Looking for a small bon voyage gift for the Antarctica/Falklands bound
October 28, 2016 8:58 AM Subscribe
One of my dearest friends and his husband are going to Antarctica and The Falklands in a few weeks and I would like to get them a small going away gift. If you have been to these places, is there a small thing you wish you had with you?
They will be going with a National Geographic Expedition so I'm sure all the little luxuries you'd want on such a trip will be provided.
They are also extremely experienced travellers, so I'm really looking for ideas that are specific to these destinations and that they wouldn't think of. I was thinking of getting these notebooks, but this was a random discovery so there are probably better ideas. (I'm not sure that they're really into travel diaries, either, it would be more of a "thinking of you!" gesture rather than a practical one, which would also be okay to suggest.) Maybe a book?
Thanks, travellers of MetaFilter!
They will be going with a National Geographic Expedition so I'm sure all the little luxuries you'd want on such a trip will be provided.
They are also extremely experienced travellers, so I'm really looking for ideas that are specific to these destinations and that they wouldn't think of. I was thinking of getting these notebooks, but this was a random discovery so there are probably better ideas. (I'm not sure that they're really into travel diaries, either, it would be more of a "thinking of you!" gesture rather than a practical one, which would also be okay to suggest.) Maybe a book?
Thanks, travellers of MetaFilter!
Best answer: Oh god, lots and lots of ginger gum, Dramamine, ginger chews or anything for sea sickness. I didn't go to the Falklands but I did go to the Antarctic peninsula and the drake crossing is no joke. I spent a full 24 hours horizontal from seasickness. I didn't want to take Dramamine because I didn't want to be zonked out and miss anything. I generally don't love ginger but ginger chews and gum were my savior on that trip.
I also wish I had brought many many memory cards for all the photos. Really, I wish I had brought a laptop so I could have uploaded and tagged my photos at the end of every day. There were also people on the trip who were much better photographers with much nicer cameras than me and I wish I had had a usb stick to grab their photos at the end of each day (this was about 8 years ago and traveling for fun with a laptop was less common.)
A Spanish phrase book could also be nice for the few days they likely spend in Ushiaia before getting on the boat.
posted by raccoon409 at 10:07 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I also wish I had brought many many memory cards for all the photos. Really, I wish I had brought a laptop so I could have uploaded and tagged my photos at the end of every day. There were also people on the trip who were much better photographers with much nicer cameras than me and I wish I had had a usb stick to grab their photos at the end of each day (this was about 8 years ago and traveling for fun with a laptop was less common.)
A Spanish phrase book could also be nice for the few days they likely spend in Ushiaia before getting on the boat.
posted by raccoon409 at 10:07 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
A few other things I thought of- Santa, elves, polar bears and reindeer do not inhabit Antarctica. Anyone who gave me stuff with those themes I instantly regarded as not really trying to learn anything. Penguins do live in Antarctica but EVERYTHINGis penguins themed, so do so at your own risk (I went because I have a huge interest in Antartica explorers and I dont give a shit about penguins so that was also weird to receive as an item because I had no interest in it.
A small waterproof pouch and extra batteries for their cameras is a good idea. Good sunglasses as well, between the sun and snow it is VERY bright.
It wasn't that cold (because it's the peninsula aka banana belt) and in fact many days it was colder in Michigan where I attended school.
I have some book recommendations I could offer ask well if they'd find that interesting.
posted by raccoon409 at 10:17 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
A small waterproof pouch and extra batteries for their cameras is a good idea. Good sunglasses as well, between the sun and snow it is VERY bright.
It wasn't that cold (because it's the peninsula aka banana belt) and in fact many days it was colder in Michigan where I attended school.
I have some book recommendations I could offer ask well if they'd find that interesting.
posted by raccoon409 at 10:17 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My husband has done commercial fishing in the Falklands and other south Atlantic islands. Apparently the weather is atrocious but I'm assuming your friends have rain gear covered.. My husband thinks that a delicious hot chocolate mix would be a great little thing to have on the boat and to share with others.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:17 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by pintapicasso at 10:17 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: One of my friends who has been responds:
Lip balm. It's super dry.
And sunscreen, actually.
And ginger candy, for the motion sickness.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:31 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Lip balm. It's super dry.
And sunscreen, actually.
And ginger candy, for the motion sickness.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:31 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Do they read e-books? Because you could gift them a copy of Ian McEwan's SOLAR, which contains a long and hilariously sour section where the main character goes to the arctic...and thinks, at one point, that he's actually frozen and broken off his penis. I won't spoil it but for the right sort of friends this might actually be the perfect gift.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:16 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:16 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I lived in the Falklands for a few years. Definitely nothing with penguins on. Almost 10 years after leaving I still get given stuff with feckin penguins on, despite the fact that for several years of my life that was the only thing available to buy in abundance.
You could email Alex, who runs the Waterfront Kitchen Cafe, and ask if he could sell you a gift voucher. I think it's probably the best cafe in Stanley, and very close to where a lot of the cruise ships disembark. Likewise you could enquire about vouchers for the Museum Gift Shop, which has been built since I left but always looks to have interesting stuff in, or Studio 52, which is tiny but has beautiful Falklands photography and gifts. The only hitch would be if the weather turned out to be too bad for them to come into harbour (happens maybe twice a season), they wouldn't get to use them.
