Ushuaia photos
We lost another hour last night, so morning seemed to come too early for us! Clay woke up with a sore throat, but we all just woke up unfocused and out of sorts somehow. Maybe it was because Debbie did not have any plan in place for us today. So, we got a late start with breakfast in LaVeranda. For the first time since we boarded we were still onboard when a loudspeaker announcement was made that the ship had cleared and all passengers could go ashore. We discussed it and had a loose plan to get some local money from an ATM, find a taxi and go out to Tierra del Fuego National Park and then to the chairlift up to Martial Glacier, then some shopping and lunch. Back to the ship around 4pm to get freshened up for our Special Event. The Full Circle passengers were invited to "Ushuaia Prison Break" at the Prison at the End of the World. It is a notorious and historical building that is now a museum. We needed to be in the Constellation Theater at 5pm for it.
So, on our way out Manuel at the Travel Concierge Desk asked if we'd like a map. We would. There was a local woman there to answer questions and got some helpful suggestions from her. we wandered out and the first 2 places we tried for an ATM were closed. Margie needed a new camera battery and we wandered upon a camera shop and they had a battery. While she was getting it, Clay found an ATM. So, we started looking for a taxi. The first 2 people we spoke to did not speak English. We walked back to the entrance to the docks and found a cluster of cabbies who all spoke good English. We got their prices and then they elected a driver. We spent about 4 hours with Marcello. He was very informative and we had a good day with him. The scenery was just amazing and we saw loads of rabbits and a family of kelp geese. We saw beaver dams, but never spotted an actual beaver. The roads in the park are not paved and they have had very little rain here in the past month, which is usually their rainiest. They have had unusually warm and dry weather. It was in the upper 50sF most of the day, but in the afternoon the sun finally broke through and it really warmed up. The roads were very, very dusty. It was a fine misty dust and it got all over. Marcello was out wiping down the windows and doors each time we got in and out of the car. He said since it has been like this he has to change his air filter once a week! It was a mess. The chair lift to the Martial Glacier was fun too, about 15 minutes ride each way. It followed a big roaring stream of glacier melt. You just got a closer view of the Martial Glacier at the top. You could walk all the way to the glacier, but since it has shrunk the walk is now about 2 hours each way, so we didn't get any closer. We took our taxi back down to the restaurant that the Visitor's Bureau person onboard had suggested, Tante Nina. Our taxi driver suggested a place a few doors down called Tia Elvira. We checked both menus. Clay wanted centolla crab and the prices were a little lower at Tante Nina, and it had great views from big windows overlooking Ushuaia Bay, so we went in there. Clay had asked Marcello if there was a local beer. He told him it was Beagle. Beagle Beer was on the menu at Tia Elvira, so we figured it would be available most places. Wrong. They only had Quilmes as the local beer at Tante Nina. The waiter asked Clay if he wanted the big one. Clay said sure. It was bigger than a wine bottle! Clay was floating back to the ship. He really enjoyed his crab and Margie had the fresh trout which was very good too. Debbie had a rump steak and it was also very tasty. Then we went out shopping. Clay got a T-shirt and an ice cream cone. Then Clay got a Beagle beer to take back to the ship. Margie did not find anything and seriously debated about getting a hair cut. In the end, we ran out of time and she decided to let Debbie have a chance at trimming her hair.
We got back to the ship just in time to change our shoes since they were so dusty. The dress for the evening onboard was Country Club Casual again, but our invitations had nothing about dress for the Special Event. Other than Jailbird Uniforms Optional. We opted out. Some people wore the whole thing, some just the shirts or the hats or the pants. It was mixed. We were taken on a short guided tour of the prison portion of the museum and let into cells as if we were prisoners. Then we were taken to a big octagonal room, that used to be the prison bakery, for cocktails. They had Pisco sours, champagne, bloody marys, orange juice with something, red and white wine. After a little skit put on about us being prisoners and a song, they pulled back curtains on an hors d'ouvres buffet. There was crab salad, octopus salad, shrimp, proscuitto on biscuits, cheese on bread, etc. They introduced the Chef responsible. He was a Frenchman who apparently owns the best restaurant in town here. Clay thought he had better, or fresher, crab in town for lunch. We went to another courtyard of the museum/prison complex to view the outside of a replica of the Lighthouse at the End of the World. Then, we strolled through the gift shop and an art gallery. Debbie and Margie each made a purchase, then back to the ship. We were to sail at 9pm. so we had time for dinner. Compass Rose had nothing that really appealed to any of us and we weren't really all that hungry. LaVeranda had a new menu starting tonight, Argentine Steakhouse. So, we went up to Deck 11. There were several things on the menu that sounded good, but weren't. We all really liked the soup though, it was supposedly a local thing and was kind of sweet and sour. Unfortunately, then things fell apart. We waited and waited and waited. Debbie had ordered a pasta course, gnocchi, which never came and we never did get any explanation of what the delay was. Anyway, everyone tasted Debbie's entree of arroz con pollo and agreed it was awful. So, she asked for her gnocchi again. It was awful too. The gnocchi were really big and were just dry raw potato inside. Clay ordered Queso Fundido. There was technically some melted cheese there, but it was on top as a kind of broiled on garnish. So, all in all not a big success for their first night. We may go back over the next 8-9 nights that they will run this menu to try some other dishes though. We did like the local dessert, that was kind of like cajeta crepes with fruit inside.
We sailed a little before nine and weare sad to say goodbye to Patagonia. It has been a beautiful place and we have enjoyed exceptional weather that made it even more awesome. Tomorrow is a sea day as we sail to Port Stanley in the Falklands Islands (or Malvinas to the Argentines). Tomorrow is Informal night and we have been invited to a hosted table with Assistant Food & Beverage Manager Arjan Scheepers. As Clay said today, we only have about another month to go. He is already getting sad to go!
Ushuaia photos
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Day 25 - January 28, 2008 - cruising the Beagle Channel and rounding Cape Horn
Beagle Channel
We got an early start since we were to cruise Glacier Alley from 7:30 to 9am. We wanted to get good seats in the Observation Lounge to hear Terry Breen and also because no had yet told us on which side the tidewater glaciers would be appearing. Margie and Clay got there an hour early and if we had not, we would not have gotten window seats. Soon after passing the first glacier (and noticing that the starboard side was green and the port side was icy) we were told that all the named glaciers would be on the port side. Of course, this meant that had we been told last night, we could have slept in and watch in our jammies with room service from our own cabins. Instead here we were up and skipping breakfast to watch from the higher deck. No idea what is going on with this operation and keeping information like this from the passengers. They know. They know we want to know. So, what gives with the secrecy? Anyway, it was partly sunny and fairly warm today. About 60F. It was only 52F when we went to dinner in the evening. There is only one glacier left that touches seawater, a tidewater glacier. It is the Italian glacier. The glaciers are mostly named for countries. In order, we passed Spain, Germany, Romanche (named for a ship), Italy and Holland. It was a really beautiful sail with lots of waterfalls. Prinsendam appeared and tagged around and then passed behind us and lapped us on our port side and we had to come to a stop and wait for them to go on their way so we could view the tidewater glacier. There were beautiful beams of sunlight on the channel and on the blue ice of the glaciers. Stunning.
Debbie decided later to take a hot tub interlude. It was great and wish we had thought of getting in there sooner, like when we were aching from Machu Picchu.
We had lunch on the Pool Deck, Pizza and Pasta and Antipasta. Terry Breen was narrating as we continued past a shipwreck and Puerto Williams and Ushuaia. Captain Romeo warned us that there was a low pressure system with gale force winds off Cape Horn for this evening. It was hard to believe since it was still not all that cold, windy or rough. But, we were still in protected waters. Debbie and Margie continued with their positive thoughts of calm waters, but it was becoming increasingly clear that a whole lot of other people on board were cheering for a real, authentic Drake Passage Cape Horn crossing. The restaurants opened an hour early so that everyone could be done with dinner to view Cape Horn. Also, later they were battening down the ship for rough seas with gale force winds. Latitudes started a new Thai menu tonight and Debbie went to get us a reservation and they offered her tonight. So, we went tonight. It was OK, but no one had anything they really loved. We liked the first meal there better. Ludovic informed us that we missed the best menu, Chinese, which was between the first one and this one. Oh, well. Clay was also a little upset that there were Centolla crabs displayed outside Compass Rose because it was on the menu and he missed it. We skipped dessert to go up to the Observation Lounge since we did not know which side we would be crossing Cape Horn. There weren't 2 seats together anywhere in there, it was packed. About the time we were ready to pack it in since Terry was only speaking on TV, Observation Lounge and the outside decks, which were out of the question by this time, Captain Romeo came on and said the whole thing would be on the port side. So, we went back to our cabins. It was very rough and windy and blowing water. That was on the protected side! After we passed the lighthouse station and big Chilean flag on the back side of the island of Cabo de Hornos or Cape Horn, we went back in our cabin from the balcony. Things got weird. We were sitting there and there was a boiling, bubbling water noise. We looked around for it and found water in the sliding door track. But, there was not that kind of water blowing out there. Streaming into that track and the wind pushing through was bubbling. Aida was out in the hall and Clay got here. She said she would call it in, but she mopped it up and that seemed to be the end of it. As we rounded the island of Cape Horn, you could see the seas just churning and the wind blowing the sea mist sideways. The wind was about 50 miles per hour. Then just as we left the shelter of the island, Terry announced that the Captain had told her the winds had dropped and we could see that the seas calmed somewhat. Just like that. It was not calm or anything, but it was not as rough as it had been just a minute earlier. We rounded Cape Horn in fairly stormy seas! It was over in about 20 minutes. There is a big abstract sculpture of an albatross there behind the lighthouse station building and between it and the big Chilean flag. There is a poem inscribed out there to the those who lost their lives crossing the Horn. Terry read it and told stories about crossing the Horn as we sailed around the island. So, we've done it.
