Day 22 - January 25, 2008 - at sea - in the fjords

in the fjords photos
Today was listed on the itinerary as the first of 2 days of Cruising the Chilean Fjords. But, as we sailed away from Puerto Chacabuco, we re-entered the open ocean. We stayed in open ocean over night and did not re-enter a fjord until around noon today. There was heavy fog overnight and some big swells. We heard the fog horn for a good part of the night and there was some pretty good side to side rocking. We all slept in a bit and then had a late breakfast at Compass Rose. Debbie and Margie gave the staff a test on Egg(s) Benedict. Margie ordered singular and Debbie ordered plural. They both got what they ordered. So thumbs up! It has been a week since laundry was last done and it needed to be done again either today or tomorrow. Since there was nothing to see but fog, Debbie decided to try to get the laundry done after the Jean-Michel Cousteau lecture. He was to speak on the Andes as the source of the Amazon. We all went and after nearly 45 minutes of him speaking only about the work of the Ocean Future Society, Debbie and Margie left to start on the laundry. Clay stayed and Jean-Michel spoke about global climate change and that eventually there were about 15-20 minutes on the Amazon. Cousteau ran over almost to 11am and the next speaker's time slot. He started at 9:45am.
Captain Romeo said we should re-enter a fjord at noon today and sail it until about 6pm, then out into open ocean again for a few hours before entering another fjord to sail for the next day or so. Terry gave a name of this channel around noon and said it was 70-80 miles long. We popped out of the channel and into the ocean again at around 4:30pm. We really like sailing in the fjords. The fog went away about the same time we entered the fjord, not sure if the 2 were related or not. It was sunny most of the rest of the day and about 70F. Beautiful. The open ocean is pretty choppy though with pretty big swells. Not too nice.
There was an Indian curry buffet on the Pool Deck today for lunch. We did not go. We just ate in LaVeranda. Did we mention that we love Ludovic? We love Ludovic Chevrot, Dining Room Manager. He is just too funny and charming and thoughtful. He visited us for a first time at lunch upstairs today. He is everywhere!
We went to the Gold, Platinum and Titanium SSS event at 2:30pm. It was a 2nd Montes Winery tasting with tapas in Compass Rose. There were about 30 people there and places set for about 50 people. Not sure if people didn't come because of the timing during the scenic fjord cruising or if because they had already gone to the shipwide tasting. Carlos Serrano served different wines today, they were the premium wines, not the standard ones he served before. Today he served 2 whites and 3 reds. After he introduced all 5 wines, tapas were served. They were a meat empanada and ceviche.
When we reentered the open ocean this afternoon the temperature dropped dramatically and the wind really kicked up as well as the seas. Not good! Not sure who is driving Mariner now, but they must be lost. We have been headed due west for about an hour and there is nowhere to go out there! Captain Romeo said we would only be out of the fjords for a few hours, well now it will be more because we will have to sail back for an hour to find land again! If we ever get a story about what this little wild excursion has been about, we'll let you know. We have been in some really big swells, riding them up and falling into the troughs. It has been dramatic.
We are going to the early PGT Singers and Dancers Jazz show at 6:15pm before dinner. Tonight and tomorrow are Country Club Casual. More later.
We had good intentions of heading back to our cabin to look at a movie after dinner in Compass Rose. BUT, as we passed puzzle corner on deck 6, we saw a new puzzle was out and no one had worked on it yet. This was too much for Debbie and Marge. So they started working on the borders and will likely pass on the TV in the cabin this evening.
There is a special event for the people who going on the full circle in the morning at 7:45am. It was originally scheduled for Deck 7 forward in the restricted area. But this evening, there was a note saying the location was being changed to the Horizon Lounge due to inclement weather. We had conjectured that it might be a bit breezy out front that early in the morning, and it seems that the event planners came to the same conclusion.
All the pictures today are just sights seen as we cruised the fjords. The pictures do not do justice to the remote beauty of this area.
in the fjords photos