Friday & Saturday, January 3rd & 4th - Travel and Boarding

Up early to swing past the bank and buy some tip money. Judi Glass arrived on time to drive Jessica and I to John Wayne. Kim and Gina met us there after taking a Lyft because of Gina's lung condition.

Jessica and I must have stood in the standard security line for 20 minutes because the PreCheck line was not well marked. One we realized our error we breezed right in.

Our flight to Dallas was uneventful. There we met up with Stewart and Valerie who's friend gave them a ride from Ft Worth. We all boarded the plane for the 10˝ hour flight to Buenos Aires. Meg and Reid took different flights from Tucson through Houston to Argentina. Aside from not getting much sleep we arrived in Buenos Aires in good stead.

We waited to deplane, then stood in a considerable line to pass through Argentine customs, then collected our checked baggage, then had to run that through a security scanner again, then finally found the Princess representative to hand off our bags, wait in line to board the bus, travel nearly an hour to the cruise port, and take a number and wait again for onboard check-in. Finally, number "21" was called and we breezed through collecting our medallions.

From there we had to pass through customs a second time to "leave" the country. Then it was downstairs to catch a shuttle bus to the ship. We passed through a final check to get on board.

Everyone to their cabins to drop off backpacks and purses, then David, Jessica, Stewart, Valerie, Meg and Reid met in the Food Jammer for a quick, late lunch. From there we broke up to complete muster station duty and agreed to meet in the Vivaldi dining room for dinner.

This day is becoming very long with the lack of sleep and the five hour timezone change to mess with your sleep cycle. We received a delightful face time call from granddaughter Emma. John showed her on their globe our progress so far.

Everyone present for dinner, a wonderful meal enjoyed by all. Gina, Kim, Meg and Reid went off to play trivia, while David, Jessica, Stewart and Valerie took in the show in the main theater. This show featured a couple of acrobats, but instead of flips and cartwheels or a trapeze, it was mostly feats of strength and balance in slow motion, while wearing taupe colored leotards so it appeared that the man and woman were wearing nothing at all. They also demonstrated that they could twirl and balance a 5' framework cube with amazing dexterity.

We came back to our room to find the last of our luggage had been delivered, and we set about unpacking. Our cabin steward must be wondering about his guests in B309 after we placed late evening calls for both an ice bucket and additional clothes hangers. He was Johhny on the spot.

Looking forward to touring Buenos Aires tomorrow before the sail away.

David, Valerie, Stewart, Jessica, Reid and Meg, onboard the Sapphire Princess

First night's entertainment onboard the Sapphire Princess

Sunday, January 5th - Buenos Aires

Jessica and I slept pretty hard last night, getting up with the 6:00a alarm (1:00a in California). We met Stewart and Valerie in the Windjammer for breakfast, then grouped up with the Whitelaws and Silverns in the Wheelhouse Bar for our excursion. We were all on the same bus, Red 11.

It turns out that Buenos Aires was originally called "Our Lady of Fair Wind" (in Spanish). Our first stop was at a cemetery called "La Recoleta", that happens to be the burial site of Eva Perón. Very old and elaborate. Row upon row of mauseleoums, each one more ornate than the last, with no room for lawns or plants, kind of like a miniature city.

Our second stop was the mandatory tourist trap. Zillions of little shops, but not the hyper-agressive hucksters found in some countries (I'm thinking Egypt and Mexico here). We finally broke down and bought a refrigerator magnet for Jessica's collection. At one point along our walk a woman in a tango costume approached me to put on a fedora and have my picture taken with her knee raised up to my chin. I declined.

We then took an extended bus ride through the city, stopping at the main city square. They have one big flag there, second to the one that used to fly in Ensenada. I was asked if my watch was a Rolex (it's a Seiko), as that could present a problem from the local theives. I didn't know if I should be flattered or worried.

Next stop was the restaurant with the tango show. We got our own table for eight. Delicious salad and a wonderful steak! Flan for dessert, very tasty. The tango dancing show was excellent. A four piece band (piano, guitar, bass and concertina), and a dozen talented dancers and singers. The key to tango dancing seems to be how high the girl can lift her leg during each twirl. Quite a show, with a lot of singing and dancing! One guy was able to swing two bolas stones at the ends of ribbons around at a speed that defied reality. This show was much longer than I expected, but was very well done and appreciated by the tourists. Jessica tried talking to me about tango lessons, but I'm certain that's not happening.

We took the bus back to the cruise port and had to run the same security gauntlet and shuttle bus ride as yesterday. There was a meeting of the Facebook users who are on this cruise up on 14 aft, but the only ones I knew were in our party and I left to read my book. Jessica joined me on our balcony. Dinner time neared and everyone agreed we were still full from the fabulous lunch, so we decided to go to Skywalkers for the Elite reception. Everyone there but Gina. I found myself dozing during the conversation and headed back to the cabin to lie down. Jessica texted me and invited me to Movie Miskwotes Trivia in the Club Fusion lounge with Stewart, Valerie, Meg and Reid. We scored 21 out of 23 (23 was necessary for first).

Meg and Reid have the cabin next to ours. Jessica has taken to talking to them over the partition between our balconies.

Off to Explorer's to play a new game, "You Be the Judge". The assistant cruise directors hammed it up as British judges, presenting the most ludicrous lawsuits to ever be filed, and the audience had to guess if the outcome of the case was guilty or not guilty. It taught us (Dave, Jessica, Meg and Valerie) something about the failures of the legal system.

From there the same group went to the Princess Theater to listen to a musician play oldie rock songs on his piano. He was accomplished, but I think my son, John, is probably just as good.

After the performance Jessica wanted something to eat, but we found out the hard way all those little eateries close at 10:00p. We ended up ordering a plate of French fries via room service. Jessica seemed very pleased with this solution.

Tomorrow is a day at sea, with an early morning talk about Antarctica.

At the Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires	Eva Perón's tomb
Stewart and Valerie with hanging meat	The gang at the Tango Show
Tango dances in our show

Monday, January 6th - Sea Day

We wanted to attend the Antarctica lecture this morning at 9:00a, so up at 7:30a so we can have breakfast in the dining room. We sat with a lovely couple from Texas, who we found out are going on the same Northern Lights cruise we are scheduled for later this year. A very tasty breakfast. 

We hustled to the Princess Theater for the Antarctic talk. There were two presentations, the first was an outline for all the future talks. The second was a recap of the history of Antarctica exploration, very well presented. 

Jessica and I met in Deck 14 for lunch and I read my book for a while. Then Jessica and I attended a discussion on our first port of call, Punta Arenas, Chile.

Jessica and I rushed down to Club Fusion for a trivia contest. This is the "progressive" style, where scores are added each day. We bombed this round, but I think most teams fared about as well. 

Then it was time to surrender our passports. "Why?", you may ask. Aren't you at sea? Apparently Chile wants a record of everyone who even cruises near their country. 