Beagle Channel
We got an early start since we were to cruise Glacier Alley from 7:30 to 9am. We wanted to get good seats in the Observation Lounge to hear Terry Breen and also because no had yet told us on which side the tidewater glaciers would be appearing. Margie and Clay got there an hour early and if we had not, we would not have gotten window seats. Soon after passing the first glacier (and noticing that the starboard side was green and the port side was icy) we were told that all the named glaciers would be on the port side. Of course, this meant that had we been told last night, we could have slept in and watch in our jammies with room service from our own cabins. Instead here we were up and skipping breakfast to watch from the higher deck. No idea what is going on with this operation and keeping information like this from the passengers. They know. They know we want to know. So, what gives with the secrecy? Anyway, it was partly sunny and fairly warm today. About 60F. It was only 52F when we went to dinner in the evening. There is only one glacier left that touches seawater, a tidewater glacier. It is the Italian glacier. The glaciers are mostly named for countries. In order, we passed Spain, Germany, Romanche (named for a ship), Italy and Holland. It was a really beautiful sail with lots of waterfalls. Prinsendam appeared and tagged around and then passed behind us and lapped us on our port side and we had to come to a stop and wait for them to go on their way so we could view the tidewater glacier. There were beautiful beams of sunlight on the channel and on the blue ice of the glaciers. Stunning.
Debbie decided later to take a hot tub interlude. It was great and wish we had thought of getting in there sooner, like when we were aching from Machu Picchu.
We had lunch on the Pool Deck, Pizza and Pasta and Antipasta. Terry Breen was narrating as we continued past a shipwreck and Puerto Williams and Ushuaia. Captain Romeo warned us that there was a low pressure system with gale force winds off Cape Horn for this evening. It was hard to believe since it was still not all that cold, windy or rough. But, we were still in protected waters. Debbie and Margie continued with their positive thoughts of calm waters, but it was becoming increasingly clear that a whole lot of other people on board were cheering for a real, authentic Drake Passage Cape Horn crossing. The restaurants opened an hour early so that everyone could be done with dinner to view Cape Horn. Also, later they were battening down the ship for rough seas with gale force winds. Latitudes started a new Thai menu tonight and Debbie went to get us a reservation and they offered her tonight. So, we went tonight. It was OK, but no one had anything they really loved. We liked the first meal there better. Ludovic informed us that we missed the best menu, Chinese, which was between the first one and this one. Oh, well. Clay was also a little upset that there were Centolla crabs displayed outside Compass Rose because it was on the menu and he missed it. We skipped dessert to go up to the Observation Lounge since we did not know which side we would be crossing Cape Horn. There weren't 2 seats together anywhere in there, it was packed. About the time we were ready to pack it in since Terry was only speaking on TV, Observation Lounge and the outside decks, which were out of the question by this time, Captain Romeo came on and said the whole thing would be on the port side. So, we went back to our cabins. It was very rough and windy and blowing water. That was on the protected side! After we passed the lighthouse station and big Chilean flag on the back side of the island of Cabo de Hornos or Cape Horn, we went back in our cabin from the balcony. Things got weird. We were sitting there and there was a boiling, bubbling water noise. We looked around for it and found water in the sliding door track. But, there was not that kind of water blowing out there. Streaming into that track and the wind pushing through was bubbling. Aida was out in the hall and Clay got here. She said she would call it in, but she mopped it up and that seemed to be the end of it. As we rounded the island of Cape Horn, you could see the seas just churning and the wind blowing the sea mist sideways. The wind was about 50 miles per hour. Then just as we left the shelter of the island, Terry announced that the Captain had told her the winds had dropped and we could see that the seas calmed somewhat. Just like that. It was not calm or anything, but it was not as rough as it had been just a minute earlier. We rounded Cape Horn in fairly stormy seas! It was over in about 20 minutes. There is a big abstract sculpture of an albatross there behind the lighthouse station building and between it and the big Chilean flag. There is a poem inscribed out there to the those who lost their lives crossing the Horn. Terry read it and told stories about crossing the Horn as we sailed around the island. So, we've done it.
Beagle Channel
Monday, January 28, 2008
Day 24 - January 27, 2008 - Punta Arenas, Chile
Humpback Whales photos
A mixed day.
Well, we had a just spectacular day yesterday and had really high expectations for today. We got an early breakfast in LaVeranda and headed out for our excursion. This was a very expensive pre-bookable RSSC excursion. Information was very scanty to non-existent from the Travel Concierge Desk staff. Of course, they knew it was going and they knew it was a very small group but they had no other information, including where we were to meet for the ride to the airport. The minimum number of participants was 4. Since we booked it last summer as 3, we figured that it would definitely go. Today there were 9. Unfortunately, the boats to go out to view the whales at the Marine Park are built to hold exactly 8 people. We had to go in 2 helicopters. At least one couple on the excursion today had booked it onboard at the last minute when they could not clear the waitlist for Antarctica. Anyway, it seems like if they can meet 100 people in the theater to make sure they get their tour bus that they could have had us meet in front of the tour desk or something and know where our van was and when! Our tickets had explicit instructions to meet at the terminal building at the end of the pier 5 minutes before 7:30am. We headed out about 15 minutes before and it was a good walk to the series of buildings at the end of the pier and so Clay went and asked the only RSSC tour rep standing at the bottom of the gangway. He had no idea. Clay stood with him awhile while Debbie was getting out her jacket. Good thing, since it turned out that the van was right there at the foot of the gangway behind a bus! The weather was still unseasonably warm today and the sun was hot, but it was much cloudier, windier and we had some showers. But, still for the area, really good weather.
So, this was a first helicopter ride for us. This was also the day of our last helicopter ride. We don't like helicopters. It is unanimous. Bad helicopters. We were on the larger helicopter with 5 people. The other helicopter was smaller and had 4 people. The tour description had this as about a 15 minute helicopter ride. If only!! Debbie was good for about 15 -20 minutes outbound and only about 12 minutes returning. The return trip was much rougher. It was supposed to bean 8-hour day. We were supposed to have morning and afternoon wildlife sessions, but after lunch the guide and the cook conferred with the pilots and they told us that we could leave then or have tea/coffee for 15 minutes and then leave, but that we needed to leave now. We all opted to leave now.
So, to the good part, the whalewatching. We got suited up in survival suits and went to our special zodiac. It had kind of like pommel horses in 2 rows down the center of the boat the we perched on like riding ponies. They loaded all the men first, then the women. The first guy one therefore found himself unseated to make room for the last woman, Debbie. The guide, Jose, stood up in front. We saw steamer ducks, skua, shearwater, black eyebrowed albatross, yellow billed petrel, Imperial Cormorant, Rock Cormorant, Magellanic penguins and a family of kelp geese. We saw Humpback Whales! We saw Austral and Common sealions. We saw a lot of whales and we saw them very close. Unfortunately, shortly after we started out the skies turned dark, it got windy and choppy with whitecaps and rain. It didn't stop or slow us down, but it did mean that picture taking was not too good. So, don't judge the success of the day by the photos, please! There was one whale that jumped right up out of the water and then thrashed around with his fins up out of the water. But, no one got a photo of it! There were frolicking sealions shooting completely out of the water and some popping their heads up right at us, you could see their whiskers and teeth, but no one got that photo either. It was just too bouncy and everything was happening too fast. So, it was pretty amazing and spectacular. But, would we do it again? Not even if they were giving free helicopter rides to get there! But, that is just us. Apparently people really find those rides FUN and would line up for them if they were free!
The man that was seated in the front of the helicopter on the way over kindly offered to switch places with Debbie on the return at the last minute loading up. Debbie gratefully accepted his offer, but it didn't really make any difference. Just minimized the disruption to the other passengers since she was barfing next to only the pilot. Poor guy. It was a too long flight for him too! He parked the helicopter in the driveway to get her out quicker! Debbie and Margie took naps as soon as we got back onboard the ship about 3pm. Clay went out about 3:30pm and strolled Punta Arenas and spent the last of his Chilean pesos. We sailed on time at 7pm. We arrived on time as well this morning. We docked right near downtown on the port side. The Prinsendam arrived after us and was docked way out towards the airport. We should not see them much soon since they go to Antarctica for a week soon.
Captain Romeo announced that we would do all inside passage sailing tonight and most of tomorrow. Great! He announced though that there is rain forecast for tomorrow. Lets hope we get to keep our good weather for at least one more day. We are scheduled to sail by Cape Horn tomorrow around 9-10pm. Fingers crossed. Tonight was Country Club Casual again and same tomorrow. We went to Compass Rose and had a light dinner then looked at today's pictures and off to bed for another early morning tomorrow. We are going through Glacier Alley in the Beagle Channel between 7:30 and 9am. We should get to see 2 tidewater glaciers, which come right down to the sea. Evidently, there are fewer of these left every year and they only appear in a handful of places on the planet to start.
Humpback Whales photos
A mixed day.
Well, we had a just spectacular day yesterday and had really high expectations for today. We got an early breakfast in LaVeranda and headed out for our excursion. This was a very expensive pre-bookable RSSC excursion. Information was very scanty to non-existent from the Travel Concierge Desk staff. Of course, they knew it was going and they knew it was a very small group but they had no other information, including where we were to meet for the ride to the airport. The minimum number of participants was 4. Since we booked it last summer as 3, we figured that it would definitely go. Today there were 9. Unfortunately, the boats to go out to view the whales at the Marine Park are built to hold exactly 8 people. We had to go in 2 helicopters. At least one couple on the excursion today had booked it onboard at the last minute when they could not clear the waitlist for Antarctica. Anyway, it seems like if they can meet 100 people in the theater to make sure they get their tour bus that they could have had us meet in front of the tour desk or something and know where our van was and when! Our tickets had explicit instructions to meet at the terminal building at the end of the pier 5 minutes before 7:30am. We headed out about 15 minutes before and it was a good walk to the series of buildings at the end of the pier and so Clay went and asked the only RSSC tour rep standing at the bottom of the gangway. He had no idea. Clay stood with him awhile while Debbie was getting out her jacket. Good thing, since it turned out that the van was right there at the foot of the gangway behind a bus! The weather was still unseasonably warm today and the sun was hot, but it was much cloudier, windier and we had some showers. But, still for the area, really good weather.
