Puenta Arenas

This location was actually after Amalia Glacier and I am not sure how
 to get it back in order-Oops

While getting from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas last night we had to

sail out into the Pacific for a short while. This happened about

12:30 AM and the reason I know this is because we had scary

seas. I kept feeling the boat drop and then rise quickly with numerous

THUMPS occurring during this  time. People I spoke to today talked

about being terrified and one lady mentioned she grabbed her rosary

and prayed. Caro slept through it. Ha ha.

Today the port sea was extremely rough. We went on the tender to

shore about 9:30 AM. As our tender was attempting to line up with

the disembarkation platform the back end got smashed into some

of the deck structure and broke a plexiglass window right beside a

passengers head. Yikes. About an hour or so later the captain stopped

any tenders from going to shore so many people missed their penguin

sanctuary tours. The plane to Antarctica made it out and their tender

was the last returning. We know this because while watching the

tenders come in we were talking to an Aussie and she mentioned

her husband was on that tour ($C4000 a ticket-too rich for us). As

we found out the next day, unbeknown to the Aussie lady the

Antarctica trip was cancelled due to bad weather and instead they

went to Torres del Paine. Too bad for those who went on this cruise

just for that particular side trip.

In Punta Arenas we took a 2 hour free walking tour (you paid a

tip of whatever you thought it was worth ). The tour was OK but merely “OK”.

Next we toured a natural history museum which was interesting

After a stop at a chocolateria for wonderful hot chocolate for me and

coffee for Caro we grabbed a cab and took it out of town a short

ways to a museum that had replicas of several important ships including

Magellan’s ship, The Beagle of Charles Darwin fame, and the most

important for me, a replica of Shackleton’s lifeboat he took to South Georgia

Island in his heroic quest to save the rest of his crew on Elephant Island.

It was a great place to see but getting back to the city was a little hairy as

there were no cabs around and we had to walk about ½ kilometer to a

main road to flag one down.

Replica of Magellan's ship Noa Victoria

Last stop was the mansion of a very rich lady from the turn of the

20th century. The house took four years to build using European

craftsmen and was absolutely stunning inside. Beautiful woodwork.

A thing that was very important for me to learn was the Shackleton

was at that very house to get assistance for rescuing his crew left

behind on Elephant Island. Too Cool!

Caro beside a replica of the boat that Shackleton and five others sailed across 800 miles of hellish water from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island. Incredible!

In this house Shackleton came to get help to pick up his men stranded on Elephant Island

We had a light supper late at night after watching one of the regular

ships singers perform. She was awesome and she mentioned she

has sung at Royal Albert Hall in front of 11000 people. The singers and

dancers on this cruise really are good (as is usual on all of our cruises)

Sea day on the way to Puerto Montt

A relaxing day with both of us doing our own thing.

I had picked up a book from the library to read while

Caro spent some time in the hot tub.

Tonight was a formal night but we skipped that,enjoying

the buffet meal instead. It was good as always.

The evening show was a production by the ship singers

and dancers and it was really good.

Geriza our house keeping lady. I had great times talking to her

Amalia Glacier

This morning we stayed in bed enjoying the rolling motion of the ship.

After a late breakfast we went to three lectures-two were concerning

upcoming ports and one was on Ferdinand Magellan.

During a late lunch a man and his daughter sat down at our table

because the buffet was so packed and it turned out to be another

great conversation. This fellow has been all over the world and a

couple of years ago he and his wife (who was not on the trip) had

their kids do their schooling on-line while they spent a year travelling

in Europe. This fellow was the one who told us that his trip to

Antarctica was cancelled due to bad weather.

The afternoon was spent on deck as we wound our way through

channels until we came to the fjord with the Amalia glacier at its’ end.

Oh WOW fantastic. We took numerous photos.

After the glacier it was getting a little past supper time so we again

had a quick bite at the buffet and of course another couple sat with

us because there was no open tables. These people turned out to

be from Edmonton (!) and we had a great time comparing notes

and websites we each use.

Afterwards I went back up on deck to continue watching the

Andes mountains in the distance and the smaller mountains

along side the channel. A fantastic display of mother nature today!

The evening show was a lady from Houston who could absolutely

BELT out Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. Very good show and

the only standing ovation that I have seen this cruise. There is a

chance that Dad saw her as she was on an Alaskan cruise in September

In Ushuaia

A fabulous day in Ushuaia. We started the day by going

to visitor information center where I was able to send an

email and text the kids (even though they were sleeping

as we are 4 hours ahead).

My information from previously investigating costs of

things to do here said that the double decker bus trips

cost $40US each but luckily it was only $10US each

and was a very worthwhile hour long trip around this

small city.

From there we walked to a fantastic museum that used

to be a prison. This museum is a hi-light location according

to Trip Advisor and was worth every peso it cost to get in.

