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Live trip report begins in the beginning of this thread and continues (amid a fair amount of banter) until post #321 here.

Regular trip report begins here.



Other people's trip reports:

@chff: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=101296.0

@Dan:
Original Post for the trip: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/join-lifetime-kosher-catered-trip-antarctica/
Intro to trip: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/follow-me-to-antarctica/
Part 1: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/trip-notes-antarctica-part-1-buenos-airesplanning-positioning-adventure-lifetime/
Part 2: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/antarctica-trip-notes-part-2-flying-end-world-southernmost-chanukah-party-ushuaia/
Part 3: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/shabbat-shalom-southernmost-shabbos-earth/



Related DDF Threads:

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Kosher Catered Trip To Antarctica!
A Once-In-A-Lifetime Kosher Catered Trip To Antarctica! FOMO support group

Antarctica Cruise Raffle
Antarctica Raffle #2, Fill Out This Form If You Would Like To Join A DDF Raffle!
New Antarctica Cruise Raffle! Win A Superior Cabin
Another Antarctica Raffle!

"First" in Antarctica?
Polar Zmanim On The Antarctic Cruise
Antarctica TR: the trip after Dan

Author Topic: Live Antarctica Trip Report  (Read 224772 times)

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #620 on: December 25, 2020, 11:51:34 AM »
did you hit the call button?

Didn't bother
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #621 on: December 26, 2020, 08:51:19 PM »
Trip Summary

Kosher Horizons Antarctica by the numbers:

Planning time: Nearly 2 years
Emails to One Ocean Expeditions: 1804
Food and drinks loaded: ~3 tons
Meals prepared: 1989
Bottles of wine drank: 246
Chanukah candles lit: 396



Group size: 51
Guests from: 12 cities on 4 continents



Trip length (mine): 16 days
Trip length (group): 12 days
Banged head (mine): 3708 times (possibly more but I'm a bit hazy on that)



Significant destinations visited: 16

1     Buenos AiresArgentina
2UshuaiaArgentina
3Tierra del Fuego National ParkArgentina
4Beagle ChannelArgentina/Chile
5StanleyFalkland Islands
6Gypsy CoveFalkland Islands
7Whalebone CoveFalkland Islands
8Drake PassageSouthern Ocean
9Penguin IslandSouth Shetlands
10Cuverville IslandAntarctica
11Wilhelmina BayAntarctica
12Paradise HarborAntarctica
13Almirante Brown Base (Argentina)  Antarctica
14Waterboat PointAntarctica
15González Videla Base (Chile)Antarctica
16Gerlache StraitAntarctica


Passport stamps collected: 5

ArgentinaBuenos AiresImmigration - Entry
ArgentinaFin del MundoSouvenir
Falkland IslandsStanleyImmigration - Visit
Chilean Antarctic Territory  González Videla Base  Immigration - Visit
ArgentinaBuenos AiresImmigration - Exit


Miles flown (personally): 13,869

PHL-MIA-EZE AA J 763, AA F 77W
AEP-USH-AEP LA Y+ 320, AR F 738
EZE-MIA-EWR AA J 77W, AA F 738




Miles sailed: 2640





Wildlife species seen: 50
Birds: 44
Marine mammals: 6

Wildlife numbers seen: ~26263
Birds: ~26236
Marine mammals: 27

Birds:
#     FamilySpeciesNumber
1AlbatrossBlack-Browed Albatross~100
2AlbatrossGray-Headed Albatross1
3AlbatrossLight-Mantled Sooty Albatross~50
4AlbatrossWandering Albatross1
5CaracrasChimango Caracara1
6CinclodesDark-Bellied Cinclodes1
7CormorantsAntarctic Shag53
8CormorantsImperial Shag1
9CormorantsRock Shag21
10DotterelsRufous-Chested Dotterel2
11DucksCrested Duck4
12DucksFalklands Flightless Steamer Duck  2
13DucksFlying Steamer Duck1
14FinchesGray-Hooded Sierra-Finch1
15GeeseKelp Goose1
16GeeseRuddy-Headed Goose1
17GeeseUpland Goose8
18GrebesGreat Grebe1
19Ground-Tyrants  Dark-Faced Ground-Tyrant3
20GullsDolphin Gull3
21GullsKelp Gull5
22HeronsBlack-Crowned Night Heron10
23MeadowlarksLong-Tailed Meadowlark1
24OystercatchersMagellanic Oystercatcher1
25PenguinsAdélie Penguin4
26PenguinsChinstrap Penguin~3000
27PenguinsGentoo Penguin~22501
28PenguinsMagellanic Penguin~200
29PetrelsCape Petrel~102
30PetrelsNorthern Giant-Petrel1
31PetrelsSouthern Giant-Petrel~100
32PetrelsWilson's Storm-Petrel11
33PitpitsCorrendera Pipit1
34SheathbillsPale-Faced (Snowy) Sheathbill4
35SiskinsBlack-Chinned Siskin3
36SkuasBrown Skua5
37SparrowsRufous-Collared Sparrow1
38SwallowsChilean Swallow1
39SwansBlack-necked Swan1
40TernsAntarctic Tern20
41TernsArctic Tern5
42ThrushesAustral Thrush1
43VulturesTurkey Vulture1
44WrensGrass Wren1
Total~26236

