He might be new to the party but he catches on fast and in just 24 hours his journey went from a polite inquiry about joining Team Antarctica to being fully paid up, flights booked and exhibiting a level of enthusiasm that you all thought was unique to me!
Meet Steve.
Turns out Antarctica has been on his bucket list as long as it has been on mine and his lovely wife Amy is totally cool with him abandoning ship over the holidays to expedition with us. (Yes, we wish she was coming too but not everyone is super excited about penguin photos if the cost is being tossed around on the roughest ocean in the world in order to arrive at a continent that looks like the inside of your freezer. Come to think of it, she might be the smart one of the group!)
Anyhow... It appeared to be time to update my penguin picture: We are a party of 6 again.
On the planning front, Gavin the booking agent (very patient guy) and I have been in contact on and off over the past month as I seek to learn all I can and adjust packing and expectations accordingly. I had plenty of questions about the "little things" that the website, YouTube vids and other passenger tips had not covered. Courtesy of Gavin:
1. Our room outlets (for charging phones, batteries, gloves, ipads etc) will be European 2-prongs. Raise your hand if you have traveled to Europe and encountered TWO types of these: the one that is flush with the wall and the one that is recessed into a circular hole! Flush = no problem. Circular hole recessed means not all of our power plugs will be suitable. Im planning for the circular as that is kinda what it looks like in some of the room pics I found online and I will take a multiplug that can be inserted into the wall regardless of the setup.
2. They supply shampoo and body wash in the rooms. I have removed mine from the bag!
3. Laundry starts at $3 per item (imagine that will be socks and underwear). Handwashing is possible to a certain extent so I'll pack laundry sheets - that is laundry detergent that comes in a sheet not a liquid and dissolves once in water. The eco-friendly, biodegradable, fragrance free stuff - in keeping with the responsibilities we have to preserve Antarctica and the planet in general.
4. Wine. VERY important! Purchasing wine in Argentina is dirt cheap and easy. Buying wine on the ship is priced similar to buying wine in the States. It is permissible to bring a couple of bottles onboard, each. For a cork fee, it can be drunk outside the room. For free, its consumed more privately and therefore, a corkscrew has been added to the pack just in case.
5. Cash. Changing USD to Argentinian pesos using the black market, yields a better exchange rate than withdrawing pesos from the ATM. It's challenging to get USD once in Argentina too. We'll plan on bringing USD with us!
Tips from my friend Minna, who traveled to Argentina aboard an expedition vessel not that long ago:
Yes, your feet get wet! Zodiak landings may happen in water that is still darn close to the top of our waterproof boots and "sloshing" is likely.
Guess who found waterproof socks? This gal! I think I can layer them over the wool socks and maintain a level of dry and warm that is an improvement over just socks and boots.
Minna experienced 40' swells on the return journey across Drake's Passage. Enough force to break the chains securing the baby grand piano and send it sliding across the room! Passengers were confined to cabins and they used their bed seatbelts to secure themselves! There was no motion sickness remedy that stood up to the challenge of the boat being tossed around to that extent but a little juice and crackers were helpful to sooth overworked stomachs. Mental note: hoard crackers in our room!
Speaking of seasickness... she mentioned that Scopalamine might be on the 'banned' list for Argentina. I'm investigating and will circle back on this one.
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