The Traveling Widower

Tag: nature

  • Living the Good Life in Antarctica

    November 20th, 2025

    This will in no way, be as weird as the last one. I promise.

    As I’ve mentioned previously, Jan and I avoided cruise vacations, with the exception of the one trip to the South Pacific Islands. The ship we were on, the Paul Gauguin, was relatively small (300 passengers), had all the usual features one would expect on a cruise liner (multiple restaurants, swimming pool, casino, etc.) but at the time, was fairly old and dated. We thought it was nice, but had nothing to compare it to. 

    The three ships I’ve cruised on this past year were even smaller, and were extremely comfortable and function for expedition activities, but not worthy of a separate write up. No complaints at all (other than the cavitation issue), but just not worth describing at any length.

    The ship I’m currently on, the National Geographic/Lindblad Resolution, is worth posting about. I’d seen pictures of it, and kind of glanced through the Web site, but was absolutely floored when I set foot on board. Wow would be an understatement.

    At first glance, as we walked up from the catamarin we had cruised around the Ushuaia harbor, the ship looked huge compared to the 3 other ships I had sailed on. It is an ice breaker, and has to have more bulk, but you don’t really get a feel for how “bulky” until you walk up to it. The ship is relatively new, and has the smell of a new place. It’s beautiful inside – very modern, and extremely high-tech. They have an IT officer who manages all the software (hmmm …. I’d go back to work to get that job).  Rather than go on endlessly like I always seem to do, I’ll just throw out a bunch of photo’s with descriptions.

    The photos above are of the ships lounge, name the Ice Lounge – this is the gathering place for presentations, mandatory training, and daily summaries. It also had the main bar, and the photography workshop. Very techy, with LCD screens all over the place, and a great view toward the aft. 

    The lounge is also a nice place to watch the sunset with a nightcap – this was at 10:15PM. It never really gets dark this time of year

    The eight level forward has another small restaurant (TheDen) and a library/observatory, the best viewing spot on the ship. There is also a huge “iPad” which has a map and current position. The view is incredible, and if you remember to bring your parka up there, the observation deck is the best place for viewing wildlife and scenery.

    We were getting our first views of Antarctica after 4 days of travel. Woo Hoo! This level is also a great place to have breakfast – while watching whales spouting. Never done that before.

    Right below the observation deck is the bridge – all the National Geographic/Lindblad ships have an open bridge policy. You can go in anytime of day, unless there is a crises, and as long as you do not touch anything. No steering wheel – it’s all electronic.

    I was able to talk to Captain Picard for while the last time I was up there. Most of the staff are Klingon. If you touch anything, they will phaser you (on stun of course). The transporter room is right next to the bridge.

    The main dining room is on deck 5 (just down the hall from my cabin) – it’s all open seating, and buffet style for dinner. The food is excellent as expected. Lunch and breakfast are also served here, as well as the smaller kitchen on deck 8. Everyone gets an invitation to a special, multi-course tasting dinner at the smaller restaurant. It was a lot like being on the CNN Michelin Star show – the head chef puts out an incredible menu, and you can also do a special wine paring with the meal (it was worth it…of course I did that).

    The ship also has a large spa with sauna’s, two hot tubs, and igloos if you want to sleep out in the freezing cold all night. No thanks.

    And a few more random images above from inside the ship.

    After four days of travel, we can finally see Antarctica. Penguin Day has arrived!!!!

  • How do you pack for Antarctica?

    I’m less than 3 weeks away from Penguin Day (November 16th), and I just completed my first test pack. I’m in big trouble. I’ve got too much stuff. Way too much for the suitcase I’ve used on every other trip so far. How come you might ask. Well, it’s complicated. First of all, I’ll be gone for almost 2 full weeks, so you need all the basics like underwear, shirts and socks (I plan on using the laundry service which helps a bit)

    And then there’s that weather thing. I’ll start out flying from Sacramento, to Los Angeles, and then on to Santiago where temperatures are similar to where I’m starting – high in the low 80’s. The next day, we fly to Ushuaia, Argentina where we spend the day cruising around the fjords before boarding the Resolution to head off to Antarctica. The weather in that port city can vary between 80 and 50 this time of year, and it will probably be nippy cruising around. I’ll probably want to wear a few layers, and heavier pants since we will be spending time out in the open, photographing the scenery and wildlife. 

