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| Ulysses dropped off these tangerines. Tom will eat them when they ripen. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| Tom took this beautiful photo in the early morning as the moon was setting. Nice job! |
It’s been nagging at us to get to work to purchase the clothing we’ll need for the upcoming Antarctica cruise. These days, neither of us cares to shop especially considering we’re stuck with whatever we buy. Returning items that don’t fit isn’t an option due to our lifestyle.
On Friday, we talked on Skype to a lovely couple Tom had communicated with on CruiseCritic who’d already done a similar cruise. Al and his wife Donna gave us a list of everything we’d need for the many hours we’ll spend outdoors on the Zodiak boats and standing on ice floes and ice-covered islands.
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| A quiet side street in the center of town in Atenas. |
They suggested the following items:
1. Waterproof pants
2. Waterproof gloves with liners
3. Warm hat
4. Gator (neck wrap)
5. Warm socks
6. Ski goggles
7. Sweatshirts
8. Sweaters
9. Trekking poles
10. Waterproof backpack
11. Long underwear
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| There are numerous one-way streets in town. |
The cruise line provides a waterproof parka for all guests and boots sized upon boarding the ship. We can keep the parkas but return the boots at the end of the cruise.
We’ve decided to ship all the cold weather clothing back to our mailing service while we’re in Buenos Aires. They’ll hold these items in our large box until we embark upon some adventures to the Arctic or other cold climates in years to come.
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| Kids are playing at the central park. |
We were grateful for Al and Donna’s suggestions. They also mentioned long underwear, but instead, I’m purchasing a tall-sized pair of yoga pants to wear under the waterproof pants. This will keep me warm and be less bulky than wearing jeans underneath the pants.
Tom never wore long underwear when working outdoors on the railroad for over 42 years, even when temperatures were as low as forty degrees below zero. Instead, he stayed comfortable with jeans on the bottom and sweatshirts and a jacket on the top. After all, we’re from Minnesota and know how to dress appropriately for cold weather.
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As we walked through the park on a cloudy day.
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The coldest periods in Antarctica will be the Zodiac boat rides out to the islands and ice floes due to the added wind chill factor from the fast-moving boats. However, once we’re situated, we should be comfortable when the temperature is typically in the “freezing” range, but not much less, based on the islands we’ll be visiting. (We’ve looked up each stop along to way to confirm this fact).
Over the past few days, I finally got to work making my purchases. Unfortunately, the only pair of women’s tall waterproof pants in my size (considering the bulk of the yoga pants underneath) was at Eddie Bauer at the cost of US $179 (CRC 102,853), much more than I wanted to spend.
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| Grafitti on a wall on the way to town. |
For the remainder of my items, I made most of my purchases at Amazon (here on our site at this link) with a few brand-new labeled items on eBay. So, besides the cost of the pants, I spent an additional US $250 (CRC 143,650) for a total of US $429 (CRC 246,504).
Had I made the purchases through Ponant’s online shop, I’d easily have spent over US $1,200 (CRC 689,520). The prices for the remaining items include all of the above-listed items except the poles and backpack (Tom is buying the backpack since we only need one) and the long underwear, which I replaced with yoga pants I’ll keep on hand and wear in the future.
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| More graffiti on the wall. |
Today, as I write this, Tom clicks away on his computer and just purchased two much-needed dress shirts for the upcoming cruises. Once I’m done here, I’ll get to work with him to help him find his remaining items.
Hopefully, by the end of today, this task will be completed. Once we receive the package with our clothing in Miami on November 22nd, we’ll take a photo of everything and post it here.
May your day be filled with accomplishments providing you with peace of mind. That’s what we’re striving for!
Photo from one year ago today, October 10, 2016:
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| In Bali, while on a walk, we encountered this cow. She said, “What are you looking at?” “Your beauty and charm,” we replied. She smiled, and we continued on our way. For more photos, please click here. |