All dressed up and no where to go!

Yesterday we were scheduled to fly to King Georges Island in Antarctica, and wander around a bit. All dressed in our finest winter gear (imagine what it was like to pack for this trip!), assembled near the gang plank as we docked in Punta Arenas Chile. Beautiful sunny day, cold and windy. Word arrives from the airport - white out conditions at King George, with more of the same in the forecast. Booooooo! Major bummer. Come all the way down here and we
won’t be able to step ashore on the continent.

Some of the others were seriously discombobulated by that turn of events, and wandered around in a daze. In fact I borrowed the title to this entry from one of them. I guess we were lucky, in that we’re used to the weather changing our flying plans, so we actually had two backups to chose from. We spent the day at a agra-tourist sheep ranch, and had a ball. This ranch is owned by the same man that owns the bus company for the area, and a very savvy marketer. A modern sheep estancia, with lots of modern machinery, can not preserve the history of the old ways, and can not safely accept tourists. His relatively small operation is not economically viable as a ranch, but makes a lot of money hosting tour groups, particularly when he buses them the 40 km from town himself.

The operation consists of a LOT of antiques (aka junk), along with various wildlife and authentic demonstrations. Topped off with a fresh barbeque lamb luncheon (after all, by then it had been HOURS since we’d eaten), we had a fun day. Enjoyed purple, pink and white Lupine, and wonderfully fragrant Scottish Broom flowers. Contemplated going to sea in a dug-out canoe, and plowing the back 40. Saw wild Rheas and Condors. Enjoyed a demonstration by a very happy dog with a bunch of sheep, and a hard working shepherd shearing one of them by hand. Saw all colors of Alpacas. And then, to no ones surprise, marveled as Margie blew with the wind across the Chilean Steppe.

We also learned one of the advantages of going on a guided tour, when the ferry that provided the only dry access to the island containing the ranch broke down. Luckily it happened before we boarded. It was very nice to sit, totally unconcerned, as other people had to arrange alternative transportation. Made it back to the ship before it sailed, and didn’t even miss dinner.