RobiNZ Personal Blog

Getting to Argentina | Antarctic Mission Log 01

I covered the ‘why’ of this trip to Argentina and Antarctica in an earlier (2018) blog post so this series covers the trip, and after, based on my notes and referencing a superb detailed voyage log written by our Expedition Crew. The ‘Antarctic Mission’ title is a reference to two films from the 1980s, their soundtracks part of my life since then, and a significant inspiration for this journey.

 

I was scheduled to arrive in Ushuaia, to join Dr Karl’s Expedition Cruise, on November 23 2019. I began considering this trip mid-2018, booking late October 2018, so had plenty of time to prepare. World Expeditions NZ handled all my bookings, so it was just gear and ‘background knowledge’ which was up to me.

Gear preparation

The trip notes came with a detailed list of required and recommended items. I also sought advice from a few people who had done similar trips. Oceanwide do rent gear but I decided most of it would be useful for other travels so mostly got my own. I did take up their option for landing boots (heavy rubber boots) for the zodiac landings. They also provide gear for the kayaking, camping activities and snowshoes.

I already had a fair bit of cold weather gear (from the 2014 Himalayan Cycle) but needed new GORE-TEX Coat/Trousers (my 14-year-old ones were past it) and Boots. I also got a Down Jacket (recommended for the camping), proper snow gloves, a waterproof daypack and additional merino socks etc in case it was really cold. Because I wear photochromatic prescription glasses I got cheap ski goggles to wear over them if the weather got stormy, or extra bright. My staff discount at Torpedo7 (part of The Warehouse Group) was put to good use and I had awesome service and gear advice from “John” at the Westgate branch.

In addition to the recommended boots I also got, almost as an afterthought, Salomon GORE-TEX shoes (sold for ‘Trail Running’) with a similar construction. It was only because my walking shoes were pretty tired (fraying in part) and I thought they would be good for the getting there/after portions. Waterproof, comfortable and with a brilliant quick lace system they proved to be superb for the whole trip; flights, shipboard wear, Buenos Aires city walks/cycling and Iguazu tropical waterfall heat & wet. Recommended!

The Quicklace pull, tuck, done is great for those ‘remove shoes’ airport transitions or just easing the lacing in flight.

All that fit in my World Expeditions soft bag from the Tibet trip (seemed fitting), weighing in at 16.5kg. That was a little over the 15kg domestic bag limit (well under international limits) but was never queried. The Day Pack was my carry on with some clothes (as bag loss insurance), ski goggles, Bose QC headphones & Surface Go PC. I took a small separate camera bag for my photo/video gear: Canon DSLR (18-55 & 75-300 lens), IXUS compact camera, Cycliq bike camera (to use like a GoPro) and (new for the trip) DJI phone gimbal.

Head preparation

To prepare the brain I wanted to learn more about Antarctica and discovered the Auckland Antarctic Science Meetup early in 2019. It meets monthly (approx.) at Auckland University and I attended ten meetings before departing. They covered an amazing range of topics with presentations from Antarctic scientists, Young Explorers (students sponsored by the Antarctic Heritage Trust) and “The Explorers Club Polar Film Festival” screening which usually is only seen in New York. It was so good I will keep attending!

Getting to Argentina

I deliberately took a few days off before departure for time to prepare, being away for about a month, and not depart tired. It proved to be a good move as think the leisurely pack, wind-down from work helped minimise jet-lag. The evening departure meant travelling to the airport in rush hour traffic. Allowed plenty of time but the GPS recommended going off the motorway (the old route via Mangere Village, Kirkbride Rd) and I avoided the SH20 split tailback. My old Bravo spent the holiday in the airport long term carpark as, bizarrely, it was cheaper and more convenient (with a 5am return) than a shuttle, only a few dollars more than off-site parking.

Check-in was the familiar self-service even though I was flying on Aerolineas Argentinas. They were cheaper than Air New Zealand because, I think, of the associated domestic flights. The first leg to Buenos Aires is code share on Air NZ! It was a Boeing 777 but had the same (cattle class) seats I had experienced in their newer 787 to Aussie last year. For me they are not great; lacking lumbar support and with oddly firm cushions do not make for a comfortable time. Otherwise the flight was fine, food great (for an aircraft) and good selection of inflight entertainment, even free wi-fi until we were well south. Our NZ 20:00 departure is 04:00 Arg time so I decided to treat the ~22:00’ish ‘dinner service’ as ‘brunch’ and stay awake as long as possible to see if it helped adjust time zones (spoiler, think it did).

