Nanookstravels

15/02/2026

Yesterday we debarked, headed to our hotel then just walked about. Many sites we had seen before, but it was great to see inside the Buenos Aires Cathedral, and be closer to other landmarks that were not as easy to capture on the hop on/off. So many sites to see! Today, it was a whole new experience as we left downtown for the countryside to visit the Gauchos (cowboys). our guide explained the severe inflation and poverty hitting Argentina. Houses have been cramped and stacked up (and we could see so many just outside the downtown) to survive. She works for the government and makes about $800 a month, rent is $600 a month, so she must work weekends as a tour guide to survive. Most work 2-3 jobs. As she has what should be decent paying jobs, it's clear why there are so many homeless, and poverty. After leaving the city, we went to the Estancia (ranch), rode horses, ate loads of great meat, and saw a dance/singing show and a horse show where the gaucho showed how they learned from the natives how to "become one" with the horse. It was pretty cool. Dessert was of course their famous Dulce De lèche! We also tried the Mate tea. Yummy. Tomorrow we head back home to the snow!

13/02/2026

Montevideo Uruguay is a very walkable and beautiful city. Full of amazing architecture, and history. Lots of great views, food and things to discover!

11/02/2026

Penguins of Patagonia!

11/02/2026

Puerto Madryn (then onto Punta Tombo), Argentina. Right on the northern coast of Patagonia and close to the largest Magellanic penguin colony in the Americas. 40,000 penguins call it home. After a 2.5hr bus ride, it was worth it to see all ages, young ones still losing their dawn feathers, to teens to couples. We saw waddles, squawking, pruning, cuddling and porpoising in the water. What a day.

10/02/2026

Our sail away from the Falklands was spectacular and we were blessed with a beautiful sunset at sea!

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. 🇫🇰 what a beautiful little place. Population of about 3,600 people, very remote and of course in the sub arctic regions (no trees), makes it a tough place to live. Before the 1982 war, most kids didn't really attend school, people survived on burning peat moss to heat homes, and fishing was the main industry. Now the government pays for people to get post secondary education in the UK! Only about 50% cruises schedule to stop actually do, because of weather. We had pouring rain for our visits of two penguin rookeries (Magellanic and Gentoos, but we did see a couple of Kings too). It turned sunny later in the afternoon. Summertime here, but a chilly 10C! No trees, all buildings are imported ! They now heat homes by diesel. Our guide noted the summers are more rainy, and in winter they barely get snow due to climate change.

07/02/2026

Antarctica is simply breathtaking! Today we sailed into the Schollaert channel and Paradise bay. We had quite the show! Massive icebergs that the captain rotated the ship very close in front of a few times, to whales playing, breaching, waving, etc. Humpbacks that swam right next to our ship! We could hear them singing! Then of course penguins, swimming around and some on little icebergs. A sunny but cool (-2C) day, perfect weather. It's Celebrity's third and last cruise this season, and this was the best they have seen! Simply stunning! Lucky to have on board!

05/02/2026

Cap horn, Chili. The last place in South America before we traverse Drakes Passage to Antarctica. The place where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet, and is infamous for its nasty weather, claiming the lives of many mariners over the years, known as the sailors graveyard. On it sits a lighthouse, a small church, and a monument to the lives lost at sea. We are at about 55 degrees latitude south, part of the furious fifties. In maritime lore, the "roaring forties, furious fifties, and screaming sixties" refer to the increasingly violent bands of westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere. Because there is almost no land to obstruct them at these latitudes, they circle the globe with immense power, creating some of the most dangerous sailing conditions on Earth. Of course we are safe in our Ship "Equinox" with awesome stabilizers to keep us in a gentle rocking. Love having on board to narrate our travels and point out the wildlife!

04/02/2026

Ushuaia, Argentina. Our first and last "stop" before the travers the Drake Passage over to Antarctica! This pretty little city is the most southern city in the world, and the highway that begins in Alaska ends here. We visited the National Park (Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fire), where the end of the road is and the end of the world post office is (currently closed). It is beautiful with the Andes mountains in the backdrop. We can see Chili from this city. ❄️

03/02/2026

This polar bear is VERY excited to see Giant Petrels today in our wake.. and hoping to see penguins as early as tomorrow!! Woohoo ...

02/02/2026

Yeah! An albatross! Do polar bears eat Albatross? Lucky to have onboard! She is awesome and we have learned a lot about Antarctica and Penguins... she said we won't see polar bears... guess she forgot about me!