JB Journeys

02/05/2025

Can TSA search your electronic devices?

Here’s when you need to hand over your device, and whether you must provide passwords when you do.

22/04/2025

Let's make Earth Day EVERYDAY.

03/04/2025

GOOD TO KNOW.

Here’s when you need to hand over your device, and whether you must provide passwords when you do.

15/03/2025

Spent the morning at the Zapotec site Monte Alban outside of Oaxaca.

08/03/2025

Today, on International Women’s Day, I would like to think and honor all the women I’ve worked with in my career in the travel industry.

07/03/2025

Celebrate International Woman's Day by purchasing coffee from the woman's group of De la Gente coffee growers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9t4RiVTXKs

The Women Caficultora Network, supported by De La Gente, is more than just a group of coffee producers. They are a group of strong women who work towards eco...

21/02/2025

Today, Feb 21, is INTERNATIONAL TOUR GUIDE DAY!!! JB Journeys wants to thank all the excellent guides we work with. Each is a credit to their country and the profession, and makes me, the tour company, look really good!!
- Elizabeth Bell of Antigua Tours in Guatemala
- Gaby Gudino in San Cristobal de las Casas, in Chiapas Mexico
- John Cahill in Guatemala and Colombia
- Maikel Canizares and Maydiel Canizares in Cuba

Tourism is a tough business but these professionals make it a pleasure!

23/01/2025

Birders from Travis Audubon Society at Tikal with super guide John Cahill.
JB Journeys has worked with John and Community Cloud Forest Conservation for 8 years, sending birders who eventually become donors.
An excellent example of sustainable tourism.
Interested? [email protected]

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