Colorful Valparaiso

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Valparaiso is colorful. There is graffiti art on everything! Look!:

It's also a pretty funky city; in a beautiful, fun sense, but in a bit of a downtrodden way too. There's a dog problem. There are lots of feral dogs around. They're nice and all that but it makes for some nasty sidewalks...

But the colors! They're all around and they're amazing.

Valparaiso is a vertical, coastal city with an important nautical history. And right next door, up the coast, is Vina del Mar, a beautiful resort city that looks like the Chilean version of South Beach. Very chic with great beaches on the Pacific and lots of shopping.






We ate well (and cheap!) here and really enjoyed this city.

Many funicular trains in this hilly city

Buenos Aires

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Buenos Aires (Good Airs) lies on the hugely wide Rio de la Plate and is the Cultural Capitol of Latin America, as well as the political capitol of Argentina. It is a stunningly beautiful, European like city, with 2.5 million bustling residents.

Tango is the art here, with many conservatories of dance dedicated to it's study. Both the dance and the music are mesmerizing; a treat for all the senses!

I like Buenos Aires in the summer. It's in the 90's during the day, and the sunshine is constant, but oh, those nights...

Don't think about dinner until after 8pm. The restaurants aren't open earlier than that and tables get crowded around 9:30. So, without reservations, one can probably get a table at 8, but once 9 o'clock comes around, you'll have to wait. Most diners like to sit outside in the night air. I could get used to this. 

From 1946 to 1952 outspoken friend of labor and supporter of the arts, Eva Peron was Argentina's First Lady. She was immensely popular and beloved by the people of Argentina. Sadly, while husband Juan was president, she died at the age of 33. She is still an ever-present icon in Buenos Aires.

Eva Peron's gravesite

Our apartment

More apartment

The Pink House, presidential palace, where Evita would address the nation

Speaking of icons, Buenos Aires is home to the Pope, Papa Francisca. He was the city's cardinal prior to his elevation to the papacy and they are proud to show off the Cathedral Metropolitana where he lived. 

Inside the cathedral

Our block

The Waterfront

"Don't Cry For Me Argentina....."

Right now, the dollar is very strong against the Argentinian peso, making for great prices on everything in Argentina! Buenos Aires is really a wonderful place to spend winter, er...summer. The only down side is that's it's a long, and expensive flight.

Penguins at the Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas

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To quote Basil Fawlty, "don't mention the War!" It's a sore topic with Argentina, which still considers Las Malvinas to be Argentine territory.
But the Falkland Islands, as they are known to the residents and to the UK, are a remote, desolate place, devoid of trees or even shrubs. Still collecting land mines left over from the 1982 war, it radiates a foreboding atmosphere and a sense of desolation.

The Anglican Cathedral with whalebone sculpture

Looks British, right?

In fact, there is a weekly flight from the islands, and in 18 hours one can reach London! So the 2,500 residents and 2,000 British soldiers have that.

To reach the penguins, we travel by 4 wheel drive for about 2.5 hours over hill and dale to reach a our destination; a beautiful, remote, and colorful beach.

Rescues 'R Us

I guess we have traveled a total of about 20 miles, but once one leaves the capitol "city" of Port Stanley, off roading is the mode of transport.

The Falklands are a beautiful place with smart interesting people. Difficult to get to but very worth the visit.

Magellanic Penguins nest in the ground!

Uh 1 and uh 2 and uh...

I don't know, you wanna go in? It looks cold.

Guys, just follow me, okay?

Everyone here?

You didn't expect this, did you? Penguins and sheep grazing together.

Antarctica II - The Penguins Appear

Here is a link to more photos of penguins and seals

Penguin colony with sea lions lurking in background

Dawn comes early here, so we were up in the 5am hour to catch the show. And it is quite a show! Lot's of penguins, seals, and whales in the calm water making for a magical Antarctic morning.

We saw our first penguin colony and passed one of the Antarctic research bases that dot the land.

Antarctica is a continent surrounded by oceans, as opposed to the Arctic, which is an ocean surrounded by continents. Look at a map of this great land mass and notice the Antarctic peninsula that juts up toward South America.

It's the peninsula, really a continuation of the great Andes mountain chain, that attracts visitors like us. The rest of the continent is not accessible and it's off limits to visitors. In fact, tours to Antarctica are limited each year, and they only visit the northern reaches of the peninsula.

Chilean base

Nap time for seals

Mountains in the foreground, but look at the snow and ice in the background!

Antarctica Part I (The Arrival)

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Okay, it's really freakin' cold here! It's summer and the sun is up for most of the day, but the cold just stings!

The ocean temperature is 29 degrees and the land is covered in ice. And icebergs are everywhere, laughing at us. We coulda stayed in the northern hemisphere for this!

There are steep, vertical mountains along the shore but one can see the snow and ice layered over, yes, over the height of the mountains. I've known that the ice is thousands of feet deep here, but to see it! My god, it's awesome (as in fearful)! There's land along the shore line but the ice builds up and up and up into the distance.

And all of this water and ice radiates cold everywhere. It's colder in New York at the moment, but this just feels permanent (and, of course, it is).

I'm fascinated and thrilled to be here. I can't stay inside for missing the wildlife or the beautiful mountains of ice. But, I can't stay here and I'll be thrilled to leave and get wrapped back up in warmth!

Stay tuned for part II!

We are not alone! (Notice ship on left)

We had visitors from Palmer Station

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