Welcome to Travel Journaling: Antarctica Entries 4-6 November

Below are the first three entries in my travel journal for my trip to Antarctica. Some things have been edited or rearranged for clarity and names have been changed. I'm not sure how frequently these will go out, but I'll try to post every few days rather than just Sundays for these. 

Additionally, you will likely see a panda in these journal posts. One of my sister's friends left the panda at my house and I had to take it on this trip to give to my sister to take home. The panda's name is Teddy. He is rarely mentioned in my journal.

4 November, 2025

Atlanta, GA

Made it to our aunt and uncle's house. We had a veggie pizza for dinner. The government is still shut down, but TSA wasn't bad in D.C. Hopefully, TSA will be okay tomorrow too. 

Before we got to our aunt and uncle's house, I spotted an animal on the side of the road that looked like a cat, but was the size of a fox. I'm pretty sure it was a young bobcat. My first time seeing one in the "wild". 

5 November, 2025

Atlanta, GA

We are still at our aunt and uncle's house. I overpacked and am leaving some things here. I will also borrow a bigger suitcase. I'll come back in January to retrieve everything. I should have only packed one of my regular bags and backpack, but no - I didn't. 

We are just going to chill here today instead of going out. I'm nervous as to how my Spanish will be. 

6 November, 2025

Buenos Aires, Argentina

InterContinental

12:19

We arrived early along with many other international flights. Getting through customs took about an hour. It led into a large Duty Free store before we retrieved our bags. Once we got through everything, C.C. found a Starbucks right away. We've been mostly relying on my Spanish - which is just okay. 

The flight into Buenos Aires was fine. C.C. got me a window seat in Premium at the very front of the section. I had tons of leg room. I was able to sleep about 5 hours and watched Casablanca and Fantastic Mr. Fox. My remote didn't work, but luckily I had a touch screen media player. I had to take off my seat belt and lean forward to use it, but it worked.

Teddy got to fly DeltaOne

My first impression of Argentina was that it reminded me a little of Florida. There are palm trees and it's flat. We saw a lot of horses on the way into the city. The InterContinental is very nice. We are on the 15th floor with access to the Club. C.C. upgraded us. 

One last note, C.C.'s friend, B, left her panda at my house when she was there two weeks ago. The panda, named Teddy, is our mascot. We've been taking pictures with him everywhere...the DeltaOne Lounge, on the plane, at our aunt and uncle's house, and with our complimentary fancy chocolates in our hotel room. He'll have his own story to tell by the end of this trip. 

Teddy and the fancy chocolates.

20:52

It cooled off. 

C.C. is fretting about our luggage which is causing me to fret, too. Oh, well, we can't go back in time. I will speak with our tour manager tomorrow.

We mostly stayed at the hotel, though I did venture out for a couple of walks. I enjoyed the pastries and drinks in the Club Lounge. The hotel gave us the fancy chocolates and a lot of water. I spoke with one of the doormen who gave me us a list of local restaurants to try. We chose D'oro and I made a reservation at 19:00. The doorman let me practice my Spanish for a bit.

At 17:00, I went for a walk to see The Casa Rosada and The Plaza de Mayo. I took a slight detour (i.e. I got a little lost) and walked by a lovely colonial church, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario Convento de Santo Domingo. I thought The Catedral Metropolitana and The Museo Histórico Nacional del Cabildo y la Revolución de Mayo were beautiful buildings. I also took a few pictures of the blooming trees with pretty blue flowers. I've no idea what they're called, but they are eye catching. The walk from the plaza to the hotel was about 10 minutes. 

The Casa Rosada

D'oro was a good choice for dinner. We started with two types of bruschetta, the first was with anchovies and the second was with salmon. I had pesto gnocchi and C.C. had saltimbocca with mushrooms. We ended up having a fantastic panna cotta with berries for dessert. It was a nice Argentinian Italian restaurant. 

I feel that the aesthetic of Buenos Aires is a mix of colonial, 1950s brutalism, and modern. Outside our hotel room window is a large church. There is some street art, but I didn't take many pictures. People also dry their clothes on lines on the roofs of buildings. C.C. and I agree that we will have to return one day. 

These trees were in bloom all over the city.

We have to get up early tomorrow for our next flight. I'm excited to see the bottom of the world.

Until the next post. 

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