We recently posted one our "Penguin Happy Dance" video on YouTube so we could include it in this blog. Apparently, this coincided with some sort of Penguin Appreciation Day (no kidding).
A few other blogs have since helped celebrate this "special day" by embedding our little video which is actually pretty cool.
January 25, 2008
January 10, 2008
January 7, 2008
January 5, 2008
Not Us
Apparently a Norwegian cruise ship hit a glacier in the Antarctic. This was a small ship & was not the NCL ship we are on.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22429821/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22429821/
Montevideo, Uruguay
We're here. The weather is fantastic. The network connection is icky. More to come sometime soon.
Quote of the Day: "Football is sort of popular here. If you drop a ball in the street people will gather around."
Quote of the Day: "Football is sort of popular here. If you drop a ball in the street people will gather around."
January 3, 2008
Puerto Madryn: Land of Free-Range Penguins
Today the ship visited Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
We headed north up to Punta Norte (north of Puerto Madryn) to the San Lorenzo Estancia to visit a colony of Magellanic Penguins. Of course, the only way to get there was by spending 90-minutes or so riding in a shock absorber-free bus on an unpaved, bumpy road (sponsored by the makers of Tylenol, we’re guessing). There’s nothing like “off-roading” in a bus in far-away lands.
Once we arrived at the estancia we moved into smaller, shock absorber-free trucks & headed out towards the penguin colony.
These penguins were much different than the ones we saw in the Falkland Islands. They live in burrows instead of nests and return to the same burrow each year. As we walked around the colony we had to be careful as to not step on either any burrows or penguins. Chicks were everywhere!
Afterwards we headed back to the estancia for an “authentic” Argentinean lunch. This meant lamb, lamb and then more lamb (hunted down by the penguins earlier, of course) and lots of other Argentinean protein (dust).
We then all excitedly reboarded the bus to spend more time on the unpaved Tylenol Highway & head towards the Atlantic Ocean to see a ton of sea lions & sea elephants.
On the way back to the ship we saw all sorts of creatures roaming free from the South American “ostrich,” wild llamas, burrowing owls to the largest rat/bunny ever seen.
We headed north up to Punta Norte (north of Puerto Madryn) to the San Lorenzo Estancia to visit a colony of Magellanic Penguins. Of course, the only way to get there was by spending 90-minutes or so riding in a shock absorber-free bus on an unpaved, bumpy road (sponsored by the makers of Tylenol, we’re guessing). There’s nothing like “off-roading” in a bus in far-away lands.
Once we arrived at the estancia we moved into smaller, shock absorber-free trucks & headed out towards the penguin colony.
These penguins were much different than the ones we saw in the Falkland Islands. They live in burrows instead of nests and return to the same burrow each year. As we walked around the colony we had to be careful as to not step on either any burrows or penguins. Chicks were everywhere!
Afterwards we headed back to the estancia for an “authentic” Argentinean lunch. This meant lamb, lamb and then more lamb (hunted down by the penguins earlier, of course) and lots of other Argentinean protein (dust).
We then all excitedly reboarded the bus to spend more time on the unpaved Tylenol Highway & head towards the Atlantic Ocean to see a ton of sea lions & sea elephants.
On the way back to the ship we saw all sorts of creatures roaming free from the South American “ostrich,” wild llamas, burrowing owls to the largest rat/bunny ever seen.
January 2, 2008
Villagers Flee Volcano Eruption in Chile
So, we may have mentioned earlier that it isn't a vacation for us without a natural disaster happening, right? Well, a day or so after we left this part of Chile, the Llaima Volcano erupted.
Details:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/02/naturaldisasters.chile
Once the locals kept trying to explain to "us Americans" that this was just like the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Once we mentioned that we had actually experienced that one we were treated like celebs.
Fortunately, we were far enough away from the Chilean volcano's eruption so that it did not interrupt our trip.
Details:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/02/naturaldisasters.chile
Once the locals kept trying to explain to "us Americans" that this was just like the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Once we mentioned that we had actually experienced that one we were treated like celebs.
Fortunately, we were far enough away from the Chilean volcano's eruption so that it did not interrupt our trip.
Bilingual Cruising
Okay… We know that not every one speaks English. But on this cruise, those that speak English natively are a minority. We’re thinking it is because many South Americans are on this cruise (this is sort of like people from the States taking an Alaska cruise).
Bueno… Sabemos que no todo se habla Inglés. Pero en este crucero, los que hablan Inglés nativa son una minoría. Estamos pensando que se debe a que muchos sudamericanos se encuentran en este crucero (esto es como el tipo de personas de los Estados tomar un crucero de Alaska).
Because of this pretty much all of the shipboard announcements are broadcast in English, followed by Spanish, and, if time permits, French and German bring up the rear. This means that all shipboard announcements take forever because they are announced in at least 4 languages.