So, this was a first helicopter ride for us. This was also the day of our last helicopter ride. We don't like helicopters. It is unanimous. Bad helicopters. We were on the larger helicopter with 5 people. The other helicopter was smaller and had 4 people. The tour description had this as about a 15 minute helicopter ride. If only!! Debbie was good for about 15 -20 minutes outbound and only about 12 minutes returning. The return trip was much rougher. It was supposed to bean 8-hour day. We were supposed to have morning and afternoon wildlife sessions, but after lunch the guide and the cook conferred with the pilots and they told us that we could leave then or have tea/coffee for 15 minutes and then leave, but that we needed to leave now. We all opted to leave now.
So, to the good part, the whalewatching. We got suited up in survival suits and went to our special zodiac. It had kind of like pommel horses in 2 rows down the center of the boat the we perched on like riding ponies. They loaded all the men first, then the women. The first guy one therefore found himself unseated to make room for the last woman, Debbie. The guide, Jose, stood up in front. We saw steamer ducks, skua, shearwater, black eyebrowed albatross, yellow billed petrel, Imperial Cormorant, Rock Cormorant, Magellanic penguins and a family of kelp geese. We saw Humpback Whales! We saw Austral and Common sealions. We saw a lot of whales and we saw them very close. Unfortunately, shortly after we started out the skies turned dark, it got windy and choppy with whitecaps and rain. It didn't stop or slow us down, but it did mean that picture taking was not too good. So, don't judge the success of the day by the photos, please! There was one whale that jumped right up out of the water and then thrashed around with his fins up out of the water. But, no one got a photo of it! There were frolicking sealions shooting completely out of the water and some popping their heads up right at us, you could see their whiskers and teeth, but no one got that photo either. It was just too bouncy and everything was happening too fast. So, it was pretty amazing and spectacular. But, would we do it again? Not even if they were giving free helicopter rides to get there! But, that is just us. Apparently people really find those rides FUN and would line up for them if they were free!
The man that was seated in the front of the helicopter on the way over kindly offered to switch places with Debbie on the return at the last minute loading up. Debbie gratefully accepted his offer, but it didn't really make any difference. Just minimized the disruption to the other passengers since she was barfing next to only the pilot. Poor guy. It was a too long flight for him too! He parked the helicopter in the driveway to get her out quicker! Debbie and Margie took naps as soon as we got back onboard the ship about 3pm. Clay went out about 3:30pm and strolled Punta Arenas and spent the last of his Chilean pesos. We sailed on time at 7pm. We arrived on time as well this morning. We docked right near downtown on the port side. The Prinsendam arrived after us and was docked way out towards the airport. We should not see them much soon since they go to Antarctica for a week soon.
Captain Romeo announced that we would do all inside passage sailing tonight and most of tomorrow. Great! He announced though that there is rain forecast for tomorrow. Lets hope we get to keep our good weather for at least one more day. We are scheduled to sail by Cape Horn tomorrow around 9-10pm. Fingers crossed. Tonight was Country Club Casual again and same tomorrow. We went to Compass Rose and had a light dinner then looked at today's pictures and off to bed for another early morning tomorrow. We are going through Glacier Alley in the Beagle Channel between 7:30 and 9am. We should get to see 2 tidewater glaciers, which come right down to the sea. Evidently, there are fewer of these left every year and they only appear in a handful of places on the planet to start.
Humpback Whales photos
Day 23 - January 26, 2008 - Cruising the Chilean Fjords
Fjords photos
Debbie and Margie were up late working on the puzzle, but had to pack it in before finishing. It was a good one with a lot of houses. We had to be up early this morning for our Circumnavigators Event in the Horizon Lounge at 7:45am. Since it was originally scheduled for Deck 7 Forward with a note to bring our appetites and binoculars, we weren't sure what to expect or how to dress. We were in the fjords overnight and were doing a lot of cornering. Same this morning, we were in a tight spot or 2 very early. Even though it was really cold out this morning we spent our time out on the balcony watching. We saw a pair of small penguins, loads of Austral sea lions, an Imperial cormorant, albatrosses, and most impressively STEAMER DUCKS! These little ducks are so funny. They just look like normal small ducks bobbing around on the sea water, which is pretty odd in itself really. Then we the ship gets near they start spinning their wings (there are 2 kinds but one is flightless) and they "steam" along kicking up the water with their wings. They pinwheel their arms like swimming or it resembles a paddlewheel boat, which is how they got their name. On to the Special Event, there was a crowd waiting for the doors to open. One guesses because we were 'teased' with the promise of gifts for our Ushuaia Special Event. Our gifts were one size fits all Jailbird old-timey striped prison costumes. They said we can wear them when we have our cocktail party at the Maritime Museum in Ushuaia which is in an old prison. Hmmm. Anyway, our original invitations said this party was called the "wreck from the deck". It was supposed to be timed to view the wreck of the Santa Leonora of the old Grace Line. This is the wreck that started the naming convention of port and starboard. The story goes that the Captain and the Pilot were disagreeing about which way to turn in the Smith Channel (where we woke up this AM) and finally the Captain threw up his hands and said all right, all right. The crew turned the ship right and it ran aground and here it sits yet. Now everyone is only to say port and starboard to avoid confusion. So, when the doors opened we all claimed tables set with a tray of tiny croissants and 3 napkins and coffee cups each. Waiters came around offering trays with big bready pretzels on them in the shape of either anchors or liferings. No one knew or no one told us which side the wreck would be on. From inside we could hear Terry Breen speaking outside, we went outside to hear her because no one was talking to us inside. We got coffee or hot tea. Then we got the jailhouse costumes. David Guy modeled, what a ham! Then several of us asked Captain Romeo, who was out on the back deck, which said the wreck was on and he told us the port side. Immediately there were a hundred people jammed in about 12 linear feet of viewing space back there. Margie got separated and stayed, then went up to Deck 12 alone. But, Debbie and Clay and several others scurried back up to their port side balconies to get unrestricted viewing of the wreck. It was a wreck. We had breakfast outside at LaVeranda and took in the spectacular views. Then because it is hard to hear Terry Breen's commentary in the public areas of the outside decks, we went to the Observation Lounge. While we were there we exited the Smith Channel and past an island with a Lighthouse Station on it. It was a whole little complex there with housing, weather station, etc. It looked like a very remote place to work and live! It is hard to imagine how isolated it would seem it foul weather, which is typical here. Today we could see all the way across this wide part of the Straits of Magellan to see the Darwin chain of mountains on Tierra del Fuego.
Our glorious and unseasonable weather continues to hold. We left the Smith Channel and reentered the Straits of Magellan by midmorning. We passed by a freighter ship heading in the opposite direction. Terry said it is rare for commercial shipping to use this channel, the Straits, because of wind and currents making it more treacherous than sailing around Cape Horn. Terry Breen has been marvelling about glaciers, landslides, coves, peaks, blue ice, etc. that she knew was there, but is seeing for the first time since the sun is so bright and the sky so clear. It is about 65F. It feels cooler in the wind and hotter in the sun. It is weird to feel the hot sun and see the snow capped hills. We had Rossini BBQ on the Pool Deck. That is grilled seafood, steaks, foie gras, etc. Don't remember if we told about riding the tender into Puerto Montt the other day with Chef Mike. He was going in to look for fresh fish. Margie and Debbie weren't too excited about that and told him so. Turns out that Mike also bought a bunch of local jam and marmalade as well as lots of fish. He has been serving it for the last few days. Day before yesterday, Margie had his Grilled Merluza Fillet in Compass Rose and she really liked it, and she doesn't usually eat fish, only shrimp. She apologized to Mike and told him that he bought and cooked some really good fish. He appreciated that. Debbie's still not having any.
Tomorrow we have another of our big pre-bookable excursions. Terry said that about 4-5pm today we will sail past the only Marine Park in Chile. That park is where we will spend our day tomorrow after we arrive in Punta Arenas. We will go back there by helicopter. She hopes to spot humpback whales from the ship this afternoon though. Pasted below is a description of our tour tomorrow.
RSSC
Transport: Helicopter and Local Transport
Duration: 8 Hours
Humpback Whale Sanctuary at the End of the World
PUN-6711 Adult: $1,629.00
This optional tour has to be pre-purchased and is not included in the regular tour program. If you have not already
pre-booked this optional shore excursion you may contact Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Reservations at 1 (800)
285-1835 to verify the current status of this program. Limited space may be available and should be booked via
reservations. You may also check with the Travel Concierge Manager upon embarkation to verify if this tour is still
available. RSSC reserves the right to withdraw this program if minimum participation requirements are not met.
A 100% cancellation penalty applies to overland programs cancelled within 60 days of departure.
The Humpback Whale, Megaptera Novaeangliae, was classified by German naturalist Borowski, meaning 'Big-Winged
New Englander', referring to the size of the whale's huge flippers and one of the first sightings of this species, off New
England.
The Humpback Whale is a widely distributed species, occurring seasonally in all oceans from the Arctic to the
Antarctic, with distinct populations located in virtually every sea. All populations of Humpback Whale undertake vast
migrations between breeding and feeding grounds, the most famous of which is probably made by the Hawaii
Humpbacks, who travel to the Bering Strait and Alaska's Glacier Bay every year to feed.
Humpbacks were taken on their migrations between their feeding and breeding grounds, as well as on these grounds.
