On a boat!!

I am up early again, surprise, surprise. Seems to be a bad habit I just cannot break. I don't think my colleagues will be getting up any time soon, seeing as we did not get back from the Dublin Bar until after 2AM. However, parties here don't start until later; the disco doesn't typically open til 3AM, so we didn't do anything too wild. Don't get any crazy ideas. Just a fun last night out before a couple days of seasickness on the Drake Passage.
I can see the Polar Pioneer, our ship, in the Beagle Channel from the hotel window. From a distance, it looks small, but I am told not to worry. I am not worried. I am ecstatic! The boat is coming! And I'm getting on! And we're going to Antarctica! 4PM today we board. I will not be able to post any blogs between now and then, but you can track the ship at
I thought about my grandfather yesterday. I thought about how he cut out the first letter to the editor I had published in the newspaper. I thought about how much I miss him and how proud he would be. I'm sure he would have told all his friends, bragged that his granddaughter is doing something so incredible. I thought about how fortunate I am and how many people I have to thank for helping me get to this point. So, before I board this boat this evening, I want to say I love you and thank you. For everything.

Mildly disturbed...and this time it's not the fault of tourists

I woke up at 6:30 AM to high winds. It was already bright out and the wind was so loud it was a lost cause to try and fall asleep again. So, I tiptoed around, trying hard not to wake my roommates and then went down to the little breakfast nook. I beat breakfast.

We walked around town a bit in the morning only to find that three of the four places we intended on visiting were closed. Ah, such is life.

So we stopped for coffee and tea and breakfast/snack at Darwin resto-bar. Cute little place on a side street off the main drag. The woman did not speak any English, or at least only very little. And between the 3 of us, we know very little Spanish. So ordering was interesting. But we got through it, fairly successfully, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I also appreciated that 50' rock-and-roll music was playing in the background. A couple from Brazil came in while we were there. Our hostess/waitress/manager/chef had disappeared into the kitchen.

We stopped again at the crafts market. I bought my sister her first souvenir. I really hope she likes it!

Then on to lunch. Eating here is a huge affair, it seems, between finding the place and then sitting there for hours because there's never any rush and no one comes around asking if you want the check and I always feel really awkward requesting the check. Uh, uh, excuse me, uh check, uh puenta, please, uh, por favor. Eye contact never really seems to get the point across, at least for me. So, we ate at this pizza/pasta place that also happens to have really excellent empanadas. But a lot of onion in the salad. A lot of onion.

A visit to the Naval/Maritime/History Museum/Prison rounded out the afternoon. Yes, prison. The museum is in a converted prison. Ushuaia in fact began as a penal colony and the prison closed in the 1940s, not so long ago. There was an exhibit on early (and more recent) voyages to South America, including Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle. They also seemed very fond of a map of shipwrecks as they had the same map hanging up in a number of places. The most recent wrecks, according to this map, were in 1988 (year my sister was born) and 1990 (year I was born). Slightly disturbing, but not the most disturbing thing in this museum. Next was an exhibit on the contruction of and life in the prison, including the stories of some individual prisoners. (One particularly cruel punishment: taking away a prisoner's mate straw) And a lot of these prisoners were not "petty thieves." (Damn it's windy outside! Sorry, but it's darn blustery and I just thought I should share that with you, especially those of you facing all that snow in NJ.) This was not the most disturbing part of the museum either. So, all of these exhibits are in a former prison. The cells are still there and the displays are in the cells. So you are walking down these hallways, crossing from cell to cell. One wing is preserved, unchanged from the days when it was used as a prison. Creepiest thing ever. Soemthing about it. Chills. (That and it was actually cold in there, no heaters) The bathrooms, the shower room. Just disturbing.

So I went into the art exhibits. Much better. Butterflies and tea parties. Literally, there were paintings of butterflies and teasets. More history rooms upstairs. I learned that many Italians immigrated here in the early 1900s (which explains why there are so many pizza and pasta restaurants), as did many Ukrainians. I also learned there was a Gold Rush here. One more art exhibit (behind a gift shop chockfull of cheesy souvenirs (including prison garb)). Absolutely amazing pieces. I love that the prices are in American dollars, as if American tourists can check these paintings with their luggage. If only. Ah, that would be a perfect gift for my father...

BTW, photograph, top right: U.S. mailbox

To the stupid tourists

To the stupid tourists, please get out of the middle of the street. There is no need to take a picture, or videorecording, from the middle of the intersection. Thank you.

