Tag: Holland America

  • Montevideo, Uruguay

    Montevideo, Uruguay

    #flatstanley #flathal #montevideo #uruguay A big Capital City with some small town charm Approximately 1.3 million people live in Montevideo. A city with parks, large churches, and an easy to walk and explore environment with little restaurants and places to stop hidden in unexpected places. In one alley, amid the posters glued to a wall,…

  • Montevideo Bird Sightings

    Montevideo Bird Sightings

    #flathal #flatstanley #uruguay #birding Imperial Cormorant, Cattle Tyrant, Chalk-Browed Mockingbird,Eared Pigeon, House Sparrow, Rufous Hornero, and a Hawk?

  • Montevideo, Uruguay

    Montevideo, Uruguay

    #flatstanley #flathal #uruguay The Flat Fellas are realizing that Flat Hal at least does quite a few things when traveling that he doesn’t normally do at home. He doesn’t normally walk over 5 miles in the course of a few hours. Does normally take pictures of (or even notice) every interesting building he passes. And…

  • Sea Days — Two In A Row

    Sea Days — Two In A Row

    #flatstanley #flathal #cruise The flat fellas have been traveling for over 45 days. In the beginning Sea Days were like an average Saturday. A break from the week, chores and homework. A chance to play games, have fun, and not worry about when all aboard time is. But as the trip gets longer sea days…

  • Puerto Madryn — the local birds were amazing

    Puerto Madryn — the local birds were amazing

    #flatstanley #flathal #puertomadryn Other passengers took excursions to nature preserves and penguin colonies in the area, but the Flat Fellas decided to take a little time and walk around the port area with friends. There were several Kelp Gulls along the beach, a short distance from the pier, who appeared not only accustomed to humans,…

  • Falkland Islands Bird Sightings

    Falkland Islands Bird Sightings

    #flathal #flatstanley #falklandislands

  • Gentoo Penguins in the Falkland Islands

    Gentoo Penguins in the Falkland Islands

    #flathal #flatstanley #falklandislands Very near where the King Penguins were hanging out was the colony of Gentoo Penguins. Small white flags were stuck in the ground to let human visitors know where the constantly shifting boundary we should not cross was at the moment. This is the penguins territory, we may visit it so long…

  • The Flat Fellas Visit Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands

    The Flat Fellas Visit Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands

    #flatstanley #flathal #falklandislands The Falkland Islands have been a British Overseas Territory since 1833, but in 1982 Argentina tried to claim the Falkland Islands. This led to a 10 week war. Looking at the map, the Falkland Islands are close to Argentina… but that doesn’t mean the British didn’t send help when it was needed.

  • Scenic Cruising in Antarctica

    Scenic Cruising in Antarctica

    #flatstanley #flathal #antarctica Flat Hal and Flat Stanley had a fantastic last day of scenic cruising in Antarctica. When we first stepped outside to take photos it was snowing— leading to interesting attempts to get the camera to focus on the white landscape and animals with a lot of white in them. The sun came…

  • Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Saw an Albatross

    Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Saw an Albatross

    #flathal #flatstanley #antarctica Samuel Coleridge Taylor wrote a story called “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It left such an impression on readers that people started using the expression “an albatross around his neck”. For a time, sailors viewed seeing an Albatross as a sign of bad luck, mostly because of this story, but now…

  • Day 3 Antarctica Showed the Flat Fellas Another Side of Itself

    Day 3 Antarctica Showed the Flat Fellas Another Side of Itself

    #flatstanley #flathal #antarctica Having seen moody and overcast, and bright, vibrant sunshine, day three offered dense fog and mist. For most of the day it seemed impossible to identify the horizon, the water bleeding into the mist. The flat Fellas spent part of the day looking through photographs we had already taken, and working on…

  • A Fun & Cold Time Watching The Sun Set

    A Fun & Cold Time Watching The Sun Set

    #flatstanley #flathal #antarctica The high of the day was only a little above freezing, and the temperature seemed to drop quickly with the sun, but the color didn’t just linger in the sky, it seemed to get more brilliant and interesting as the time passed. For most of an hour, maybe more the sky reflected…

  • Day 2 Antarctica Showed Up Ready For Pictures!

    Day 2 Antarctica Showed Up Ready For Pictures!

    #flatstanley #antarctica #flathal @hollandamericaline After showing us its moody side, Antarctica dazzled the flat fellas with endless expanses of ice, mountains, and the occasional wild animal. “A Colony of Gentoo Penguins to Port!” It was such an exciting announcement. The flat fellas joined other passengers in rushing to the rails of the ship. The scoured…

  • SOLAS – Safety Of Life At Sea

    SOLAS – Safety Of Life At Sea

    Flat Stanley and Flat Hal mustered again… this cruise is over 30 days, and it was time for a little reality to come in to our vacation. Here is an explanation, with some help from Gemini AI for why Cruise ships conduct safety drills every 30 days, there are a few important reasons: It’s the…

  • Flat Stanley and Flat Hal on a 1.4 mile piggyback ride through the tropical rainforest at Colo-I-Suva Forest Park

    Flat Stanley and Flat Hal on a 1.4 mile piggyback ride through the tropical rainforest at Colo-I-Suva Forest Park

    Honestly, the Flat Fellas had the right idea.  Piggyback ride is how I wish I had gone, but instead I carried our Flat Friends over rugged terrain on a challenging, and beautiful hike through the rainforest. There were times when the trail was narrow, and steep, but it ended in a natural pool everyone had…