Not sure "The Art of Racing in the Rain" was the best film choice to kick off a holiday, was rather emotional, but enjoyed it. I haven't read the book but thought the film was superb. The family dog, voiced by Kevin Costner, is the star but the Oamaru built Tempero Ferrari looked mighty fine too. Recommended, don't let the title put you off if motor racing isn't your thing, it’s not really about that.

I started watching 'Yesterday' but drifted off to sleep. Finished it over breakfast, liked it, fun if lightweight. The basic premise is silly, but the story, performances, and (Beatles) soundtrack are all great.

Perhaps due to watching SciManDan’s Flat Earth Friday (a serious and funny debunking series), and flying on a Friday, it struck me the twelve-hour flight path is troublesome for Flat Earthers. On the (admittedly flat projection) flight map you leave NZ heading South East (between Gisborne & Napier) and after going a long way South, great circle route and chasing favourable winds, then head North East to get ‘up’ to Buenos Aires.

It all works fine and looks the same when you plot a direct track on a sphere.

 

The shortest route on a Flat Earth would take you North West from NZ over North & South America.

The cereal option for breakfast was familiar (same Vogel's ‘Luxury Café Style’ muesli, yoghurt and fruit I have at home) but the other cinnamon hotcakes option didn't appeal. There is no arrival form required for Argentina; immigration & processing was very straight forward. Both NZ & USA could learn from this…

A bit of a queue at 'Foreign' cleared when they diverted us to the ‘Resident’ desks when free. Chatted to a Kiwi Guy, by me in the queue, going to crew on French ship departing Ushuaia for Antarctica same day as us. He seemed surprised, impressed I had done some research beforehand, mentioned the meetup etc, as said many don't have a clue about it! Seeing his ship, when we departed, I think it was a very different (posh) type of cruise. It was straight through the green lane after that.

Decided to get a ‘bite’ GoPro mount for my Cycliq at the duty free store as thought might be good for the kayaking. My first attempt with (terrible) Spanish and local currency went ok but I guess airport staff are more tolerant!

Due to the late afternoon arrival I had an overnight stay at an OK (but generic) Airport Hotel before flying south to Ushuaia. Nothing remarkable about the journey there other than passing an enormous Police escort (armored cars, police cars and motorcycles) for two “Brinks” livery truck-trailer units. I guess there was a lot of valuables in them?! The other thing I noticed was people parked up, picnicking, in the shade of trees alongside the motorway near the airport. I presume waiting there for arrivals, rather than parking inside, but not sure.

I went for a short walk but there was nothing much to see around the hotel. Lots of locals were out; many jogging over a long footbridge to a recreation area (park, football, scale model sealed/dirt racing track) on the other side of motorway. My room had a view of a service station but, car geek alert, I didn’t mind as was curious spotting South American cars new to me. Appeared most were filling with gas (CNG) rather than petrol/diesel. As I couldn’t see many food options nearby dinner was a (nice) burger & fries at the hotel bar. Most there were watching Davis Cup Tennis; Argentina v Spain (who won) so the locals were not impressed.

Stayed up till 23:00, woke around 04:00 (so my normal 5-6 hours), watched YouTube (including HubNut touring NZ) for an hour or so then dozed, podcast listened, till 8:00 but felt OK after that. Next step, breakfast and fly to Ushuaia!

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Random travel notes;

• I was carrying Peso, us$ and Euro (for the boat tip). Most places in Argentina accepted Peso or us$ (with all change in Peso) but their pricing uses a plain $ symbol for Peso. A bit freaky till you realise that a burger isn’t 350 Dollars! 100 peso was approx. nz$3, seemed prices for restaurant food etc converted similar to NZ.
• No facecloth provided in the hotel, used the spare hand towel. This was the same everywhere I stayed.
• Need to practice more Spanish basics. Got by but do that awful 'resort to English and wonder why the blank looks' thing common of tourists.

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Index - Log 02

Does the USA need another burger chain? BurgerFuel isn’t just another

It is interesting to see BurgerFuel are taking on the USA. The little Kiwi burger company (if now 10% owned by Subway) are taking burgers to the land of burgers, which may raise the question: Why?