And to all those wondering where I am:

Christmas Dinner

We took a stroll around town, which is pretty much just walking down one main street. Stores are open. Specifically, chotchky souvenir stores. Though Duty-Free was not open. Very odd, you would think a store catering specifically to tourists would be open. No, guess not. Someone needs to take some more business classes, I believe.
We stopped in the crafts market. There was a woman selling beautiful leather goods: purses, bracelets, etc. I definitely have to save some money for that. Though I really don't want to end up without any cash in Buenos Aires...Ah, dilemmas!
Christmas dinner was exciting. Not mine. Mine was a simple sandwich. My friends, on the other hand, should have a cooking show. They found silverware and plates and bowls in the cabinets in our hotel room. Yesterday, they bought instant mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets. Not enough milk or butter for the mashed potatoes, and no salt at all. Microwave the chicken nuggets for not as long as they did - they looked a little crunchy. And maybe don't buy this same brand - some of the chicken nuggets were all nugget and no chicken. (That is, all breading and no meat.)
Currently, they are washing the dishes. In the same sink we washed our clothes in. Our socks and underwear are currently drying on the heaters. And one pair of underwear is hanging over the toilet paper rack.
I attempted repacking some of my stuff, as we board the boat in a couple of days. I selected which bra I would leave at Vernadsky, the Ukrainian base, if we do indeed stop there. Bra for homemade vodka, seems like a fair trade to me.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Argentina!
I am working on my midterm exam. What a great gift!
Apparently there were fireworks last night; slept right through that. It was still light when I fell asleep around 10:45PM. I woke up at 5, saw it was light, looked back at my watch and decided there was no way I was getting dressed now. I burrowed under my pink comforter and woke up again at 7:45. A little more acceptable, I think.
Yes, something different for breakfast! A delicious Christmas bread.
Well, back to working on the midterm.
Enjoy your holiday!

No, I cannot bring a penguin home for you, not even a temperate species

Early morning after a long day and late night yesterday. No one was too chipper at breakfast. Maybe they should just spend a summer studying watermelon pollination. 5:30AM is nothing. Well, maybe it is something the day after a ten-mile hike....I'll let you decide.
As I mentioned, we woke up at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00. Same breakfast we've been having. Coffee and tea (and yerba mate) and croissants with jam and/or butter. And some orange juice that I don't think is really juice but is probably Tang or its Argentinian equivalent (is there anything equivalent to Tang?). Well, the hotel managers decided to pull a fast one on us this morning. They mixed in plum (though I think the manufacturers are a little confused about their fruits because these "plums" looked a lot like cherries) jam packets with the peach jam packets. Sneaky sneaky.
Then on to the bus for about an hour drive to Estancia Harborton, a ranch established in the late 1800s and maintained as a nature preserve and tourist destination. It was a very quiet bus ride. I think everyone fell asleep. Well everyone except a few, mainly those people who were serving as pillows. I myself was not a pillow but did stay awake. And was glad I did. I saw Nothofagus trees (ummm...surprise?) and lichens and horses and birds. I also saw two very lost-looking cows. They were just grazing around a lake, among some fallen trees. I didn't see any people or fences or buildings of any sort. Just some cows. And beaver dams. I think the beavers are really starting to take over, so much so they have started practicing animal husbandry. Scary thought.

We arrived at the ranch at about 8:30 and people still looked exhausted. Look alive!

Our guide's name was Santiago. He has been working at the ranch for almost four years now, though the ranch has been providing tours for nearly a decade. We took a very short boat ride on the Beagle Channel to an island that serves as a breeding ground for Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. (On the way, we saw rock shags on a smaller island. A joke from a classmate: It must be horrible for rock shags. Every time they fly, it is a red-eye flight.) Yes, penguins. And no, I did not snatch one for you. The photographs at the beginning of this post are of Magellanic penguins. They are a temperate species and this is the southern edge of their range. Then gentoos are a subpolar species and this is the northern edge of their range. There are fewer breeding pairs of gentoos on the island than there are magellanic penguins. The gentoos and magellanic penguins have unique behaviors. The gentoos lay their eggs in a circle of rocks and raise their young cooperatively. The magellanic penguins burrow and raise their chicks as a couple.

We also saw skua on the island. Skuas eat the eggs and chicks of penguins and cormorants. But the baby was so cute, all down feathers! I guess you eat what you eat and we have to just accept the circle of life. I feel kind of bad when I hear people vilifying them.

After our tour of the island, we visited Museo Acatushun. It has a large collection of skeletons of marine mammals, probably one of the most unique in the world. A guide there showed us the specimens, as well as how they are prepared - how to clean the bones and scrape off all the guts, simply put. A friendly reminder of why I work with plants. No guts, no stench (well, except for some plants, but that's beside the point).

