JB Journeys

07/01/2025

I went for a walk this afternoon in our neighborhood about 1 hour east of Austin Texas. As I bundled up, I realized it’s colder here than it was in Antarctica just 2 weeks ago. What’s up with that?

Yes, I’m home but still thinking about the trip and have more to add. And lots of beautiful pictures still to come.

There is a regulation that only 100 people can be on land, and the largest ships allowed in the region have 500 passengers. HX’s new ships, the Amundsen that we traveled on and the Nansen, its sister ship, each hold 500. Until just a few years ago, larger ships could do a ‘drive-by’, so that passengers could at least see the Antarctic peninsula and continent, although they could not stop. Their size and the heavier fuel was considered a detriment. HX ships are among the largest now allowed and with their alternate battery usage makes them a safer ship for the fragile environment.

Our departure had 240 passengers, so the ship was half full. The next group was to be about 400. I asked expedition staff how this was handled. We each were assigned a boat group number and had a patch to attach to our expedition jacket, so crew could keep their eye on things. They staggered group departures and mixed up the order so that group 1 wasn’t always first. Once we made a landing, we were given a fixed time to wander and wonder, then return to the zodiacs to take us back to the ship. As mentioned, 100 people can be on land at a time, and zodiacs are constantly coming and going, dropping off 12 and picking up 12. With more passengers, this process goes on for several hours. The staff is amazing at timing, coordination, safety.

These 2 ships work in other areas of the world where that would be considered small, like Alaska. For example, this summer Princess Cruises will offer “155 total departures, with 18 unique itineraries ranging from 4 - 22 days”. Their 7 ships “visit 21 destinations and four glacier-viewing experiences, highlighted by 88 visits to Glacier Bay National Park (more visits than any other cruise line).” The Grand Princess takes 2,600 passengers; Discovery Princess 3,660. Yikes. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Bliss will sail Alaska this summer, with just over 4,000 guests. I remember sailing on a Holland America ship in Alaska about 20 years ago, on a ship that took about 1,800, now considered a small liner. When all the ships were lined up, and you walked on the dock, it was like walking next to a 10 story building. The ships blocked the sun!

01/01/2025

How do you spell chaos? EZE Buenos Aires airport

As our wonderful sailing on the Roald Amundsen ended, we flew from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires on a charter flight. That went well, and we landed in the domestic arrivals area, picked up checked bags and walked to the international terminal. We arrived around 4 pm and our next flight was due to leave at midnight. However, because it is the only Copa flight from BA, they don’t have staff all day, opening 3-4 hours before departure. So we walked a bit and had dinner. The terminal is rather different than what we see in the US. For example, in Austin, we have a small area where we check in and then go through security, where there are a choice of restaurants and shops. In BA, it was like being at the mall with a couple dozen restaurants and shops. And being the holidays, it was packed. I guess many people came with travelers to drop off or pick up, but it seemed whole families having dinner or gathering in groups. It was packed. And once Copa finally opened their counter, it was still crazy. People with children or wheelchairs cutting in lines and taking a really long time to check-in. Finally, we checked our luggage and headed upstairs to the international departures area. The security screening was chaos, people yelling, I had to remove my laptop, take off my shoes, remove watch and glasses, even remove a hairband. And all that stuff was in 2 or 3 bins and when I went through, my glasses were gone. I kept saying ‘anteojos anteojos’ but they told me to collect my things and move on. Rude.

Then it was passport control. We entered a room like a football field with rows and stanchions, going back and forth, then finally to the counter. It’s all being done with photos and thumbprints. We didn’t have time to get a snack or anything, we went to the gate and they called the flight.

Had we had only carry-on bags, we could have gone through security early because we had boarding passes on our phones. And from this experience, we could have gone with just carry-on, yes, even on a trip to Antarctica. I just saw Rick Steves top travel tips: “If you don’t check a bag, you’re much less likely to get ensnared in all of the airport chaos in Europe,” Steves said. Even more so South American airports!!

Also, anyone flying out of BA, consider a wheelchair!!

28/12/2024

The Food. You can’t go hungry on this ship. There are 3 restaurants: Aune, the main dining room open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Friedheim is open 12 noon till 8:30 pm with burgers, pizza, quesadillas, and the like. Lindstrom, a fancier dining experience with elegant wait-service.

Aune serves breakfast and lunch as buffet and at dinner it alternates between buffet and aLa carte. The food is very good and some things are fantastic! Today at lunch I saw an item labeled potato and vegetable terrine. Well it turned out to be like a veggie Shepard’s Pie and was so good. There is often a chef carving lamb, beef tenderloin, even a pig. There is quite a variety of mains and sides, no one would go hungry! This cheese display has been at all the buffets and for me, it’s enough to make dinner. Desserts are often these little pots of deliciousness and there is also self serve ice cream, usually 3 flavors like dulce de leche, pistachio, raspberry, vanilla, and so on, with lots of toppings. There is a salad bar every day and I wonder how they keep lettuce fresh. There is no where to provision the ship once we leave Ushuaia. There are always vegetarian options and with a large number of Chinese passengers, dumplings, etc. And lots of fruit on the buffets.

