Recently returned from one of those "trip of a lifetime" "bucket list" trips and it was a doozy!
We went on an Antarctica expedition, something I've been wanting to do since I was about ten years old.
Flew into Santiago, Chile and spent the night at a hotel. Next morning we were taken to the airport for the flight down to Punta Arenas to board the ship.
Problem: during the night they took all our baggage to the airport for the usual bulk checkin, but the trucks hauling the bags were hijacked at gunpoint. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but the truck with the most bags (over 300 of them) was taken. The police recovered it a few hours later, empty. So apart from not much more than my camera, binoculars, and a few odds and ends in my backpack, we lost everything. Same for about ⅔ of the passengers on the ship.
We flew on to Punta Arenas, except for about 30 people who decided they couldn't deal with this and went straight back home.
Now imagine over 200 desperate people descending on the small number of shops in this extreme southern Chilean city, where we were given three hours to shop for clothing, toiletries, equipment, etc.
We made a good fist of it, but really didn't succeed too well, so they delayed our sailing for nearly a day so we could go back and shop some more the next morning.
Equipped with at least minimal levels, although a far cry from the good stuff we had carefully accumulated during our preparations at home, we enjoyed the trip immensely. I think it helped that so many other passengers were in the same shape.
On the way down we even got to make a landing at Cape Horn and visit the monument and station there. We heard that only about one in ten trips has good enough conditions to do that. Actually, we had extremely good luck crossing the Drake Passage in both directions. The captain referred to it as the Drake Lake.
It's hard to believe how many penguins (they're EVERYWHERE) and how much fun they are to watch. Of course, lots of other birds, seals, whales, etc.
First lesson learned: Try to stay upwind of a penguin colony. They become quite noticeable once you're within a quarter mile.
The whole trip was just fantastic. I got to camp out in a tent overnight on the peninsula, and we went swimming (the Polar Plunge) in one spot. Great fun.
Spent three days in the Falkland Islands before returning to Chile, another place I've long wanted to see. Well worth it, and we enjoyed that greatly.
After returning to Santiago, we spent an extra day there on our own. Beautiful city, although in sad shape right now after all the recent rioting. Wonderful, friendly people though, as you would expect.
It will take some time to process the insurance claims, but looking back on the total experience I would do it again in a heartbeat.
We went on an Antarctica expedition, something I've been wanting to do since I was about ten years old.
Flew into Santiago, Chile and spent the night at a hotel. Next morning we were taken to the airport for the flight down to Punta Arenas to board the ship.
Problem: during the night they took all our baggage to the airport for the usual bulk checkin, but the trucks hauling the bags were hijacked at gunpoint. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but the truck with the most bags (over 300 of them) was taken. The police recovered it a few hours later, empty. So apart from not much more than my camera, binoculars, and a few odds and ends in my backpack, we lost everything. Same for about ⅔ of the passengers on the ship.
We flew on to Punta Arenas, except for about 30 people who decided they couldn't deal with this and went straight back home.
Now imagine over 200 desperate people descending on the small number of shops in this extreme southern Chilean city, where we were given three hours to shop for clothing, toiletries, equipment, etc.
We made a good fist of it, but really didn't succeed too well, so they delayed our sailing for nearly a day so we could go back and shop some more the next morning.
Equipped with at least minimal levels, although a far cry from the good stuff we had carefully accumulated during our preparations at home, we enjoyed the trip immensely. I think it helped that so many other passengers were in the same shape.
On the way down we even got to make a landing at Cape Horn and visit the monument and station there. We heard that only about one in ten trips has good enough conditions to do that. Actually, we had extremely good luck crossing the Drake Passage in both directions. The captain referred to it as the Drake Lake.
It's hard to believe how many penguins (they're EVERYWHERE) and how much fun they are to watch. Of course, lots of other birds, seals, whales, etc.
First lesson learned: Try to stay upwind of a penguin colony. They become quite noticeable once you're within a quarter mile.
The whole trip was just fantastic. I got to camp out in a tent overnight on the peninsula, and we went swimming (the Polar Plunge) in one spot. Great fun.
Spent three days in the Falkland Islands before returning to Chile, another place I've long wanted to see. Well worth it, and we enjoyed that greatly.
After returning to Santiago, we spent an extra day there on our own. Beautiful city, although in sad shape right now after all the recent rioting. Wonderful, friendly people though, as you would expect.
It will take some time to process the insurance claims, but looking back on the total experience I would do it again in a heartbeat.