I also took a nap somewhere along the way, still getting used to the time change. Then more trivia (the more traditional sort). We scored 18/20, but I think you had to be perfect to win.

Jessica and I got dressed for formal night, then posed for photographs (I'm told these will be used next Christmas).

Everyone on hand for dinner in the formal dining room. Meg is complaining that her jaw has been bothering her. She even visited the ship's doctor. Dinner was very good. After the meal we played "Sitcom" trivia which was put together by someone who did not know exactly what a sitcom was and depended on Google to help them form the questions and answers. One question was about sitcom secondary characters: "What sitcom has secondary characters named Larry and Carl?" We guessed she meant The Simpsons and that she likely meant Lenny and Carl. We ended up scoring 20/25, out of the money. We then took in the Bravo show in the Princess Theater (lots of show tunes), then watched Meg and Gina fail at the Yes/No game show, and finally we watched the "Higher/Lower" game show where the correct strategey appeared to be, "make your best, carefully considered and educated guess, then say the opposite." This would have worked 80% of the time.

We got back to our cabin and watched a recorded talk about the three different claims on who exactly discovered Antarctica. Very interesting.

Tomorrow is another day.

Tuesday, January 7th - Sea Day

Slept pretty hard. Jessica and I arrived in the dining room just before 9:00a for breakfast. Very nice meal. Jessica and I then joined Kim in Explorer's Lounge to watch the capitan's presentation on Antarctica. He gave us a preview of the next several days. It really does set up the anticipation. Most entertaining!

After this i set up my chess set on the Promenade and played a game against a retired psychiatrist. It was actually more a lesson than a game.

Lunch with Kim and Stewart and a couple from Florida who were very into SCUBA. Stewart eagerly talked with them.

We then went to progressive trivia and added a couple from Scotland to our team. We did slightly better this round, and today's score was added to our running total.

I set my chess set back up on the Promenade, then Jessica asked me to come to the purser's desk so that she has access to my folio. I'm concerned she will see how much time I'm spending in the casino. So far, my only opponent has been Reid, who promptly rolled over for me. 

We played another round of trivia,  coming up short, not knowing the name of Proxima Centauri.

Everyone present for dinner. I'm trying the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. Another wonderful meal.

After dinner we all went to Twisted Tricky Trivia. We scored 17/20, good for a tie for first, which we won on tiebreaker! To call these "trivia" questions is being generous. Some of the questions involved the host making sounds with just his mouth, and you having to identify what he was trying to imitate (a didgeridoo).

Stewart and I played some chess (he shows real potential), while Jessica, Gina, Valerie, and Meg played card games. Then the next trivia game started, a Jeopardy! look alike. We could have won, but we got sloppy on a couple of questions, answering "Crusades" for "100 Yeas War" (Kim should have been firm), and writing one correct answer in the wrong box (this last one was particularly embarrassing). Still we had a good time.

Still not 100% used to the time change, but it's a lot better.

More tomorrow.

Jet lag catching up to Jessica at dinner time

Wednesday, January 8th - Sea Day

Up around 8:30a and down to the International Cafe for yogurt, croissants, coffee and orange juice. Reid joined us there. 

Zechiels, Silverns and Whitelaws all present for morning trivia, where we scored 17/21, good for first place. Afterward, I set up my chessmen on the Promenade, hoping for a game, but so far, no luck.

Just before lunch a chess player from Washington DC happened along. He played well and just managed to win our first game. I then buckled down and beat him soundly in the next two games.

I had lunch in the International Restaurant with a lovely couple from Australia. Fish and chips on the menu, pretty tasty.

We conveniened for another round of progressive trivia, doing OK (who knew the Detroit Lions went oh-fer in 2008?)

Back on the Promenade trolling for chess games and reading my book. One of the ship's workers gave me a good game. I was killing him when he managed to rally and make it close, but I prevailed.

Several guests involved in an alphabetical scavenger hunt have stopped by to have their pictures taken with one of my chess queens ('Q').

Another guest challenged me to a game and I won handily. He wanted to play another but I was called away to more trivia. 

We scored 10/20 (some impossible questions) out of the money. We were then required to go to our cabins to recieve a xerox copy of our own passports. We will hand them over to the Chilean authorities during our excursion tomorrow.

Jessica and I met Stewart and Valerie in Skywalkers before dinner for drinks. A very nice little get together. Everyone present and accounted for at dinner. The coconut shrimp was to die for. Another excellent meal. 

From there it was off to the Explorer's Lounge for "What Tha Heck" trivia. Our team was in rare form, scoring 27/30, for first place and a bottle of champagne. 

After trivia, Jessica went up to our cabin while I set my chess set up again on the Promenade. The same guy I played earlier in the day and lost to showed up and I beat him in five straight games. I'm sure I will see him again during the cruise. 

Back in the cabin, Jessica and I watched videos of the enrichment talks given earlier in the day. 

Tomorrow is our first port of call. 

Thursday, January 9th - Punta Arenas, Chile

Late last night we must have passed into the Southern Ocean, as there was new movement throughout the ship. It was like being rocked to sleep. Every once in a while a wave big enough to be felt would slam against the hull.

Slept until about 9:00a then we joined the Silverns and the Leicesters in the Foodjammer for breakfast. We are anchored at Punta Arenas, Chile. We will take a tender into port.

Meg, Reid, Jessica and Dave went to trivia at 10:00a. We scored 18/21 (20 needed for first).

I set my chessboard up on the Promenade and read my book, "The Invention of Murder". It is very interesting. I think everyone must have gone ashore, as there's no foot traffic to speak of on the Promenade this morning.

Jessica and I are headed to the International Cafe for a quick bite before going ashore and joining our excursion.

Meg, Reid, Stewart, Valerie, Jessica and I took the tender to shore (Kim and Gina booked their own, private tour). About a 10 minute ride in the tender. When coming ashore, the first thing one must do is run the gauntlet of peddlers (however, these people are subdued, unlike other places). We have about 15 minutes to kill before our excursion starts.

It is brisk out! I'm glad we dressed warmly. We got checked in for our excursion and boarded our bus by 1:15p. We met our driver Hector (who was introduced as "Victor", but soon corrected), and Erick, our guide.

Our first stop was an overlook of the city of "Sandy Point" (the English translation). This provided good views of the town and the coast. We could see the Sapphire Princess. 

The second stop was a cemetery where we learned about the wealthy families that helped to found the area, how they competed, and eventually intermarried.

The third stop was an outdoor museum that reminds one of Heritage Hill on steroids. Many old buildings have been relocated to this site and filled with antique vehicles and equipment. So many old sewing machines, vintage cars, agricultural equipment, wagons, etc. Even antique movie projectors, so many old clocks, an apothecary and lots more. 

The next stop was a more traditional museum put together by the Catholic Church. This museum emphasized the colonization of the area (including about the indigenous peoples), along with many examples of the local fauna. The Andean condors were very impressive. A good display of penguins, as well.