I was going to write about that when I remembered an unsolicited review of BurgerFuel, by an American, I saw back in April which explains it better than I ever could.

George (Geo) Hrab, musician and podcaster extraordinaire, of the Geologic (nothing to do with rocks) Skeptic Podcast wrote this in an email to his Geologists (financial supporters of his podcast).

I’m a long time listener to the podcast, first saw Geo perform live at TAMOZ in 2010 (below) and again when he visited Auckland in 2014 for the NZ Skeptics Conference.

This extract, reproduced with his permission, is why the USA needs BurgerFuel:

Greetings Geologists

“The best burger I ever ate was at four in the afternoon on a Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand at a place called “Burger Fuel.” This burger was called “The Bastard,” and I have extolled its virtue and cow-numbing yumminess a number of times on the podcast and at live shows.

This particular “Bastard” had (along with its prerequisite 1/3 pound burger patty) an insanely thick slice of what passes for “bacon” in a former English colonial island in the South Pacific ocean, dashes of sliced lettuce and tomato, and a profoundly delicious and secret ingredient: a few generous discs of pickled beet root.

The consumption of this entire contraption was assisted by an ingenious device called a “wallet” which was in essence a cardboard pocket/holder that allowed the burger to be eaten one-handed without its contents gushing out like the innards of a disgraced Samurai invoking seppuku.

It is not stretching the truth by any acceptable journalistic standard to say that the ingesting of this particular bunned apparatus was as close to a religious experience as anyone who has James Randi’s phone number on speed dial can have. This was so fucking succulent that I literally have a photo of this burger on the wall of my living room.

Seriously.

Which begs the question:

Was this burger so ketchup-poundingly delicious because it just WAS so delicious— or was its perceived scrumptiousness due to the circumstances surrounding its eating?

For the duration of my Australia and New Zealand “Styrofoam Tour, ” my schedule was so crazy and haphazard that I barely knew where I was half the time before I was gone from where I was the other half of the time. There’s no error in that sentence it’s just how my brain felt. I had completed Australian shows in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne; had flown to Kiwi Central for a show in Christchurch— and by the time I landed in Auckland had probably not eaten in almost two days.

I checked into my hotel and quickly and purposefully went on a quest to find some kind of meal that could be thought of as semi-local but still gastronomically recognizable. Stumbling into “Burger Fuel” I ordered “The Bastard” and the rest is Geologic Headquarters interior decorating history. NOW— was this meal so decidedly delicious because I had not eaten in two days and was in freakin’ New Zealand, or was the culinary expertise of the staff at Burger Fuel above and beyond that of any other crew that had ever previously prepared a beef sandwich for your narrator’s particular face hole?

Not sure. And yes.

Perhaps the greater question therefore is: How much do the conditions surrounding an event influence the perceived caliber of that event? Can a poorly executed THING be seen as better than it truly is because the encompassing island of experience is perfectly formulated so as to aid in the perception of quality? And is the opposite true as well? Can negative stuff surrounding a THING make it seem like that THING is shittier than it actually is?

The obvious answer is “of course, you dummy” but the less obvious answer is “well it depends, you dummy.””

“Maybe the thing to remember then is this— in the same way that Heraclitus said you can’t step into the same river twice,  it’s impossible to ever really completely re-experience something. This is not to say that it’s pointless to have favorites, but that it’s important to understand that each experience exists in and of itself, is composed of way more than just its intrinsic nature, and that trying to recreate “the best” or avoid “the worst” is ultimately fruitless.

That being said, a few years after my “Bastard” I was lucky enough to be back in New Zealand and decided to tempt fate and try another one.

IT WAS JUST AS INCREDIBLE. Gaaaaaa….[drool]

Bon appetit, and until the next one I remain,

-Geo”

The Bastard – in BurgerFuel’s own words (and their photo)

(from http://www.burgerfuel.com/us/our-food/burgers/gourmet-beef/the-bastard)

Like a fine single malt whiskey, every now and then we have to put a “The” in front of it- and it takes certain qualities to take a guy like this down because if you’re not ready, it’s like a punch in the face with a fistful of flavour.

