Margaritaville

Margaritaville
Margaritaville - Cozumel, Mexico

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

I Hate Mosquitoes!

It's happening again and I don't like it one bit!  Mosquitoes are living in my house and have initiated sneak attacks.  I only began to notice them last night but already I have a number of bites on my body and it freaks me out!  I can deal with the knowledge of a bite from a creature that I saw biting me.  But when I didn't see the bite taking place and suddenly I have them all over the place, I freak!  What is it about my downstairs bathroom that attracts them so well?  Okay, I get it that the toilet has standing water in it.  But there's nothing you can do about that, right?

So, I've decided to concentrate on places I could visit that mosquitoes don't live... EVER!  So after several intense minutes of research I have discovered the only place on the planet that mosquitoes never live.  Ladies and Gentlemen, today we are traveling telepathically to the Antarctica!  I know what you're thinking, sort of extreme, right?  But you do what you have to do to keep from being attacked by the little blood suckers at your very own computer under your staircase while doing nothing more than typing a simple blog entry.  So prepare for a quick flight to South America where we'll board a small ship for an Antarctica cruise.



One of the things that I found most interesting when looking into this is that most cruise lines who cruise the area suggest you leave your parka at home since they provide one for you that you can take home when your cruise ends.  I guess they do this for several reasons but probably mostly because they want to make sure that everyone has a proper coat that will keep them warm enough to avoid too many people in the ships medical office following the first excursion to land.  There's nothing worse on a cruise of any size in any location than an overflowing medical office.

The Antarctica cruising season is from December through February since that is their summer.  During that time of year average temperatures range from 23 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit.  Plus you are on water.  So it feels colder.  I'm normally not a cold weather person, but if this is what it takes to keep mosquitoes away year round, maybe I could suffer through it.  Most Antarctica cruise ships carry no more than 250 passengers.  These are small ships designed to be able to get into tight locations.  The hulls are made to withstand some hits against icebergs so you probably don't need to worry too much about a Titanic repeat while on board.  But what you do have to consider is that if the weather turns bad in a location even though it is on your itinerary you might by-pass it and go someplace else with a simple announcement from the ships captain.  In fact, on most cruises there will be at least one itinerary change during the trip.  So, be flexible.




Another thing to keep in mind for your cruise is that your not on Oasis of the Seas.  There are no swimming pools, but many of the ships do have hot tubs.  There is no FloRider on board or an ice skating rink (if you want ice, you can hang out with the penguins during one of your stops).  Whales, seals, sea lions, and penguins do not swim by on command.  So this might not be the best cruise to the the kiddos on.  They will probably get bored when there are no penguins to see.  In most stops the excursions are just a part of the cruise and everybody does the same thing.  The cruise line will tell you what to expect for each stop prior to the cruise.  Almost all stops will require a tender by Zodiac.  Some may actually use a helicopter tender.  But what this means to you is that if you require a mobility scooter to get around while on board ship, this cruise is not for you.  You must be very mobile to do an Antarctica cruise.

Some of the things you have to carry are:  a couple of pairs of water proof pants, thermal underwear, more than one pair of gloves (they get wet), a couple of pairs of sunglasses, a lightweight rain jacket, a warm hat, sunscreen for any exposed skin, binoculars, a good camera, a waterproof backpack and lots of extra ziplock bags and waterproof non-skid rubber boots.  Leave the Deet at home.


Some of these cruises still have formal nights so you would need to check with your cruise line to determine whether or not you'll need to pack formal clothes.  One of the interesting things about most of these ships is that they do not have assigned dinner seating.  I guess since the ship is so small and you do most excursions together, you sort of get to know everyone anyway.  For more information read the article provided on this link from Cruise Critic.  Have a great trip and enjoy your time away from the mosquitoes!

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