Stop 5 was the Monument to Magellan. This was constructed in 1920 to honor the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Straits. One of the figures has his foot low enough such that people can reach up to his toe, which is highly polished because people rub it for luck. We picked up the obligatory refrigerator magnet with "Punta Arenas" and a penguin image on it.

It was a short drive back to the tender boat. We were among the last on board. Long lines to pass through security. Since we were one floor down from the dining room, everyone just hauled all of their stuff up to the table. The appetizers looked so good I ordered four of them. The chilled cherry soup was wonderful! The entire meal (wok fried shrimp) and desert was super! I simply don't understand what compells people to spend additional dollars on "speciality" dining on this ship.

Jessica and I dropped all of our stuff in our cabin, then joined Meg, Gina and Reid in the Explorer's Lounge for "Where in the World" trivia. We scored 22/25, a perfect 25 was necessary for first. 

Once again I set up my chessmen on the Promenade. A guy from Argentina played a couple of games of blitz with me (I won both). Another player from Argentina (this one spoke almost no English) tried his luck. I won three games from him. The same employee I played earlier came back for more, and after a couple of defeats he took the last game! Again, I beat myself. I need to be less reckless when playing him in the future. I also met a chessplayer named Casey from Las Vegas. He was experienced, but not very good. I beat him in several games.

When I got back to the room, I found out that Jessica had accidentally locked us out of the room safe. We plan to call the desk in the morning to get this resolved.

Tomorrow we take a ride in a catamaran to see penguins!

Dave, Jessica, Reid, Stewart, Valerie and Meg at the Punta Arenas lookout (the wind was really blowing)
Jessica rubbing the toe of the indigenous Ona	Stewart and Valerie under statue of Ferdinand Magellan
This shows we crossed the Strait of Magellan	Kim and Gina on their own adventure in Puntas Arenas

Friday, January 10th - Ushuaia, Argentina

Up around 9:00a. While Jessica was getting ready I was able to fix the room safe. We went down to 10:00a trivia with Meg, Reid, Valerie, Kim and Gina. We scored 20/21, good for first place.

Jessica and I got a bite in the FoodJammer, then I came back to the cabin while Jessica played games.

A little after noon Jessica joined me and we prepared for our excursion by bundling up and taking a motion sickness pill. We looked like Eskimos. I hope it works. We are off to the staging area. We are visiting Ushuaia, the southermost city in the world.

Meg, Reid, Gina and Kim finally arrived and we disembarked to take the long walk down the pier to where the catamaran was tied up. The offered seats on the upper deck to Jessica,  Meg, Reid and me, but Jessica chose not to sit (to be fair, it was cramped and warm). A couple arrived ahead of us and took the two window seats (I was seated on the other side of the woman, and had a pretty good view. Once we were underway, the crew allowed people to go outside, and many took advantage of this. The side effect was some people walked along the deck to the railing right outside our window. The woman next to me immediately started banging on the window to shoo the sightseers out of her way. She did this every time someone wandered into her line of sight. When we looked at her askance, she said, "I paid good money for these tickets!" I was tempted to point out that everyone else did as well, but held my tongue. Her husband tried to reason with her, but to no effect. He finally went outside himself, I think mostly to distance himself from her.

We motored down a long narrow passage between Chile and Argentina called the Beagle Channel. Our first point of interest was a small rock that was infested with South American terns. So many seagulls. The rock was completely white in color, except at the waterline.

The temperature is cool, but not cold. We are vastly overdressed. My guess, is that when we transit the Drake Passage, we will need all the additional clothing.

The next stop was a 100 year old lighthouse, and a shipwreck (that you could not see, but we were assured was there under the waves). The lighthouse is not that large. On the island with the lighthouse are sea lions and, what I think are a zillion cormorants. 

Our third stop was about an hour's travel east. This is where we find the penguins. There is a strict protocol for viewing the flightless birds: you queue up aft then move up the port side to take your pictures. When the call to "rotate" is made, everyone moves in a clockwise motion, with the people forward going down the starboard side, the people port moving forward, and those aft moving up port. You are allowed to remain in the queue to have multiple opportunities to see/photograph the penguins. 

We then headed back. This seemed to be about a 90 minute trek. Interestingly enough, the people working on the boat have cleaned the windows three times that I have witnessed. And the windows seemed just fine when they cleaned them the first time. They really want you to enjoy the view. OK, they just washed the windows a fourth time. And a fifth. And a sixth! This guy must be paid by the window.

On our way back we encountered an ancient shipwreck. We circled around it so people could take pictures.

After the shipwreck we ran into a pod of whales. We spent about 15 minutes circling. They kept popping up in different places, but never where you were pointing your camera.

We then headed back to port at over 20mph. Valerie and Stewart are in a boat ahead of ours, and they ended up ashore just ahead of us, despite starting much earlier. 

Dinner was just me, Jessica, Gina and Kim in the dining room. Leg of lamb, very tasty!

Jessica and I lugged all of our foul weather gear up to our cabin, then left to attend the 9:30p show in the Princess Theater. It featured an impressionist, Jeff Tracta. He was really quite talented, and managed to sound like a large range of performers, but he needs to work more humor into his act, rather than depend wholly on sounding like others.

We got back to our cabin exhausted. Tomorrow is another sea day.

Comorants everywhere you look	The island with the World's southernmost lighthouse, covered in birds
Jessica encounters some sea lions
Dave and Jessica encounter the first of many penguines

Saturday. January 11th - Sea Day

Up at 8:40a to hustle down to the dining room for breakfast with Kim, Gina, Meg and Valerie. A simple, but very nice, meal.

Reported for trivia at 10:00a where we scored 13/20, well out of the money.  Set up my chessboard on the Promenade and got one game from an Asian woman who followed the old chess adage, "Don't move your man until you have touched every other man twice."

Jessica wants us to have a special lunch in "Vines" (sushi). We are dining with Reid, Kim, Stewart and Valerie. The meal was very good, consisting of sushi, a roll, some edemame, and a salad. I really enjoyed it.

I set my chessmen up again on the Promenade, while the art auction was taking place next door in the Explorer's Lounge. The auctioneer is especially smooth and glib. I can't imagine purchasing art on a cruise ship, but there certainly are others who disagree with me. Just the extensive list of rules and regulations that they read prior to the start of the auction is enough to dissuade me from getting involved.

Progressive trivia time again. Our team scored 8/10 in this round. Kim's team was perfect, 10/10. I think we are in fourth place among the competing teams.

One more time putting up the chessboard. One of the guys I played a couple of days ago was back for revenge. I won the first game, he then beat me two games in a row, then I won the next two. I look forward to playing him more. I gotta hand it to him, he doesn't get discouraged by a loss.

Time for more trivia. Gina, Meg, Jessica and I choked big time, scoring 11/20 (winning score was 15). Just for fun: what is the word for the fear of cooking?

