Meet the M/V Plancius. She’s a refurbished scientific research vessel, given a full once over about three years ago. She holds 110 passengers along with about 40 crew (including the expedition leaders — the science and nature guides). She’s not a huge ship, but she’s not the littlest cruise ship you can take to Antarctica …
In preparing for my trip to Antarctica, I’ve asked previous travelers to share their best advice for my adventure. I’ve been looking for stuff outside the tour material — which is all good, mind you, but not too terribly insightful. I want to know what travelers wish they had, or would do differently, or just …
Pictured: Gadgets and whatnots for my blogging trip to Antarctica. Uke tuner: I tune because I care. Sopranino ukulele. From the delightful Maggie, this little uke is to remain shipboard with the crew after my journey. Cable 1: For the Nikon battery charger Cable 2: For the external hard drive Battery 1: Extended battery for …
Earlier this season, the Clelia II — an Antarctica expedition cruise ship — was rocked by big waves and lost an engine. There was some damage, the ship was escorted back to Ushuaia and trips were canceled. The best and most important part of the story is that no one was hurt, though I imagine …
We did not mean to sit so still, but we had plenty of time. Why would we rush around to see everything when we could stay as long as we wanted? The stone house was cold in the morning. We stayed under piles of blankets until we could hear the fire. Then, we went to …
I am very fond of rough beaches in less than ideal weather, of gray sand and salt spray, of decaying giant trees and screaming gulls and beach communities in the off season. This morning I joined my friend Knox for coffee at Alki Beach. The air was thick with fog, the beach was almost empty, …