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Christmas & New Year Cruise
  • Lorna Spaas
  • Paul Spaas

Christmas & New Year Cruise

Ushuaia to the Falkland Isles, South Georgia and Antarctica. More to explore! Read more
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  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Fournier Bay Zodiac Cruise

    January 2, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    The ship sailed overnight back to Börgen Bay for the polar plunge in the morning. Knowing that the weather forecast would not be good, I didn't switch my alarm clock on to wake me up for the event. I slept through until after 10:00.

    I was tired. The guests in the cabin next door keep their phones linked onto the wifi, and they seem to have them on the stone bedside table. The vibration of their message notifications coming through to their phone travel through the wall and through to our bed. We can still hear it through the pillows and earplugs. The notifications come throughout the night. I guess their friends are in totally different time zone!

    After Börgen Bay, the ship sailed to Fournier Bay, further northeast of Börgen Bay, for the afternoon's zodiac cruise.

    The weather wasn't particularly good but Paul and I decided to go for one last time in Antarctica. I am glad we did go on the zodiac cruise. The weather brightened up a bit, the wind died down and the rain stopped.

    Now and then we had a hail, but it was like grains of sand. We were glad we went out. We saw some seals and a penguin, and some whales in the bay! They were feeding, and surfaced quite often. We saw the bubbles the whales made to corral the krill into a group so that they would be easier to catch and eat. The pictures I took weren't brilliant but at least it is the memories that we take back with us will remain.

    Once back on board, Paul and I went for a dip in one of the jacuzzies and had lovely views out over the bay. A whale surfaced near the ship too, and was bubble feeding. Lovely!

    What a fitting farewell to Antarctica!    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Goodbye Antarctica

    January 2, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 1 °C

    We have two sea days sailing to reach Ushuaia, and then we will be flying back to the Netherlands.

    We hope to return to Antarctica again, if Paul's work situation allows for it. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to be here in this beautiful place.Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Drake's Passage

    January 3, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 5 °C

    It was a rough night as we hit the Drake Passage and a weather front. Not many people were out and about, nor attending lectures. I wonder why 🤔.

    We attended two lectures. One was about a Norwegian explorer (Roald Amundsen) vs a British Naval Officer (Robert Scott), and their battle to make it to the South Pole first. They both had different plans in reaching the South Pole, and different routes, but Robert Scott's expedition ended in tragedy when he lost his life along with 5 men. Roald Amundsen had way better clothing, dog mushers, and skiers, along with better survival skills. Robert Scott was hampered by the norms of British culture at that time with regard to clothing, lack of skilled skiers, and skilled dog mushers. It was a very interesting lecture. And sad, in a way too.
    The other lecture was about the geology of the Andes mountains, and how it is affected by plate tectonics, and the dissipation of the icefields.

    There was a slight lull in the weather between two storms this afternoon, so the Captain has been making as much speed as possible towards Ushuaia before the next storm hits. We can already feel more motion of the ocean again.    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Leaving Ushuaia

    January 5 in Argentina ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    We are finally at the airport and have a 2 hour wait for our flight.

    A driver picked us up and brought us to the airport. She kindly came with us to the check-in desk to make sure all was OK for Paul, as a seafarer.

    Some staff are on the same flight to Buenos Aires, but after that, they are on other flights to their next destination.    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Buenos Aires Airport Departure Lounge

    January 6 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A taxi took us to a Holiday Inn Hotel where we stayed overnight. We had a nice steak for dinner - highly recommended in Argentina. Yum.

    We didn't have a good night's rest. Music was blaring loudly from somewhere and traffic from the motorway was loud - the windows weren't double glazed.

    Paul woke up to find an email advising of a flight delay. Groan. The taxi picked us up and brought us back to the airport for our flight.

    Now the 13:15 flight has been delayed and set back to later. 5 times a new update. Now the flight is around 17:15 but it might be delayed again. We are going to miss our connecting flight by hours... We sits and waits and thinks...    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Madrid Airport

    January 7 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Dinner was served on the flight but not breakfast. To add insult to injury, we were given complimentary WiFi vouchers to use on the aeroplane, but the WiFi didn't work.