During the dinner service, a waiter walks around with shot glasses of after-dinner liquors. Brandy, Kahula, peppermint schnapps, Amaretto. It’s just what you wanted but didn’t realize! At Christmas dinner, they brought hot spiced wine, such a nice touch.

And really, if you can’t eat anything on the menu, you can ask the chef for a special plate.

Friedheim is open throughout the day so you can stop by and get a dessert or milk shake at any time. And it on the opposite side of the ship from Aune so you take in different views.

Lindstrom is a small dining room on deck 9 and serves guests staying in suites, but all others can also dine there with a reservation and supplement of 35 euro per person. We did so one evening and the service was quite elegant and the food wonderful. With dessert, they bring along a glass of dessert wine.

At HX they include alcohol. There are deluxe drinks and bottled wines are extra. It’s really nice to not think ‘what’s this drink going to cost?’

And did I mention, salmon available breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

28/12/2024

28/12/2024

The tortillas you might purchase at the grocery store or even your favorite Mexican restaurant are more redolent of cardboard than corn, Kristen V. Brown writes.

Now, a growing group of chefs, restaurants, and companies are trying to change that. https://theatln.tc/1L46p2kX

28/12/2024

Friday, December 27, 2024
The Hurtigruten Foundation offers assistance to the small villages they visit on their many sailings, and also works with endangered species, and removing plastic from the environment. Tonight they held an auction where we travelers could bid on a few items. It was a nice idea and our group seemed fairly generous. Things auctioned: the HX flag that has been flying over our ship; an old Hurtigruten Expeditions, old logo flag; a paper map/chart with our route marked, plus a passenger drew pictures of the 4 penguin species we’ve seen plus a whale tail; and finally naming rights of a whale seen on our voyage. That’s kind of cool!! The highest bidder named it LOUISE.

We were just in Port Stanley and while I was off on a penguin tour, many passengers attended Christmas services at the cathedral in town. The foundation donated 500 euro for restoration of the church.

28/12/2024

Friday, December 27, 2024: In the daily briefing last evening, we learned that we would have another landing, in Saunders Island. A nice surprise. We sailed from West Point to Saunders in the early morning and arrived here with stormy waters, but still ready to go.

The zodiac ride offered lots of sea spray but amazing scenery. And once again, we got to do a lot of walking, which I think we have all missed over the last 2 weeks. We saw Gentoo Penguins, lots and lots of them!, King Penguins, and Rockhoppers. This landing space is just full of the penguins and they all seem to be on a slightly elevated hill, I suppose to be safe from rains or water rushing up from the sea. Little hills everywhere filled with penguins! Seriously, thousands of them. There were also juveniles of each kind, looking like stuffed animals!

Saunders Island is the 4th largest island in Falklands and a working sheep farm. Two people (Mr & Mrs Saunders?) are at the landing site selling some little souvenirs. Postcards, little penguin jewelry, and hand knit caps and scarves. I assume they make the knitted items from the sheep they raise here.
It’s been quite nice to see places where the penguins outnumber humans!!

28/12/2024

What’s the best time to visit Europe with temperatures and crowds on the rise? Will American travelers need to go through Europe’s new ETIAS visa-waiver system? What up-and-coming sights and cities might pack a cultural punch with far fewer tourists?

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• Jan. 13: On the Hippie Trail with Rick Steves
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• Jan. 16: Europe's Top 10 Second Cities with the Monday Night Travel Team
• Jan. 20: Inauguration Day Special: European Travel in the Age of Trump with Cameron Hewitt
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27/12/2024

Thursday, December 26, 2024:
We made landing on West Point island this afternoon, taking a 2 km walk to see a colony of Rockhopper Penguins and Black-browed Albatross. It was quite a hike, up and down, but nice to have just a long walk. The birds were abundant! Very cool, they live on top one another along a hillside. Lots of noise!!

27/12/2024

The New Yorker

27/12/2024

Thursday, December 26, 2024: Today the ship was traveling from Port Stanley in western Falklands to the island of West Point in the eastern region. It is a collection of islands but there are 2 main ones with small ones like little fingers. All passengers were invited to visit the bridge today and it was awesome! It’s a large room at the top front of the ship and all windows. There are many computer screens showing different things like depth, longitude and latitude, water visibility, and more. The 2 officers took turns explaining. There are no more paper maps, all ships use computer readings which are regularly updated. They can navigate from the center of the bridge or from either wing. For example, when we are at anchor, they use the screens on the starboard side because they can watch the tender pit, where the zodiacs load. I say at anchor but really, they rarely use an anchor anymore, due to potential damage to the sea floor. They use GPS to mark the spot where they want to hold the boat, then use thrusters to maintain that location. The Amundsen is a polar ship, meaning it can break up ice. This one and sister ship, the Nansen have ability beyond what they have used. They get about 20% of their power from batteries, though they never have run solely on battery.
One of the guys on deck explained that he has been with HX for just 8 months. He finished university and must serve 1 year on a ship, then take his exams to be an officer. When the captain introduced himself last week, he said he was from Norway which has a tradition of sailing. I find that an interesting thought.
Again, the chef served soup on the pool deck. It is called Explorer’s Soup, a traditional Sami recipe. The Sami are from far northern Norway.

