Welcome to Travel Journaling: Antarctica Entries 7 November

Hey look! It's not a Sunday and I'm posting one of my journal entries. Unlike the first travel journal post, the rest of these are likely only going to have one full day entry due to how many things happened. Names will be shortened to the first letter or two of the first name. I also use military or the 24hr clock - this is because I occasionally confuse AM and PM. 

7 November, 2025

Arakur Resort and Spa

Ushuaia, Argentina

16:38

We had an early start, though that didn't stop me from getting food in the club lounge at 6:30. We got in the Uber at 6:45 to go to the National Airport. It is right by the ocean and is different from the airport we arrived in yesterday.

We arrived about two hours before our flight and immediately went in the wrong direction. We needed to go to Domestic Departures. We were headed to International Arrivals. Where we needed to check-in was at the opposite end of the terminal.

The line to check-in and check our bags was divided into flights going north and those going south. Naturally, the one going south (Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world) had a much longer line. Thankfully, it moved a lot faster than customs did yesterday. And if we had cut it too close, a gate agent would have helped us. They did this for people on an earlier flight who were still in line prior to departure. 

No one was in line at security.

C.C. got and extra snack and waters for both of us. I managed to get a Buenos Aires Hard Rock Cafe pin near out gate. 

At the gate, C.C. and I were confused by our tickets because we didn't have a boarding zone. It turns out that we got to board first since we were in the premium seats. C.C. and I sat in the third row. There were three seats per side, but in premium the middle seat was empty. C.C. said it was like business class in Europe. She sat by the window. I sat by the aisle. 

I fell asleep for the first hour of the flight. C.C. said there was a lot of turbulence. I didn't feel a thing. She woke me up for a mid-flight breakfast of thick yogurt, crackers, spreadable cheese, and fruit. I ate part of C.C.'s fruit. For drinks, C.C. had a tea and I had coffee and water.

One of the flight attendants assumed we spoke Spanish until he asked C.C. what she wanted to drink. She gave him a blank look and looked at me for help. I find it flattering that it is assumed we speak Spanish. C.C. and I watched 101 Scary Movie Moments until we landed.

View as we landed in Ushuaia.

The airport in Ushuaia is fairly small. We walked off the plane, went down an escalator, and were right at our baggage claim. We did have to put all our bags through another x-ray machine before we could leave. 

Instead of waiting for the shuttle bus that began at 14:00, C.C. and I took an Uber with another member of our National Geographic tour group, D. He had only brought his camera equipment and a backpack. If I ever do this again, that's all I'm brining. Another member of our tour B, also took an Uber. It came to about $5.00. We met two other couples and one of the tour guides on our flight. A lot of our group are from the Duke Alumni Association. C.C. and I kept getting asked if we had also attended Duke.

Tonight we are staying at the Arakur Resort and Spa. The hotel is part way up a mountain. It's about three miles up a gravel road with multiple switchbacks. Horses freely roam around - as do cats and dogs in the main city. The view is amazing. We're surrounded by snow capped mountains and we can see the large bay with docks for the different ships. 

We checked-in too early to get our room, so we stowed our luggage and had lunch at the hotel restaurant since it was nearly 14:00. For lunch, C.C. had a mushroom risotto and I had two empanadas with locally sourced meat - one lamb and the other had crab. The bread basket with a spiced tomato cream cheese spread was complimentary. 

After lunch, I confirmed that our luggage size was okay as long as the weight was correct, which it is. We just have to get the weight proportions just right in each bag. I plan to stuff my pockets with stuff regardless. 

Again, instead of waiting for the hotel shuttle, C.C. and I took an Uber to the city's main tourist area. I bought another pin at Ushuaia's Hard Rock Cafe. We also stopped at a chocolate store for coffee. The barista made C.C's coffee with a heart in the steamed milk. We were served shots of water with our espresso. C.C. questioned why the coffee in Argentina was so much better than in the United States. 

Historic truck in Ushuaia.

We saw a protest outside the local government building. Like back home, the people are working or want to work, but pay isn't keeping up with the cost of living. Additionally, we saw a small park dedicated to the Perons and a monument to the Yugoslavian, Italian, Spanish, and Indigenous peoples who settled in Ushuaia.

C.C. and I did take the shuttle back to the hotel at 16:00 to get our room. D and B were getting off the shuttle as we boarded.

Ushuaia looks like a combination of Iceland (but with a lot more trees and dogs), Switzerland, the Pacific Northwest (minus the random coffee shacks), and a splash of Flagstaff, AZ. There's a lot of alps influence in the architecture. It's very different from Buenos Aires. We have a great view of the mountains, water, and city from our room. We face Mt. Darwin (according to C.C.). Apparently whales were spotted in the bay yesterday. 