This was formal night, so Jessica and I swung by our cabin to get dressed up. In the dining room they didn't have our regular table available, so they broke us up into two tables of four. We divided our group by sex. Everyone at our table (Kim, Stewart, Reid and David) had the lobster tail. After dinner we tried to see the big show in the Princess Theater, but it was sold out. A decision was made to attend Liar's Club, but only David, Jessica and Meg were here. The words were pretty silly (as were the definitions), but we managed to correctly identify three of the four of them. 

Jessica and I headed to the Princess Theater for the singing and dancing show. Stewart and Valerie met us there. It was pretty high energy, and used more than one song that "Weird Al" has parodied.

A quick trip back to Explorer's for the Tribond game. This was just me and Jessica on our team. We scored 16/20, good to tie for first place, however we lost on tiebreaks by not knowing the year three obscure albums were released (1993).

Headed back to our cabin we discovered our second load of laundry had been cleaned and returned! Complimentary laundry is perhaps the best benefit of reaching "Elite" status on Princess.

We enter Antarctica waters either late tonight or tomorrow. So far the sailing has been very good, despite noticing some distinct motion of the ship. We hope to take some spectacular pictures tomorrow. It's midnight and still light outside.

Sunday, January 12th - Arrive at Antarctica

This morning we could see the continent of Antarctica! Pretty amazing! After some time we headed down to the dining room for breakfast with Kim and Gina. This morning they have set only half of each table such that when you are dining you have an unobstructed view out the window! Very cool!

Well, the ocean is filled with icebergs. We spent quite a bit of time on our balcony taking pictures.

At 10:00a trivia with Jessica, Gina, Kim, Reid, and Meg. We scored 16/20, 19 took first.

We spent the rest of the morning on Decks 14 and 15 admiring the Antarctic coast. Breathtaking, and very cold. We had to bundle up with caps, scarves, gloves and, of course, coats. We spotted a couple of whales right alongside the ship and were able to observe them for a several minutes. 

At noon Stewart, Valerie, Jessica and David went into the Foodjammer for a quick bite and to warm up. After lunch I decided to take a nap. I dozed until 4:00p trivia. We scored 19/20, good for first place.

Jessica and I went back to our cabin and watched the first enrichment presentation on Shackleton. To this day Ernst Shackleton is held up as the ideal leader when the going gets tough.

While there we saw penguins and whales from our balcony. When I heard we were spending extra money on a balcony, I wasn't sure this was a good idea. But, it turns out to have been a good decision, as it allows you unlimited access to terrific views without jostling with the hoi polloi.

Dinner in the dining room was for only six only (Meg and Reid opted for the buffet). The steak was delicious and the Chocolate Caramel Tart was the best.

Jessica and I went to see the magician in the Princess Theater. It was filled enough that she had to sit behind me. The guy was only OK. I felt most of his "magic" was predictable. 

We attended the Majority Rules game with Meg, Gina and Reid. Finished way out of the money, scoring exactly one point. Here's one of the questions: "What do you think may get you out of a traffic ticket?"

We attended Soundtrack Trivia and accomplished a feeble 10/19. We should have recognized "Psycho" and "The Avengers".

No chess today, there's just too much scenery.

Jessica and I watched a second documentary about Ernest Shackleton.

Our first sighting of Antarctica	Stewart, Valerie and Jessica admire Antarctica
Reid espies Antarctica from his balcony
Breath taking view from our balcony
One of the many oddly shaped icebergs we encountered	Dave and Jessica on our balcony the first day in Antarctica
Sea lion foreground, research ship background	Sunset at 11:43p in Antarctica

Monday, January 13th - Second Day in Antarctica

This morning the Sapphire Princess brought on board some researchers who are living on the Antarctic continent. The agreement is that Princess gives these people a hot shower and a good meal, and then those folks give a presentation to the ship's company and it's win-win. They made an announcement over the PA at about 7:45a telling everyone that they had been taken aboard. Jessica and I prepared to attend this talk.

We breakfasted in the Foodjammer with a couple from Florida. We then joined Reid in the Princess Theater for the presentation. The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is the organization represented. Three women (from Yorkshire, London and Edinburgh) talked about the history of the area of Port Lockroy, which was founded in 1944. These people are professional penguin counters, keeping track of the penguin population since 1996. This trust is active in preserving these original buildings and shipwrecks (think the Endurance) as sort of a museum for future generations. The presentation ended in a sales pitch for genuine Antarctic tchotchkes, proceeds which are used to support the UKAHT. This was followed by a typical Q&A. It turns out that they do allow a limited number of visitors on shore to visit these restored buildings (but not from our ship).

I met up with Jessica and everyone has agreed to get together on the top deck in order to pose for a group photo. Everyone present and accounted for on deck 15. We found a photographer and he took many pictures. We will see if any are worth buying.

Jessica and I had lunch in the dining room with a couple from Arizona and a guy from LA. The view from the dining room is spectacular! The nearness and size of these ice covered cliffs defies description. 

From there Jessica and I went to Club Fusion to take place in the "Identify the Faces" competition. It's too bad that there were no other players, as Jessica successfully identified all of them. The host even came over to talk with us during the game, as we seemed to be a lock to win. Even he was impressed with Jessica's good eye.

We went back to our cabin to drop off our coats and I grabbed my chess set. I set it up on the Promenade, hoping for a game. One of the ship's photographers just stopped by to introduce himself as "Camillo" and said he wanted to play chess with me. He said he would return in 15 minutes, and he did return. I won two games, and we were in the middle of game three when he had to go back to work. A passenger that I had played the other day wanted to try his luck again. I beat him in three games, pretty badly. He might be good for more, but I'm not certain.

I joined Jessica, Meg. Gina, and Valerie for high tea. Very nice. Next up was still more trivia, this time with Meg, Gina, and Jessica. We scored 12/20, out of the money. I'm surprised this is so popular with our group. 

I played Hayden again, winning the first two, then conceding the game in an equal position in order to go to dinner with Jessica. I think Hayden appreciated that.

Just the two of us for the dining room this evening. Everyone else is up in the buffet where they are serving fish and chips. Jessica had the pot roast, I went for the cod.

Played some more chess, winning all. Then played "What was their name?", with Stewart, Valerie, Meg, Gina and Jessica. We scored 15/20, good for first. Just for fun, who changed their name to "Louisville Lip"? I thought for sure it was Leo Durocher, but not even close.

Jessica, Gina, Meg and I looked in on the Generation Gap game. It was pretty lame and I left to play more chess. I went 2/3 against one of the better opponents. I then played another cruiser 4 or 5 games, winning them all.

Came back to the cabin at 10:20p to find Jessica sacked out.

Tomorrow is our third day in Antarctica. 

Cliffs on the Antarctic Peninsula
Our group poses for the ship's photographer in Antarctica
This is the discount cruise line to Antarctica	Fractures in an Antarctic glacier
Low hanging clouds over the Antarctic snowpack	Lots and lots of icebergs

Tuesday, January 14th - Third Day in Antarctica

Woke up this morning and it's snowing! Jessica and I had breakfast in the dining room with a couple from the UK. Out the window you could see we were passing large icebergs lousy with penguins. 