One issue is that anything specific to these areas would be much easier for them to pick up in a gift shop in Ushuaia or Stanley than it is for you buy at home. That said, buying books in advance might give them something to get excited about ahead of time, and there are some second hand copies on Amazon (presumably from people who went on previous cruises!) Some options would be:
1982 And All That - compelling read, by John Fowler - only available as an ebook, but can you gift these things? John was in Stanley throughout the Falklands conflict, and was unfortunate enough to have a massive shell drop on his house, killing three other people (all civilians) who had moved in with them, supposedly for safety because the house was made of stone. At the time, John had a three-year-old daughter and his son Dan was born during the conflict. It's a good read.
74 Days by John Smith - if you want a paper pages book by a different John on the same topic - IIRC it's essentially a diary - from another man who was in Stanley for the duration in '82. (Morbid as it sounds to put books about a 30-year-old war on the list, understanding the impact it had on the civilians caught in the middle of it is pretty much essential to understanding the modern Falklands, and these are a much more interesting read than the military histories that mostly fill results when you search for books on the Falklands).
On a gentler note -
A Field Guide to the Wildlife of the Falklands and South Georgia by Ian Strange
posted by penguin pie at 11:30 AM on October 28, 2016 [8 favorites]
You could email Alex, who runs the Waterfront Kitchen Cafe, and ask if he could sell you a gift voucher. I think it's probably the best cafe in Stanley, and very close to where a lot of the cruise ships disembark. Likewise you could enquire about vouchers for the Museum Gift Shop, which has been built since I left but always looks to have interesting stuff in, or Studio 52, which is tiny but has beautiful Falklands photography and gifts. The only hitch would be if the weather turned out to be too bad for them to come into harbour (happens maybe twice a season), they wouldn't get to use them.
One issue is that anything specific to these areas would be much easier for them to pick up in a gift shop in Ushuaia or Stanley than it is for you buy at home. That said, buying books in advance might give them something to get excited about ahead of time, and there are some second hand copies on Amazon (presumably from people who went on previous cruises!) Some options would be:
1982 And All That - compelling read, by John Fowler - only available as an ebook, but can you gift these things? John was in Stanley throughout the Falklands conflict, and was unfortunate enough to have a massive shell drop on his house, killing three other people (all civilians) who had moved in with them, supposedly for safety because the house was made of stone. At the time, John had a three-year-old daughter and his son Dan was born during the conflict. It's a good read.
74 Days by John Smith - if you want a paper pages book by a different John on the same topic - IIRC it's essentially a diary - from another man who was in Stanley for the duration in '82. (Morbid as it sounds to put books about a 30-year-old war on the list, understanding the impact it had on the civilians caught in the middle of it is pretty much essential to understanding the modern Falklands, and these are a much more interesting read than the military histories that mostly fill results when you search for books on the Falklands).
On a gentler note -
A Field Guide to the Wildlife of the Falklands and South Georgia by Ian Strange
posted by penguin pie at 11:30 AM on October 28, 2016 [8 favorites]
Oh, and feel free to MeMail me if you've any other questions/ideas you want to run by someone. It's been a while, but the Falklands doesn't change much!
posted by penguin pie at 11:38 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 11:38 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Extra camera batteries, if you know what type they use. Batteries run down very quickly in the cold, so having a spare or two that you can keep tucked inside your clothes, warm from your body heat, is great. A couple of USBs for grabbing copies of other people's photos is also great idea.
I really wish I'd taken a neck gaiter that I could pull up over my face. While it's not as cold on the Peninsula in summer as a northern US winter, the wind can have a real bite especially while you're sitting in a Zodiac, and a regular scarf gets annoying fast. (I ended up cutting open the top of a spare beanie and using that - looked stupid but worth it).
posted by une_heure_pleine at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I really wish I'd taken a neck gaiter that I could pull up over my face. While it's not as cold on the Peninsula in summer as a northern US winter, the wind can have a real bite especially while you're sitting in a Zodiac, and a regular scarf gets annoying fast. (I ended up cutting open the top of a spare beanie and using that - looked stupid but worth it).
posted by une_heure_pleine at 11:51 AM on October 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: These are all great! I'll be sending it off early next week so any other suggestions will be appreciated and considered.
They are pretty low-tech so I'm not sure about the e-books, but Solar sounds right up their alley. Unfortunately, the field guide wouldn't be delivered on time. (There are a couple of "good" used versions but I'd hate to send them as a gift unseen.)
Despite the extravagance of the trip they are actually pretty low key about "stuff" but I'd let them buy things like the neck gaiter so they could get a good one that will last.
Right now I have some yummy sounding ginger candy, a few notebooks to choose from plus a couple of Sharpies, and two lip balms on caribiners. Oh, and the book!
posted by Room 641-A at 2:23 PM on October 28, 2016
They are pretty low-tech so I'm not sure about the e-books, but Solar sounds right up their alley. Unfortunately, the field guide wouldn't be delivered on time. (There are a couple of "good" used versions but I'd hate to send them as a gift unseen.)
Despite the extravagance of the trip they are actually pretty low key about "stuff" but I'd let them buy things like the neck gaiter so they could get a good one that will last.
Right now I have some yummy sounding ginger candy, a few notebooks to choose from plus a couple of Sharpies, and two lip balms on caribiners. Oh, and the book!
posted by Room 641-A at 2:23 PM on October 28, 2016
Response by poster: Oh, and hot chocolate packs! You'd think for the cost of the trip they'd have polar bears and penguins make it for you, but just in case....
posted by Room 641-A at 2:26 PM on October 28, 2016
posted by Room 641-A at 2:26 PM on October 28, 2016
Response by poster: Thank you everyone, they loved the little gifts. I marked best answer for the things I sent but sent them the link so they could see all your great suggestions.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:10 PM on November 17, 2016
posted by Room 641-A at 5:10 PM on November 17, 2016
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posted by showbiz_liz at 9:06 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]