Finally...some info on Antarctica!

Sorry for the delay...I know some of you have been anxiously waiting on the tales of Antarctica. Take a deep breath; it's going to be a long novel...

PRE-TRIP
Our Antarctic adventure went from February 26-March 12. We knew visiting the capricious land of Antarctica would bring the unknown and that we would need to be flexible with the changes that were thrown our way. However, we weren’t expecting these changes to come two weeks BEFORE we even left! We initially were going to meet up with the Marathon Tours group in Miami, FL. From here we were scheduled on a group flight with Aerolineas Airlines direct to Buenos Aires. However, on February 11 I received a phone call from a Marathon Tours staff member informing us that the return Aerolineas Airlines flight had been cancelled on March 11 and would not be rescheduled until March 13 (putting us home March 14). This caused big problems as we were expecting visitors (my brother Justin and his wife Shirley) at our home for a mini-vacation during their spring break March 13-18.

We called American Airlines, our carrier from Seattle to Miami, to see what kind of cost fluctuations we would run into for changing dates on our return ticket. The damage would be over $650 PER TICKET! We discussed with the ticketing agent booking the entire flight directly from Seattle to Buenos Aires with American Airlines and catching up with the Marathon Tours group in Argentina. This was possible, sending us on a flight through Chicago and then on to Buenos Aires. We contacted Marathon Tours with the new flight plans and they were able to reimburse us for our Aerolineas Airlines tickets. In the ended up having $150 in ticket changing fees and we were able to return to Washington on March 12 as originally planned.

On February 26 the flight went as planned from Seattle to Chicago. When we got to Chicago we knew we would have approximately 75 minutes to catch our red-eye flight to Buenos Aires. However, when we reached Chicago the departure monitors said our flight was no longer leaving at 8:10pm, but rather 8:30am. Due to mechanical issues with the plan, we were forced to wait 12 hours for the next flight. Fortunately the airlines did put us up in a hotel and gave us some compensation for meals. We were mostly disappointed that this delay meant a loss of time we could have used exploring Buenos Aires.

Finally on February 27 we were on our way to Buenos Aires. Our flight was actually delayed an additional hour due to a frozen water pipe, but we weren’t going to let this dampen our spirits. While we were boarding Dennis had noticed some other passengers seated a few rows in front of us who had on Antarctica Marathon gear. After finding our seats I went forward to say hello to these fellow travelers and let them know we were on the same flight going to the same location. The two passengers turned out to be John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield, two running enthusiasts and authors I had read much about. They have written a handful of motivational and how-to running books, as well as put forth monthly columns for Runner’s World and Health Magazine. I was ecstatic to meet them. I knew they were part of the marathon’s staff and race-day crew and I had brought with me a couple of their books to sign for myself as well as gifts for some friends. We chatted for a few minutes and agreed to meet up at the baggage claim to get taxis from the airport to the hotel where the other marathon group members would be staying.

BUENOS AIRES
We finally arrived in Buenos Aires at 11:30pm. After clearing customs and gathering our baggage we took a 45-minute taxi ride to the Marriott Plaza Hotel. It was well after 1:30am at this point and we knew we had an early start in the morning. A group breakfast was scheduled for 7:30am and we had a city-bus tour scheduled for 9:00am. We were glad the tour was on a bus, as we were exhausted from the travels and enjoyed relaxing as we saw the city. Although we got caught in the rain, our favorite location to visit in Buenos Aires was La Boca. This is a colorful neighborhood that has a strong European flavor to it, as it was first settled by Italian immigrants. It is known throughout the sporting world as the home of Boca Juniors, one of South America's top football clubs. Even through the rain we could see the liveliness and goodness of this area of Buenos Aires.

After a late evening group run, Dennis and I went to bed early on February 28 in an attempt to recuperate from our travels and the day’s adventures. February 29 brought adventures of exploring Buenos Aires on foot with two other marathon friends. We walked all over the city and had lunch at the legendary Cafe Tortoni, the oldest coffee shop in Argentina. We enjoyed shopping in Buenos Aires and were able to buy some beautifully shaped stone penguins made from rodocrosita inca rose, the national stone of Argentina.

That evening we were attending a dinner and tango show at one of Buenos Aires’ top tango dance halls. For this Dennis wanted to get a nicer dress shirt, but one that was suitable for the hot and humid 80 temperatures we were in. We had fun going to a small men’s clothing store and having the two saleswomen fit Dennis with the perfect shirt. It was a neat experience to intermingle with the locals.