Slower, more easily found and less scared than other rorquals, they became a prime target during the modern era of
whaling. Between 1900 and 1940, over 100,000 Humpbacks were taken in the Southern Hemisphere alone, with Northern
stocks already diminishing. By 1966, however, the species received full protection from commercial whaling, although
they are still threatened by entrapment in fishing nets. They were brought even further to the forefront of the public's mind
with the fourth installment of the Star Trek films: The Voyage Home.
Today you will have the chance of visiting the southernmost sanctuary for this species. First you will fly by helicopter for
approximately 30 minutes to Carlos III island, located on the Strait of Magellan, and south west of Punta Arenas. Carlos
III forms part of the newly created Marine Park, Francisco Coloane. This is the first Marine Park in Chile created in order
to protect the unique species that inhabit the area. Once there you will visit the small encampment that faces the ocean
to have a light breakfast. After breakfast prepare to observe whales, seabirds, and fur seals. There will be ample time to
take pictures and learn about these amazing animals. Lunch will be taken at the encampment.
After lunch continue your learning experience observing other species also present in Carlos III island. Expert naturalists
will provide in-depth explanations about animals and geography of the area. Return to the encampment to have tea.
Your helicopter will be waiting to transfer you back to the pier.
Please note: The helicopter flight is a transfer and not narrated by the pilot. This excursion is not recommended for
guests with walking difficulties. A distance of approximately 300 meters will be walked over grassy, uneven ground,
including approximately 50 steps, over a ramp with an incline. This tour is dependent upon favorable weather conditions
to operate.
Program includes:
* Sightseeing and transfers as per program
* Roundtrip charter helicopter flight by Eurocopter BO-105 (CC-CHK) or Aerospatiale AS-355 F1 (CC-CIN)
* A light breakfast, lunch and refreshments
Availability and prices of tours are subject to change.
We did spot humpback whales about 3:45pm! We were up in Observation Lounge early and saw several blows, but most exciting was an entire whale tail spotted by Debbie and Margie. We saw loads of sea lions again and a lot more penguins. We saw lots more petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters. Amazingly, we also passed a small sailboat. Debbie and Margie kept prowling Deck 6 hall to get another shot at their jigsaw puzzle, with no luck. But, they did manage to get a car, guide and driver scheduled with H. Stern in Rio de Janiero. At 7pm, Mariner stopped off the southernmost point of the continental Americas, Cape Froward. The sun was shining on it and the water was like glass in the Straits of Magellan. The temperature was 61F. Amazing. There is a big white cross on the point of land that is Cape Froward. It is the 3rd cross that has been erected on this spot over the years. This one is made of strong steel tubes. It is 72 feet tall and 32 feet across.
Tonight is Country Club Casual. We plan a quick meal and then a short DVD. Then, early to bed and early to rise for our big day tomorrow. After seeing the Carlos III island and Francisco Coloane Marine Park and all the wildlife from the ship, we are very excited about it. The forecast for Punta Arenas tomorrow is 62F and sunny. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed for another day just like today and a great outing. Today was spectacular!
Fjords photos
Debbie and Margie were up late working on the puzzle, but had to pack it in before finishing. It was a good one with a lot of houses. We had to be up early this morning for our Circumnavigators Event in the Horizon Lounge at 7:45am. Since it was originally scheduled for Deck 7 Forward with a note to bring our appetites and binoculars, we weren't sure what to expect or how to dress. We were in the fjords overnight and were doing a lot of cornering. Same this morning, we were in a tight spot or 2 very early. Even though it was really cold out this morning we spent our time out on the balcony watching. We saw a pair of small penguins, loads of Austral sea lions, an Imperial cormorant, albatrosses, and most impressively STEAMER DUCKS! These little ducks are so funny. They just look like normal small ducks bobbing around on the sea water, which is pretty odd in itself really. Then we the ship gets near they start spinning their wings (there are 2 kinds but one is flightless) and they "steam" along kicking up the water with their wings. They pinwheel their arms like swimming or it resembles a paddlewheel boat, which is how they got their name. On to the Special Event, there was a crowd waiting for the doors to open. One guesses because we were 'teased' with the promise of gifts for our Ushuaia Special Event. Our gifts were one size fits all Jailbird old-timey striped prison costumes. They said we can wear them when we have our cocktail party at the Maritime Museum in Ushuaia which is in an old prison. Hmmm. Anyway, our original invitations said this party was called the "wreck from the deck". It was supposed to be timed to view the wreck of the Santa Leonora of the old Grace Line. This is the wreck that started the naming convention of port and starboard. The story goes that the Captain and the Pilot were disagreeing about which way to turn in the Smith Channel (where we woke up this AM) and finally the Captain threw up his hands and said all right, all right. The crew turned the ship right and it ran aground and here it sits yet. Now everyone is only to say port and starboard to avoid confusion. So, when the doors opened we all claimed tables set with a tray of tiny croissants and 3 napkins and coffee cups each. Waiters came around offering trays with big bready pretzels on them in the shape of either anchors or liferings. No one knew or no one told us which side the wreck would be on. From inside we could hear Terry Breen speaking outside, we went outside to hear her because no one was talking to us inside. We got coffee or hot tea. Then we got the jailhouse costumes. David Guy modeled, what a ham! Then several of us asked Captain Romeo, who was out on the back deck, which said the wreck was on and he told us the port side. Immediately there were a hundred people jammed in about 12 linear feet of viewing space back there. Margie got separated and stayed, then went up to Deck 12 alone. But, Debbie and Clay and several others scurried back up to their port side balconies to get unrestricted viewing of the wreck. It was a wreck. We had breakfast outside at LaVeranda and took in the spectacular views. Then because it is hard to hear Terry Breen's commentary in the public areas of the outside decks, we went to the Observation Lounge. While we were there we exited the Smith Channel and past an island with a Lighthouse Station on it. It was a whole little complex there with housing, weather station, etc. It looked like a very remote place to work and live! It is hard to imagine how isolated it would seem it foul weather, which is typical here. Today we could see all the way across this wide part of the Straits of Magellan to see the Darwin chain of mountains on Tierra del Fuego.
Our glorious and unseasonable weather continues to hold. We left the Smith Channel and reentered the Straits of Magellan by midmorning. We passed by a freighter ship heading in the opposite direction. Terry said it is rare for commercial shipping to use this channel, the Straits, because of wind and currents making it more treacherous than sailing around Cape Horn. Terry Breen has been marvelling about glaciers, landslides, coves, peaks, blue ice, etc. that she knew was there, but is seeing for the first time since the sun is so bright and the sky so clear. It is about 65F. It feels cooler in the wind and hotter in the sun. It is weird to feel the hot sun and see the snow capped hills. We had Rossini BBQ on the Pool Deck. That is grilled seafood, steaks, foie gras, etc. Don't remember if we told about riding the tender into Puerto Montt the other day with Chef Mike. He was going in to look for fresh fish. Margie and Debbie weren't too excited about that and told him so. Turns out that Mike also bought a bunch of local jam and marmalade as well as lots of fish. He has been serving it for the last few days. Day before yesterday, Margie had his Grilled Merluza Fillet in Compass Rose and she really liked it, and she doesn't usually eat fish, only shrimp. She apologized to Mike and told him that he bought and cooked some really good fish. He appreciated that. Debbie's still not having any.
Tomorrow we have another of our big pre-bookable excursions. Terry said that about 4-5pm today we will sail past the only Marine Park in Chile. That park is where we will spend our day tomorrow after we arrive in Punta Arenas. We will go back there by helicopter. She hopes to spot humpback whales from the ship this afternoon though. Pasted below is a description of our tour tomorrow.
RSSC
Transport: Helicopter and Local Transport
Duration: 8 Hours
Humpback Whale Sanctuary at the End of the World
PUN-6711 Adult: $1,629.00
This optional tour has to be pre-purchased and is not included in the regular tour program. If you have not already
pre-booked this optional shore excursion you may contact Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Reservations at 1 (800)
285-1835 to verify the current status of this program. Limited space may be available and should be booked via
reservations. You may also check with the Travel Concierge Manager upon embarkation to verify if this tour is still
available. RSSC reserves the right to withdraw this program if minimum participation requirements are not met.
A 100% cancellation penalty applies to overland programs cancelled within 60 days of departure.
The Humpback Whale, Megaptera Novaeangliae, was classified by German naturalist Borowski, meaning 'Big-Winged
New Englander', referring to the size of the whale's huge flippers and one of the first sightings of this species, off New
England.
The Humpback Whale is a widely distributed species, occurring seasonally in all oceans from the Arctic to the
Antarctic, with distinct populations located in virtually every sea. All populations of Humpback Whale undertake vast
migrations between breeding and feeding grounds, the most famous of which is probably made by the Hawaii
Humpbacks, who travel to the Bering Strait and Alaska's Glacier Bay every year to feed.
Humpbacks were taken on their migrations between their feeding and breeding grounds, as well as on these grounds.
Slower, more easily found and less scared than other rorquals, they became a prime target during the modern era of
whaling. Between 1900 and 1940, over 100,000 Humpbacks were taken in the Southern Hemisphere alone, with Northern
stocks already diminishing. By 1966, however, the species received full protection from commercial whaling, although
they are still threatened by entrapment in fishing nets. They were brought even further to the forefront of the public's mind
with the fourth installment of the Star Trek films: The Voyage Home.
Today you will have the chance of visiting the southernmost sanctuary for this species. First you will fly by helicopter for
approximately 30 minutes to Carlos III island, located on the Strait of Magellan, and south west of Punta Arenas. Carlos
III forms part of the newly created Marine Park, Francisco Coloane. This is the first Marine Park in Chile created in order
to protect the unique species that inhabit the area. Once there you will visit the small encampment that faces the ocean
to have a light breakfast. After breakfast prepare to observe whales, seabirds, and fur seals. There will be ample time to
take pictures and learn about these amazing animals. Lunch will be taken at the encampment.