    Then we board the ship and spend the next two days at sea navigating the infamous Darwin passage. It will be nice and cozy warm on board. There’s no dress code on National Geographic cruises, but I really don’t want to dress like a complete slob. Jan would be very unhappy if I go back to my old wardrobe habits (jeans, t-shirts, sweat shirts). And there will be times (many I hope) when we will be out in the viewing areas when there are photo opportunities of ocean beasties. Time to don windproof/waterproof layers. 

    Once we get to Antarctica, the fun begins. This is spring time in the land of ice and penguins, with temperatures averaging in the low 20’s (F). That’s really cold, but not that different from skiing in the Rockies. Activities will include kayaking on open inflatable kayaks, cruising in open Zodiac boats to view wildlife and scenery, and on shore “hiking” (snow shoes or cross-country skiing) to commune with the wildlife. Here’s where the packing challenges begin. This is sort of like packing for a ski vacation in, say, Canada, where you are flying to your destination, thus limiting what you can bring along. NatGeo provides the outer layer – a waterproof, hooded shell with a heavy fleece jacket. So you do not need to include that on the way there, but you get to take it home (if you want). Those will take up a lot of luggage space. Or I could just wear them on the plane. That could happen. Good thing I’m flying 1st class and will not have to battle for overhead luggage space.

    All the additional, required winter layers take up a lot of room in luggage. Insulated, waterproof pants are a must for most every activity. Those theoretically could be used for kayaking, but ski pants were not really designed for being immersed in water (which hopefully will not happen), so waterproof kayak pants are a better choice for that activity. And it would be nice to have something else to wear on board for evening gatherings. So that makes a minimum of three pairs of pants, other than what you wear for travel. I went a bit crazy shopping for this trip (hard to believe…it’s become a new hobby for me) – I bought North Face insulated pants, and a pair of fleece pants at the Colorado REI, and already had the kayak bottoms, and a pair of winter weight hiking pants that Jan bought me years ago. So that makes four for packing, although the fleece pants are also a thermal layer. And then I found a really nice pair of fleece lined pants, on sale, the other day. That would be overkill. Darn. I’ll save those for my January trip to Yosemite. 

    My pants dilemma – way too many!

    Thermal layers are thin, but still take up a lot of room in luggage unless you are a small size, which I’m not (tall, not wide!). You need more than one pair of each unless you want to do sink laundry, which is difficult in a small cabin, with a tiny bathroom. A couple of fleece sweaters for wearing on board take up a bit more space. And you need heavy, waterproof gloves, a hat, scarf/buff, and heavy boot socks – no flip flops on this trip. And, it would be nice to have another pair of lightweight, comfortable shoes for wandering around on the ship..sneakers would be a good choice since there is a nice gym on board. 

    And you still need room for all the odds and ends everyone carries on trips (meds, toiletries), and I’ll probably have some overflow from the camera bag. That’s almost worth another post, but I’ll spare you from another boring description of camera gear. Oh yeah, I also need to stuff a small pack in there somehow.

    This is why I always start packing a few weeks before the flight – I have plenty of time to reconsider what I really need for the trip, and can pare down to basics if need be. I do have one larger suitcase, and my next test will be to repack into that one, before I start eliminating items (except for the comfy lined pants….already out). We bought this particular piece of luggage for our one and only cruise so I know it will fit under the bed in my cabin. As long as the weight is under 50lbs, I’m good to go.

    My trips to warmer locals have been a lot easier to pack for, even with cramming snorkel gear into the suitcase. No gloves, heavy sweaters or thermal layers – just shorts, some shirts and a pair of beach shoes. The Alaska trip was relatively easy as well – just rain gear and the kayak stuff. I did bring my down sweater along, but never wore it. With the exception of the Churchill (Northern Lights) trip in 2027, all of my future adventures will be to relatively warm climates, so packing will be easier. Iceland will be in mid-summer – it may be wet, but not freezing cold. Patagonia will be a lot like the Alaska trip – possibly wet, but not freezing. Both the Baja Jones and the Run-from-the-bears Kodiak trips will be easy to pack for since there are limitations on luggage size and weight in the small single engine planes. I’ll be packing a duffel bag for clothing. 

    Since travel has become the focus of my life (Bromberg 2.0), I’m going to have a lot of opportunities to improve on my packing skills. My house will likely continue to develop into an REI outlet store as I find more specialized toys and clothing for the specialized requirements for each adventure. I’ve already got my eyes on a line of hard duffel bags for the Kodiak trip. I’m waiting for someone to invent spray on clothing. It could happen.