Jessica and I attended the 10:00a trivia with Meg, Reid, Gina and Kim. We scored 17/20, you had to score 20 for first.

I set up my chessmen and had a nice talk with Valerie while waiting for an opponent. An older gentleman challenged me and quickly lost twice. He seemed to realize he was in over his head. A guy from LA named Dan asked to play. He was experienced (wanted to play with the clock) but not that strong. I beat him six or seven straight games. I played another guy from Buenos Aires named Alejandro. I was 4-2 against him. He's probably the strongest player I have met on board.

Jessica collected me and we went up to Deck 15 to admire the glaciers and freeze our tuchuses' off. Aparently there are three kinds of icebergs: "Icebergs", "Bergy Bits" and "Growlers". Very beautiful, but a breeze that bites. It was so cold that I decided I would get an Irish coffee. When I moved to the front of the line, the guy told me he had run out of coffee, and to come back later. Later I returned, made my way to the front, and was told he ran out of Baileys. I should have asked for plain coffee. Stewart and Valerie joined me and Jessica in Skywalkers for the Elite reception (pretty good Buffalo wings) and a nice view, where we saw towering glaciers, much taller than our ship.

We all showed up for dinner, but, once again they split us into two tables of four. Jessica and I sat with Stewart and Valerie. Gina brought the champagne that we won at trivia and everyone shared. Jessica and I both ordered the Surf and Turf dish. It was very tasty. 

Jessica begrudgingly attended the show with me in the Princess Theater. It was a female singer, Rechell Sears. She had a wonderful voice, but seemed to talk a lot between songs.

We were back in our cabin by 8:30p. Tomorrow is our last day in Antarctica, we will be visiting Elephant Island, where the crew members of the Endurance were marooned while Shackleton went for rescue. To this day Ernest Shackleton is held up as an excellent commander and the ideal of leadership. 

Jessica keeping warm while enjoying the scenery
A beautiful day in Antarctica	More icebergs, some of them huge!
Where the glacier has calved
Low clouds don't prevent people from bundling up and admiring the view

Wednesday, January 15th - Fourth and Last Day in Antarctica

Jessica was up extra early today to watch the scenery from our balcony. We will be departing Antarctica later this morning. Really spectacular views. I rose about 8:00a. We went to the dining room for breakfast and met a guy named Bryce from Utah, and a woman from Oklahoma (who could talk non-stop).

Jessica and I attended trivia with Kim and Gina. We scored 13/20, 18 was winning.

Read on the Promenade. I played Alejandro another game which I squeaked out.

After seeing more icebergs and penguines this morning, we are now headed back to the Drake Passage and the continent of South America. 

Had lunch in the dining room with a couple from Texas and another couple from Florida.

Returned to the Promenade to read my book and look for challengers. A woman, who only spoke Spanish, made it clear she wanted to try her luck. Even though she quickly lost five games, she had a wonderful, upbeat attitude and seemed to enjoy herself. 

The same ship worker I played on the 8th showed up for another game. I won with a cute combination in the endgame. He told me that he had recently played in the ship's chess championship, but had finished behind one of the restaurant workers. I hope to play this other guy before I leave.

Joined Jessica, Gina, Kim, Meg, and Reid for trivia. Scored 17/20, 19 needed for first. Quick question: what country has the highest consumption of coffee per capita?

Jessica, Meg and Dave went up to Skywalkers for oeur d'oeuvers. Then everyone met for dinner in the dining room. Once again we were seated with the Leicesters. This was Italian night.

After dinner I reviewed some checkmating positions with Stewart. Then Jessica and I went to Club Fusion with Gina, Meg and Reid for still more trivia. We scored 28/39 in "Identify the City". 30 was good to win.

Dave, Jessica, Reid, Meg, Stewart and Valerie attended the 9:30p show in the Princess Theater, "Do You Wanna Dance". Another high-energy production of singers (4), and dancers (6). We all loved it.

I bought the group photo of our party with Antarctica in the background and shared it with everyone. Now I just have to collect from them.

Tomorrow is another sea day. 

Gigantic ice berg floats by	Glacier on Elephant Island
Penguines as far as the eye can see	Low clouds over Elephant Island

Thursday, January 16th - Sea Day

As this is a sea day, we slept in (just ocean outside our balcony). We went down to the International Cafe for coffee and croissants. 

Apparently it's time for more trivia. According to Jessica, Gina and Meg, you cannot play too much trivia. Valerie and Kim were also there. We scored 16/20, there was a two way tie for first with a score of 17.

I took my book and chess set to the Promenade. I'm really enjoying the book, "The Invention of Murder".

Hayden showed up for more chess. He redeemed himself somewhat, winning three games out of eight. I think I played a little recklessly against him today. To his credit, he took full advantage.

Jessica said I must be present for the progressive trivia, so I packed up my stuff and headed for Club Fusion. Our team did well this round, scoring 18/20 in world flags (I could have contributed if the flags had been the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Ecuador and maybe Australia or New Zealand, but these were not offered).

Alejandro found me again on the Promenade and we split six games of chess. He's a very nice opponent.

More trivia. Dave, Jessica, Meg, Reid and Stewart scored 15/20. The winning team "scored" 20. Jessica and Gina are convinced this team is brazenly cheating. However, it's difficult to imagine people actively cheating for such chintzy prizes.

Jessica, Stewart, Valerie and I went up to Skywalkers before dinner. Spectacular views (unfortunately, just the ocean now). Then everyone went to the main dining room for dinner. Once again we were split into two tables. Jessica and I sat with Meg and Reid. It was prime rib night. Such a good meal.

After dinner Meg, Gina, Jessica and I went to the Top-Middle-Bottom game show, and we all took a turn playing. Except for answering trivia questions it is 100% chance that you can complete the challenge (and I would put the odds at about 25% chance of success). Meg and I won (but they did give me an extra "life", which put my chances at about 50-50). Gina won, but she took two turns at it. Jessica had bad luck and dropped out early.

Jessica did not care to see the show in the Princess Theater this evening, so we called it an early night and returned to our cabin.

Tomorrow is Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands.

Friday, January 17th - Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Up early as we are going into Port Stanley. We grabbed a quick bite in the International Café before heading to the Wheelhouse Bar where our excursion is departing from. Kim, Gina, Meg and Reid showed up (Stewart and Valerie are taking a later excursion), and we were all assigned to group Orange 8. Our group was finally called and we filled up the tender boat for the trip to shore. It took 45 minutes to fill the tender, and another 20 minutes to get to shore.

We joined our bus (15 tourists) and made the drive to Bluff Cove. Our driver, Andy, thinks he's a comedian. There are many penguin rookeries here and you can walk right up to the little white flags that mark their domain. The penguins do not seem to understand the concept of the white flags and will frequently cross to your side. You are up close and personal with these penguins. There are both King and Gentoo penguins, plus Ruddy-headed Geese.