And an interesting bus ride back. I saw a giant can of coca-cola in the forest. In all seriousness, there was a large cylindrical structure, large enough for a couple human adults, with the coca-cola label, in the forest. Do not ask me why. I found it quite curious myself. Our bus driver tailgated a taxi until he finally got so fed up he just passed the guy. The road was not as well-paved as it could have been. Very many people came off the bus slightly sick to their stomachs. This does not bode well for the crossing of the Drake Passage.

I bought chocolate penguins for my roommates and I to share this evening. Merry Christmas all! (P.S. I asked our tour guide yesterday if the movie theater in town would be open tomorrow. Sadly not.)

Conquering Vinciguerra

Got on the bus this morning at 8AM. Let's rewind first and review yesterday's events:

We had lectures in the morning. Just finished finals last Friday and already listening to lectures. Truly the most wonderful time of the year.

A little bit about Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle. Then some information about rocks and ice. That lecture really rocked my world, I have to say. (Oh please forgive me!) And lastly a lecture on special adaptations for extreme conditions. Weddell seals, for instance, have a more efficient form of hemoglobin. They also have a thick layer of blubber. Now, my sister promised she would bake me lots of cookies before I left, but apparently all those cookies were for a holiday party. So I lack this special adaptation and fear I will freeze. The notothenioids, or Antarctic cod (though they are not true cod; got to love these confusing names, right?) have natural antifreeze.

We then had lunch at a nearby cafe and wandered around the port. A woman was putting up a beautiful mosaic near the artisan market. A scene with a native Fuegian. We were all awestruck. Such skill and patience.

Boarded the boat around 3:30. Our leader seems to forget we are on Argentinian time, so 3 really means 3:15, if you're lucky, and more likely 3:30. Boat ride through the Beagle Channel. Very windy (my fingers froze, but this is not unusual, really). We saw skuas, and cormorants, and sea lions, and even a couple Magellanic penguins swimming near the boat. We ended with a landing on Bridges Island, (where we saw orchids!), and, before leaving the boat for the evening, a shot of homemade coffee liquor.

After getting changed, we went out to dinner at a cute little pizza place. Thank goodness one of us (I assure you, not me) speaks Spanish, as the woman at the restaurant clearly did not know English. We got a nice table in the corner. It was empty when we arrived. People usually don't eat dinner till about 9PM. So, we sat down, ordered pizza and wine. I'm from NJ, everyone else I was with is from Michigan. I said flat out I know pizza better than you do, I'm a bit of a snob, and I will be the judge. As is proper. I mean NJ/NY pizza versus Michigan. No contest. The pizza was not half-bad. And the Malbec wine (2008 Don David) was not bad either. Good food, good people, and bright green decor, how much better could it get?

Well, gelato makes things better and we found a gelato place. Again, language barrier came up. But things worked out. Very well. Chocolate mousse gelato. No need to say more.

Back to the hotel then. We worked on our field notes (yes, homework...straight back to work!) and went to bed.

Then another early start today (and even earlier tomorrow!). A beautiful sunny day. Perfect for hiking to a glacier. Vinciguerra is the one we visited. We walked through a peat bog, through muck and mud, uphill, up rocks, took off layers, put on layers, went through wind. (I am not from the postal service, nor do I mean to copy their little slogan, I don't think they deal with as much mud either, at least not in Tinton Falls or New Brunswick, though they may deal with other dangerous things...hmm...). I hugged quite a few trees (okay, maybe more than hugged) along the way), went knee-deep in muck more than a couple times, and had quite a few scares. A couple classmates were discussing how hard the trip down would be before we even made it to the top. These are not happy thoughts, by any means, but I made it! And it was so worth it. I am not a religious person, but when I got to the top, I had a strong desire to open a prayerbook (which I did not have) and say the appropriate blessing for seeing a glacier (though I don't know if there is one so specific to this event).

We stopped at the bottom edge of the glacier. The glacial lake that is now there formed about 20 years ago.

The way down was much better than I had anticipated. I was honestly freakin scared. My friend wondered aloud how many toursists had died and/or been seriously injured doing this. Again, not happy thoughts. That is a question you ask when sitting home with your family after coming back from Antarctica. Not going to lie. I was really nervous about the trek down. But I didn't fall! My boots were muddy, but my ass was clean! (Pardon the language, I am really darn proud of myself.)

We truly lucked out on the weather today. Gorgeous, sunny, a little windy at the top, but not terrible. It could have been A LOT worse.

