Quito and the Cloud Forrest of Ecuador

 We are in Quito for just 2 days.  Happily, we have booked a tour guide for both days so we can make the most of our short time in Quito.  Personally, I have concerns about visiting Quito - it is a very high-altitude city as it is aptly named city in the clouds.  I have had a mild case of altitude sickness before at a lower altitude.  So I took meds, but truthfully, I never felt quite like myself while there and unfortunately Jeff was fighting a cold the whole time.  We did enjoy ourselves just not perfect.

Antartica Peninsula with lots and lots of Whales

Jeff and Carol on the Antarctica Peninsula

A day that started early and frustrating would end fantastically.

South Shetland Islands

Day 1 

Elephant Island

This island got its name from the Elephant Seals often found on its beaches.  Some say it is because when looking down on it from above it looks like an elephant head with a trunk.  Either way it is part of the South Shetland Islands so named because they are on an equal latitude point as the Shetland Islands off Scotland.  We have continued to follow the steps of Shackleton, and this small island is where they washed up.  It is here that Shackleton and 3 others left the rest of the crew while they went off in search of help.  The ones left behind stayed on a beach that no longer exists, but you can tell where they were because the caves that were behind them in photos are still there.  We rode the zodiacs around the island.  We saw a statute in honor of the Chilean Sea Captain who rescued the men left behind.  It is pretty and desolate all at the same time.

South Georgia Islands

white penguin - not albino since some color

 Day 1

First Stop-Grytviken

It is a former whaling settlement.  It was in existence from 1902 to 1966.  It was the first of six and the last of the whaling settlements in South Georgia.  Before it was a whaling settlement, it was used by individuals for seal hunting and processing.  The seal hunters left their huge pots behind (think witches' cauldron) and in Swedish Grytviken means pot bay.  Now it is a historical site and an area full of fur seals with some penguins too.  There is a choice for a hike, so Linda and I send the men on that and take the chance to explore the old settlement.

Falkland Islands

West Falkland Islands of Saunders and West Point (day 1)

After a day at sea where we learned all the rules for stepping foot on land in this part of the world and welcome talks, we are ready to make out first “ports”.  I put ports in quotation marks because we did not have  a wharf or pier to step out onto but rather we did wet landings in the zodiacs.  So glad for waterproof pants and boots!

Iguazu Falls

Our first glimpse seemed big until we traveled further

Our next leg of this adventure takes us to Iguazu, Argentina to visit the Iguazu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.   

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is not a city that is on the radar of a place to visit for many people.  From the little time we spent there, I would recommend visiting it.  The photo above is technically one street and is the widest in the world and oh you can barely see the bottom 3 lanes in the photo.  Our hotel was on the street and this is a photo from our room.  Now it is a long flight going south to get to Buenos Aires as in 9 hours from Atlanta, but not as much of a time change as in flying to Europe.  Our flight arrived in the morning and by afternoon we were ready to explore some.  By chance, our hotel was a block away from their opera house.  I should back up here for a minute.