This land is all privately held, and they have built a small café, museum, and gift shop. There are many "wardens" (identified by their neon green arm bands) whose job it is to answer questions and protect the penguins. The penguins seem to like to throw their weight around. Two males will squawk and charge each other and bump chests. The café has complimentary pastries, coffee and cocoa. Very good quality! We visited the little museum, it had displays on the history of the Falklands. I particularly enjoyed the bit about the 1982 war with Argentina. We bought the obligatory bookmark, refrigerator magnet, and Christmas ornament in their gift shop.

The wind is really blustery. I have nearly lost my cap on several occasions. The main beach in front of the buildings is divided into two parts, half for the tourists, half for the penguins. It's a ways from the rookeries to the point that the penguins jump into the ocean. They could enter closer, but my guess is that the feeding is better down here. Despite the wind, we have had wonderful weather for this entire vacation. Our bus back to port arrived only a minute or two late. As each passenger boarded you were required to present the bottom of your shoes for disinfectant.

After our return to town, we walked up the street to "Groovy's" restaurant for fish and chips. The decore in this place is all rock bands, their names and logos and pictures adorn the walls. We split three orders of fish and chips, and three orders of calamari, four beers, a white wine and a Diet Coke. Very yummy.

Jessica and I opted to take a walk along the main waterfront drag, visiting the little shops and boutiques along the way. We visited a church that was over 100 years old. We also bought postcards and postage to send to select friends and family, and put them in the post box (you will know you are "select", if and when the cards arrive in a few months). We are told these postcards can take up to 18 months to arrive! 

We stood in a longish line to reboard the tender. We were the last two to board our boat, and seating was at a premium.

Got back just in time for trivia with Meg and Gina. We scored 19/20 (we would have scored 20/20 if Jessica didn't override my correct answer), and we finished tied for first, but lost on tiebreaks.  However! this was a good thing, as first prize was Princess wine stoppers (which we have plenty of), and second prize was very nice notebooks, which Jessica really likes.

We brought all of our coats, gloves, hats, etc back to our cabin, then rested up before dinner (which will likely be light). Dinner was with Kim and Gina. We are all still kinda full from lunch. Our waiter, Ahmed, made a pitch for 10's on the Princess post cruise survey. I'm sure we would have given those marks in any case.

I ordered the calamari steak, then the Black Forest chocolate cake for dessert. I'm gonna miss these meals.

After dinner David. Jessica, Meg, Reid and Valerie took in the show in the Princess Theater. It was the same singer impressionist we saw about a week ago with a new show. He's really quite talented, I just wish he had better material.

9:00p and we are back in our cabin. The next two days are sea days, then we make port in Uruguay.

Jessica at the penguine rookery with King penguines
Ome of the Gentoo penguines up close and personal	A mommy King penguine with her chick
The friendly staff at their little café with their home baked goods	David checks out the interior of the most southern Anglican Church in the world
Meg amd Reid at Groovy's restaurant

Saturday, January 18th - Sea Day

Slept until 8:00a. They were offering a photo opportunity with the captain on Deck 7, and Jessica very much wanted to do this. We stood in line for about 10 minutes and met the captain, who is very personable.

We then went up to the Foodjammer where we sat with a man named James from upstate New York. As we were leaving the buffet, I heard someone say to me, "ajederz?" (which I knew was Spanish for "chess?"). He recognized me from the Promenade. I explained in my best pidgin Spanish that I would be on the Promenade around 10:30a. From there we met Meg, Reid, Kim and Gina in Club Fusion for yet another round of trivia. We scored 17/20, which I don't think put us in the money, but I didn't hang around to find out.

I set up my chessboard, and sure enough, the guy (who I have played before) showed up. I beat him in two games convincingly. He's a good loser.

No one was available for lunch, so I joined a table in the dining room with a couple from Hong Kong, a couple from Salt Lake City and a woman from New York City. Everyone was very friendly. 

Jessica and Meg had me come to Club Fusion for the progressive trivia. We scored 8/10 (it should have been 9, but when I suggested that Sicily was the largest island in the Mediterranean, I was overruled by Meg and Jessica, both of whom liked Crete). Question: what nation is known as "The Pearl of Africa"?

I set my board up on the Promenade and continued to read my book, waiting for an opponent to appear. No one wandered by..., but I made real progress in my book.

Jessica and I got changed for formal night and received our passports back at the same time. We tried to visit Skywalkers before dinner, but it was closed due to the Captain's reception this evening.

We are seated with Stewart and Valerie for dinner. It's lobster night! Everyone at our table ordered the lobster. This brings back fond memories of the waiter coming around offering seconds on lobster nights in the past. Nowadays there is a $15 markup for more lobster.

Jessica and I went with Stewart and Valerie to the Captain's Circle Reception in Club Fusion.  This room was very full. We finally found seats at the far edge of the room. The most traveled guests had in excess of 1400 days at sea with Princess. That's nearly four years.

Jessica and I then went to Explorer's Lounge to play the Little White Lies game. This game is similar to "Liar's Club" in that one of three contestants is fibbing, but instead of lying about word definitions, they are lying about previous employment. It was OK.

Jessica and I headed to the Princess Theater to see the big show. It was called, "Let Us Entertain You", and featured ten dancers and four vocalists. Pretty high energy. I caught Jessica dozing off during one of the numbers.

After that we came back to the cabin. They have already provided us with our disembarkation paperwork. Tomorrow is our last sea day.

David and Jessica pose with our wonderful captain, Todd McBain

Sunday, January 19th - Sea Day

Slept until 8:00a. Got coffee and croissants at the International Cafe, then headed to the cooking demonstration in the Princess Theater with Stewart and Valerie. Meg and Gina would not forego trivia for this event.

The Culinary Demonstration was a combination cooking show / farce / talent show for the restaurant staff. The head of food services, the head chef, and the maître d' took turns preparing recipes by adding excessive ingredients and alcohol. Everyone was cracking bad jokes. They put together a sham magic trick and other tomfoolery. Finally they had members of the restaurant staff perform songs and dancing, of which they were pretty good! The finale was a plea for grades of 10 when responding to the Princess post cruise surveys.

We were then invited to take a tour of one of the galleys, however Jessica had heard that they were providing passport stamps on Deck 7, but by the time we arrived they had finished. Probably just as well, as they were charging $13.00 per stamp so it appeared you had passed through Antarctica customs.

I set up my chessboard on the Promenade and read my book. No takers before lunch. I joined Jessica, Reid, Kim, Stewart and Valerie for lunch in the sushi place. Lunch was delicious! There was much discussion about computer languages. I think Kim spoke with the most authority on this subject.

Set my chessboard up a second time, and again I didn't get any bites. I was called into Club Fusion to take part in the progressive trivia. Today's subject was literature, and we went 10/10. There was a good chance that we would win the progressive trivia contest. Well, we came in second, 10 points behind the first place team. Gina's team was 4th.

