Antarctica: Sculpture Garden in Ice

                      

I traveled far, far away to traverse a magnificent sculpture garden of sorts. The forms are icebergs scattered among calm inlets of the Antarctic Peninsula in a surprising variety of shapes and textures. 

The “ice-ing” on the cake is that I toured through many of them on a kayak. January's days are during the height of summer, with the sun up nearly through the night. That makes for relatively warm skies, with sunlight reflecting off of the ice. 

Petermann Island with Seabourn Pursuit in background

near Galindez Island

Selfie!

"Chile: glaciers, hiking, & a Hannukah to remember"

Wow - My note was published in Wendy Perrin's WOW Christmas newsletter. May 27, 2023

"Chile: glaciers, hiking, & a Hannukah to remember"

Boat ride on Lago Grey in Patagonia

Barbara Schoenfeld and her husband on Lago Grey in Patagonia on Christmas Eve. Photo: Barbara Schoenfeld

“On the day of Christmas Eve, we took a boat ride on Lago Grey in Patagonia to see the glacier. The boat pulled close enough to the shore that we were able to observe the deep blue fissures in the ice. A few of the crew disembarked onto the beach, hacked chunks of ice and hauled it up onto the boat on their shoulders. When on deck, they shattered it with picks and packed most of it up to transport to the hotel. They set aside a stash for the boat’s bartender to use for drinks during the return trip. I’m sure my pisco sour would have been delicious anyway, but it was super-special served over ancient glacier ice. I chose the pink one, flavored with the Rica-Rica herb that grows in the Atacama desert. At dinnertime back at the hotel that evening, the only decision we had to make was the meat menu or the vegetarian. I said no thank you to guanaco carpaccio and went with the veggies instead.

During the day on Christmas Day, my family split up among different excursions. On one extreme, my son and girlfriend did a 10-hour hike up a steep hill, while I chose a pretty flat hike in the morning followed by horseback riding in the afternoon. My hiking trail led me by the vista depicted on the 1000 peso note. The money shot!

We celebrate Hannukah, and our first night there was December 23. The hotel served a barbecue of roasted lamb in one of the outbuildings on the property. I had packed a small Hannukah menorah and perched it on the edge of our table. We lit the candles and recited the Hannukah blessings with the other family in the barbecue — turns out they were Jewish as well. Small world.” — Barbara Schoenfeld

This trip was arranged by WOW List Chile expert Tom Damon. 

wendyperrin.com/wow-christmas-experiences-how-your-fellow-travelers-have-spent-the-holiday-abroad/

Easter Bucket

My granddaughter is a skiing unicorn and my grandson is a little-racer-guy. I have loved receiving texted photos of them on the California ski slopes. Thanks to my son-in-law who organized the ski weekend, we got up and out on the slopes for a day of Easter Sunday spring skiing. It was super-epic-bucket list worthy to ski alongside them today. Actually, behind them. As I approach my 70th birthday next week, I’m much more cautious then I used to be. And super reflective and appreciative of the chance to ski with my grandchildren.

Seeing Apollo 11’s Smudge Mark

What a thrill! While stargazing in the Atacama Desert in Chile, my family saw a mark that Apollo 11 left on the surface of the moon. How? 

First of all, the Atacama is the driest place on earth. It has an average annual rainfall of 1 millimeter. Most of the year, it has no clouds. Perfect “storm” (excuse the pun) for stargazing. 

In planning our holiday trip to Chile, we made sure to include a visit to a telescope. We researched area specialists through Wendy Perrin’s WOW list. We chose to work with Tom Damon of Southwind Adventures. His team was helpful in making plans during the busiest time of the year. The icing on the cake is that by working with Wendy’s WOW list, after three trips, she arranges for a special WOW moment - a complimentary experience. Our WOW moment was a private session with an astronomer at his multi-telescoped property. I wrote up the experience as she requested and she published it in her newsletter. It’s pasted below. 

JUST BACK FROM CHILE “We had a private stargazing evening, hosted by French astronomer Alain Maury…” “Tom designed a Christmas/New Year’s trip to Chile for our family of six. He rose to the challenge of transporting us down and back up half the length of the continent. He organized visits to both Patagonia and the Atacama Desert, securing rooms at Hotel Las Torres in Patagonia and Explora Atacama. Both were excellent choices for their top-notch adventure staff and boutique experience. He pretty much had to plan three trips because we originated in San Francisco, New York, and New England, and we had three different time frames. He and his staff handled the transportation logistics smoothly. And I’m not just saying this because I’m writing a review for Wendy’s WOW List, but the best part of the trip was the Wendy WOW Moment. We had a private stargazing evening, hosted by French astronomer Alain Maury, at his observatory called SPACE (San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations). Above is the photo he took of us in front of one of his telescopes. Plus we have a video he recorded on my son’s cell phone where he described what we were seeing on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon—particularly the smudge where the US Apollo 11 landed.” —Barbara Schoenfeld ================================================

I’m also pasting in the video of what we saw on the surface of the moon, narrated by astronomer Alain Maury.

Chile: Step away from the Candy

Ominous black warning labels are required by law to be slapped onto packages of food in Chile. I snapped this photo at a street vendor’s stand. Looking for an afternoon pick-me-up, I was tempted to pop some chocolate into my mouth. But the three black deterrence icons stopped me. High in Calories. High in Saturated Fat. High in Sugar.  Not one treat was warning-free. Not even the Oreos. But that shouldn’t be a surprise. 

But then, you sit down to lunch and have two Ketchup warnings muscle in on your food options. Saintly mustard only has one (too much salt). 

In my view, Chile is smart in the way it’s going about battling obesity and unhealthy food choices. 

Next step: skull and crossbones?

Hats Off to Avignon

Tourist Tip: You can grab a beer in the cathedral gift shop. 

 

Climb the summit of Avignon to the Cathedral Notre Dame Des Doms. It is situated above the Palace of the Popes, at the top of the stairs. Two popes are entombed there. You can even find their sepulchers if you persist in poking into every side-pocket chapel to read the signs.  

It’s a hot slog climbing those stairs on a sunny day. I could have used some thirst quenching. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I took a quick scan of merchandise for sale in the gift shop. Beer. Wine. Lavender sachets. Oh and some religious trinkets are shelved on the side wall. The church showcases what sells well. Hats off to the church. 

About the hats: they are suspended over Rue Des Fourbisseurs, a random walking street in the ancient part of Avignon. Just for fun, apparently. 

Abandoned Quarry Makes for Amazing Art Experience in Les Baux

In Les Baux de Provence, an abandoned quarry is the venue for a surround digital projection. It’s in the same vein as the traveling Van Gogh exhibit shown in large-space venues around the world. Les Baux’s one-hour exhibition has two elements: Yves Klein Infinite Bleu and Venice, La Serenissime. It’s a fantastic experience. 

After the group of time-ticketed visitors enters the space, the entry door is closed, the lights are extinguished and the show begins. 

The first program is Infinite Blue. It’s a series of images, each melting into the subsequent one, accompanied by rousing music. 

The colors are brilliant and move across the pillars in various ways, so that no matter where you position yourself in the cavernous space you will see a thrilling display.

 Infinite Blue lasts for about 10 minutes. After its credits roll, the Venice program begins. It runs for the rest of the hour. It’s a series of paintings and drawings of Venice in its Renaissance heyday, animated so that gondolas seem to detach from the paintings and glide along the water’s surface. The animation is pretty cool. 

Then it becomes a bit repetitive - could be shorter. But overall, it is eye-candy. I felt like I was in an IMAX theater except I wasn’t stuck in a seat. Definitely worth doing.