Riddle: How many pairs of fleece pants can you stuff...

...into a duffle bag? Answer: Way more than you might think!

Instructions from the Antarctic tour company were to bring "soft-sided" luggage due to storage limitations in the cabins. I presume that implies these cabins will be smaller than those I'm accustomed to on larger cruise ships such as Carnival, Holland America, and Princess. That stands to reason, since the Orlova is much smaller than those trendy liners. The maximum passenger load is 110, and with crew and staff, I'm guessing there will be fewer than 200 people on board. Althought she's relatively small, 90 meters in length, the Orlova is a double hulled, ice-strengthened ship, originally builtin 1976, with refurbishing and upgrades in 1999 and 2002. Pictures in the travel documents show what appear to be comfortable chairs in a relatively spacious diningroom and well-appointed lounge, bar and promenade areas.

I received an impressive list of the tour staff who will accompany our group. They include several naturalists, a marine biologist, a geologist, an ornithologist, a physician, and an artist. I found it interesting that four of them, including the Expedition Leader, are women. Yay! There will be numerous lecture programs to prepare us for what we will see on shore and from the decks.

I've been reading up on Antarctic wildlife, but without an expert I'm certain I would be unable to differentiate between multiple species of albatross and petrels. The penguins, on the other hand, seem to have fairly identifiable characteristics, so I'm pretty sure that if I can see the birdies well enough, I can tell if they are chinstraps, macaronis, or Adelies. Royals and kings could be a little tougher, since they are similar except for size. The largest and most readily identifiable penguin species, the regal emperors, will probably not be seen, since their rookeries are located on the oppposite side of the continent from the Peninsula, where our excursion is headed. Once in a while a lone emperor is spotted that far north, but I really don't expect to see any of the denizens portrayed in "Happy Feet".

Whale spotting will be interesting, and I hope we'll be fortunate enough to see some. The tragic truth is that some of the whale species that swim in Antarctic waters were hunted nearly to extinction from the 19th to the late 20th century. Although most whale species are now protected by international agreements, some nations still send factory boats, thinly disguised as "research vessels", to slaughter them by the thousands. The Japanese in particular have a fondness for whale meat, and continue to harvest thousands of whales each year, despite the protective regulations. Notably, the largest of the whales, the blue whale, are reduced in numbers to the point where scientists speculate the species may become extinct simply because there are not enough of them left to be able to locate mates in the vast oceans. How sad it is to think of these huge, gentle creatures, roaming the world, seeking in vain another of their kind in order to procreate. It makes me want to weep.

Back to packing. The luggage I'm accustomed to using on lengthy trips is not soft-sided, so I hauled out two duffle bags and proceeded to determine whether or not I could cram all the items I deemed to be essential into these two bags plus a carry on backpack. After much packing and repacking, eliminating this and that, and pressing thick fleecy pants and sweaters into compressible plastic packing bags (thank heaven for those!), I think I have it licked. Except for the few last minute items to be added, I'm essentially ready to go.

One knotty packing problem centered around the 24 hour stay in Buenos Aires during the first leg of the journey. It's summertime there also, and the temperature, according to internet sources, is in the balmy high 80's. Obviously I wouldn't be comfortable in fleece pants and sweaters. In addition, I'm meeting my cabin mate, and we have plans to attend a Tango Dinner Theater that evening, which calld for a dressy, fairly lightweight outfit. I hate taking any item of clothing to wear only one time, but I compromised by choosing a silky pantsuit that will fold to almost nothing. I'll roll it up in tissue paper at the last possible moment, but I hope I can scrounge up an iron in the hotel in Buenos Aires!

Thank goodness there are no "formal nights" on this cruise. They made it clear in the tour info that casual, comfortable clothing is in order for the entire trip. My kind of travel!

More coming up on getting ready to encounter the white continent!