Teddy chilling in our room.

I could easily spend a week or more here.

When we first arrived in our hotel room, our bags were already here. It took us a bit to figure out how the curtains worked. We needed to turn on all the electricity to the room before turning on the lights, TV, and opening the curtains (with a button). C.C. said something similar happened to her and a friend in Jamaica. There is also a large window looking into the bathroom from the sleeping area. 

This was slightly over an hour of writing. Our group dinner is at 19:30 with an informational overview. Details will be recorded later. Until then, we are resting.

21:46

The dinner this evening was nice. C.C. and I saw with the two couples we met on the plane, B and his friend Br, and a couple from Indiana. Everyone but the couple from Indiana, C.C. and me were on the tour with Duke University. Their group makes up about a third of the ship.

I was in the fish line for dinner. I had black hake with mushroom risotto (same as C.C.'s lunch), vegetable ravioli, ceviche, quinoa salad, and some bread. C.C. had the roast with potatoes and penne pasta. I really liked the tres leches dulces and apple tart for dessert. The lemon curd was just okay.

There was a brief presentation during the dinner. The tour guides went over our itinerary for tomorrow and that our luggage would be picked up around 8:30 from our hotel rooms and directly taken to the ship. They, thankfully, confirmed that there would be a scale on the ship to test our luggage before getting on the plane in Antarctica. I asked a lot of questions about the logistics, safety drilled, and possible natural disasters. They are predicting a Drake Shake instead of a Drake Lake. The tour coordinator suggested I join the morning stretch classes to help with any anxiety.

Before heading to bed, the whole group watched our ship, The National Geographic Explorer, come into port. It looks like C.C. and I are unlikely to be the youngest on the trip. There are a few people who look like they are in their early 20s. 

We watched the sunset from our room. I think it's funny that the TV tells us how to operate things in our room - to be fair I needed help with the shower. 

Until the next post. 

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Welcome to Climbing Mountains

Twenty years ago, one of the biggest traumatic events in the world happened. It triggered a series of further traumatic events that have rippled to affect things through the 2000s, 2010s, and today. There are adults who don’t remember a time when the US wasn’t at war.

But I don’t want to discuss that today. I’ve already written plenty of blog posts about it. 

This week has been stressful. My cat has been sick and I’m hoping she’s okay. One two hour trip to the vet left us with more questions than answers. I think she’s getting better, but it was a tough couple of days.

So much of the past few years have felt like never ending challenges - like trying to climb a mountain and finding more of that mountain to climb. I’ll think I’ll get to the top of my mountain, congratulate myself, turn around, and shout “you’ve got to be kidding me” as I see more mountain.

 However, I keep climbing that mountain because I know at some point I will reach the top and I’ll feel fantastic once I get there.

Just so long as this doesn’t turn into the story of Sisyphus.

If you’re not familiar with the Greek myth, it’s about a guy named Sisyphus who kidnapped the god of death, Thanatos, tricked Persephone, and royally pissed off Hades. He was punished by the gods to roll a giant rock up a mountain only to have the giant rock roll back down the mountain over and over again once he reached the top. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a great synopsis of the myth (click here). 

Personally, I always picture Sisyphus getting squashed into a pancake like a Loony Toon when the rock rolls back down.

Right now, I feel like the mountain of problems and stress I’m climbing is never ending. Some days, I feel like I’m Sisyphus about to be flattened by everything I’m doing - though I’m not sure which god I annoyed/tricked/kidnapped to cause that.

But unlike Sisyphus, I plan on getting to the top of my mountain. Sisyphus is on the mountain all by himself. I know I have help. It’s safer to climb (and hike) with a buddy or a group. They’ll catch you if you trip, hold the back of your shirt so you don’t fall off a ledge, and cheer you on when all you want to do is quit. We’ll get to the peak of the mountain together. 

By the way that squirrel was pooping . What a great view for that.

Once there, I’ll relax a bit and then find a new mountain to climb. Because even though mountain climbing might be tough, it feels great to get to the top. Plus there’s usually a spectacular view - especially when you can share it with those you climbed the mountain with.

How do I know this?

I climbed a mountain last week.

It wasn’t a big mountain, but it was a lot more precarious than my usual hikes to a spectacular peak. I went and visited my cousins who live near Acadia National Park in Maine. We had to get up at 5:45 to start climbing before everyone else got there. By the time we’d hiked the whole loop and got back to the ground, there was a line of people snaking their way up the rock’s face.

We’re all going to climb mountains. Some will be small and steep, others tall with gradual winding paths to the summit. Not one of us will have the same experience making our climbs. It’s not a contest or a race. Like any good story it’s a journey.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.