Welcome to Travel Journaling: Antarctica Entry 16 November

 Only two more blog posts (three more dates) to go. From here, C.C. and I leave the National Geographic tour and go off on our own to explore Santiago, Chile. 

16 November 2026

Mandarin Oriental 

Santiago, Chile

20:32

We said our final goodbyes to everyone at our hotel. Information was shared and exchanged. 

C.C. and I got up really early for us and got to breakfast around 7:30. We sate with K, El, and B. Breakfast was really good. There were eggs, grilled vegetables, sausages, cookies, pastries, tons of bread, yogurt, and very good coffee. They even had lactose free yogurt.

C.C. repacked (I had last night) and I went for a walk. I found the spa area - they have two hot tubs outside and a huge pool area. Unfortunately, it opened at noon and closed at 18:00, so we couldn't try them out.

Before that, C.C. El, K, and I went to the gift shop. Sadly, the art wasn't for sale, but C.C. and I bought a gift for our mom. Our aunts would have loved the hotel - it was in their art style.

D and I took a final "hike" to the beach to take pictures. D told me a bit about Patagonia and plans to come back to hike the area at some point. We got pictures of a bird that didn't fly off right away. Rabbits were everywhere and the hotel didn't mind them at all.

I got back to the hotel in time to get my bags to the shuttle. C.C. and I almost left my neck warmer in the room. I ran back and got it.

With C.C.'s premium status, C.C. we got through check-in quickly. They even checked our carry-ons for us. C.C. had El and K join us for premium check-in. We sat with Da and Mk near the cafe. C.C. bought these Oreo type cookies called Triton. They were so much more flavorful than Oreos. K thought there was hazelnut in it. B also gave me a quarter of his huge ham and cheese sandwich - it had been heated up.

Boarding the plane was delayed a bit. We had to walk out to the plane to board. The airport was small with only one date and one security check point. 

The flight was great. C.C. got us premium seats. The sandwich on this flight was very good and we were given yummy chips too. Getting into Santiago was a little bumpy, but we made it just fine - along with our luggage. 

C.C. was a bit stressed about getting to the hotel, but the Uber worked great. Santiago is a city like I've never seen before. We're in a wreathy area, but there is still poverty. However, it's not as hidden as in Buenos Aires.

The Mandarin Oriental is beautiful. Our room is on the club level and is considered two stories (basically we have to step down into a lounge area). We have a fantastic view of the mountain range. Tomorrow, we have a private tour and then we hope to spend the afternoon at the pool.

We had dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Matsuri is a Japanese, Peruvian, Chilean fusion restaurant. I got a sushi roll with steak on the outside and avocado, tempura shrimp, and cilantro on the inside of the rice. C.C. chose a pepper steak dish with steamed rice. 

Our server was great. He missed our double order of shumai, so he had C.C. try the house wine - a blend that is only made for the hotel. He told us the peppers in C.C.'s dish were colloquially called a dirty word. C.C. didn't didn't understand why I was cracking up until I explained the translation. I ate one and boy did my sinuses feel good and my mouth tingle. It was just a touch too spicy for me.

I had Peruvian donuts called, picarones, that were mixed with dulce de leche and citrus foam. They were amazing. The manager for the restaurant came over to see how we were doing. He told us that the picarones were one of the sweeter desserts they served. C.C. and I told him we didn't think it was very sweet. He understood why once we said we were Americans - he had worked in Miami and recalled that the desserts there were sugar bombs.

We ended the night by confirming our tour for tomorrow, showers (it was another rain shower), and a call with our mom. 

Until the next post. 

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Welcome to Travel Journaling: Antarctica Entry 15 November

My dad traveled a lot during his lifetime. He had a million stories about getting from one place to another. He traveled in cities facing major protests, traveled by sea during massive storms, and was once evacuated out of a country just starting a civil war. I have yet to have so many stories, but this journal entry contains one.

15 November, 2025

Remota Patagonia Lodge

Puerto Natales, Chile

21:07

Somewhere in the universe, dad is laughing his butt off. It was a hell of a travel day.

I got up a little before 7:00 to finished packing, put my suitcase outside our door, put my personal and carryon luggage in the lounge, and put on my first few layers of clothing.

C.C. decided to sleep a little longer, so I went up to the bridge one last time. The station on King George's Island is very international. It is easy to spot the Chilean flag and the huge orthodox Russian church. A great petrel made themself at home right outside the port side door to the outside. The captain said that the great petrel always shows up when they visit the island. 

