Antarctica's White Wilderness Day 14

DAY 14 - Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - Return to Ushuaia; Fly to Buenos Aires; Fly to Atlanta, Georgia, USA and return to U.S.

Claudia announced our wake up call at 5:45 am. We had to leave the Corinthian this morning early so the crew could ready the ship for the next group who were to arrive at 3:00 in the afternoon. A full breakfast was served from 6 to 7 giving us one more time to thank the crew for their wonderful service.

Our bags had to be packed, locked, and outside of our room at 6:30am. The disembark team was very organized with color-coded tags indicating our group. Our "Green Group" gathered to identify our bags one more time.

By 7:30 we were on the bus with Seba, who gave us our boarding passes. We were on our way to the airport. LAN airlines gave us permission to do a group check-in. While Seba took care of the bags, we went through security.

Three of the four groups were on the LAN flight on our way back to Buenos Aires. Some of the groups will go on to Iguaçu Falls in Brazil. The flight had a few empty seats, but as we have found on previous South American flights everyone brings many carry-on bags. The overhead bins were full to overflowing.

The aircraft backed away from the jet way at 9:15, only five minutes late. On the three hour, thirty minute flight to Buenos Aires we were served beverages and a Happy Box that consisted of two cookies and a small bag of crackers.

The flight was relatively smooth even though we were crossing the Andes and traveling over windy Patagonia. At 12:45 we landed at the small domestic airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires near the Río de la Plata. A bus was waiting to take us back to our original hotel near the city center. By the time we got our luggage and arrived at the hotel it was already 2:30.

Seba arranged for us to have a conference room so we could store our bags and relax a bit. We had a two-hour layover before we left for our international flight at 5:00pm. Traffic was heavy getting to Ministro Pistarini International Airport, (Ezeiza) but we had plenty of time so there was no stress.

After checking in we went through security and went directly to the Sky Lounge. The desk called our flight at 8:00 and we went to Gate 6. Before we could board the aircraft all of our backpacks and our carry-on bag were thoroughly inspected again.

At 8:30 we boarded our 9:15 overnight flight to Atlanta. Another friendly Delta crew welcomed us and we settled in for our 10-hour journey back to the good old USA.

We were able to sleep a few hours and when we landed in Atlanta at 5:35 am, we were rested. Again, a long layover, as our Denver flight was scheduled for 11:00. We went to the Sky Lounge, caught up on mail, and had a light snack.

The Delta crew on the Denver portion of our trip was exceptional. Vic ordered a Bloody Mary with a splash of red wine, a drink he had enjoyed at the Sky Lounge on a previous flight. The flight attendant had never heard of that combination, but agreed to try it.

When the man behind us heard Vic’s request, he asked for the same concoction. A little later the flight attendant told Vic that the new drink was the sensation of Business Class, as most of the people sitting behind us had ordered his drink.

The three-hour flight to Denver was easy, and as we saw the snow-capped mountains of Colorado, we knew we were home. Our bags came out in record time and a DIA shuttle was waiting to take us to the Pikes Peak lot.

After a brief stop in Castle Pines for a few groceries we were home! Getting home in the middle of the day was stress-free. The interstate was relatively clear and by 3:00 we were unpacking the car.

As always, we thank all of you who followed the Great Adventure to Antarctica. Please know how much we appreciated your comments and e-mails while we are gone.

Meals: B