Picto Diary - 8,9, 10 January 2023 - Antarctica Bound

Above: Salt Lake City International Airport, A Concourse. 08 January 2023.

Antarctica bound. Trip, a French owned, Ponant Cruise Line expedition trip to Antarctica, was first conceived two- and one-half years ago and scheduled for last year at this time. Espresso, my forty five-year friend, who lives in Washington, D.C., was trip instigator, organizer and travel companion. We opted out of last year's scheduled trip due to onerous Ponant protocols for coronavirus. So here I am, one year later, on my way. TIMDT was not interested in the trip and encouraged my accompanying Espresso Up to this point I have been ambivalent about traveling to Antarctica. I haven't travelled internationally since 2019. I kinda (sic) lost interest in international travel and replaced the wandering yen with domestic travel in the Sprinter and the new second home in Ivins, UT. TIMDT and Espresso have carried me along in the planning process, handling cruise booking, airline reservations, travel and evac insurance etc. But, today, here I am at SLC International, on my own, fending for myself. I had better check my long-neglected travel documents before I board the aircraft. Has my passport expired? American Airlines. Salt Lake City to Buenos Aires with connection in Dallas. Next day, 10th, fly to Argentina's southernmost city, a port, Ushuaia, to board L'Austral. Two days sailing the Drake passage. Six days plying the inlets of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. Two days sailing back to Ushuaia on the Drake Passage, arriving 20 January 2023.

Above: Andes Mountains. 09 January 2023.

From American Airlines, Boeing 777 aircraft, origin Dallas destination Buenos Aires. Near tri-border of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Its summer in the southern hemisphere. Sixteen thousand foot plus mountain peaks carry snow throughout the year!

Above: Plaza de la Republica. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 09 January 2023.

Two weeks ago, this plaza teemed with over 5 million people celebrating Argentina's victory in the World Cup.

Espresso, whose flight arrived from Miami just before mine, met me at the airport. We shared a hired car which took us to the cruise sponsored Sofitel Hotel. This is not my first trip to BA. After finishing a motorcycle trip in Patagonia in 2013, I flew from Ushuaia to meet TIMDT in BA where we embarked on a Regent cruise from BA to Valparaiso, Chile.

Above: Happiness Restaurant. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 09January 2023.

When in Argentina, follow the practice of Espresso, Bishop and Ed. Eat beef. Here, pictured, entrana (skirt steak). Ed, an Argentine, and Espresso were work mates on Citibank's international inspection team back in the 70's. I met Expresso, in 1973 when his Citibank inspection team did a review of Citibank Calcutta, where I was operations manager. This Antarctica trip kind of squares the circle for Espresso and me. Expresso and I started our relationship with an adventure trip following the bank inspection. Together we rode elephants into the high grasses of Kaziranga National Park in Assam where we saw the rare, endangered Indian white rhinoceros.

Here at lunch Ed gave us a comprehensive rundown on life in Argentina today. Argentina, a country of great bounty and unfulfilled promise.

Above: Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 737. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 10 January 2023.

Ushuaia bound.

Above: Lamb barbeque. Las Cotorras Restaurant, Ushuaia, Argentina. 10 January 2023.

Cruise sponsored lunch to help kill time between 10:00 AM arrival in Ushuaia and 4:00 PM boarding of Ponant's expedition vessel, L'Austral.

I rarely go out of my way to eat lamb, but the crispy, barbequed lamb cuts, served to pluck from a large basket, were terrific.

Above: Ushuaia, Argentina port. 10 January 2023.

Ponant's L'Austral is the grey ship at left. L'Austral is a luxury expedition vessel. L'Austral is small enough to negotiate Antarctician bays and inlets, but large enough to have luxury staterooms and top, level French cuisine food, and entertainment. The vessel was designed for polar cruising with a reinforced hull to negotiate iceberg strewn waters. Most of our cruises, to date, have been on Regent, Silver Sea, or Seaborn 500 passenger cruise ships. L'Austral has space for 200 passengers and 150 crew. While many larger cruise vessels cross the Drake Passage and explore the Antarctic coastline, as governed by the Antarctic Treaty, only vessels the size of L'Austral or smaller are allowed to deploy passengers ashore.

Above: Tricolor and Espresso on stern sixth level deck of L'Austral. 10 January 2023.

Welcome cocktail party on departure. Sailing east bound on the Beagle Channel. Hoping to resurrect a bit of my long dormant French language ability, I look forward to the French flavor of life on L'Austral over the next ten days. Captain Marchesseau gave a welcome address to the passengers alternating ably between English and French.

Above: Cabin, deck six, L'Austral. 10 January 2023.

My little house for the next ten days.