We were awakened by our Brazilian birds a las Ocho this morning. A Buenos Dias to everyone. This morning, almost everyone came to desayuno on time! For this Latin crowd, that was a first. You can feel the palpable excitement and anticipation in the crowd, although you have to look very very closely to detect any change in countenance in Grandma's face.

Around a las diez menos cuarto (9:45), we disembarked from the mother ship and boarded the small ice cruiser for our trip around the icebergs and to the Glacier (at least as close as to not be Peligro since it is active and moving and big pieces are continually falling off). I must say without exaggeration, the experience was other-worldy and utterly magnifico. The pictures will hopefully be worth a un mil words. At one point, we were fortunate enough to encounter a leopard seal lounging on his favorite iceberg. He was a real ham. I hope the pictures (and the video to be released in April) will give you some inkling of the magnificent scene. I highly recommend this voyage to one and all.

After dinner, the big event was BINGO!! Being mister machismo, I declined when asked if I needed an English translation as they called out the numbers. The grandmother at our table won a fleece vest with the Skorpios logo. At our table no one else won nada, although I am convinced I may have won algo if I understood the numbers quickly enough. I must say my oral number recognition improved during the game. And I came very close to winning the last game - last person standing. A number is called out and if you have it, you lose. In this case, my slow recognition may have been useful.

p.s. Rachel and Scott: Each of these ships carries a ship 'doctor' Ours was a lovely young woman who is still in residency to become an opthmalogist. However, on this trip you must be fluent in Spanish - which you might qualify for. However, on the voyage to the Antarctic, the requirement is to be fluent in English! And the 'doctor' can bring along a companion. Both gratis!