On The Way Out

Ushuaia, Argentina

Jarah is back with the OC. We're sitting in the waiting room of the Hotel Albatross, now, waiting until we can join the rest our our group for an Argentinean BBQ. The gaggle of honkies going with us to Antarctica jumped on some buses to visit the nearby national park, but we had all been there within the past coupla days, so we skipped out. Instead, we'll catch up with them at some other hotel for our bon voyage lunch. Then, around 4pm (local time), we'll be boarding the Orlova, and heading south.

I'm not sure what to expect on this trip. Mike was in charge of organizing the whole affair, so he probably has some intimate knowledge about what we're getting into. I know that we're going to the Antarctic Peninsula, and we'll spend some time on land, and perhaps in a Zodiac. There may or may not be snow. That's it. I kind of like not knowing. The unknown nature of it makes it feel like a bit more of an adventure.
The other two things I'm looking forward to are simpler, but it's the simple things you miss on a long trip like the OC.

Simple Thing #1: I've heard a rumor that there will be a gym on board. It's been over six months since I've had any serious exercise. I've done my best to stretch out and do some basic work-outs on the road, but it's hard to maintain a regular schedule. Traveling through the fatty, mayonnaise-laden food-fest that is South America for the past two months hasn't helped, either. I'm used to being pretty physically active, so the lack exercise is a definite drain on my energy level. Plus, it's making me feel like a fat-ass.
Hopefully, I'll get in some daily work on the boat. It'll be nice to have a little physical re-invigoration. I'll need all my abilities if I want to be able to capoiera my brains out in Brazil.

Simple Thing #2: Busing through southern Peru, I got the sudden urge to check out the old Far Primus D&D page, which is still mirrored on my laptop. Looking through it brought back some fond memories and gave me a strong desire to pick up the dice again.
When the trip first started, I figured we would have a shitload of free time to deal with. So, I came up with a bunch of hobbies to keep us occupied on the road. One of these diversions was a D20 campaign. So far, it's been a failure, but in a good way. The trip itself has been so engrossing that we haven't needed any outside diversions. No free time = no D20.
But, there should be plenty of free time aboard the Orlova on our way to and from the cold plains of the Antarctic. So, in between our bouts of snow-covered binge drinking, we should be able to squeeze in some righteous RPGing.