I'm BACK!! (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

[4wd]

Hello fellow DCers!

Your worst nightmare just happened......I have returned!

To be honest, I would have returned sooner but our highly efficient national telecommunications giant, (Telstra), took it upon themselves to cancel my landline 3 days after leaving Oz because their computer screwed up.  Which meant that my ADSL went inactive and just to add insult to injury my ISP decided to sell off their Home ADSL to another company, so it has taken me a week dealing with a new company to get it working again.  Sh!t always happens when you aren't around to fix it.......damn that Murphy!

Anyhow, I can sum up the cruise in just one word: Too Much FOOD!

It seems like they could feed a small third world country with the amount of food on this ship.

Anyway, the furthest south reached was 65deg 12.5' S, 77.8 miles from the Antarctic Circle.

Pictures are scaled to 50% or less, (largest panorama was >60000 pixels wide).

Iguazu Falls - From the Brazil side, (some of, I don't have a lens 100 meters wide to capture it all in one shot)
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
Lake Titikaka - From Taquile Island (540 steps to the dock)
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
Machu Picchu - From the Inca Trail
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
Cuzco's Plaza del Armas - From our balcony at the hostel
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
Osorno volcano at Puerto Montt, Chile.
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
Antarctic from a comfortable cruise ship, (when not outside in -40C wind chill taking photos).
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
The calcified falls in Pamukkale, Turkey.
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
The cave houses of Goreme, Turkey.
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)
The Cistern, (underground water storage), in Istanbul.
I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

Haven't had any time to check anything new here on the forums.

For your enjoyment I'll attach a sort of travel diary that is actually a conglomeration of emails I sent home.  If you think of it as a comic strip you won't go far wrong

Cheers,
4wd (back home in need of a holiday)

[tomos]

ooh, I wouldnt mind a bit of Chile now (very grey here these days..)

[nosh]

Fabulous pix! 

[Shades]

If the weather in Chile is the same as here (Paraguay) than you are out of luck. It is not sunny, but humid. The rain season here has started. That means regular power failures (at the strangest times) because of the amount of water in the air.

At the back of the house where I live is a small canal/river/waterway where normally the water depth doesn't rise above 10 cm's. However, when it starts raining here the water level rises to 1,5 meters in only a few hours. I personally witnessed cars just floating by (and those were not the smallest either, for example: Toyota landcruiser).

[zridling]

Wow, thanks for taking us along, 40hz!

[mouser]

The photos are stunning.

[tomos]

The photos are stunning.

-mouser (February 08, 2009, 08:14 AM)

yes,
and there all in Peru except the icy one - lol  - so I should have said - oh to be in Peru, (or Chile or even muggy Paraguay Shades!)

[40hz]

Wow, thanks for taking us along, 40hz!

-zridling (February 08, 2009, 08:11 AM)

You're welcome Z, but it's not me! It's 4wd's thread.

I haven't been on a vacation since 1998.

[Deozaan]

That picture of Machu Picchu made me want to take a closer look at it in Google Earth. Too bad Google Earth thinks Machu Picchu is somewhere else. . .

It took me a while of scrolling around in those mountains to find it, but eventually I did. It doesn't look nearly as impressive from the satellite image as it does on the Inca trail. Thanks for those pictures. 

[tsaint]

"Great pics thank you" he says, reaching for diary to check dates of next vacation!
Would love a cruise down south.

[40hz]

That shot of Antarctica hit me right where I live. I have always wanted to go there. Don't ask. I've never been able to figure out where the fascination comes from. But since I was a little kid, I have collected books; watched whatever TV specials were on; and pumped the few people I know (1 gal & 1 guy) for details on their experiences down there.

My younger sister is sure I'm "into Antarctica" because they have Penguins.
(She's misinterpreting all the Tux/Linux memorabilia I have floating around my workstation. )

Oh Antarctica! 
Tekeli-li...Tekeli-li...Tekeli-li !!!

[tomos]

My younger sister is sure I'm "into Antarctica" because they have Penguins.
(She's misinterpreting all the Tux/Linux memorabilia I have floating around my workstation. )

Oh Antarctica! 

-40hz (February 09, 2009, 10:21 AM)

have you seen this group of pics Scenes from Antarctica



also with penguin pics 

I'm BACK!!  (was: Greetings from the Atlantic!)

[4wd]

Thanks for the comments folks, currently just arrived in Turkey, (after 24+ hours and 3 flights), and I really should be asleep as our tour starts tomorrow.

I'll try and update it later on if I get enough time one night after whatever the day has brought.

yes,
and there all in Peru except the icy one - lol  - so I should have said - oh to be in Peru, (or Chile or even muggy Paraguay Shades!)

-tomos (February 08, 2009, 11:31 AM)

Naughty!  The first one is Brazil

Peru wasn't muggy but Chile, Argentina and Brazil, (especially), were.

The Falklands were sunny and not windy for a change apparently.

[4wd]

Bumpity bump

EDIT: I should have said the original post has been updated.  Forgive me, I was drunk from information overload after having no real internet for 2 months.

[mahesh2k]

Wow, thanks for taking us along, 40hz!

-zridling (February 08, 2009, 08:11 AM)

You're welcome Z, but it's not me! It's 4wd's thread.

I haven't been on a vacation since 1998.

-40hz (February 08, 2009, 11:57 AM)

This is hilarious 

[mouser]

I think 4wd needs to share with us the info for his Travel Agent because it looks like an incredible trip.

[4wd]

I think 4wd needs to share with us the info for his Travel Agent because it looks like an incredible trip.

-mouser (March 11, 2009, 03:44 PM)

Best Flights - For the Round the World airfare which was at least AU$1000 cheaper than a return flight to Sth America.
Vacations To Go - They sell cruises at discounts worldwide, (unlike some who only deal in the USA or UK).
Tucan Travel - Turkey
Kumuka - Iguazu Falls
Kumuka - Lake Titikaka

The flight, cruise and tours were selected off of the internet or brochure and then the info taken to Flight Centre who claim they will beat any price you can find.

The good thing about the internet is that it keeps travel agents honest

We got the cruise cheaper than the advertised price on Vacations To Go, it worked out to ~US$80/day for an outside cabin.  For a 20 day cruise, (especially to Antarctica), that's an absolute bargain.

4wd

PS. Only 300 35mm photos taken......plus 6 hours of miniDV and 4501 digital photos.