about. The trip is titled 'Cape to Cape - Cape Horn (South America) to Cape of Good Hope (Africa)'. So leaving South Georgia Island we will cross the Southern Atlantic Ocean and head for Cape Town, South Africa. There will be 4 days at sea before we stop in the middle of the Atlantic and the small islands of Tristan da Cunha and Nightingale Island (two small dots in the middle of the ocean) for 2 days with the 300 souls who live here, and again seeing millions of birds and a unique race of rockhopper penguins.

From march 4th through the 7th we are steaming eastward to Africa. We land at Cape Town the morning of March 8th, and have until the evening of March 9th to explore. Then I catch a plane from Cape Town to Dakar, Senegal, and then onward to New York (early on March 1oth).

Karon will now join me in New York from March 10th through March 14th, for visiting the city, seeing theatre and museums. We fly back on March 15th.

Internet access is limited, but I will try to update this blog every few days when I can. The excitement builds.