A day of miscalculations and preparations.

Day 4
Thursday, January 2nd
Steps taken: 6,426

I woke up around 5 a.m. and considered going back to bed for another hour, however thought it would be more efficient to shower and finish packing by 6-6:30 because we wanted to get breakfast promptly at 7 in order to get a cab to Lake Esmeralda.

It had rained during the night and was still raining a bit.  A little rain wasn't going to stop us.  After a hearty breakfast and a spot of tea, we went to the cab stand to head out to the lake to hike until about 11 since we needed to be back at a decent time for boarding the ship.  As we got closer to Lake Esmeralda, the weather became more and more inclement.  When we got the welcome center for the lake, we were greeted by the groundskeeper who told us that the direct path was closed as well as the cafe.  Instead of turning around, the cab driver Juan told us about an alternate path to the lake.  Despite the snow and rain (snrain) coming done relatively hard we had to see the lake.  We told Juan to pick us up at the exact spot he dropped us off at 11.  Big mistake!

At first we were in the woods therefore we had some protection from the elements, but the paths were muddy.  I had my hiking boots, but Scott and Dan had regular sneakers causing their socks and feet to get wet much quicker.  Slowly the water was seeping through our coats, gloves and pants.  When we reached the open trails it was more or less a washout for us.  We walked for thirty minutes, reached a waterfall and then turned back.  Considering we had almost another two hours to wait for Juan, we needed to find shelter.

We knocked on the groundskeeper's cabin door and he called the cab company for us.  No answer.  Then he called another service and they were on their way.  In the mean time, we rung out our hats and gloves, played with the groundskeeper's orange tabi, and I admired the wolves and sled dogs on the property.  He was kind enough to let us into the visitor's center and put a fire on.  We dried out as much as possible and laughed at how we were such stubborn gringos.

The cab came and got us and took us back to the hotel.  Scott attempted to call the cab company, but they had no idea who Juan was!  He even went over there to clarify the situation, but was unsuccessful until after Juan returned.  We gave him (and the groundskeeper earlier) some money for their troubles and had a mildly embarrassing, but entertaining story to tell.  Those kinds of stories are what adventurers live for.  Well maybe not live for.

At the hotel waiting for the bus to the MS Expedition I got a hot chocolate, some lamb empenadas and tried drying my hat, scarf, gloves and jacket some more under the rest room's hand driers.  I also did a bit of reading (My book for the trip was Haruki Murakami's "1Q84".  I read 950 of the 1155 pages of the book while away.) and we conversed with some more of our fellow Expeditioners before it became time to leave for the port.

The buses were a little ridiculous in the way that they were lined up and how they tried to leave the parking lot for the docks, which were only a block or two away from the hotel.  The buses pulled out starting from the farthest of the three and tried to drive between the other two buses parked at an angle and the parked cars.  I honestly don't know how our driver didn't clip/smash into a parked car or the final bus waiting to leave.  There really had to have been a better way to do this.  Probably ten easier ways.

After that, we were finally boarded onto the ship.  I was in Cabin 304 with Melvin from Los Angeles.  He was traveling by himself and has done an extensive amount of traveling as well.  Out of the 163 passengers, he was one of ten or eleven doing the optional kayaking excursions.

Once we were settled in, we wandered around the ship and then had a meeting in the Discovery Lounge about different things on the ship and meeting the crew.  There were sandwiches and beverages and it gave us a further sense of community.  All of the travelers were first timers to Antarctica although many of us are veteran travelers.  Many of us have been to at least half of the continents before.  (This would be my sixth and for Scott and Dan, their final.)

The age groups were also a wonderful thing because they were incredibly varied.  There were a few kids and teenagers, a few 20 year olds, a decent amount of 30 year olds like us and then several people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.  We were expecting it to be more skewed towards the older crowds initially.  Even the countries of origin were well diversified.  An astonishing group of travelers.

After the meeting, we wandered about more and then had dinner.  I had the pork medallons, with king crab meat.  They were excellent.  There was also an appetizer of spinach on mussels lightly covered in cheese, which I want the recipe for.  Traveling and eating are serious business for me and this was a rewarding trip for both.

After dinner I relaxed and then wandered around a bit more before heading back to the room to read and then sleep.  Onward to Antarctica!  EXCELSIOR!