Third time's the charm! I set up my board and was challenged again by Dan. I probably beat him in six straight games, but I let my guard down and he finally won one. He was thrilled. While we were playing, Hayden came by and I suggested that they play each other. All three of us played several games, with the winner staying on the board. I have "friended" both of them on chess.com.

Jessica and I went up to Skywalkers for an appetizer at 5:00p. The view from Deck 17 is fantastic. The ship is pitching up and down, albeit slowly.

Dinner was with Meg and Reid this evening. I got the trout almondine. So good! I'm going to miss these meals. On Meg's recommdation I had the "Floating Islands" for dessert.

After dinner, Meg, Reid, Jessica and I went to the Wheelhouse Bar to play cards while waiting for the show in the Princess Theater. Valerie, Jessica, Meg. Reid and I took in the new show by the magician we saw last week. He did a number of different tricks, and there was only one of them I wasn't 100% certain that I figured out.

After the show Reid and I went up to the end of cruise party on Deck 14. There was more food and drink and music and dancing. Everyone was having a good time. Had I been 40 years younger and single, this might've been the place to be. Reid did not figure out how the magician did his tricks and asked me how each one was done.

Tomorrow is Montevideo, Uruguay, the penultimate day of our cruise.

Most of the kitchen staff, highly appreciated by everyone, at the Culinary Demonstration

Our progressive trivia team (Billy and Sheila Greenhorn from Perth, Scotland, Meg, Jessica, Valerie and David)

Monday, January 20th - Montevideo, Uruguay

Jessica and I went to breakfast in the dining room with a couple from Arkansas and a couple from Nevada. The guy from Nevada started in Colorado and comes across as a good-ol'-boy.

We met Meg, Reid, Stewart and Valerie in the Wheelhouse Bar for our excursion in Montevideo. We are all part of group Brown 10. Everybody on to the bus! We are in Uruguay! 

Our first stop was Independence Square. Our guide, Vicente, told is all about the history of the country, the battles between Argentina and Brazil, the influence of the Spanish and the Portuguese. He is very entertaining. He explained that, while most South American countries celebrate 40 days of Lent, Uruguay celebrates 40 days of Carnival.

We walked around the square taking pictures of their national hero (a statue of a man on horseback, José Gervasio Artigas), as well as their wonderful old theater.

Our next stop was at their legislative palace. We stretched our legs and took photos. Looks like what a government building should look like.

Next stop was the marketplace. Lots of shops, selling everything from fresh fruit to precious gems to knives. We got the obligatory refrigerator magnet and other souvenirs. Walked all around the mini-mall and got a dish of cappuccino flavored Gelato. Pretty tasty. Everyone back on the bus. The guide took a nose count and noted that while we started with 29 tourists, that we now numbered 30. He asked that we not reproduce while on this tour.

The next stop was at the Centennial Soccer Stadium, built in 1930 for the first World Cup. The people here are very proud of their soccer heritage (even though they last won in 1950). According to our guide, the country's soccer fortunes turned south when the act of biting your opponent was outlawed.

There is a statue of an oxen drawn cart that is impressive, but not relatable. It has something to do with 19th century pioneers, and nothing to do with soccer. There were a number of little shops set up vending an assortment of tourist tchotchkes. 

Continuing our drive, we came across the Statue of the Big Naked Korean (the Greeting Man). Aparently the people of Uruguay like to eat meat, and don't care for fish. There is no native fishing industry, so the coastal waters are leased to fishermen from South Korea, and they have had such success that they erected a huge statue at the beach to show their appreciation. We drove along the beach and were lectured on why people did and did not live near, or visit, the beach. We made a stop and encountered a most interesting monument called "Fallen of the Navy".

From there we drove through town looking at various statues and monuments. We then stopped at the Museum of Carnival. These people take Carnival very seriously. This place is filled with costumes, photographs, news articles, everything Carnival. If you don't criticize the existing government during Carnival, you will be ostracized. 

We filed into a theater and a company of three drummers and 10 singers (6 men, 4 women) serenaded us with songs from Carnival, in full costume and makeup. This was a really high-energy performance and ended with them entering the audience and drafting about half of the people into a gigantic conga line. Meg, Reid and Valerie were among those putting on Carnival costumes and dancing their hearts out. Great fun!

Back on the bus we had a short drive to our ship. Boarding the ship went about as smoothly as you could ask for. David, Jessica, Stewart and Valerie got a quick bite in the International Cafe. Dominating the news, even in Uruguay, is Donald Trump's inauguration.

Well,it had to happen. Everyone off to Club Fusion for more trivia. Jessica and I formed our own team, and did pretty abysmal, scoring 10/20, 15 needed to win.

Our luggage needs to be put in the hall by 10:30p. We have started packing before dinner, and most of it is accomplished. Dinner was with David, Jessica, Reid and Stewart at one table; Kim, Gina, Meg and Valerie at the other table. They just paraded the entire kitchen crew through the Vivaldi Dining Room to the tune of "Hot, Hot, Hot"! At the end of the meal we presented envelopes to both Ahmed and Hayder, as their service was exemplary. 

Jessica wanted to do one more round of trivia before we finish packing, so we found ourselves in the Explorer's Lounge. This was movie trivia with Meg and Reid helping. We scored 27/30, 29 needed for first.

Back to our cabin to finish packing. We put out three suitcases, and they were promptly picked up. We will carry the last one off ourselves. Headed to the Princess Theater for the variety show. Meg and Reid joined us. First were the singers and dancers performing, "Dance! Dance! Dance!", then the pianist played songs from Phantom of the Opera and the rock group, Queen. This was followed by a saxophon who played "Georgia on My Mind" and "Pick Up the Pieces". The vocalist we saw the other day finished up with three songs, including "On the Radio".

We said "goodnight" to Meg and Reid and came back to our cabin to pack our final bag.

We start for home tomorrow. 

The flag of Uruguay on a rainy day	The statue of the Big Naked Korean
David, Stewart and Jessica with the monument to José Gervasio Artigas	Reid, Meg and Valerie with the oxcart statue near Centennial Soccer Stadium
Our guide, Vicente, with his maté tea, explaining the elaborate Carnival makeup	Some of the very elaborate costumes used by the Carnival performers
The Carnival dancers and singers put on a high energy stage show

Tuesday & Wednesday, January 21st & 22nd - Back to Buenos Aires and Flight Home

Jessica got up at 5:00a, I slept until 6:00a. We got dressed and headed down to the International Restaurant for breakfast. We met a nice couple from Tennessee. We went back to our cabin and gathered up the rest of our belongings, then headed to the Princess Theater where we met up with Stewart and Valerie. 

After a while they called our group, Pink 4. We left the theater and wound our way down to Deck 4 where we disembarked. The ship is docked in a busy commercial port so they have to shuttle you between the ship and the terminal. Arriving at the terminal it was time to locate our luggage. Fortunately, from past experience, we have learned to identify our luggage and we found it quickly. We joined the line to have our luggage scanned (this is atypical when leaving a cruise ship), and the good news we didn't raise any flags. We then rolled our luggage to the busses that will take us on an excursion (including lunch) and finally drop us and our baggage at the airport.

