WanderlustandWhimSea

Rather than eating Turkey I spent my Thanksgiving winging my way to Cape Town, South Africa for the start of a Grand African adventure along the west coast of the continent. The catamaran ride was billed as an opportunity to see seals, in fact there were 60,000 loud, smelly, chest bumping, mating seals. The experience… Continue reading Cape Town, South Africa

The end of June is the ideal time to see the Lavender fields in Provence. We visited several markets that had regional products and wandered the narrow streets. I discovered and fell in love with the scent of verbena and had to allocate premium suitcase space to bring home verbena soap. I also couldn’t resist… Continue reading Provence – Lavender, Laughter and Wine

There’s nothing so iconic as a visit to Mont St Michel in France. From a distance it makes an impression as it rises out of the water during low tide. I think my last visit was 30+ years ago and my memory was sketchy. It’s quite different from the past visit, as this time, we… Continue reading Vive la France

The Falklands lived up to their windy and rainy reputation. I made a strategic wardrobe error and didn’t wear my waterproof pants. After exiting the vehicle I was immediately impaled with wind and driving rain and hail. One more day in the Falklands that promises a visit to an Albatross rookery and then back to… Continue reading The Falkland Islands and Penguins with Attitude

This spot at South Georgia had over 200K King Penguins. The best part was it was raining pretty hard and the rain made the penguins smell less noticeable. This is the largest concentration of King Penguins in the world. The innocent bird stole a penguins egg for breakfast and the penguins were irate. The zodiac… Continue reading King Penguins- As far as the eye could see

South Georgia is a very special spot for wildlife but that wasn’t always the case. Today was a bit haunting as the first stop was an old Whaling Station that processed 35 Whales a Day at its highest production. A breath taking 175K whales were killed and processed during the station’s history. More than I… Continue reading South Georgia – The Serengeti of Antarctica

On the third day in Antarctica the plan was to visit a penguin colony until the wind picked up from 20 knots, to 40 knots, to 70 knots in a manner of minutes. Operations were suspended but lots of guests had a wild zodiac ride and bouncy return to the ship. My group was scheduled… Continue reading Antarctica is Beautiful but The Weather Window Narrows Quickly

When I retired in Oct 2018 I had the goal to travel to all 7 Continents. I was on a quick pace through 2019 but then Covid hit and the wheels or wings fell off my travel efforts. I’m very happy to finally check off this 7th elusive continent. My first morning in Antarctica I… Continue reading My 7th Continent – Check

I made it across the Drake Passage and it was actually a bit better than I anticipated. The ship was pitching and rolling but an extra dose of seasickness medication and all was well. I can’t say the same for the dishes and glasses at breakfast. A big wave threw most of the breakfast plates… Continue reading Antarctica!

Im finally on my way to Antarctica. At the moment I’m cruising Glacier Alley as we stay inside a channel to avoid the worst of the Drake Passage. I’ve spent the last week heading south from Santiago Chile. So far it’s been Chile, Patagonia and now Tierra Del Feugo. Next stop is Argentina and then… Continue reading The Tip of South America