This is not a burger to take Holly-go-lightly and it’s certainly not for your faint-hearted, breakfast epiphanies (as inspirational as they may be). This is the real deal burger of the completely audacious variety and if you feel a little nervous; you’re not alone. The BurgerFuel Bastard contains 100% pure grass fed NZ beef goodness, ‘smashed juicy’ fresh to order, with juicy-juicy mango slivers, tasty bacon, raw grated beetroot with chia seeds, natural, melted cheddar, fresh free range BurgerFuel Aioli, smashed avocado, batch-made sweet tomato relish and handmade salad.

Ingredients = many, good times = plenty.

The Bastard - 100% pure grass fed NZ beef, ‘smashed juicy’ for the ultimate hardcore burger fix.

Disclosure

I, like Geo, have no financial connection with BurgerFuel except occasionally give them money—in return for burgers—and eat Bastards because they are bloody brilliant.

2016 Blogging Highlights

See 2016 Blogging Highlights on the CAD blog

Shipwreck Tales with John McCrystal

Thanks to Radio Live for posting this brilliant series on-line. Shipwreck Tales with John McCrystal airs after the 23:00 Sunday news on Radio Live and features a new shipwreck tale every week.

Gripping, often harrowing, tales of survival (or not) from maritime history. A must listen Live or on-line here:

Shipwreck Tales with John McCrystal - www.radiolive.co.nz

Joe Windred, bizarre Australian & San Francisco connection

I found this, true, tale of mistaken identity, wrongful conviction and the link to San Francisco history fascinating. Check out the bizarre links in the life of Joe Windred, onetime mayor of Orange, NSW in this ABC radio podcast.

Stephen Dando Collins - ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler

Stephen Dando Collins has uncovered yet another extraordinary true story: of the Australian man wrongly convicted of identical crimes in Sydney and San Francisco.

Little did the people of Orange NSW know when they twice elected Joseph Windred their mayor that this upstanding Windsor-born businessman, colonial hero and founder of their local jockey club had, in chains, helped build the San Quentin Penitentiary in San Francisco during the California gold rush, only to make a thrilling escape back to Australia. And that, technically, Joe was still a fugitive from American justice.

There was a lot about Joe people didn't know.

Congratulations to The Skeptic Zone Podcast, 200 Episodes!

Congratulations to Richard Saunders & co on achieving the two hundredth episode.

The Skeptic Zone Podcast - The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason.

The Skeptic Zone #200 - 18.August.2012

I have enjoyed listening, mostly while walking the dog, since I discovered it back in 2010. My most memorable episode is The Skeptic Zone #110 - 28.Nov.2010 as I saw it being recorded at The Amaz!ng Meeting Australia.

I don’t expect he remembers but I did briefly meet Richard there and pass on my thanks for the work he does for the Zone and Skeptic related events like TAM. I’m looking forward to many more Zone episodes!

Skeptic Zone live at The Amaz!ng Meeting Australia 2010

Richard and, sorry she’s blurry but no flash meant slow shutter, Dr Rachie The

'An Honest Liar’ - The Story of the Amazing James Randi

Sometime over the holiday break, one of those frequent rubbish days of a summer not to remember, I stumbled upon the documentary film ‘Being Elmo’ on a Sky channel. It was a fascinating look at Kevin Clash's life and career to as the man behind Elmo.

Although released a few weeks back I just heard an interview with ‘Being Elmo’ Editor Writer Justin Weinstein about his next project: 'An Honest Liar’ - The Story of the Amazing James Randi:

On James Randi’s An Honest Liar – Token Skeptic podcast Episode One Hundred And Eight

A first for the Token Skeptic podcast: an interview with Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom, who are the directors/producers of the forthcoming documentary on James Randi, called An Honest Liar.

and more at

'An Honest Liar - Movies.com
You need to have a lot of gall or a lot of merit to call yourself "amazing." James Randi has both. In the late 1940s he began performing magic under the name of The Amazing Randi…

An Honest Liar - Work-in-Progress trailer from Justin Weinstein on Vimeo.

Me, the Fairlight CMI, Thomas Dolby and back to the Murrumbidgee River?

(Way) Back in the 80s I used to buy an Aussie technology magazine “Omni”, correction it was “Omega Science Digest”!. One issue had a card you could send off (with a few au$) to get the demo cassette for a remarkable new electronic instrument. Yes, that there was an analogue demo cassette for a digital instrument gives an idea of how long ago that was!

