Antarctica - December 2nd - 2023

Gigi and Bearpaw are heading out on a new adventure.  This trip will take us to Buenos Aires and Ushuai, Argentina and eventually to Antarctica.

Why Antarctica you might ask?  To begin with, this is one of the last frontiers that humans haven't completely messed up.  The wildlife and eco systems are very diverse.  We are hoping to see a variety.  We should also be able to actually set foot upon the continent.  In any event this trip should be an adventure.

We began our journey in the airport.  Flying Delta Airlines we left Kansas City around 3:20 in the afternoon and headed toward Atlanta.  We were in Atlanta around 6:00 with only a short three hour layover.  Leaving Atlanta we flew over the Gulf of Mexico and then South America.  We left Atlanta around 9:00 PM.  A quick ten hour flight and we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at roughly 9:00 AM.  Of course we needed to then find our luggage and make our way through customs.  Luckily that didn't take too long.

Being on a Viking cruise we had been provided a shuttle to a hotel.  Their choice was to have us stay at the Hilton, which was very clean and comfortable.  We were to be in Buenos Aires overnight so we had a few hours to spend wandering around town.  We decided to walk a short distance to see some of their more famous landmarks.  These would include the 'Government Building' (their White House), a large cathedral, and whatever else would be in that specific neighborhood.

We walked the roughly half mile to the presidental mansion.  Where it did not compare to our White House it was still impressive.  After taking a couple of pictures we decided to go see something else.  However, Mother Nature had other plans.  It began to rain.  And rain it did.  It was coming down in buckets.







We toook shelter under the overhang of their Administracion Federal do Ingresos Publicos (AFIP) building, or their IRS.uilding.  It rained and rained and rained.  When there was a  break in the weather the decision was made to just head back to the hotel as it did not appear the weather was going to cooperate.  When we were almost half way back to the hotel it began to rain again.  We were pretty soaked by the time we got back to the hotel.  Since our room was still not ready for us to check in we visited the fitness center at the hotel.  They had towels and a hair dryer.  We put these items to use to dry off.

We didn't venture out again until we had checked into our room and then it was just for a quick dinner.  We found a deli that was supposed to be pretty good.  Robin had pizza with pepperoni.  I had a pulled pork sandwich.  I would not recommend this.  The sandwich was served cold and with no sauce.  This made for a very bland sandwich.  To add to my woes they also added cole slaw and some kind of green chili sauce.  These last two additions just made the bun soggy.  Luckily Robin did not eat the whole pizza so I was able to help her finish it off.

Then back to the hotel to prepare for the next day, which was to start early.

But on a high note we were visiting another place we had not been before and got to check off another continent in our travels.  Tomorrow will be an adventurous day as well.

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