wrap up and more photos

It took me a couple of days to catch up on my sleep, get re-introduced to technology, and unpack. I had not thought about the lack of technology on the ship but we didn't have TV, radio, internet, or phone service for 10 days and diving back into that was more difficult than I expected. Once we were back in Argentina I did have my phone service as far as texting and, when I had wireless service, email, but even that was quite limited. It was nice to not be distracted by technology and really nice get to know everyone and enjoy the conversations and scenery. I am as much a tech fan as anyone, but getting readjusted was a not-necesarily- welcome transition.

My physical therapist and my sports med doctor and my foot doctor all said I need surgery on the foot neuroma, the only way to stop the pain, and my butt was still sore because of shifting my running gait to keep my foot from hurting - it all conspired against me! I got a cortisone shot in my butt, which was VERY painful for two days and since then the pain is gone -hurray!! I have surgery scheduled for my foot in about a month, between trips to Chicago. I am running a bit, less than 2 miles right now, and walking and swimming. My foot hurts sometimes but nothing like when I was training and running the race.

Here are some more photos from Antarctica- what a beautful place and an amazing trip. I feel so lucky and grateful to have been to the continent of my dreams.

here is a map of the elevation of the race course- lots of hills, obviously!

some wildlife pics

and some more beautiful scenery

Getting home -eventually

At the gate for the earliest flight to Detroit I found out I did NOT have reservations, as the agent in BA had told me, so I was on a waiting list, along with Julie from the trip - and 23 others! No waiting list people got on that flight, so Julie and I, and several others from the trip who had later flights, went to the next flight concourse and waited but no waiting list people got on that one either.

With a couple of hours before we could try the next Detroit flight, the group of us went to get coffee and relax. Then we all went to the third Detroit flight but we didn't get on that, either. By then he rest of the group had to go to their flights, so we all said goodbye.

Julie and I were so tired and just wanted to get home but realized being on waiting lists for the next 5 flights was probably not going to get us anywhere. We went to the customer service desk for Delta, explained our plight, and threw ourselves on their mercy.What a difference an agent makes- Julie's was very helpful and worked hard to get her to Detroit while mine acted like she was doing me a huge favor and could hardly be bothered to help me.

Julie's agent figured out he could send her to Baltimore and then to Detroit, so she took it. My agent said her agent shouldn't have done that, and she couldn't do it without charging me a lot of money, and I said no, Julie didn't pay any extra fees, so my agent worked and called and typed and called and FINALLY put me on the same flights with Julie. aarrgghhhh

So.... I had crab cakes in Baltimore more than 24 hours after I should have been at home! Being with Julie was great because she is such fun and relaxed about things so the time passed quickly and we got to Detroit about 7 pm. As I was getting off the plane I received an email from Delta saying my suitcase had been there since early morning and I had better come and get it!

Julie got her bag quickly but nobody could find mine, so an agent, my husband, and I searched all over the baggage return and the Delta storage for it. SO frustrating when all I wanted to do is get in the car and get home. Finally found it and got home about 9 p.m. on Sunday, 36 hours later than the original flight plans!

unexpected day in BA

In the morning some of the group went for  a run, but since I was not sure how my foot and butt would feel I ran by myself. In a new area of town so I didn't want to get lost, and ran in a big square of several blocks each way near the river. My foot really hurt after less than 2 miles but I kept going for 3 miles, just so I would be tired and hopefully more able to sleep on the long flight home that night.

We all walked to the Recoleta artist market which was fun and I got a few more things. Then we went to a pizza place- yes, oddly enough, pizza is a specialty of Buenos Aires! The empanadas were excellent and so was the pizza. We had fun and laughs and toasted Martin-it was his birthday and he had planned to spend it with family in Atlanta but instead he had us-not quite a fair birthday trade but the best he could do. And of course one last "Flat Stanley" library card photo with Louann and the empanadas!

It was great to be with so many people who travel a lot and all over the world so nobody was too thrown off balance by the rapid change in plans. Most of us were ready to get home to clean clothes and our own beds, but we had fun and took advantage of one more day in the big city. As we were getting on the bus to leave for the airport I looked up and saw this crazy house on top of a 10 story building- no idea what the story is about it but it was fascinating-

The bus picked us up for the 40 minute trip to the airport and we thought we would have plenty of time to check in, use our free executive suite passes for some drinks and food, and get on board. Of course it didn't turn out that way! Each of our 14 people took a long time to check in, get connecting flights, and confirm reservations. I thought I had reservations on the flight from Atlanta to Detroit but as it would turn out, I didn't. One by one we showed up in the executive suite and I did manage to have a glass of Bailey's and some food and a last chance on wifi until Atlanta, about 10 hours away.

Since we were last-minute people on this flight we had bad seats way in the back in the middle, but we were mostly all together which helped. I was between my roommate Louann and our buddy Bob so that was fine. The flight was ok and I got lots of reading done and a few hours of sleep. We arrived in Atlanta about 5:30am and I sped through customs as quickly as possible, hoping to get to my connecting flight to Detroit...

Ushuaia, longer than we wanted to be there

Arriving Friday in Ushuaia early in the morning was a beautiful sight, this picture is one of my best-

it took time to get off the ship, gather everything and make sure nothing was left behind, and board the correct bus for town. Some people on the trip were staying extra days in Buenos Aires and they were on a different flight, but the majority of us were planning to continue our trek home when we got to the Buenos Aires airport after our flight from Ushuaia, which would be a very long day but we were anxious to get home.