Now that I've made it up that, I feel it is only proper my father actually take me hiking in NJ/NY for once.

Change of clothes. Then off to dinner at the Irish Pub. Haha! And a short excursion to the grocery store (umm...most confusing shopping experience of my life). Now here. In the hotel room. Exhausted and really wanting to go to sleep but knowing I should probably type up some field notes.

A long day and a half

I did not realize how truly tired I was until I got in the hot shower here at Hotel Rio Ono in Ushuaia. It's been a long 36 hours (well, almost 36 hours). I'm a little bit confused, though, because it's about 9PM, I'm exhausted and it's still light outside!
I left home yesterday at about 10:30AM, give or take. My sister was making waffles for her boyfriend and my mother had already left for work. My father drove me to the airport. He wanted to make breakfast for me, but plate-sized pancakes and hours of plane rides do not really go well together in my mind. When I get back, I am sure there will be plenty of pancakes, waffles, and all other sorts of goodies, thanks Dad.
Dad drove me to LGA. Traffic, of course. And we got a little lost. TomToms are horrible devices and I was about ready to throw the thing out the car window. Truly dreadful piece of technology. But, we made it there ok and in time to get me through security.

So, sitting in Gate D5, waiting to board for Miami, thanking God I was not flying out of Newark. The waiting area is filling up. To my left, a young man, let's name him Ryan. Tall, muscular but on the thin side, a college jock perhaps? MacBook on his lap and cell phone in his hand. On my right, an older gentleman, not so old, my father's age perhaps, eating a salad.
I wonder how many people are traveling to see family and friends for Christmas.
My watch is packed in one of my suitcases (I hope), so I am stealing glances at other people's. Nosy, I know. Sketch, I know. But I'm getting impatient! Impatient for 24 hours of planes and airports, yes!
Across the way, a woman, in her 30s, perhaps? Nice watch. Let's call her Kate. Kate is traveling with her husband, and I said she is in her 30s, but the gray in his beard makes me think they are both older. Anyway, Kate offers Jack (yes, her husband strikes me as a Jack, though Kate is not exactly a perfect fit for her) a piece of gum and pulls the pack out from her purse, at which point I can glance at her watch. She's fashionably dressed, a majenta sweater and matching scarf, and cute boots (which must be a pain to get on and off when going through security).
Another woman just sat down next to me. Oh, tres chic! I feel like a schmuck. She's wearing a fur jacket and tall high heel boots and carrying a Fendi bag. I'm surprised her nails aren't painted a bright red. That would have been a great finishing touch.
I wonder about these women in boots and heels. I think it's annoying enough to get my sneakers on and off.
Ryan has put his MacBook away and is now fully concentrating on his phone. Girlfriend? Girlfriends? Or maybe just Tetris. Perhaps Sudoku.
Aww, Jack just gave Kate a peck on the lips. He's reading Hot Bike magazine. Maybe he's trying to get a new Harley. Haha. She's reading some Spa Magazine, probably already planning their next vacation and laughing about how Jack is so cute he thinks he's getting a new bike.
The magazine shop is raking in cash selling gum at sky-high prices. A luxury in most places, gum turns into a necessity in airport terminals, except for those flights departing for Sinagpore, I suppose.
Oh, another woman all dressed up! Lindsey, where are you going? I'm guessing business. Heels, dress, nice tan jacket, and it looks like you are checking your email on your crackberry. Only a purse and a book to carry-on.
Michelle is on the phone. (This is another new person. I like giving them names.) She's trying to figure out if she is hosting Christmas this year or not. Well, you are cutting it kind of close Michelle. Christmas is right around the corner, you know. And she's trying to arrange for a delivery of her new television.

On the plane now. Boarding was a blast. People always crowd around before their group is called. Umm, excuse me, but my group was in fact called could you please MOVE OUT THE WAY! Thank you kindly.
Jack and Kate were split up on the plane - she was in first class and he was in coach. Oh, ahahahaha

Found the rest of the group in Miami. Had to walk a bit and take the monorail, but I found them! I also saw a woman walking barefoot through the terminal. Ummm...gross? Just a tad.
6:01 AM, Buenos Aires time. In the air. About 2 hours left. I have given up on trying to fall back to sleep.
Partial lunar eclipse! This is absolutely stunning. It deserves a poem:
Where is my ambrosia? I miss the moon
This was it, I thought
Earth in collusion with night
Almost completely hiding this pearl from day
(We mortals could keep it now!)
But yellow fades to orange fades to pink
Day encroaches on night
And blue surrenders to sunrise
Clouds lose their bluish tinge
And take on the hues of day
Pink envelops moon, the luminescent crescent
Visible to mere mortals
Orange engulfs moon
Yellow devours moon
Hiding it
A celestial body for heavenly beings alone
I try flying above the clouds which obscure my view from Earth
But my efforst
Are to no avail
I am merely mortal and I worry I will go the way of Icarus
Where, I ask, is my ambrosia, for I miss the moon