26/12/2024

by Caitlin Dickerson

26/12/2024

For the 1st time in almost two weeks, the sun went down!

26/12/2024

Wednesday, December 25, 2024: Merry Christmas to all.
When we woke, we were at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We had pre-arranged a trip to Volunteer Point to see the penguins. We met our driver, Barry, who was in charge of our jeep to the destination. We drove about one hour on paved and semi-paved road, stopped at Johnson Harbor with bathrooms, then we were off road, and I mean off road! It was ups and downs for 3 miles which took over 1 hour! Along the way, the landscape was mostly rocks, very little trees but there was scrubby vegetation throughout. Lots of sheep and some cattle. Some kettle ponds. On arrival we had to walk through a pan of disinfection to make sure our shoes were clean.
We were given free rein to walk among the wildlife but keep your distance. This area is watched by the Falklands Conservation Society. Easily 1-2 thousand King Penguins, mostly adults and they are beautiful. Also there were juveniles with their molting fur. We also saw many Magelenic Penguins who stay in burrows. And Gentoo Penguins, they are everywhere. We saw a group of about 12 Kings standing with 2 lying down. Further looks show that the 2 on the ground were probably dead, the others stood watching. The penguins co-exist with the sheep, it’s sweet. We had a picnic lunch, washed our shoes again, and drove back to Stanley.
Our driver Barry was part of the Falklands lore to me. Only around 3,000 people live there, mostly in the town of Port Stanley, it seemed the perfect place if you were on the lam!! Barry, a Welchman, has lived all over the world, working mostly in humanitarian efforts. Bosnia, Afghanistan, Philippines. While in Philippines, he married the 2nd wife but moved to Falklands about 5 years ago.
We had a glass of wine in the 10th floor explorers lounge and then went to dinner. We heard an announcement that the ship would bunker here. Hmmm…. I guess I thought that meant we would stay the night here. While at dinner (Christmas dinner of turkey and dressing or turf and surf), the ship began to move. We’d seen a tanker in the near distance and our ship, the Amundsen, began to approach it. (acercar) And it got closer, they exchanged ropes and we wondered what was going on. We heard chatter and the word ‘refueling’. Then we got an announcement that we were ‘bunkering’ and no smoking allowed! Fascinating. It’s now about 1.5 hours later and the tanker is still aside the Amundsen.
Just as I'm posting this I can feel our ship pulling away from the tanker. It took about 2 hours.

25/12/2024

Hello and thank you to all JB Journeys travelers!

25/12/2024

Tuesday, December 24, Christmas Eve.

Another day at sea. Not complaining because you can catch up on sleep, writing, reading, or get a massage. I chose the latter! There is a lovely small wellness center, it appears to have 4 treatment rooms. I couldn’t decide between a massage or facial, so I went for both. Super relaxing and super professional. Little things count. As I lay face down, my head in the round pillow, I looked through the hole and saw a small bouquet with rosemary and other dried flowers. The air is very dry on the peninsula and also in the ship, so my facial was a welcome treatment.

You never know what’s going to happen when you sail over the holidays. Some passengers are here because they wish to avoid the 24/7 in-your-face Christmas carols and commercials. The ship is decorated very tastefully with garland in many areas and a fabulous gingerbread village before the dining room. Today we were invited to put an ornament on the tree in the Explorers Lounge on Deck 10. As we walked into lunch today, a number of crew members were singing carols. And there was a singing of carols by the crew after dinner. It was enough and not too much.

24/12/2024

Monday, Dec 23, Follow up, we had a Q&A tonight. Captain, Chief Engineer, and Hotel Manager. All in dress uniforms. Good questions, mine got answered. The MS Roald Amundsen was the 1st of their new ships which utilize batteries to promote thrust. They have reduce carbon emissions by over 20%. They will refurbish the rest of the fleet with similar power enhancements.
The hotel manager may seem an odd title but let’s face it, it a large floating hotel. The majority of restaurant are Philipino, but the captain said they have 18 nationalities on staff.
We asked about food and water. Any buffet food that was not entirely consumed is put in a machine which reduces it to almost liquid. It is then dumped, but they have a certificate to do so because it has essentially been ‘cleaned’ before they dump. As to water, they collect sea water and it goes through filters and de-salination. We are drinking it! When we checked in there were reusable bottles in the room and refill stations around the ship.