Hi Junior... Waiting in the BA Terrace Lounge at London Heathrow for my flight to Madrid. Nice to finelly get some ass kissed - ehm, respectful treatment - now that I am flying on actual business class tickets, not just upgrades or miles. I helped myself to a wonderful bottle of Perrier Jouet to warm up and celebrate x-mas... oh yeah, Merry Christmas to all of you! Of course, now that I leave Germany before the event is over they actually do have a *white* x-mas this year, can you believe it? That didn't stop me from flying on the Autobahn for 5 days straight... woohoo, nothing better to see that needle go beyond the 200 mark. Went to Cottbus to visit my uncle, whom I hadn't seen in 8 years or so. Of course, there was the visit to the crew in Anklam - always nice to play the gift-giving superstar for your little (...actually, now pretty big) god-daughter. Anyway, the bottom line is that I can hardly walk after feasting at least three times every day, plus the obligatory Weihnachtsstollen all the time in between. Madrid tonight, Miami and Cancun tomorrow - Washbear time!!!

Heya Mr. KJ - Signing off from Buenos Aires. What a great time it has been! I am sure I will be back one day soon, maybe for an even longer period of time. Three more nights here in summer, sun and fun - then it's back to the old continent. I will be extremely busy racking up air miles so I might not get a chance to write an update for several weeks but I will be back, as the Mattinator says!

Yoodidleedoo Kermit Jr... I have made it! Well, almost. Still no Antarctica, but at least I am at the closest thing there is to the Antarctic Convergence 60 degrees South Latitude - Ushuaia... "End of the World, Beginning of Everything", as the locals say. Quite the cool place! It better be that way because getting here from Punta Arenas was an all-day affair, not because of distance but because of the my proven-again-theory that ridiculously unimportant border posts tend to be the ones with the most scrutiny. Never again on land from Chile to Argentina! Two hours at the stupid Chilenean side, another hour spent with the Argentinians. Funny thing is that, while we were processed, everybody went back and forth across the border to shop at the gas station, use the bathrooms, whatever. Just getting the fucking stamp in your passport was the problem. Anyway, made it to Rio Grande, a wind-swept armpit of a location, then continued via Route 3 to Tolhuen (awesome food there at the La Union panaderia!) and for the fun part across the mountain ranges, nearby lakes, and past amazing skies to Ushuaia, End of the World. Wheww!!! Took the lift up to the Martial Glaciar base today, tomorrow sailing across the Beagle Channel (yeah, more penguins!!!). Finally, back to BsAs tomorrow night for one more week in my number two city (if you don't know number one you shouldn't be reading this). Miles miles miles!!!

Short-term schedule:

12/19-12/24 Friedland/Anklam, Germany Kind of Christmas.
12/24-12/25 Madrid, Spain Now that's what I call Christmas!
12/25-12/30 Cancun, Mexico A fun diving tanning boozing Washbear time.
12/31-01/10 Tokyo, Japan Gotta see the Rising Sun rising for the New Year.
01/10-02/04 Polynesia, South Pacific Fun fun fun on Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Yo Junior - Stuck in Punta Arenas for the next three days, so here's an update. No Antarctica this time for me... just not enough luck. Step by step: After my 5 deco days in BsAs by plane via Santiago de Chile to Puerto Montt - what a chaotic and unappealing place. Killed three hours and embarked upon my trip through the fjords aboard the Magallanes, Navimag's supply vessel sailing once a week to Puerto Natales. Great party ship, lots of cool people, super-comfy berths, and even acceptable weather for some great views throughout the journey, especially in Puerto Eden and on the way through the White Passage. Zoomed through Natales to catch my bus to Punta Arenas, where DAP finally confirmed that our team of 4 wouldn't make it to King George Island in Antarctica the next day due to lack of a sufficient number of people willing to make the flight. What a bummer... Heck, at least I have about $2k more in my pocket now and can blow a bit here, as there are no buses leaving for Ushuaia until Monday. So I went on this awesome little trip to a wildlife farm, jumping around between nandus, armadillos, guanacos, sheep and angoras, even a puma, to name a few. Highlight was the visit of Pinguineros, a beach where 10,000 Magallanes penguins come ashore to work on their offspring projects. Hillarious little creatures!!! Enjoying almost white nights here... the sun "sets" at about 11 p.m. and the sky is playing with colors in a limitless number of ways. More lazy stuff tomorrow, Sunday on a ship across the Straight of Magallanes to Porvenir.