    We arrived 5 hours late for our connecting flight to Amsterdam. We went through towards the transit gates via immigration and found the airline desk to issue us with alternative flights.

    We are now supposed to fly to Amsterdam via Munich, arriving this evening sometime. We are now trying to retrieve our luggage to recheck it in. But there is total confusion. We have had to come back to Lounge or Terminal 1 baggage claim. We went through the wrong way, and the security guys were like WTF? Fortunately a Spanish speaking lady was in the same boat, and she explained her situation. We went along with her to get in.

    No luggage on any belts. Nobody has been helpful. We bumped into 2 people who are also going to Amsterdam who also travelled from Argentina with Air Europa.

    We shall see what happens. We wait in the meantime..    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Munich International Airport

    January 7 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We landed in Munich at around 17:45 and picked up our luggage, as what we been told to when we were in Madrid. One of Paul's suitcases was missing. Groan. We waited until the carousel stopped running, but nothing came.

    The Air Europa lost baggage desk wasn't where the luggage carousel was, and someone from the other lost luggage desks couldn't help us. A security chap at the baggage exit door advised that we had to go to a luggage desk somewhere in terminal D. It turned out that it was the other end of the airport, a long walk. Bearing in mind time was marching for our flight. Paul was furious, tired, and absolutely fed up.

    As we passed by the check-in desk, Paul asked what time

    We got to the help desk, and the lady took his details for his lost luggage, to find and retrieve it, and send it on. She was as confused as we were as to why we got 2 pieces of luggage and not 3. With minutes to spare, we raced to check our luggage in at the desk, and the chap was baffled that we had 2 pieces of luggage with us as he could see 3 on his system. We tried to explain, but he was as mystified as we were.

    We have managed to get to the departure gate just in time and are boarding in a minute. We are now flying to Amsterdam - at last!    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Munich International Airport Departures

    January 7 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    One of the 2 people who were also travelling to Amsterdam and were on the same predicament as us, said we would get our luggage at carousel 4. Flights came and went, but the missing luggage never arrived on that carousel. Around 11:30, the baggage reclaim desk opened, and Paul went to find out what was happening. I waited at the carousel in the meantime. Paul eventually came back.

    Apparently, our luggage is being transferred to Munich, so we didn't have to collect it. The lady was on the telephone, making calls to check. We have to collect our luggage in Munich and re-check it in for the KLM flight to Amsterdam.

    Yes, it is very confusing. Why can't it automatically be transferred to the end destination. But no, Air Europa said they can't transfer it to a different airline in Munich. Very odd.... I don't think we will fly with Air Europa again.

    We are now waiting for our 14:30/15:00 flight to Munich. It is chaos in the departure lounge. All the gates are so close to each other that queues overlap.    Read more

  • Christmas & New Year Cruise

    Schiphol Internet Airport

    January 7 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    We finally boarded our flight to Amsterdam. It was a very empty flight, so we were told not to move seats unless we asked first, due to the balance of the aeroplane. Some people didn't listen and were told to go back to their seats. One lady "didn't know" which seat she was assigned to! I wanted to say: "Look at your ticket, lady!" but didn't. The steward told her. It was opposite us in a window seat. The poor guy next to her on the isle seat nearly got squashed. She was a big woman...🥴 Little did she realise that her seat was my original seat and that her seat was in the window seat next to Paul. All I did was swap window seats from one side of the aeroplane to the other (same row, which had 2 seats, the isle, and 2 seats). I was prepared to move if a ticket holder queried it.

    People arrived on time, so the flight left 20 minutes early.

    We arrived half an hour early, around 20:45/21:00. There is lots of work going on at Schiphol, so it took us longer to get to the luggage carousels. Guess what... All 3 pieces of luggage were there!😇 Life is a total mystery.

    Anyway, that is the end of our day. Taxi picked us up as scheduled and took us to Paul's mum's place. A shower was a huge must and so welcome.😅

    What a journey!    Read more

    Trip end
    January 7, 2025
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