Where’s the food?

There is one thing I forgot to mention yesterday. Before the polar plunge, we went to Edinburgh Hill. It was a really cool geological formation in the Antarctic Ocean that looks like it was carved by rain water. There aren't really ledges, but there are pleats like a skirt up and down the large rock.

We had breakfast with K and El. They, along with C.C. are getting sick. C.C. knocked over my coffee and we had to switch tables. 

Everyone then went to the lounge to wait to disembark. Many of us were still feeling yesterday's hike through the volcanic rocks in Whaler's Bay on Deception Island. That volcano had last erupted in the 1970s. Pe caught me while I was waiting for the bathroom and told me to go outside. It was beautiful and warmer than I expected. 

We had one last presentation on photography in the poles and that the National Science Foundation usually has grants for the arts and writing. I enjoyed the presentation, but started to overheat in all my layers of clothing. 

A little after 11:00, they began to call people down to the zodiacs. C.C. and I were in one of the last groups to go (in fact they skipped our call number, so our group just went down). The zodiac ride was nice and it was a sad farewell to the ship's crew and expedition team. However, if I ever chose to do this trip again, I would do the Drake Passage twice as today was nothing but hurry up and wait.

The tall tower is the Russian orthodox church.

We took a bus to the airport and cleaned our boots before settling in. The airport was three shipping containers put together on raised cement blocks. They provided tea, coffee, and water with several sectioned off waiting areas and a porch. I spent most of the wait on the porch. The ship crew gave all of us chicken creaser wraps before entering the zodiacs. Everyone happily ate them at the airport. We were also asked to not use the restroom at the airport since it's not easy to process the waste. 

The airport hallway - notice no TSA or security.

We watched the planes land. C.C. and I were on the second flight. The first plane was painted to look like a penguin. Our plain was white. We waved as the new group passed on the busses. 

This plane is so cool.

We then boarded the buses again - since we weren't allowed to wander around. They didn't have time to weigh our bags, so everyone de-stuffed themselves of all the items they had shoved into their coats. One gentleman surprised all of us by pulling out a pair of jeans from the front of his jacket. C.C. described the Washington University grads as "giving birth" to their clothes. Everyone's luggage fit - including my roller, though it did require the flight attendant to slam the overhead quite hard. 

I took this from the bus while waiting to board.

We were given chocolates as we boarded. I had the middle seat. The flight was about an hour and twenty minutes. We were given adorable snack boxes with facts about Adelie penguins. The cheese with sesame and pumpkin seeds along with the rhubarb crumble were good, but the chicken sandwich was rock hard, frozen solid. Our row mate, Dn, gave me his rhubarb crumble and he ate snacks he had brought on the plane. We were given a chocolate as we disembarked.

Coming into Puerto Natales was bumpy, but beautiful. I look forward to coming back since we didn't have any time to explore. I would like to see a puma. I hear they are common to spot in the national park.

The landscape is beautiful. 

Problems again arose in customs and emigration. It was going incredibly slow and then the power went out. The eventual solution was to have them stamp our passports, go through emigration, and fill out the important customs information on our own. We then had to turn it into our tour leaders at the hotel. With Puerto Natales having a tiny airport, I can see how they got approval to do this. The U.S. would never allow such a thing.

C.C. and I were on the last bus to the hotel, getting in at around 18:45. We had a little trouble getting into our room - there was a trick to it. The key is tied to an alpaca toy. We turned in our rented gear and I grabbed shows, then went to the 19:00 dinner buffet (there was another at 21:00, but we felt that was a little late). 

One of the hotel's hallways.

C.C. and I sat with K, El, B, and Br. There was a lot of meat and grilled vegetables. I liked the fried fish (something related to kippers according to B) and the chickpea falafel. 

The hotel is really cool. I wish we had another day. I explored a bit and took pictures before my phone nearly died. There are tons of rabbits and birds around the hotel. I really want to know what the colorful birds* are called. 

This is taken from a hotel window.

It was a long grueling day of travel. I think this part of the tour needs a little bit more work on National Geographic and Lindblad's part. No one was having a good time, but we were miserable together. I'm sad we've been separated from half our group, so yesterday was the real goodbye.

One of the walkways between the hotel's wings.

Going through customs in Buenos Aires still took longer then the mess we went through here. 

Teddy liked the landscape too.

It's been two years since dad passed. I know he would have found this all very amusing.

Until the next post. 

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 y'all like to hear from me.

*According to my Merlin app, this bird is a Southern Lapwing