Bob, Truman, and I went to a coffee shop to get on their wireless, and even though I didn't want to know, I saw that I had 534 emails! I tried very hard not to look at them, since I would not have wireless again until Atlanta airport, about 24 hours away. Texting was reasonable as far as cost, so I was able to text a few people and make plans with my husband about meeting me in Detroit Saturday morning at 9am.

We did some tourist shopping and took photos at a fun mural

At the appointed hour we boarded the bus to go to the airport, only to make a detour back to the ship since one of the passengers realized she left her cell phone charging in her cabin! Two people went to look for it but could not find it, so we proceeded to the airport. It is a beautiful modern airport, not very big but nicely designed with lots of light wood and big windows

Our flight was delayed several hours and we spent quite a lot of time waiting in lines to see about getting a different flight from Buenos Aires since most of us were going to be very tight on time and trying to figure out alternative connections. As time went on people got more upsetm and it looked like the 14 of us on the flight to Atlanta would not make that connection. Since there were so many of us, and quite a few others in a similar situation, the Marathon Tours people were working on what could be done. We boarded, finally, not really knowing if we would make our connections or not. That was a stressful 3 hour flight!

We got to Buenos Aires too late to make our connection, just barely missing it. Fortunately a person from Aerolineas Argentina was waiting everyone and had it all figured out. The 14 going to Atlanta did not have another flight for 24 hours, so we received vouchers for a hotel, food, and a bus was hired to take us back into town and then to the airport the next day. The great thing about travelling with people who have all travelled so much is that we all accepted that we were not getting home soon and made the best of it. The not good thing is we had mostly dirty clothes and were tired and hungry, since it was about 9pm when we figured out what was going on.

We stayed at a hotel right near the big boulevard and in the middle of town. The hotel provided dinner for all of us, and a few of us went to a bar nearby after dinner, just because we had such a crazy day and figured we might as well enjoy another night in Argentina!

and Dave discovered the really big bottles of Stella!

Last day on the ship

The Drake Passage calmed a bit for our final day and the approach to the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia, and more people started venturing out of their rooms, and we could have full meals again for our last day at sea.

 Remarkably, another woman on the ship and I both had some of our mother's ashes along to sprinkle during the trip. Realizing we could not leave anything on the actual ground of Antarctica, we asked the captain about putting the ashes over the side of the ship and into the water, and he said officially he couldn't say yes, but unofficially he said spreading them in the ocean at Cape Horn would be good, since that is a big point for many travellers.

Unfortunately due to the crazy weather we did not go near Cape Horn, so when we realized that we picked a time and told a few people about it and had a small ceremony on the back of the deck. We each said a few words about our mothers. My mother died two years ago at almost 97 years old, and I said what a traveller my mother had been- she went to every state, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Mexico, Cuba, and many other places, and how excited she was about my trip to Antarctica since she knew how long I had waited. She famously said, when I was going to China, that if she had a chance to go to China she would go to Japan!

It was a very touching ceremony and I was glad to share it with Sally and some of our shipmates. Here are two photos of my part

Drake Passasge, day 2

After a fun time of roller coaster rides all night I enjoyed staying in bed and watching the show from the cabin window: just water -then just sky -then just water-sky etc as the boat rode over big waves. I took a shower and washed my hair, but it was quite an adventure since I had to hold on all the time to the safety bar in the shower.  Later I made a rookie mistake and was in the middle of the cabin and not holding onto anything and suddenly I was thrown backward against the door - ouch! That reminded me I need to hold on ALL THE TIME. Going up and down the stairs was entertaining since everyone had to hold on and sometimes wait for an especially  big wave to pass before continuing.

Meals were handed out and only what you could hold onto, with a limited menu. The dining room chairs had chains to the floor but not all of them were hooked in and frequently during a meal some people would begin sliding away from the table, then back as the wave passed.

 I spent a lot of time on the bridge watching the show. Amazing to see the waves and watch the bow of the ship go way up in the air and then crash down. At dinner the captain announced that we had been experiencing hurricane force winds and 15 foot waves. I really felt like I was getting the full Drake Passage experience!

After dinner we were all feeling a bit giddy and went to the lobby and took lots of silly photos!

April 2, continued

After our amazing whale adventure, which lasted 3 hours, we headed back to the ship and had dinner. During dinner we hit the infamous Drake Passage, and instantly everything started sliding off the tables, glasses and plates were crashing to the floor, chairs were sliding, it was crazy. Trish and I both grabbed for the wine bottle and made  good save! We were about to have the full Drake experience. Here is a photo of my soup tilting-

The ship was rocking and everyone had to hold on all the time, and hold onto our dinner. There was an auction as a fundraiser for ocean study, but the weather kept getting worse, and as soon as the auction was over most people headed to their cabins since the boat was pitching so much. I found it quite exciting and was trying to find others who shared my enthusiasm for wild weather so I headed to the bar, of course!

The only people in the bar were the stalwart bartender and Helen, a great woman and friend. We had a drink and talked and watched the waves. Finally we took pity on the bartender and said we would leave so he could close up, but not until I wrote on the bar chalkboard that Helen and I closed the bar that night!

I finally started winding down and brushed my teeth holding onto the railing by the sink, which was interesting. My berth was perpendicular to the side of the ship so all night I slid back and forth in bed as the ship rocked, and also the up and down feeling of being on a rollercoaster. I loved it!