They are just precious little treasures, and I know Gail can't wait to see those grandbabies! Makes me eager for my third to arrive this summer!

Hopefully, you LLAMA's will see a "Drake Lake" effect when you get to the passage. Eugene.... my sister from DC has been snowed in with us here (I live 3 hours away)and hey, the federal government is shut down tomorrow, so give yourself another day that won't count against your generous vacation allowance! We were down there on the Explorer (Minerva) a few years ago with Ngaire and Ken on ICE, and rocked and rolled with the best of them. I think I was prone for two days. Can't wait to see Ken's photos, I hope you get to Iceberg Alley, I think it is called.

We already went through Iceberg Alley. I'm pretty sure that is the area where we saw the Italian Glacier. Fortunately, things are now relatively calm. It's only 6:00 AM and there's not much to see out the port side.

I know a lot of people will be happy--including Carolyn and Don Rodman--with the final score of the Superbowl and the Saints win.

Yes, I can certainly use all the help with my leave balance, but I'm not so evil ;) as to wish more snow on the Nation's Capital. I've seen the articles saying that DC may get another 5 inches by Wednesday.

Think I'll work on the blog a bit while Gail sleeps. Glad we can "divide" the cabin.

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Eugene

Sights around Deception Island:



Close-up


A couple of icebergs



Table-top Iceberg (looks like an Alien Spaceship to me; it's so perfectly square and huge)


Striped Cape Petrels near the ship

Photos from Punta Arenas, Chile - The Beagle Channel - Ushuaia, Argentina - and the Drake Passage:


Magellanic Penguins outside of Punta Arenas, Chile


Shops at the square in Punta Arenas.


Beautiful Alpaca and Wool Sweaters at the square. Prices ranged from $20 - $30US.


The Beagle Channel.


A Glacier from the Horizon Lounge Deck.

Our 4-Wheel Drive excursion in Ushuaia, Argentina.


A Beaver Dam in Ushuaia. Beavers are a menace in Ushuaia.


Locals passed us up on their 4-Wheelers.


The Europa, a masted ship in the Drake Passage, which was pitching and rolling in the waves.

Wow! That's a scary photo of the Europa, I'm a little seasick and green just looking :eek: :ohmy: Stunning pix's!

I would NOT want to be on that small masted ship!

Great photos as usual :app:

That ship really gets around. Here's a photo of it that Alice took at Rowe's Wharf in Boston harbor July 2009, on a calmer day.

Congratulations to the proud Grandparents! The boys are precious!

Precious babies & great photos, Eugene & Ken. Whoa, these shots of the Europa remind me of the old photos/drawings of Shackleton's ship, Endurance :eek:

Fabulous photos from both of you! Thank you!

Truly are beautiful babies, even tho' as the mother of 2 boys, that may not be the PC term!

Kathy: As I often said to my boys in teen yrs - "and you were such beautiful babies" :D :D :D

Joanna,
You ALWAYS make me LOL!!!(which I really need at this moment!)

BUT, mine were not as-- fill in the adjective-- as Gail's! (especially considering they were twins! ) God bless Mom for carrying them all this time! Mine seemed like twins ( 17 mos, apart) but nothing like the real thing!

Congratulations Gail and Eugene, beautiful little boys.

I agree, looking at the Europa in those waves made me feel sea sick.

Great pictures Ken.

Eugene, you aren't missing anything will all this snow, its cold, we have about 2 feet of snow in the VA - DC - MD area, some areas have as much as 3 feet, official amount at Dulles was 3.2 feet and more coming today/tonight, expecting anywhere from 8 to 20 more inches depending on where one is. Fairfax County is in the 12 -18 range! UGH!

What cute babies! Congrats Gail & Eugene!

Fab photos! Keep 'em coming, please!

Peggy, was the dinner conversation with Charlie Gibson civil or did you have some fun? :D

Marc, there is the 2006 Penfolds "Koonunga Hill" Shiraz-Cabernet onboard and John Arias, head sommelier, said that in Argentina they will bring aboard some malbec wines.

More Photos From Llama:


Ken, Chris, Gail, Linda, Don, Carolyn, Eugene, & Ngaire - Mariner Observation Lounge before dinner off of Elephant Island, Antarctca.


Peggy, Fred, Jan, & Jerry.


Eugene & Gail at her birthday dinner in Compass Rose.


Susan, Susan, Ngaire, Gail in Star's Lounge on Penguin Night.


An iceburg with Elephant Island in the background.

WOW! amazng pictures of the icebergs Ken.

Everyone looks like they are having a great time. Hi Peggy, Jerry, Fred and Jan!!!

Just had a chance to log in and catch up.

Gail I love the new babies, congratulations. They were almost born on your birthday

Eugene and Ken keep the pictures coming they are wonderful Makes me want to be there.

Have a drink for me.

Susan

These pictures are so great.....thanks for taking us along with you on your journey!