After lunch continue your learning experience observing other species also present in Carlos III island. Expert naturalists
will provide in-depth explanations about animals and geography of the area. Return to the encampment to have tea.
Your helicopter will be waiting to transfer you back to the pier.
Please note: The helicopter flight is a transfer and not narrated by the pilot. This excursion is not recommended for
guests with walking difficulties. A distance of approximately 300 meters will be walked over grassy, uneven ground,
including approximately 50 steps, over a ramp with an incline. This tour is dependent upon favorable weather conditions
to operate.
Program includes:
* Sightseeing and transfers as per program
* Roundtrip charter helicopter flight by Eurocopter BO-105 (CC-CHK) or Aerospatiale AS-355 F1 (CC-CIN)
* A light breakfast, lunch and refreshments
Availability and prices of tours are subject to change.
We did spot humpback whales about 3:45pm! We were up in Observation Lounge early and saw several blows, but most exciting was an entire whale tail spotted by Debbie and Margie. We saw loads of sea lions again and a lot more penguins. We saw lots more petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters. Amazingly, we also passed a small sailboat. Debbie and Margie kept prowling Deck 6 hall to get another shot at their jigsaw puzzle, with no luck. But, they did manage to get a car, guide and driver scheduled with H. Stern in Rio de Janiero. At 7pm, Mariner stopped off the southernmost point of the continental Americas, Cape Froward. The sun was shining on it and the water was like glass in the Straits of Magellan. The temperature was 61F. Amazing. There is a big white cross on the point of land that is Cape Froward. It is the 3rd cross that has been erected on this spot over the years. This one is made of strong steel tubes. It is 72 feet tall and 32 feet across.
Tonight is Country Club Casual. We plan a quick meal and then a short DVD. Then, early to bed and early to rise for our big day tomorrow. After seeing the Carlos III island and Francisco Coloane Marine Park and all the wildlife from the ship, we are very excited about it. The forecast for Punta Arenas tomorrow is 62F and sunny. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed for another day just like today and a great outing. Today was spectacular!
Fjords photos
Friday, January 25, 2008
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
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
Day 21 - January 24, 2008 - Puerto Chacabuco, Chile
Puerto Chacabuco photos
About 4am we sailed out of open ocean and into protected waters off the coast of Chile. It was a beautiful morning sailing up the fjord to our next small port. There was a lot of recent earthquake damage to seen in landslides along the either side of the ship. There were a lot of salmon farms along the way and once we even saw some cattle grazing along the shore. It is beautiful and clear and cloudless and hot! Terry Breen announced along the way that she was seeing things she had never seen because she had never sailed here with it this clear and sunny. The high topped out around 90F. This is very unusual. We are keeping our fingers crossed that unusual holds out and we get smooth-sailing around Cape Horn. We ate a light breakfast in the Observation Lounge so we could listen to Terry's commentary as we sailed into the Aisen Fjord. We had an early lunch at the Pool Grill since we were supposed to be in the Constellation Theater at 11:50am to tender into port. We appeared to arrive on time, but it was almost an hour later before we got on a tender. Since there was almost nothing to do here without a ship's tour and we sailed an hour late, it wound up not mattering. We had good time today. Every bus was divided into 15 or fewer people and we each had a guide. We walked for about 3 hours on a trail through a private nature preserve. It was interesting walk and the guide was informative. The trail was paved with irregularly sized stones and deep gravel. Usually it is cold and wet here and that would have been an awful walk. We had a really hot walk instead. The Quincha, were the lamb barbecue lunch was held was really warm too. Usually people are probably glad to get in there around that roasting pit, but not us! Anyway, we arrived here an hour after Prinsendam and they had already had tours out there all day and we were the last ones. Prinsendam was sailing around the corner when we arrived back at the ship. Clay got to have an Austral beer at the Quincha. The temperature was in the mid 90's when we got back to the ship, not exactly the rainy, mid 50's that we were expecting.
RSSC ran a complimentary shuttle bus here from Puerto Chacabuco to Aysen Town about every 30 minutes. No idea how that worked out for people.
We booked our Buenos Aires tours before lunchtime. We have booked a Tango show for the first evening we arrive. We have booked an Estancia day for the last day, Tuesday February 5th. Everyone has assured us that Carnaval or Mardi Gras is ignored in BA, so we won't be in town. On Monday, the 4th, we have requested a private guide to see the city for 8 hours by foot and public transportation. We were quoted a price of $165 if it is possible, we are waiting to hear something back.
We had a light dinner and then Clay and Debbie were early to bed. Margie went to see the show. It was a comedian, Steve Caouette. Margie said she did not like it. We got a pair of invitations today. One was for Gold, Platinum and Titanium members of the Seven Seas Society. It is for 2:30pm tomorrow for a wine tasting of Montes Vineyards with Tapas in Compass Rose Restaurant with Carlos Serrano. Not sure if this is a repeat of the earlier Montes wine tasting by Carlos Serrano that Clay attended. This one comes with tapas, though. The other invitation was a Circumnavigator Event at 7:45am on Deck 7 Forward (crew only area) for "some breathtaking scenery and a spectacular look of the wreck Santa Leonora" with commentary from Destination Specialist John Tabbutt-McCarthy. Weather permitting. This invitation warns that we will be presented with a unique gift in preparation for our upcoming shore-side event in Ushuaia. So, we'll see.
Puerto Chacabuco photos
About 4am we sailed out of open ocean and into protected waters off the coast of Chile. It was a beautiful morning sailing up the fjord to our next small port. There was a lot of recent earthquake damage to seen in landslides along the either side of the ship. There were a lot of salmon farms along the way and once we even saw some cattle grazing along the shore. It is beautiful and clear and cloudless and hot! Terry Breen announced along the way that she was seeing things she had never seen because she had never sailed here with it this clear and sunny. The high topped out around 90F. This is very unusual. We are keeping our fingers crossed that unusual holds out and we get smooth-sailing around Cape Horn. We ate a light breakfast in the Observation Lounge so we could listen to Terry's commentary as we sailed into the Aisen Fjord. We had an early lunch at the Pool Grill since we were supposed to be in the Constellation Theater at 11:50am to tender into port. We appeared to arrive on time, but it was almost an hour later before we got on a tender. Since there was almost nothing to do here without a ship's tour and we sailed an hour late, it wound up not mattering. We had good time today. Every bus was divided into 15 or fewer people and we each had a guide. We walked for about 3 hours on a trail through a private nature preserve. It was interesting walk and the guide was informative. The trail was paved with irregularly sized stones and deep gravel. Usually it is cold and wet here and that would have been an awful walk. We had a really hot walk instead. The Quincha, were the lamb barbecue lunch was held was really warm too. Usually people are probably glad to get in there around that roasting pit, but not us! Anyway, we arrived here an hour after Prinsendam and they had already had tours out there all day and we were the last ones. Prinsendam was sailing around the corner when we arrived back at the ship. Clay got to have an Austral beer at the Quincha. The temperature was in the mid 90's when we got back to the ship, not exactly the rainy, mid 50's that we were expecting.
RSSC ran a complimentary shuttle bus here from Puerto Chacabuco to Aysen Town about every 30 minutes. No idea how that worked out for people.
We booked our Buenos Aires tours before lunchtime. We have booked a Tango show for the first evening we arrive. We have booked an Estancia day for the last day, Tuesday February 5th. Everyone has assured us that Carnaval or Mardi Gras is ignored in BA, so we won't be in town. On Monday, the 4th, we have requested a private guide to see the city for 8 hours by foot and public transportation. We were quoted a price of $165 if it is possible, we are waiting to hear something back.
We had a light dinner and then Clay and Debbie were early to bed. Margie went to see the show. It was a comedian, Steve Caouette. Margie said she did not like it. We got a pair of invitations today. One was for Gold, Platinum and Titanium members of the Seven Seas Society. It is for 2:30pm tomorrow for a wine tasting of Montes Vineyards with Tapas in Compass Rose Restaurant with Carlos Serrano. Not sure if this is a repeat of the earlier Montes wine tasting by Carlos Serrano that Clay attended. This one comes with tapas, though. The other invitation was a Circumnavigator Event at 7:45am on Deck 7 Forward (crew only area) for "some breathtaking scenery and a spectacular look of the wreck Santa Leonora" with commentary from Destination Specialist John Tabbutt-McCarthy. Weather permitting. This invitation warns that we will be presented with a unique gift in preparation for our upcoming shore-side event in Ushuaia. So, we'll see.
Puerto Chacabuco photos
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Day 20 - January 23, 2008 - Puerto Montt, Chile
Puerto Montt - phoos
We are now 1/4 of the way through our adventure. Amazing. It is 8am and we cannot see our port yet. We should have been anchored at 7am. It is 8am. We have had any word or announcements about the delay or a new expected arrival time. Debbie is in close email contact with Gail of GVTours though and we are confident that they will be there when we get there. The downside is that we will have a much reduced touring day.
As Captain Romeo announced last night at the SSS party, we turned and got much calmer seas about 4am. It is really quite beautiful where we are sailing now between the island of Chiloe and the coast of Chile. It is about 57F and the wind is very cold. We can see the 2 snow-topped volcanoes in the distance, Osorno and Calbuco. The skies are clear and visibility is good, we hope it will hold for our land tour. Clay has plotted our position and speed and calculates that we are at least an hour from Puerto Montt. Captain Romeo came over the loudspeakers just now about 8:10am and announced that we are not there yet and that we will be at least another hour late. He blamed this on 7-8 knot currents in the channel we entered around 4am. He does not expect to begin tendering before 9:30am and since we are independent, we will not be allowed to tender without tickets until the end of the groups leaving. So, not telling at this point how reduced a day we will have here. Also, we seem to have now lost Internet and cabin phone service, so Debbie is only in contact with Gail through the Blackberry which is picking up a local signal. Oh, well.