Marine Mammals:
#     Family              Species                                        Number
1SealsCrabeater Seal3
2SealsSouthern Elephant Seal4
3SealsWeddel Seal4
4WhalesAntarctic Minke Whale1
5WhalesHumpback Whale13
6WhalesOrca2
Total27

For a more detailed wildlife list, check out the spreadsheet here.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2020, 08:56:10 PM by Something Fishy »
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #623 on: January 25, 2021, 12:08:15 AM »
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-falklands-germany-idUSKBN29R2KB

ALOL at the sequence of events here.

1. Lufthansa needs the ability to divert to Argentinean airports if needed on their one-off flight.
2. Argentina's airports are completely shut to international travel.
3. Lufthansa sweet-talks Argentina into getting what they want, by telling Argentina what they want to hear.
4. Argentina declares that this constitutes an official German recognition of their claims against Britain.

Talk about a pilpul ;D.
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #624 on: February 24, 2021, 02:33:11 PM »

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews-science/king-penguin-captivates-world-its-rare-dandelion-colored-plumage-180977070/

Meh, been there, done that!

Here's an extremely rare sight: a white penguin. This is caused by leucism, similar to albinism:





(Yellow, white, iceberg, Goldberg)
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Offline AsherO

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #625 on: February 24, 2021, 02:35:00 PM »
(Yellow, white, iceberg, Goldberg)

Don't you know that in Antarctica it's pronounced Coldberg? :D
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Offline EliJelly

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #626 on: February 24, 2021, 03:25:35 PM »
Same causation but com'on, the yellow is striking! more eye-catching than bleached black.




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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #628 on: March 17, 2021, 10:24:39 PM »
Thursday, December 6 - Shabbos, December 8 (Pre-Trip)

The trip to the end of the world began with a slightly annoying drive to Philly, but such is the bane of award availability.

Quick flight down to MIA on a 763 with lay-flat seats and a stunning sunset for entertainment:



Airplane lavs and me do not have a healthy relationship:



Landing in MIA:



Since I was in F for the next flight down to Argentina, I had access to AA's Flagship Dining. I had reached out to them before to find out about kosher food, but didn't get anywhere.

Figured I'd walk in and see what's up - and they we more than happy to seat me and offer some pre-packed meal options. I went with the salisbury steak, which was kinda tasty but nothing amazing.

Overall I was quite impressed with the restaurant, and the staff were extremely helpful and quite familiar with the kosher rules.

After "dinner" I went back into the main lounge where I met up with the first couple of people from our group and got to know each other. As we were leaving for the plane, Dan came running in like a hurricane and practically knocked twelve people over on his way to the shower.... somehow he made the flight in the end.

This was AA's 77W, so it had their flagship F seat. For someone of my size, the difference in cost between J and F is definitely worth it on a long overnight flight, so I splurged:







The seat is not terribly exciting, but it definitely had lots more room than J and I ended up getting a good night's sleep.

The crew, on the other hand, was simply obnoxious. I actually got shouted at twice for daring to step into the J cabin to speak to Dan. And whoever heard of an FA refusing to get an F passenger a cold glass of water because quote "you still have some left in the water bottle over there"??? Anyway....

Position equator; heading exactly 180° - my first time in the southern hemisphere:



Landing in Buenos Aires after a good night's sleep, I saw that @Moishebatchy landed safely on Air Europa:



Immigration was an absolute zoo:



It took us the better part of an hour, but finally:



Got a bunch of cabs for out couple hundred suitcases:





Our driver really, really didn't care about the speed limit:



Driving down the widest street in the world, 9 de Julio Avenue. It sounds a lot cooler than it is:



Park Hyatt Buenos Aires:


(Photo credit @Dan)



I think my long-standing dislike for hotels is well-known here (give me a locally-flavored Airbnb any day of the week), but this hotel took that up a notch :P. Way too fancy, while not adding anything of value to my stay (I'm sure @Dan would disagree with this lol).

No thank you, sir, I'd way rather open that door myself than walk awkwardly through while you hold it for me wearing a big fake smile.

Just not my style I suppose.

Anyway, no time to dawdle - time to explore Buenos Aires!

First stop - gelato time!



Talk about being spoiled for choice:


(Photo credit @Dan)

Tiny hole in the wall place, but this is definitely a unique way to wait for your order:


(Photo credit @Dan)

Holy cannoli. Passion fruit gelato. I think I reordered that four times:



It's worth it to fly down to BA, eat a gallon of this stuff, and fly back home.