As we head to the Falklands, here are a few photos. They are also on my blog. It's sunny right now, but the seas are fairly rough and have been throughout the night. We're hoping for better weather tomorrow at Port Stanley. The forecast looks pretty good, but because we tender, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of us plan to go on an excursion in the hopes of seeing King Penguins.

----------------

We could have sworn there was a shipwreck on Elephant Island:



But a close-up revealed an illusion:



Blue and white iceberg (light effects):



This table-top iceberg looked like a shopping mall to me:



Elephant Island with some sun:




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Eugene

Eugene:

When I was in Alaska I found it very difficult to get true color definition. Are you using a filter?

Cheers! Ray

Marc, the coversation with Charles was very civil, but I didn't pass up the opportunity to also have some fun. Surprisingly, he agreed with most of my comments. We've finally got some sun today after sailing through thick fog most of yesterday. We're looking forward to getting back into some warmer weather in a few days, but first we have the penguins in the Falkland Islands.

Ray, No filter, though I definitely "editing" them in iPhoto. I'm using my brand new Panasonic G-1 micro 4/3 compact DSLR. I really like it, and I hope to take lessons to make greater use of all the fancy setting available.

-----------

Eugene

[Marc, the coversation with Charles was very civil, but I didn't pass up the opportunity to also have some fun. Surprisingly, he agreed with most of my comments.]

Aren't you glad Marilyn, Chitlin' and me weren't sitting next to him? <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" />

Some pictures of King Penguins--we only saw five-- (and the King) to whet your appetites. I'll have plenty more in my blog. We had a great day in the Falklands yesterday.

Three Kings on their Eggs:




Checking things out (I think you just see the edge of an egg):



It's pretty easy to spot the Kings:



A second one in the crowd:


The "King" hard at work:



I learned a long time ago to follow Ken around and check out and follow his lead. I feel like the Karate Kid sometimes.

-------------

Eugene

wonderful

Awesome pictures Eugene!

Photos From The Falkland Islands:


The multicolored roofs of Port Stanley.


The British are ever so vigilant.


The Falkland version of Boot Hill.


We rode in Range Rovers for our tour to Bluff Cove Farm.


Upland Geese.


No this is not snow, the Gento Penguins are molting.




Don, Carolyn, Gail, Ngaire, Susan, Eugene, & Cathy at Bluff Cove, Falkland Islands.

Captain Felice Patruno & Anthony the General Manager Congratulate Don & Carolyn on Winning the B&K Free Cruise in 2009.

congratulations

A few photos to lead off before I update the blog for our stop in Puerto Madryn. The first is of a seal sleeping right next to the Mariner on one of the posts that has a bumper so the ships are cushioned. There were various levels on the post, and the seals—this was not the only one—each picked the highest.



Right next to the pier as we were walking over to the beach, this penguin was frolicking in the water. Boy can they swim fast, given how slowly they waddle on land. Here, the penguin was showing off his breast stroke for us:



Once in a while, a seagull would dive bomb the penguin. Not sure what that was all about. (Note the penguin underwater in the lower right.)



Our excursion went to an interesting Welsh village, so we didn't see any other wildlife at this port.
-----------------

Eugene

Okay, OFFICIALLY Eugene wins the photo competition for Llama with his penguin and seagull shots. YOU are the CHAMP Eugene. Plus unless something happens today in the last game of the cruise, Eugene is also the winner of the HIGHEST GAME SCORED in Pooch. He will be able to proudly wear his red POOCH WINNER pin. Watch out Marc he might get as many as you have.

Eugene is on a ROLL!

I think I won the photo contest because the real CHAMP is related to the judge, and I'm not sure anyone else is competing!

--------------

Eugene

Eugene those last photos are extra wonderful - I'd never question Ngaire's judgement - :lct: :lct:

I love how the sea lions will just flop down anywhere and take a nap. You can find them in the Galapagos sleeping on park benches.

The penguins do move incredibly fast in the water. They look like a torpedo going by underwater. Your photos are great Eugene!

Eugene,
You have captured some great pictures. Thanks for sharing. We went on the Penguins of Punta Tombo excursion in Purto Madryn, Argentina. We saw the largest Magellanic penguin colony which was too hard to count. They said over 500,000 and I believe it. They were everywhere and would come right up to you. There were a number of those molting, new chicks, as well as adults. It was an amazing site. Last evening was Valentine's Day and they had a marvelous dinner in Compass Rose as well as gave every woman a red rose upon entering the dining room. The food has been incredible the entire trip and while well worth it, I must admit it will be quite a chore trying to lose the extra pounds.

Wonderful photos, Eugene and Ken! This looks like a fascinating trip. I'm catching up on LCT today, and it's wonderful to hear from everyone.

Ngaire and Ken,
Hope you made it home OK. Thank you so much for all you did to make our cruise so special.

Ron and Sally Harris