The tango show that evening was nothing short of amazing. With a group of seven of us, we were picked up and taken to Senor Tango dance hall. Here we experienced an amazing Argentinean meal with its world-renowned beef as the main course. It was truly the best beef we have ever tasted. After a complete meal we were delighted to watch a two hour tango show. It was one of the most entertaining and high-adrenaline live shows we had ever been to. The two hours went so fast! It had a fantastic finale commemorating the beloved Evita and left our spirits soaring.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was well past midnight. We knew we would have a very early wake-up call, as there was a 3:00am breakfast and 3:30am departure for the airport to take a domestic flight to Ushuaia (YOU-SH-WHY-UH), where we would catch our ship to Antarctica. Anticipating the late night, Dennis and I had planned to pull an all-nighter. We knew attending the tango show would mean a late night, so we decided to stay up upon our return and pack. We would then shower and go down to breakfast and catch up on some of our sleep on the three-hour flight to Ushuaia.

Once again we were caught in some of the unforeseeable changes of this trip. Shortly after we began packing the power in the hotel went off. We stuck our heads out the windows and it actually appeared that the whole city was out of power! It was an eerie feeling. We began to think of things we may have that could provide us with a source of light. That night we ended up packing our bags by the dim light of our cell phones and Game Boys. It ended up being a really comical experience. On about three different occasions the power returned temporarily and we scrambled to look for items in various places that were hard to see with a dim light. Just as we were packing the last items, the power came back on for good. We quickly showered and headed down to the dining hall (taking the stairs, not the elevator). My biggest concern was that other group members may have been relying on the hotel’s alarm clock (which had obviously been turned off) and would not wake up in time for the flight. It was amazing that every single group member on this early flight made it on time for the 3:30am departure. What an experience!

Here are some other random yet interesting things we learned about life in Buenos Aires:
• The official currency in Argentina is the peso, although almost everywhere we went accepted the American dollar. The symbol for the peso is just as the American dollar: $. Dennis and I did not realize this at first and thought everything was extremely overpriced, as we were assuming the prices listed were in dollars. How naïve we were! We finally figured this out on the last day when we purchased some items at a convenience store with dollars and were given change in pesos. We did the calculations and figured out our mistake and misinterpretation.

• Gas is cheaper in Argentina than in Europe. Converting liters to gallons as well as pesos to dollars, we determined that we still have it good here in the USA. Although we are now paying about $3.50/gallon for gas here in the US, Argentineans are paying a slightly higher price of approximately $4.30/gallon. However, this is still pretty low compared to the gas prices we saw while living in Italy, which were averaging about $6.00/gallon when we left in October 2007.

• There is no official recycling program in Buenos Aires. However, you can often see people rummaging around in the trash for empty plastic bottles or newspaper and other paper sources, particularly at night. Many locals use trash rummaging as a source of revenue and turn in such goods to recycling plants where they are compensated for what they bring in. However, these diggers aren’t exactly doing this with the environment in mind. They often rip through bags and throw unwanted items aside, leaving some streets lined with trash that has been thrown out of dumpsters.

• Local young adults can get a college education at the University of Buenos Aires AT NO CHARGE under the stipulation that they keep their grades up. Another local option for a higher education but at a cost is the ‘Universidad Catolica Argentina’ or the Catholic University of Argentina.

USHUAIA
On March 1 we took the early morning flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. Ushuaia is at the very tip of Argentina and is the southern-most city in the world. Thus it is called “Fin del Mundo” – the end of the world. Once arriving at Ushuaia’s tiny airport we were transported by bus to the heart of this small city. We had about 5 hours to explore the city before boarding the ship for our Antarctic departure.

Although we were exhausted from not going to bed the night before, Dennis and I spent these 5 hours touring the town, visiting its many shops and eating some amazing seafood. We ate at a restaurant called Volver. It had by far the most amazing crab soup we had ever tasted. It was a great way to officially start our sea-bound trip.

Ushuaia was also the city we returned to on March 11. On this return trip we had just 3 hours to finish any last minute shopping and visit any more locations in the city. We were able to visit the Tourism Office and get a certificate for visiting the southern-most city, as well as get our passports stamped. We were also able to relax at a local café where Dennis enjoyed a cappuccino and I had the yummiest (and cheapest) banana milkshake I’ve ever had.