Next stop: Abasto Shopping Mall:

DSC_0742 by Morris  Hersko, on Flickr

Why? For this rare bird:


(Photo credit @Dan)

The only kosher McDonald's on earth. Why get lunch at a normal restaurant - of which Buenos Aires has plenty - when you can have terrible food but a unique experience?

And the food did not disappoint - it tasted just as terrible as we expected it to. The Big Mac tasted like cardboard. The McNuggets tasted like cardboard. The McFries tasted like salty cardboard (we're making progress here). The McKetchup and McCoke tasted like they McWere supposed to. And the McTotal was cheap:






(Photo credit @Dan)

After lunch we stopped at Kokosh Bakery for some Shabbos treats.

I've wanted to try baklava for a while but never got the chance, so when I saw they had some on display I grabbed a couple pieces. Maybe Argentinians just aren't very good at baking Turkish desserts, or maybe baklava just isn't that tasty, but I was very quickly cured of my baklava taavos.

Back to the hotel to prepare for Shabbos with a cold can of Antarctica:



Shabbos reading - seems like great minds think alike:


(Photo credit @Dan)

Chabad of Ricoleta is just a short walk from the Hyatt:


(Photo credit @Dan)

We walked over before Shabbos with enough time to say hello to the shaliach and light the Chanukkah candles, and then it was time for a wonderful davening and Shabbos seuda. The place was packed, with 14 people from our group, other guests, and community members. A great time was had by all.

Davening on Shabbos morning featured the loudest mi shebeirachs ever heard in the western hemisphere (BOORECH ATEEEEEE!), and another lovely seuda.

Shabbos afternoon we took a nice long walk around town, and ended up next to the Recoleta Cemetery. This is supposedly a world-famous site, and we had heard rumors of moranos buried here by the Inquisition underneath the cross but with a magen david added years later. We figured we'll see if we can find them and say a kapittel tehillim at their kever.

We searched and searched - and even asked a few of the tour guides around - but no one know where these Jews were buried. In the end we found two Jewish kevarim - thankfully without any crosses on them - so we felt it wasn't in vain.

Overall the place is quite creepy. Most of the tombs are above ground with open sides or windows, and we saw enough human skeletons to last a lifetime. I'm not entirely convinced is was an appropriate Shabbos activity, but hopefully we accomplished something for some Jewish souls.

On Motzei Shabbos we went to Milk & Co. Started out kinda weird - never saw something like this on a restaurant table before:



Overall the food was kinda shvach, but then again I'm not a big fan of milchig restaurants. The desserts were fantastic though, especially the citric cheesecake:



After melava malka it was early to bed - tomorrow we were off to Ushuaia and the official trip was beginning - all detailed in the rest of the trip report beginning here.
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #629 on: March 17, 2021, 10:28:39 PM »
Aaaaand this trip report is finally done.
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #630 on: March 17, 2021, 11:09:53 PM »
Thank You!
["-"]

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #631 on: March 18, 2021, 12:26:45 AM »
Aaaaand this trip report is finally done.
Yay!! Thank you!

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #632 on: March 18, 2021, 12:44:22 AM »
You guys sound relieved ;D
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Offline AsherO

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #633 on: March 18, 2021, 12:57:14 AM »
You guys sound relieved ;D

You’re projecting.

I mean, ngl we’re glad the cause for envy is over, it was becoming too much :P
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #634 on: March 18, 2021, 01:07:28 AM »
You guys sound relieved ;D
BH the campaign is working, another TR completed
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Offline lakewood34

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #635 on: March 18, 2021, 08:00:16 PM »
AWESOME JOB AS USUAL 
thank you for taking the time to write it

out of curiousity
i thought f only gets you 2 suitcases and isn't luggage above that really expensive?

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #636 on: March 18, 2021, 08:14:33 PM »
out of curiousity
i thought f only gets you 2 suitcases and isn't luggage above that really expensive?

You think running a tour to Antarctica for 50 people is cheap ;)?
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #637 on: March 19, 2021, 10:25:37 AM »
On Motzei Shabbos we went to Milk & Co. Started out kinda weird - never saw something like this on a restaurant table before:


is that USD?
120 characters? Hmm, I wonder what I could write with 64 characters. Boy, it's gonna be hard to use up 15 characters. W-

Offline AsherO

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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #638 on: March 19, 2021, 11:29:18 AM »
is that USD?

Nope :D It's confusing because the Peso uses the $ symbol as well

https://www.google.com/search?q=480+ARS+in+USD
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Re: Live Antarctica Trip Report
« Reply #639 on: March 19, 2021, 11:44:48 AM »
Nope :D It's confusing because the Peso uses the $ symbol as well

https://www.google.com/search?q=480+ARS+in+USD
Even less:
https://bluedollar.net/informal-rate/

Great bang for your buck in AR
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