We drove for at least an hour to our first stop, a market place. We are told this is the place to purchase any souvenirs you might want. This place was a truck stop, with nicely kept restrooms, but not that many stalls. Within seconds of our arrival a line formed outside the lady's room that stretched around the block. And that was with just one bus. More busses of like groups soon arrived and it got much worse for women in need.

Across from the convenience store is another shop that is loaded up with high end souvenirs (lots of silver, leather, wood, etc, all very nice). All these busses stopping here for a half hour each must really pay off for the proprietors, I wonder what the bus driver and guide must get paid for making these visits.

Back on the road, we have passed through a couple of toll plazas. Our guide is preparing a drink called "maté" for people to try. Jessica has volunteered to test it out. Maté is an "infusion" drink popular in Argentina. Jessica says it tastes like green tea. You can purchase fancy maté sets (which include cups and a vacuum bottle) lots of places.

We have left the highway and are moseying down a dirt road to our next stop, which should be some sort of ranch with a barbecue lunch and a show put on by gauchos.

We arrived. This place is more like a hacienda. There's a gaucho on horseback to greet you, and men and women handing out empenadas and drinks. A peacock is strutting around the grounds and must be pretty tame as he walks right up to people.

They started a dance number between a couple and at the point it became sufficiency erotic, the peacock let out with a really loud cry. Lots of local music and dancing. Then they started drafting the visitors into dancing. If you decline they look really offended.

Then it was time to tour the house. We formed a colossal line and filed by the house, peeking into the rooms as we passed. This led us to a field where the gauchos were riding horses and attempting to spear a ring with their lance (which was a stick). I think between three riders they made about 12 attempts, half of which were successful. 

Next it was time for lunch. A short walk to their restaurant building (which was air-conditioned). There are many tables that seat 12, but we were the only six at our table. Complimentary drinks on the table (and ice)! I spoke too soon, our table filled up with late comers. The fare is barbecue. Beef and chicken. After making sure that there were no vegetarians at the table, they brought out the... vegetables (a green salad and a tomato and onion salad; both were very good). As we were finishing our salads they started playing very loud local music, all lyrics, of course, in Spanish. 

A server came along and placed a chorizo brat on everyone's plate. It was hot and delicious. The next server dropped a big slice of prime rib on your plate. The next server came around with chicken (good, but not KFC). Finally they brought around ribs (which were good, but would have been really good with barbecue sauce). They keep coming around with different meats. Everyone has had their fill. We just tell them to go away. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with raspberry topping. This tasted so good that Jessica and I think it is homemade. This was followed up by offering coffee to everyone. Lastly there was an Argentine dance demonstration (this included a lot of drums and foot stomping). It also incorporated a LOT of bolas work. It's tough to describe how these folks fail to injure themselves while performing. They used bolas to knock a cigarette out of the mouth of a spectator. The show finally ended up in a giant conga line, which Reid happily joined.

After the show everyone was invited out to visit their menagerie. So many peacocks and peahens, goats, cassowarys, turkeys, emus, etc. Everyone agrees that this was a fabulous excursion, and they take you to the airport!

Back on the bus. Our ride to the airport was the better part of two hours. International flight are out of Terminal A. On our way to the airport I noticed that we were passing many streets named after scientists.

We got to the airport at the same time as six other Princess buses, and the line in front of American Airlines stretched out to the concourse, around the corner and disappeared into the distance. We thought this line couldn't stay that long forever, so David, Jessica, Stewart and Valerie took seats and waited. We had nothing but time.

After a couple of hours the line had shrunk considerably. We jumped in the line around 7:00p and checked our big bags and received our boarding passes. We then got in the long, long line for security. You had to remove your belt and your watch and pretty much everything else that might come off. After clearing security, we had to get in the long line for emigration, as we are not Argentine citizens. All lines seem to shuffle along at the same pace. We bumped into Kim and Gina at emigration, and Gina was searching frantically for Kim's phone. The smart money said it was somewhere on Gina's person. After having my thumbprint taken once, and my photo taken twice, I was allowed into the embarkation area.

Walking to our gate, Valerie declared that she was hungry (despite being fed the maxim amount of food allowed by law at lunch) and we pulled into a Burger King. Unfortunately, the girl behind the counter didn't speak Englaise, and Valerie didn't speak Espańol. She did manage to place an order, but it's not clear if she got what she wanted.

We just got word that Meg and Reid 's flight has been delayed several hours. She reports standing in the same lines we did. We got a text from Kim! His phone was in one of their backpacks. No info about who was wearing it.

Stewart, Valerie, Jessica and I met up with Gina and Kim at Gate 2. We killed time waiting to board. It's 10 minutes to the official boarding time and another colossal line has formed. Group 5 is called and... one more time we go through a search of our carry ons. I can't imagine what they may be looking for. We settled in to row 30, seats A & B. This is an 11 hour flight to DFW. The woman on my right (not Jessica) is a big girl. She's kinda spilling over into my seat (however, she turned out to be very nice).

Both Jessica and I managed to sleep some on the flight to Dallas. We arrived right on schedule. It's 6:00a in Texas. We deplaned and headed to customs. Along the way we encountered Kim and Gina, and Stewart and Valerie. We breezed through Global Entry preloading. Stewart and Valerie and I headed to baggage claim. Fortunately, everyone's luggage was present and we headed off to our connecting flight. We said "goodbye" to Stewart and Valerie, who had an hour drive in front of them. Further along the way was a baggage inspector (who waived us through). Just beyond him was connecting flights baggage and we dropped the big bags off. Then we had to pass through security again, this time TSA Precheck was clearly marked. Then it was off to Gate D38, pretty much at the end of the concourse, where we arrived with a half hour to spare. Kim and Gina caught up to us at the gate and were called early for preboarding.

We boarded and are seated across the aisle from Kim and Gina. The flight is not full, and one could move to another seat easily. This leg of our trip gives us free WiFi via T-Mobile. Valerie texted to say she was "at home drinking coffee". Meg texted to let us know that they landed in Houston, and that their flight to Tucson doesn't leave until this evening. 

A smooth landing at John Wayne. Taxied right to the gate. A little girl a row up feels compelled to sing "Jingle Bells" over and over and over. We collected our luggage straight away. Judi showed up in her van. It took a moment to load Kim's Rollator, and one of the OC Sheriff deputies came out to make a big deal about it.

We dropped off the Whitelaws and then Jessica and I were back home, safe and sound.

Jessica pets the gaucho's horse outside the hacienda	The reception at the hacienda featured music and dancing
Peacocks were fearless and everywhere, a nice touch
Stunt riding included skewering a small ring with a lance on horseback
The dance show was spectacular and most impressive	Jessica, Dave, Meg, Reid, Valerie and Stewart enjoy more meat than you could possibly consume