Last night Bryan Townsend, the Cruise Director, called to tell us that he had spoken to several officers who were keen to do the Southern astronomy lesson that Debbie had requested. (Debbie and Margie had also enlisted Terry Breen in the cause after her prehistoric astronomy lecture the other day!) Bryan said that the moon was too bright now and that they would try to schedule it later and would either call again or put a notice in Passages when they are ready to do it. Also, Brandon, from Reception to whom Debbie made her initial request, stopped Debbie and Margie the night they attended the show and told them where to look for the Southern Cross. Alas, it was too cloudy that night to see the whole thing and they aren't even sure that they saw part of it. So, we will continue to wait patiently.
So, we arrived in Puerto Montt about 3 hours behind schedule. We waited for 4 tenders of ship's tour passengers to go out before they announced that the people with tender tickets could rush the gangway and they did. Oh well. It was nearly 11am before we were ashore. We got a quickie version of the tour that we posted a description of yesterday. This is a really beautiful area with the lakes and the snow-capped volcanoes. It is too bad that we did not have more time here. The curanto at the restaurant was a highlight for Clay. It should be noted here that Gail of GVTours speaks perfect English as he is an American living in Chile, however he doesn't speak any Spanish. Gail waited patiently for us even though he was there at the tender terminal area from 7am when the HAL Prinsendam had arrived. He did not abandon us. It was just the 3 of us in a nice, un-airconditioned, 4-door car. We paid $125 each as we had previously arranged with Gail. The price included lunch and entry fees. He spent the entire time out and drove the same distance regardless of the time we had here today. A warning about the Petrohue Falls. It was absolutely swarmed with black flies, big ones and small ones. We had been warned that the flies are attracted to dark colors, black and navy. We thought we had dressed accordingly, but Margie had a black purse and so did Debbie as well as her dark blue backpack. Those flies were all over them! It was truly bizarre, we did not notice flies anywhere else! Just something to keep in mind if you are coming here. We can recommend GVTours. http://www.gvtours.com/ gvstein@surnet.cl
We had perfectly clear skies here today and it was hot! We had been warned it would be warm in Valparaiso and it was chilly. We had been warned it would be cold and wet here and it was dry and hot. Weather! You just never know!
Tonight was Country Club Casual. We had a leisurely 4-course meal and enjoyed it. Then off to bed. We are exhausted. We look forward to 2 days cruising the Chilean fjords. Clay is working on his pronunciation. Within 2 days, he should have it down perfectly. Got email from Buenos Aires while we were out and Debbie's plan with http://www.cicerones.org.ar/ have fallen through. The volunteer they assigned to us is not available on Monday, Feb. 4. We are not comfortable going it alone all that long day, so we will have to make other plans. At this point, we probably have no choice but to book through the ship. We'll keep you posted.
Tomorrow we are expected to arrive in our next tender port of Puerto Chacabuco from noon to six. This is a pretty small and remote port, so we have booked a ship's tour. It is described below.
Patagonia's Nature in Depth
Duration: 5 Hours.
Hiking.
$98
The wild and beautiful Aysén District of Chile lies south of Chiloé and Puerto Montt. This 5-hour tour will provide you with a glimpse of this impressive landscape in the wet and windy region that makes up a part of the Chilean Patagonia. Upon arrival at Puerto Chacabuco, a 15-minute ride will take you on an outstandingly beautiful road up to the recently inaugurated Aikén del Sur Private Park.
This tour combines the wonder of nature, a sense of adventure, and a true connection with the virgin forests of Patagonia. Unlimited natural beauty can be found at the Aikén del Sur Private Park including such things as the banks of the placid, transparent blue waters of Riesco Lake, covering an area of 30 square miles. Some of the other sights you will enjoy at the Aikén del Sur Park include a 40 foot-high waterfall, indigenous perennial forests, endless prairies combining patriarchal myrtle and turf mingled with wild fuschia and calafate shrubbery.
At the park you will first visit the information center where an introduction to the whole area is provided. Tutorial stations will tell of the bio-geographical history of the region through three nature trails uniquely paved, railed, and bridged and containing scenic sights and resting places. Spectacular views of nearby lakes, rivers, hills, and mountains may be seen from scenic sites while listening to the singing of birds such as the chucao and the hueta. The River Trail of 5,000 feet will immerse you in the nature of Patagonia, traversing through prairies and the humid forest that characterizes this part of the world. At the end of the trail, the impressive sight of Old Man's Beard Cascade will await you. There will be some free time for pictures and a leisurely return along the Waterfall Trail before boarding your transportation to reach the quincho. There a delicious typical Patagonian barbecue lunch will be served. After lunch a leisurely ride returns you to the pier and the ship.
Puerto Montt - photos
We are now 1/4 of the way through our adventure. Amazing. It is 8am and we cannot see our port yet. We should have been anchored at 7am. It is 8am. We have had any word or announcements about the delay or a new expected arrival time. Debbie is in close email contact with Gail of GVTours though and we are confident that they will be there when we get there. The downside is that we will have a much reduced touring day.
As Captain Romeo announced last night at the SSS party, we turned and got much calmer seas about 4am. It is really quite beautiful where we are sailing now between the island of Chiloe and the coast of Chile. It is about 57F and the wind is very cold. We can see the 2 snow-topped volcanoes in the distance, Osorno and Calbuco. The skies are clear and visibility is good, we hope it will hold for our land tour. Clay has plotted our position and speed and calculates that we are at least an hour from Puerto Montt. Captain Romeo came over the loudspeakers just now about 8:10am and announced that we are not there yet and that we will be at least another hour late. He blamed this on 7-8 knot currents in the channel we entered around 4am. He does not expect to begin tendering before 9:30am and since we are independent, we will not be allowed to tender without tickets until the end of the groups leaving. So, not telling at this point how reduced a day we will have here. Also, we seem to have now lost Internet and cabin phone service, so Debbie is only in contact with Gail through the Blackberry which is picking up a local signal. Oh, well.
Last night Bryan Townsend, the Cruise Director, called to tell us that he had spoken to several officers who were keen to do the Southern astronomy lesson that Debbie had requested. (Debbie and Margie had also enlisted Terry Breen in the cause after her prehistoric astronomy lecture the other day!) Bryan said that the moon was too bright now and that they would try to schedule it later and would either call again or put a notice in Passages when they are ready to do it. Also, Brandon, from Reception to whom Debbie made her initial request, stopped Debbie and Margie the night they attended the show and told them where to look for the Southern Cross. Alas, it was too cloudy that night to see the whole thing and they aren't even sure that they saw part of it. So, we will continue to wait patiently.
So, we arrived in Puerto Montt about 3 hours behind schedule. We waited for 4 tenders of ship's tour passengers to go out before they announced that the people with tender tickets could rush the gangway and they did. Oh well. It was nearly 11am before we were ashore. We got a quickie version of the tour that we posted a description of yesterday. This is a really beautiful area with the lakes and the snow-capped volcanoes. It is too bad that we did not have more time here. The curanto at the restaurant was a highlight for Clay. It should be noted here that Gail of GVTours speaks perfect English as he is an American living in Chile, however he doesn't speak any Spanish. Gail waited patiently for us even though he was there at the tender terminal area from 7am when the HAL Prinsendam had arrived. He did not abandon us. It was just the 3 of us in a nice, un-airconditioned, 4-door car. We paid $125 each as we had previously arranged with Gail. The price included lunch and entry fees. He spent the entire time out and drove the same distance regardless of the time we had here today. A warning about the Petrohue Falls. It was absolutely swarmed with black flies, big ones and small ones. We had been warned that the flies are attracted to dark colors, black and navy. We thought we had dressed accordingly, but Margie had a black purse and so did Debbie as well as her dark blue backpack. Those flies were all over them! It was truly bizarre, we did not notice flies anywhere else! Just something to keep in mind if you are coming here. We can recommend GVTours. http://www.gvtours.com/ gvstein@surnet.cl
We had perfectly clear skies here today and it was hot! We had been warned it would be warm in Valparaiso and it was chilly. We had been warned it would be cold and wet here and it was dry and hot. Weather! You just never know!
Tonight was Country Club Casual. We had a leisurely 4-course meal and enjoyed it. Then off to bed. We are exhausted. We look forward to 2 days cruising the Chilean fjords. Clay is working on his pronunciation. Within 2 days, he should have it down perfectly. Got email from Buenos Aires while we were out and Debbie's plan with http://www.cicerones.org.ar/ have fallen through. The volunteer they assigned to us is not available on Monday, Feb. 4. We are not comfortable going it alone all that long day, so we will have to make other plans. At this point, we probably have no choice but to book through the ship. We'll keep you posted.
Tomorrow we are expected to arrive in our next tender port of Puerto Chacabuco from noon to six. This is a pretty small and remote port, so we have booked a ship's tour. It is described below.
Patagonia's Nature in Depth
Duration: 5 Hours.
Hiking.
$98
The wild and beautiful Aysén District of Chile lies south of Chiloé and Puerto Montt. This 5-hour tour will provide you with a glimpse of this impressive landscape in the wet and windy region that makes up a part of the Chilean Patagonia. Upon arrival at Puerto Chacabuco, a 15-minute ride will take you on an outstandingly beautiful road up to the recently inaugurated Aikén del Sur Private Park.
This tour combines the wonder of nature, a sense of adventure, and a true connection with the virgin forests of Patagonia. Unlimited natural beauty can be found at the Aikén del Sur Private Park including such things as the banks of the placid, transparent blue waters of Riesco Lake, covering an area of 30 square miles. Some of the other sights you will enjoy at the Aikén del Sur Park include a 40 foot-high waterfall, indigenous perennial forests, endless prairies combining patriarchal myrtle and turf mingled with wild fuschia and calafate shrubbery.