It had a bunch of different tracks, samples etc. all created with the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument but one (complete unlike the others) was the most memorable. I found Claude Larson’s Murrumbidgee River on YouTube (below) but sadly it appears you can no longer buy it, or the album “Rivers” (via iTunes or Amazon at least).

I probably still have that cassette somewhere… (see UPDATE 2012-02-22 below) and wanted to hear it again after listening to an ABC Radio Podcast interview — Big Ideas - Blinded by Science — with Fairlight Inventor Peter Vogel and Thomas Dolby. It covers all sorts of aspects from the evolution of digital musical technology, its impact on music and composition, the inventive process and the business of creating/marketing new ideas. There is even the tale of the (not so ubiquitous as once was) default Nokia ringtone and mention of the Fairlight iPhone/iPad app (why Dolby was in Aus.) which runs on a device vastly more powerful than the original $100,000+ Fairlight CMI!

I never did get a CMI as $100k seemed a bit much for someone who never progressed much past Grade 1 Piano before discovering sailing seemed more fun in the weekends! Maybe if I get the iOS app that cassette will have justified its demo label!

 

Title	Big Ideas - Blinded by Science - 54 min - 24.97 mb http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/blinded-by-science/3839938
	In 1979 two young men in Sydney invented a digital sampling synthesizer that sparked a worldwide musical revolution. It was called the Fairlight and for the first time musicians could play the sound of any instrument on a keyboard. It also allowed them to compose and perform compositions that would otherwise require a band or an orchestra to play. Those two men were 21 and their names were Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel. Without the Fairlight you might not have the same sounds out of Thomas Dolby; who shot to prominence in this country with his 80s hit ‘She blinded me with Science’. Dolby had a boyhood obsession with music and technology and some two decades later his innovative computer music has greatly impacted on today’s popular music, games and mobile phones. Tonight they talk about music and technology then, now and in the future.
Published	February 20, 2012 10:05 PM
Copyright	Copyright 2012, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

* UPDATE 2012-02-22: The Just Fairlight Cassette Online

Peter found this post (which amazed me!) and commented that the cassette tracks are available on-line. Look for “Just Fairlight 3 A & 3 B” on his site: http://anerd.com/fairlight/audioarchives/index.htm

Skepticality, Packing for Mars

I first saw Mary on Colbert, a great interview, and have added her book to my wishlist to get next time I go Amazon shopping. I’m a bit behind with my Skepticality listening (but have them all saved to catch up) but jumped the list to hear this one!

Skepticality - The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine (Promoting Science and Critical Thinking)

This week on Skepticality, (episode 137), Swoopy talks with psychologist, journalist and bestselling author Mary Roach. Her new book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Right Click Here to Download and Save

Flying with "Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase!"

If you fly, professionally or as a passenger, you’ll love this podcast. I’ve listened to it for years but the real & podcast worlds collided on a flight earlier this year.

It was in the middle of my never ending trek from Auckland, New Zealand, to New Orleans.

Leaving Auckland about 6pm Tuesday means arriving in L.A. about 13 hours later at 10am Tuesday (thanks to the dateline). I was heading for Dallas, then New Orleans but found my anticipated 4 hour stopover extended to 12 hours thanks to storms at Dallas. 

Then all flights through Dallas were cancelled. After a frantic call to American Airlines the only route that would get me to NOLA on time was from L.A. (about 10pm) to Miami, sit around there till 11am, then back to New Orleans landing about 1pm, 39 hours later.

On the Miami flight I’d finished my book and was listening to podcasts. There was an AA crew member sitting next to me who was transferring to Miami to start her shift the following evening. She’d never tried the Bose QC headphones I was using (yes I’m one of those recently teased by Betty ) and asked to try them. I happened to have Betty’s podcast playing at the time & she loved what she heard, took note of the URL to subscribe, and told the other crew on the flight. I like to think Betty gained a few listeners from that.

I don’t do many US flights but one day hope I’ll hear a familiar voice as I board the plane. It would neat to meet Betty “at work”. Until then I’ll just keep listening to the podcasts and looking for a flight attendant carrying a recorder...

Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase! – http://betty.libsyn.com/

Tags: Betty+in+the+Sky+with+a+Suitcase!