Debido a esto casi todos a bordo de los anuncios se transmiten en Inglés, seguido por el español, y, si el tiempo lo permite, francés y alemán criar a la parte trasera. Esto significa que todos los anuncios de tener a bordo para siempre, ya que se anuncian en al menos 4 idiomas.
There are dinner menus printed in, at least, English and Spanish. Much of the crew appears to be fluent in both English and Spanish.
Hay menús impresos en la cena, al menos, Inglés y español. Gran parte de la tripulación parece ser fluido en Inglés y Español.
The shore excursions have also been segregated by language to some extent. We almost wandered on to a French version of a tour because they hadn’t announced that the tours would be language specific. I am sure it would have been fine, but we were glad we figured it out before we got loaded into the bus.
La orilla excursiones también se han segregado por idioma, hasta cierto punto. Estamos casi en vagó a una versión en francés de una gira porque no habían anunciado que las visitas serían idioma específico. Estoy seguro de que hubiera sido adecuado, pero nos alegra que pense que fuera antes de que se carga en el autobús.
After 10 days of Spanish immersion, you start to pickup on stuff. Between Bingo and Joel’s stint at the poker table, we have been able to learn how to count to (at least) seventy-five and say “raise,” “call” and “fold.” We also now know how to order Diet Coke and ask how much something costs.
Después de 10 días de inmersión en español, de empezar a recolectar el material. Entre Bingo y Joel del paso por la mesa, hemos sido capaces de aprender a contar hasta (al menos) setenta y cinco y decir "elevar", "la palabra" y "veces." También sabemos ahora la forma de orden Diet Coke y preguntar cómo algo mucho los costos.
We figure that it will take three more cruises to become fluent.
Bueno… Sabemos que no todo se habla Inglés. Pero en este crucero, los que hablan Inglés nativa son una minoría. Estamos pensando que se debe a que muchos sudamericanos se encuentran en este crucero (esto es como el tipo de personas de los Estados tomar un crucero de Alaska).
Because of this pretty much all of the shipboard announcements are broadcast in English, followed by Spanish, and, if time permits, French and German bring up the rear. This means that all shipboard announcements take forever because they are announced in at least 4 languages.
Debido a esto casi todos a bordo de los anuncios se transmiten en Inglés, seguido por el español, y, si el tiempo lo permite, francés y alemán criar a la parte trasera. Esto significa que todos los anuncios de tener a bordo para siempre, ya que se anuncian en al menos 4 idiomas.
There are dinner menus printed in, at least, English and Spanish. Much of the crew appears to be fluent in both English and Spanish.
Hay menús impresos en la cena, al menos, Inglés y español. Gran parte de la tripulación parece ser fluido en Inglés y Español.
The shore excursions have also been segregated by language to some extent. We almost wandered on to a French version of a tour because they hadn’t announced that the tours would be language specific. I am sure it would have been fine, but we were glad we figured it out before we got loaded into the bus.
La orilla excursiones también se han segregado por idioma, hasta cierto punto. Estamos casi en vagó a una versión en francés de una gira porque no habían anunciado que las visitas serían idioma específico. Estoy seguro de que hubiera sido adecuado, pero nos alegra que pense que fuera antes de que se carga en el autobús.
After 10 days of Spanish immersion, you start to pickup on stuff. Between Bingo and Joel’s stint at the poker table, we have been able to learn how to count to (at least) seventy-five and say “raise,” “call” and “fold.” We also now know how to order Diet Coke and ask how much something costs.
Después de 10 días de inmersión en español, de empezar a recolectar el material. Entre Bingo y Joel del paso por la mesa, hemos sido capaces de aprender a contar hasta (al menos) setenta y cinco y decir "elevar", "la palabra" y "veces." También sabemos ahora la forma de orden Diet Coke y preguntar cómo algo mucho los costos.
We figure that it will take three more cruises to become fluent.
January 1, 2008
Free Range Penguins Start New War in the Falkland Islands
Gentoo (as in penguin) does not equal gentle. They are vicious little monsters as we learned during our trip to Sparrow Cove in the Falkland Islands.
This reserve was located on the older couple's sheep farm and they were nice enough to take a couple groups of twelve (by Land Rovers) from the dock at Sparrow Cove across the farm to Kidney Cove where the penguins are. There were no roads, hence the need for the 4x4s.
Overall, the penguin visit was one of the highlights of the trip so far -- and we will get to see some more in Argentina.
This reserve was located on the older couple's sheep farm and they were nice enough to take a couple groups of twelve (by Land Rovers) from the dock at Sparrow Cove across the farm to Kidney Cove where the penguins are. There were no roads, hence the need for the 4x4s.
Overall, the penguin visit was one of the highlights of the trip so far -- and we will get to see some more in Argentina.
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