At the park you will first visit the information center where an introduction to the whole area is provided. Tutorial stations will tell of the bio-geographical history of the region through three nature trails uniquely paved, railed, and bridged and containing scenic sights and resting places. Spectacular views of nearby lakes, rivers, hills, and mountains may be seen from scenic sites while listening to the singing of birds such as the chucao and the hueta. The River Trail of 5,000 feet will immerse you in the nature of Patagonia, traversing through prairies and the humid forest that characterizes this part of the world. At the end of the trail, the impressive sight of Old Man's Beard Cascade will await you. There will be some free time for pictures and a leisurely return along the Waterfall Trail before boarding your transportation to reach the quincho. There a delicious typical Patagonian barbecue lunch will be served. After lunch a leisurely ride returns you to the pier and the ship.
Puerto Montt - photos
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Day 19 - January 22, 2008 - at sea
It got really rough and windy overnight. It is about 55F and with the wind feels much colder. Guess we are getting pretty far south. Also we are now surely in the Humboldt Current that we have heard so much about that is making it rough and cold. Swells of 10 feet or so and a sea full of whitecaps as far as the eye can see. We still have the coast of Chile off the port side, so that is nice for us. Last night the full moon was behind us and really beautiful, but too cold to stay out and take in.
We all pretty much slept in and yet somehow still wound up being early out this morning. We all wore our Big O B-day T-shirts today in honor of Jim's 80th birthday. Babs reported that Jim scored a bran muffin with b-day candle and a song because of it. Glad we could help! Happy Birthday, Jim!! Babs also said that Jim planned to wear his t-shirt with his tux tonight to the Formal SSS reception and to their hosted table in Compass Rose with Bryan Townsend, Cruise Director. We will look for him!
We had breakfast in Compass Rose and all went to Terry Breen's morning lecture on glaciers. Debbie did not last and was the first one out. It was just too rough for her and she went back to bed. Margie made it through the lecture, but then to bed. Clay had to tough out the next lecture alone. Lunch was a Tex-Mex buffet on the Pool Deck, Debbie's favorite. We got food, but it was so crowded that there was no inside seating. We did find sheltered seating on the completely empty smoking side, but it was still so cold and windy that Debbie's warm flour tortilla had cracked and she couldn't eat her burrito anyway. Margie had a hard taco and ate it and then Clay was left alone again while Debbie and Margie made their way downstairs to Compass Rose for lunch. Margie had 3 courses here and Debbie had 2. For reasons unknown, the first appearance of chocolate brulee was on the lunch menu today, so they had to have it. Yummy.
There was a Chilean vintner onboard doing a tasting of his Montes wines at 2:30pm. Margie opted out and Debbie and Clay went. After arriving, Debbie realized that there would be 3 reds, 1 rose and only 1 white. Given that she choses to drink only white wine, there was not much to keep her there and as seats were getting full, she told Clay that she would give her space to someone else and use her time better. Clay was left alone yet again! Debbie had been trying to follow up with a dropped arrangement for touring in Buenos Aires through the volunteer agency http://www.cicerones.org.ar/. She had been dealing with one woman by email for months before we left home and then when we expected to get our volunteer and make firm arrangements with them, all communications ceased. Debbie finally got a single ping back from a web query last night that they knew nothing about us. We waited to get a 2nd reply after resubmitting our requested information and nothing again. So, Debbie decided now would be a good time to use some of that free phone time. She did speakto the man in charge there and evidently Debbie's previous contact is no longer there and we need to start from scratch now. The satellite phone connections are really slow and full of echoes and with the language barrier to boot, it is difficult. But, we will wait to hear back from him tomorrow evening and if we still hear nothing, then we will have to get really busy with making alternate arrangements. There was one RSSC full-day excursion that we all had some interest in and Clay spoke to the Travel Concierge Desk about it this morning. It looks like we will still be able to book that a few days from now if we can't get anything else lined up. The H. Stern people onboard handed out Buenos Aires guides and H. Stern visitors stickers to each person recently, but there was nothing in their packet that indicated what they were actually offering. Supposedly, one could go down to their desk on Deck 5 from 10 to noon and make an appointment to go to their store, but their info packet was pretty confusing about what they were offering here in BA, so none of us has gone to speak with them.
Margie planned to go to 3pm Arts & Crafts to make a wine present sack, but it was upstairs in LaVeranda and she wasn't sure she could take the rough seas up there. Then she planned to go to needlepoint in Horizon Lounge (on a lower deck!) at 3:45pm. Debbie planned to finally go to a Chocoholic Tea in Horizon Lounge at 4pm.
Margie made it through the afternoon and made her wine gift sack, made it through needlepoint and then repaired back to bed for the remainder of the day and evening. Clay sat through the world's longest wine tasting and then picked up Debbie to meet Margie in Horizon Lounge for Chocoholic Tea. Margie's area was full and was every other one. Debbie & Clay went up to the buffet anyway and walked around it. Clay picked up a couple of small slices to take back to the cabin. Since Debbie had gone strictly for the Chocolate Fountain with fruits and it was absent, she got nothing. We decided they must not have offered it this time because they were afraid of sloshing! The event was clearly well attended. They had a nice display with big chocolate sculptures which is always impressive. They had chocolate and white ice cream, which was unlabeled but which we hope was white chocolate. Sugarless chocolate silk cake, moist chocolate cake, brownies with raspberry jelly on top, chocolate-pumpkin pie and black forest cake.
Tonight is Formal and the Seven Seas Society reception. Margie is down for the count and Debbie and Clay are dressed up to try to go it alone. We'll see how far they get. The seas are very rough now. Captain Romeo said at the SSS reception that he expects us to notice a smoother ride about 4am when we enter the fjord to Puerto Montt. It turns out that Clay cannot say fjord. This is going to be fun. ;) We finally saw Babs and Jim at dinner in Compass Rose and had to go over and get a photo of him in his 80th B-day T-shirt with his tuxedo. Clay wondered how he got his bow tie to look so good with the T-shirt?!
We are hoping to make Puerto Montt on time since we have a private tour arranged there and we are looking forward to a good day ashore. Pasted below is a loose description of tomorrow's tour. It has been modified for just the 3 of us. Gail phoned us before we left home to asked how many wanted "curanto" which Debbie had requested as a local dish for Clay. He said that it had to ordered 3 days in advance and he needed to know how many orders, only Clay! So, we may be eating at a different restaurant as well.
"The excursion begins in Puerto Montt city, current capital of Chile's tenth region. On the Pan American highway we bypass farms and green areas capturing the areas true escence. Arriving to the quiet german city of Frutillar for the first time your eyes will capture the great Lake Llanquihue, Chile's largest lake with Volcano Osorno in the backround. The next city you'll visit is Puerto Varas (larger german city), nicknamed the Rose city. Boardering Lake Llanquihue we arrive to Ensenada. Here restaurant "Las Tranqueras" awaits with a typical chilean lunch, providing above that an excellent service. We enter the Vicente Perez Rosales national park and our first stop is in the Petrohue Waterfalls. Beautiful green waters running down the mountain guarded by the Volcano Osorno, known by it's perfect cone. Surrounded by green mountains, staring straight at the andes, in front of Chile's astonishing Emerald Lake is where our tour ends."
We all pretty much slept in and yet somehow still wound up being early out this morning. We all wore our Big O B-day T-shirts today in honor of Jim's 80th birthday. Babs reported that Jim scored a bran muffin with b-day candle and a song because of it. Glad we could help! Happy Birthday, Jim!! Babs also said that Jim planned to wear his t-shirt with his tux tonight to the Formal SSS reception and to their hosted table in Compass Rose with Bryan Townsend, Cruise Director. We will look for him!
We had breakfast in Compass Rose and all went to Terry Breen's morning lecture on glaciers. Debbie did not last and was the first one out. It was just too rough for her and she went back to bed. Margie made it through the lecture, but then to bed. Clay had to tough out the next lecture alone. Lunch was a Tex-Mex buffet on the Pool Deck, Debbie's favorite. We got food, but it was so crowded that there was no inside seating. We did find sheltered seating on the completely empty smoking side, but it was still so cold and windy that Debbie's warm flour tortilla had cracked and she couldn't eat her burrito anyway. Margie had a hard taco and ate it and then Clay was left alone again while Debbie and Margie made their way downstairs to Compass Rose for lunch. Margie had 3 courses here and Debbie had 2. For reasons unknown, the first appearance of chocolate brulee was on the lunch menu today, so they had to have it. Yummy.
There was a Chilean vintner onboard doing a tasting of his Montes wines at 2:30pm. Margie opted out and Debbie and Clay went. After arriving, Debbie realized that there would be 3 reds, 1 rose and only 1 white. Given that she choses to drink only white wine, there was not much to keep her there and as seats were getting full, she told Clay that she would give her space to someone else and use her time better. Clay was left alone yet again! Debbie had been trying to follow up with a dropped arrangement for touring in Buenos Aires through the volunteer agency http://www.cicerones.org.ar/. She had been dealing with one woman by email for months before we left home and then when we expected to get our volunteer and make firm arrangements with them, all communications ceased. Debbie finally got a single ping back from a web query last night that they knew nothing about us. We waited to get a 2nd reply after resubmitting our requested information and nothing again. So, Debbie decided now would be a good time to use some of that free phone time. She did speakto the man in charge there and evidently Debbie's previous contact is no longer there and we need to start from scratch now. The satellite phone connections are really slow and full of echoes and with the language barrier to boot, it is difficult. But, we will wait to hear back from him tomorrow evening and if we still hear nothing, then we will have to get really busy with making alternate arrangements. There was one RSSC full-day excursion that we all had some interest in and Clay spoke to the Travel Concierge Desk about it this morning. It looks like we will still be able to book that a few days from now if we can't get anything else lined up. The H. Stern people onboard handed out Buenos Aires guides and H. Stern visitors stickers to each person recently, but there was nothing in their packet that indicated what they were actually offering. Supposedly, one could go down to their desk on Deck 5 from 10 to noon and make an appointment to go to their store, but their info packet was pretty confusing about what they were offering here in BA, so none of us has gone to speak with them.
