zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Mar 26, 2020 17:37:42 GMT -8
The latest from rebeccad: "We launch from the ship in the morning, with the 11:50 am flight to Santiago, Chile (the only one, so you can see if it’s a go) [Zeke: LATAM 405 for those who wish to track it via FlightAware or some other app] . We then leave Santiago at midnight for LAX, and will get to SFO around 1 on the 28th. Compared to the epics some people have had to patch together, it’s an easy itinerary (the woman from New Caledonia has flown to Paris to wait out the impossibility of returning to her home, with no idea when or how she will be able to do so). I’ll keep in touch as we go on. The first leg and much of the time in Santiago will be with a number of our shipmates." This is Zeke speaking: My info, at this time, has the flight delayed nearly 3 hours, but that won't impact a midnight departure for LAX, as long as the flights actually depart, they should be back in the US Saturday.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Mar 26, 2020 17:48:25 GMT -8
Good news. Good news.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Mar 26, 2020 18:24:47 GMT -8
Fingers crossed.
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Post by autumnmist on Mar 26, 2020 21:16:29 GMT -8
I hope everything goes well. The return home will be long and tiring, especially given the seasickness. I'm guessing she and her husband will be very relieved to be back home, on firm ground, and in their own comfortable environments. zeke, thanks for sharing the update.
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Mar 27, 2020 5:51:38 GMT -8
Right now the flight only delayed about half an hour out of Montevideo...fingers crossed
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 27, 2020 6:31:22 GMT -8
They have announced boarding for the flight. The passenger list seems to be mainly from 3 cruise ships, all come directly from Antarctica, so we are in pretty good shape. Things will get less safe in Santiago, but we are strong and healthy so not terribly worried. I’ll report again from Santiago if possible!
P.S. We had a great time in Antarctica, and aside from some 72 hours of puking (on my part; my husband was pretty unaffected and continued editing photos the whole way) have mostly enjoyed the bizarre continuation of the trip!
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Mar 27, 2020 6:49:33 GMT -8
Good news! Hope to see you are back in the USA tomorrow!
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Post by autumnmist on Mar 27, 2020 6:55:17 GMT -8
rebeccad, anxious for your return, and anxious to see those photos. Somehow, I missed any post on when you actually were at Antarctica, so I'm especially interested in any updates. Stay safe.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Mar 27, 2020 7:23:32 GMT -8
Santiago checks you in in a strange way. You need to figure out which line(s) your flight is assigned to. Then get in that line way early and wait. They don't open the line for checkin/baggage until specific times. You can't just walk up to any counter/line.
On the other hand, travel is presumably way down, so it may not be as confusing as usual.
Good luck!
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crawford
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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.--Edison
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Post by crawford on Mar 27, 2020 8:18:35 GMT -8
Good luck to you. One of my students is stuck in Argentina. Two flights cancelled so she's decided to settle in with family there for a few weeks until things calm down. I'm praying for you.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 27, 2020 10:21:27 GMT -8
Hey, everyone! We’ve reached Santiago and set up camp with a half a dozen other refugees from our ship, taking over a chunk of an unused gate (most of them are unused as few flights are actually going in and out). I have read over all the posts on my situation, and thank you all for your concern, and especially zeke for passing on info. To answer a few questions: We had a fantastic time in Antarctica, but I haven’t passed on any photos because wifi on the ship was strictly text-only. I’ll try to attach something to this post as the airport wifi is strong, and there are comparatively few people making demands on it. [Nope. Imagbb doesn’t like the unsecured wifi. I’ll have to share later]. Our ship, the Plancius (run by Oceanwide Expeditions, and yes, this is an endorsement of the heartiest kind—they have been amazing through some very challenging times), did start life as a research vessel, but was rebuilt as a cruise ship, carrying about 110 passengers. It does, however, retain some of the more spartan aspects of a research vessel, as in: no workout room, no treadmills, etc. For us, it was pretty upscale accommodations, but I realize that a “normal” cruise ship would have a lot of stuff we didn’t. Ours was a “basecamp adventure,” meant to be mostly transport to the Antarctic Peninsula and a place to sleep and eat between outings. Honestly, the only thing I really missed was a quiet space. There were basically two public spaces: the dining room (usually closed except for meals) and the Observation Lounge, with a bar in one corner and a library of sorts off the other (but not sonically isolated). We created our own workouts, once the “bonus voyage” began (before that, we were too busy). We participated in informal Pilates classes (once I was done being sick), and walked laps and climbed stairs all over the ship (again, once things calmed down and we could go outside—I think the outer decks were closed the whole time I was sick, except my bonus 3/4-day just before arrival). Squats, lunges, crunches, push-ups, etc., rounded out the pathetic effort to counteract the incredible food that the chef somehow managed to keep producing for 6 days past the time we should have all disembarked! That man deserves a medal! Improvised entertainment included a game of Assassin, scavenger hunt, chess tournament, and lectures on a wide range of topics from both the staff and passengers. About the seasickness: we did have a very rough return on the Drake, notoriously the worst waters in the world. That was considered in some ways karma for having had a “Drake Lake” on the way south. I wasn’t the only one who got sick, but it was pretty apparent that I broke all records for having it the worst, and dehydration was a real concern after 72 hours. Fortunately, about then (which was also about a day longer than it would have lasted had we returned to Ushuaia as intended) things calmed down and I recovered. I am unlikely, however, to sign on for any vessel larger than a kayak anytime soon. Our ship’s company was incredibly healthy, and free of colds as well as corona, so we are a bit sorry to have to leave that safe haven. All, however, were more than ready to be on land, as well as to get home. crawford, it’s pretty clear that no flights (or any other transport) are going in or out of Argentina at this point, so I hope your student is able to stay comfortably!
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 27, 2020 10:27:24 GMT -8
Okay, I got a better connection, so here is a little teaser. This was a late-season trip, with summer tipping into fall, so we didn’t get a ton of blue sky. But we did have some amazing calm days. On this day we were able to combine zodiacs, blowing snow, and breeching/fluking whales.
We did have some sun, as well as clouds, on our afternoon in the kayaks.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 27, 2020 10:28:32 GMT -8
Santiago checks you in in a strange way. You need to figure out which line(s) your flight is assigned to. Then get in that line way early and wait. They don't open the line for checkin/baggage until specific times. You can't just walk up to any counter/line. On the other hand, travel is presumably way down, so it may not be as confusing as usual. Good luck! Happily, no issues there, as we are merely here in transit—there is no leaving the airport, as we would do in normal times with this long a layover.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Mar 27, 2020 11:16:35 GMT -8
The checkin lines are just numbered, something like 1-30. They don't say "LAN Chile" or anything. But it sounds like you don't have to deal with that. Bueno!
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Post by autumnmist on Mar 27, 2020 12:38:17 GMT -8
rebeccad , you've already whetted my appetite for photos... from a beautiful, glassy looking ice backed by a stately iceberg to a misty ship and a stunning whale fluke, to a composite - iceberg, ship and kayakers. Magnificent! Perhaps it's the angle, but are the two ships the same one, or were there actually 2 ships there?
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