7:41 AM and we are coming in for landing in Buenos Aires.
Argentina looks just like the midwest, all agriculture, perfectly square plots, few trees. So rural, right outside this metropolitan area.
We transferred airports in Buenos Aires. They drive just like we do in NJ! And these Michigan students were shocked. What, people driving on the shoulder? Clearly, they have not been to Paramus, NJ. Ah, just like home.

And now, here I am. Hotel Rio Ona. Ushuaia. Southernmost city of the world. Stunning views from the plane (and turbulence). I can't wait to go explore the natural areas tomorrow. I could wait to take the midterm, which is scheduled for Friday. I just finished finals!
Well, I'll get a good night sleep and start studying tomorrow.
Sweet dreams. I just hope I can sleep with it so light out!

Farewell

My grandmother came to visit today. She wanted to see me before I turned into a Popsicle. Always an interesting time with her. (And she is following this blog, so I write this at my own risk.) My mother, grandmother, and I (my sister was working, my father was watching his Christmas pudding...more about the latter later) enjoyed a nice afternoon together. At lunch, I tried to explain the difference between frittata and fajita and failed. (Grandma, I suggest you Google these terms.)
Later in the evening, after my grandmother left and my sister came home from work, my sister's boyfriend came over and the five of us enjoyed the Christmas pudding my father prepared. Yes, Christmas pudding. For all those who are wondering why my family was eating Christmas pudding, I have no satisfactory answer. I think you just have to meet my father. Maybe that could help clarify things. Or make you more confused. Not really sure.
You should also meet my mother if you truly want to understand the next part of this post.
The recipe recommended using alcohol to flame the pudding. Why not Majorska? My mother had purchased this vodka, not knowing how truly terrible it is (unless you happen to be making punch or jungle juice). Ah, poor mother. Well, no one was going to drink it, so why not use it to flame the pudding? It flames well, I can tell you that. My father was also a little generous, so it kept flaming. The sides of the pudding were a little burned. We eventually moved the pudding to a second plate, leaving the alcohol burning on the first.
The pudding was truly delicious, except for the bottom, which happened to taste strongly of Majorska.

A sweet farewell.

A small hurdle

Near heart-attack experience. I lost my tickets! I lost my cruise tickets. Now, it's a smaller vessel, I have spoken with the company. They know I'm coming. Somehow, I could have gotten on the boat. A little hassle, probably. Some hemming and hawing and show me your ID please, but I would have gotten on.
Well, I wasn't thinking like this a couple hours ago. I was thinking I would be left on the dock in Ushuaia. I pictured myself: a lonely young woman, in the cold rain, tears mixing with raindrops and my hair blowing in the wind. I'm not really sure if it's very windy and the tears and raindrops mixing together is so cliche, so, forgive me.
Thankfully, I found the tickets. Though not after some interesting family events. My parents thought that somehow it may have ended up in their room. How this would have happened I don't know. Apparently, my sister moves the mail off the kitchen table and puts the things addressed to them in their bedroom. Seems logical to me. Parents not so thrilled with the idea. So, mumbling and grumbling, they went through (some of) the papers in their room looking for my tickets. I know my sister well enough to know that she would put anything addressed to me in my room and tried to explain this to my grumbling parents. My efforts failed. My father kept sorting and cleaning his side of the room. The laws of the universe hold: the entropy on his side of the room decreased, so disorder on my mother's increased. She was not too happy.
But we are all happy now that Stacy found her tickets! As my tea bag directed:

Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too!

So, smile and be happy! (I'll try and remember this through my 24 hours of planes and airports)

I really should be studying biochemistry

I really should be studying biochemistry. The exam is in less than 24 hours. But I'm fidgety and I leave Monday and my sister is in the holiday spirit, so there are lots of distractions (i.e. cookie dough).
Some info:
We first spend some time in Ushuaia, Argentina (after literally 24 hours in planes and airports; actually, I correct myself, it'll be more like 26 or 27 hours because you have to get to the airport early; yes, so more than a day's worth of travel) .
We will be going on the Polar Pioneer ship for the New Year's Voyage. Yes, New Year's on a boat! .
Then, I will spend a few nights in Buenos Aires (where I hope to pick up some tango moves).

My luggage (left)