This place started out as a penal colony housing the worst

of the worst (like Kingston in Canada or Alcatraz in the States).

There was short histories in the cells of some of the more

nefarious men.Yikes!!! Bad people!

Following the museum we headed downtown to have

a meal of seafood and King crab which is a speciality here.

Fantastic meal!

After a walk to the Falklands war memorial we headed

back to the ship.

Today several people missed the ship including two crew

who we saw running back but the ship had already left the dock.

Oops for them.

After two-three hours of sailing we entered a hi-lght part of

the Beagle channel with glaciers everywhere including one

that came right down to the ocean. Mile after mile of stunning

mountains covered in glaciers. OH WOW. There were many

people out taking photos (even though it was C-c-o-o-o-l out).

The weather was overcast except for a 10 minute stretch

where the sun shone; right when we were at the best

glacier.BONUS!!

With so many photo opportunities we just gave up taking any.

We watched the late show at the theatre and called it a night.

Cape Horn

January 10th/2019-half way through our cruise already

This morning we woke up to the Captain making another

apologetic announcement so we immediately had that  

sinking gut feeling again! Turns out the weather tonight at

the Cape was going to be very bad so they had to make

more schedule changes. The changes turned out to be

better than the original plan as the ship sped up and we

got to the Cape about 1 PM (5 hours early) .We circled

Cape Horn island in slight misty foggy weather which

seems quite appropriate with the reputation it has for bad

weather. Everyone was bundled up and outside to take photos.

The wind was outrageous (over 40 knots-according to the

ship TV channel) and I got some good video of Caro standing

at the front getting blown around. Watching the waves smash

their way onto the rocks of the islands sure makes a person

think about those early explorers and the difficulties they faced.

It took about one hour to go around then we headed off towards

Ushuaia. If plans hadn’t changed we would have come into

Ushuaia early in the morning but instead we are arriving right now as

I write this at 10:50 PM. We got to see the eastern part of the Beagle

channel and OMG it is SOOO pretty! There were plenty of staff

out taking pictures alongside passengers. The weather was

pretty good with occasional blue sky and I got some nice mountain

photos.

Caro is coming down with a cold so we ate supper by ourselves.

Actually I am quite put off by yesterday’s debacle with the

unpleasant man so better to eat with company I enjoy

spending time with!

We each went our own way for some of the evening’s entertainment

but we got together for a show by the man who did an act the other

night using his great mimic ability to sing hit songs done in the

same voice as the original hit maker. These on board shows

and/or activities are no more than 45 minutes long so we didn’t

miss too much scenery outside.

Tomorrow should be great!

Bad News

Last night I stayed up to watch the first half of the Clemson/Alabama

football championship game. It was midnight at half time so I went

to bed. The end result (Clemson win) was no different than half time

so I didn’t miss much. I was surprised that there were only about

3 three dozen of us there in the lounge (and there are over 1000

Americans on board for this cruise).

We woke up in the morning to a rocking,wavy sea and the news

that our Falklands Island stop was cancelled due to extremely

poor sailing conditions. There were 50 knot winds and wave spray

coming up to our window height (we are on deck 8). I believe the

Captain said that 30 foot waves were expected. Anyway safety

and comfort first but I am very disappointed.

We attended a great lecture on Shackleton’s famous doomed

Antarctic voyage.

The afternoon was a lazy one. I read a book and Caro was out

doing her thing in the common areas of the ship.

As returning guests we were invited to the Captain’s Circle show

where we watched some of the ship entertainers and then waited

to see if our names were picked for special prizes (they weren’t).

The Captain could not attend due to the bad weather so all

attendees we given a voucher for a free drink. BONUS!

We watched a Motown show put on by the ship’s band

and singer/dancers. Caro enjoyed it. Me,MEH.

The late show was a fellow who did various voices and acted

as if he was that particular singer. He was quite funny and

we enjoyed his show. As luck would have it we met up with

him later in the elevator so were able to chat briefly.

Tomorrow is the unexpected sail day.

Sea Day

Last night was a very rolly night with much wave banging on

the ship sending shudders throughout. I got up at 2 A.M. to check

the wind speed on the TV channel. It was 54 knots almost

directly on to the bow of the ship. The ship had slowed down

from 14 to 10 knots.

While at breakfast in the buffet a couple sat down at

our table. They were American and we had a great

visit. It turns out the ladies mother was from Legal.

Small world. Great people and we must have spent

30 minutes chatting.

I went to the port talk on Ushuaia and Caro went to

Zumba.

The day was pretty uneventful with both of participating in

ships events; an example being a trivia contest.

For the evening meal we decided to sit with other people

so we were placed with a group of four from the US

(nice people) and a single fellow from New Zealand

(he was DISGUSTING; an opinionated jerk who

was insulting).

The evening’s entertainment was a flautist from

Ireland