Lead writer for our adventure documentation team.
Happy Halloween from the Chilean fjords, heading for the Drake Passage! We are well on our way to Antarctica, navigating the last of the fjords before going back to the open sea, across the infamous Drake passage. We were potentially going to stop at Cape Horn and tender to shore, but the weather conditions prevented us from doing so. Only 10% of...
Puerto Natales – last stop on the continent! Getting into port was interesting as they had to send a pilot boat ahead to check the water depth through a few of the fjord passages, to ensure we could get through and that our timing (with respect to the tides) was perfect to do so. Once we docked, we were whisked away for a tour of Torres del Paines National Park...
Yet another day at sea! Okay, technically we were not “at sea”. We sailed through the beautiful Chilean Fjords, which provide protection from harsh winds so we had a relatively smooth day. Since there isn’t much activity (and thus photos) on a sea day, here are a few pics of the fjords as we passed through. And to show you what it generally looks like in...
Another full day in the open sea, and boy what a day it has been! Early in the day the captain announced that the seas would be “fresh”. It is evident that he defines “fresh” as 8-meter swells/waves, which is approximately 24 feet. Adding to the swells was the high wind – 55 to 60 mph with 70+ mph gusts! We were experiencing what would be...
This was our first at sea day, meaning we were sailing and made no stops. Since this was an uneventful day, we’ll take time to explain this particular cruise. This is not a normal cruise – no entertainment, no 24-hour restaurants (i.e. no snacking), no casinos, no shows, etc. This is what is called an “expedition cruise”. Entertainment on board...
Heading out for lands unknown (unknown to us!). Thanks to a global pandemic, this trip was cancelled twice so we are beyond excited to enjoy this highly anticipated vacation! Tim’s mom, Margaret, is joining us for this expedition. We left KC without issues…. Except that Jay, once again, was assigned to a boarding group 2 groups ahead of Tim. We say...
Okay, today’s blog will again be relatively short on sites, as today was another general travel day. Today was the long ride to Samarkand. A nearby village on our way out was our first stop. Here we visited a family-owned ceramic workshop. This workshop has been a multi-generational business, making all forms of ceramic items (plates, bowls, cups...
Another day in Bukhara. We again walked to the bus, on which we headed for the Bolo-Khauz Mosque, near the ARK Fortress. While the mosque was not yet open (i.e., we couldn’t go in), it was still quite beautiful. While here, Jay did a quick shout-out to her company, Propio Language Services (LS) Yet another water collection basin was just in front of this mosque. In...
Ah, a fresh new day in Bukhara, Day 8. We were also told that today was the start of their “Silk & Spice Festival”, which is a 3-day long local festival, therefore places might be a little more crowded than we’d been used to. We walked to the bus, on which we headed for the Bakhaouddin Naqshbandi Memorial Complex (also called Bahoutdin Architectural...
tl;dr We left Kansas City at 1:50 pm Saturday afternoon. We arrived/checked-in to our hotel at roughly 3:20 am on Monday morning. Day 1 (travel day, flight day, etc……) a very long start. We normally don’t report on our outgoing journey, which is often why we don’t truly have Day 1’s and why this is more a narrative of the day with minimal pictures. But this...