Margie planned to go to 3pm Arts & Crafts to make a wine present sack, but it was upstairs in LaVeranda and she wasn't sure she could take the rough seas up there. Then she planned to go to needlepoint in Horizon Lounge (on a lower deck!) at 3:45pm. Debbie planned to finally go to a Chocoholic Tea in Horizon Lounge at 4pm.
Margie made it through the afternoon and made her wine gift sack, made it through needlepoint and then repaired back to bed for the remainder of the day and evening. Clay sat through the world's longest wine tasting and then picked up Debbie to meet Margie in Horizon Lounge for Chocoholic Tea. Margie's area was full and was every other one. Debbie & Clay went up to the buffet anyway and walked around it. Clay picked up a couple of small slices to take back to the cabin. Since Debbie had gone strictly for the Chocolate Fountain with fruits and it was absent, she got nothing. We decided they must not have offered it this time because they were afraid of sloshing! The event was clearly well attended. They had a nice display with big chocolate sculptures which is always impressive. They had chocolate and white ice cream, which was unlabeled but which we hope was white chocolate. Sugarless chocolate silk cake, moist chocolate cake, brownies with raspberry jelly on top, chocolate-pumpkin pie and black forest cake.
Tonight is Formal and the Seven Seas Society reception. Margie is down for the count and Debbie and Clay are dressed up to try to go it alone. We'll see how far they get. The seas are very rough now. Captain Romeo said at the SSS reception that he expects us to notice a smoother ride about 4am when we enter the fjord to Puerto Montt. It turns out that Clay cannot say fjord. This is going to be fun. ;) We finally saw Babs and Jim at dinner in Compass Rose and had to go over and get a photo of him in his 80th B-day T-shirt with his tuxedo. Clay wondered how he got his bow tie to look so good with the T-shirt?!
 |
| Jim's 80th Birthday! |
We are hoping to make Puerto Montt on time since we have a private tour arranged there and we are looking forward to a good day ashore. Pasted below is a loose description of tomorrow's tour. It has been modified for just the 3 of us. Gail phoned us before we left home to asked how many wanted "curanto" which Debbie had requested as a local dish for Clay. He said that it had to ordered 3 days in advance and he needed to know how many orders, only Clay! So, we may be eating at a different restaurant as well.
"The excursion begins in Puerto Montt city, current capital of Chile's tenth region. On the Pan American highway we bypass farms and green areas capturing the areas true escence. Arriving to the quiet german city of Frutillar for the first time your eyes will capture the great Lake Llanquihue, Chile's largest lake with Volcano Osorno in the backround. The next city you'll visit is Puerto Varas (larger german city), nicknamed the Rose city. Boardering Lake Llanquihue we arrive to Ensenada. Here restaurant "Las Tranqueras" awaits with a typical chilean lunch, providing above that an excellent service. We enter the Vicente Perez Rosales national park and our first stop is in the Petrohue Waterfalls. Beautiful green waters running down the mountain guarded by the Volcano Osorno, known by it's perfect cone. Surrounded by green mountains, staring straight at the andes, in front of Chile's astonishing Emerald Lake is where our tour ends."
Day 18 - January 21, 2008 - Valparaiso, Chile
Valparaiso, Chile - photos
We arrived on time here and were docked on the starboard side by 7am. The ship was cleared by 8am and we were in a shuttle bus to the terminal by 8:05am. It was cool here on arrival and there were clouds settling over the hills as we headed off the ship. By noon, it had cleared and the sun was shining brightly. The high temperature while we were here was still probably at or just under 70F. The Captain yesterday had announced a high of 30C and weather.com had a high predicted of 90F and sunny. The last weather website we checked was 67F. The daily Passages predicted a high of 69F. The Passages forecast had been off by 10 degrees for Antofagasta, so we weren't trusting it. It started out quite chilly and warmed up comfortably, but we had to leave in mid-afternoon anyway. The port provides a free shuttle bus in the port from the ship to the Passenger Terminal Building and in fact passengers are not allowed to walk freely inside the port area at all, although there is a place where the locals may and it has a restaurant and a handcrafts market, but it is not for cruisers. RSSC provided a free shuttle bus to and from Casino Vina del Mar about every 30 minutes.
We had a really good day today. Today we had a private guide arranged that Debbie had been in touch with for months. (Debbie first found him listed in a Frommer's guidebook and then on the Internet.) She had promised to bring him some gifts from the USA and one of them was chocolates. We were again searched here by Chilean Agriculture outbound (Customs inbound) and again it was 100% but this port had 2 cruise ships here today. (RSSC Mariner and HAL Prinsendam) They had 2 cruise ships here yesterday, so they are set up to handle it. You have to take port shuttle buses about 1 mile from the cruise ship berths to the Passenger Terminal building. There you are line up against the wall and you have to set your things on the floor on the other side of a rope. A dog goes by and then a 2nd dog goes by. The first dog just about picked Bob up and the 2nd dog ignored our things. Debbie and the woman next to her got pulled for another inspection. Everyone was very friendly and asked if a dog had ever touched Bob. Well, yeah! In their mouths? Yeah. OK, maybe that was it. Then, they found the bags of Ghiradelli chocolates and thought maybe that was it. Then they requested a demonstration of our collapsible sunhats, everything passed inspection and Debbie was free to go. Right outside the door with a sign as promised was Leo Silva, our guide. One of the first questions Leo asked was where had we come from. He thought we were going around the other direction since that is what most cruise ships that call here do. They just go from Rio or Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and back again. That means that most passengers are either starting or departing here and not many passengers do any touring here. Also, most people are encouraged to visit Vina del Mar or Santiago or the wineries. We are very happy with our decision to see the local side of Valparaiso instead. Anyway, Debbie told Leo our last port was Antofagasta. He was surprised and asked her if she liked it. She made a face and said no. He laughed. He said he had been there and he did not like it either. Seems Antofagasta is not welcoming to Chileans from out of town either, so it wasn't just us!
We had a great day walking and taking public transit here. Valparaiso is an old and unusual city. It was first settled in 1542, it was raided by pirates like Sir Francis Drake, it prospered from the California gold rush and then it languished after the opening of the Panama Canal. It has a naval base and is the seat of the Chilean Parliament. It meanders up and down the hills and is centered on the bay. It has a number of old ascensors or funiculars. We took the oldest funicular, the longest one, and the most representative one. These were really amazing. We had a really great day and everyone was happy and smiling and waving and even photographing us. Pasted below is the description from Leo's website. http://www.rutavalparaiso.cl/
LONELY ROUTE
Ruta Valparaíso we have created an innovative and personalized way of doing tourism. A guide will pick you up and take you through a Valparaíso by bus, just like a friend.
You will have the chance to mix-up with people and places where our daily life events take place. You will visit interesting corners, old elevators, typical places and all athractive places Valparaíso can offer.
LONELY ROUTE INCLUDES
Guide Hotel/City Tour/Hotel
All bus fares
La Sebastiana, Neruda's museum ( ticket is not includes )
Photographic walking tour on Concepción and Alegre hill's
Typicall elevator
Bay boat-trip ( ticket is not includes )
DURATION
Departure (Morning tour): 09:30 am. Return: 14:30 pm
Departure (afternoon tour): 15:30 pm. Return: 20.30 pm
DAYS
Tuesday trough Sunday
Minimum of 1 tourist are required.
Tickets for atraccions are not includes.
PRICE: $14.000.- per person (Chilean Pesos)
Since we were here on Monday, the Neruda museum was closed. Also, since we were cruising in and out we skipped the bay boat-trip. We walked and walked. We strolled a couple of blocks through a flea market. The local dogs here had fresh bones from the butcher shops this morning. We took 3 buses and 2 electric trolleys. The trolleys dated from the 1940's. We took 3 ascensors and they dated from 1883 to 1916. The first was Ascensor Larrain, the second Concepion and the last was Artilleria. They were really amazing. We visited the local Wall St. and hit an ATM and saw Leo's wife and daughter. We visited a crafts market and Margie bought a wooden picture of Valparaiso and Clay and Debbie got T-shirts. We had lunch at J. Cruz M. Casino Social Museo, a quirky little local place with live, local music and shared Chorillana for 3. It was a big platter of french fries topped with scrambled eggs with onions and chunks of beef. It was served with bread with chili sauce. Margie had a Sprite, Debbie had a Coke and Leo and Clay had local beers. It was Del Puerto and Clay had both a dark and an amber ale. You can probably forget trying to find this place without help, it was down a tiny alley!
We can highly recommend Leo Silva and Ruta Valparaiso to any future visitors to Valpo.
We sailed about an hour late. We were waiting for at least one bus to return. We did not hear which bus was delayed or why. Terry Breen spoke on the speakers during sailaway.
Tonight is Country Club Casual. There is a new International menu at LaVeranda. But, since Compass Rose is still serving local specialties, we will probably go there. The show tonight is Ballroom Bravo. Not clear if anyone will up for that tonight, but it is the 2nd time they have done it, so if we miss it again, we may have another shot at it.
Valparaiso, Chile - photos
We arrived on time here and were docked on the starboard side by 7am. The ship was cleared by 8am and we were in a shuttle bus to the terminal by 8:05am. It was cool here on arrival and there were clouds settling over the hills as we headed off the ship. By noon, it had cleared and the sun was shining brightly. The high temperature while we were here was still probably at or just under 70F. The Captain yesterday had announced a high of 30C and weather.com had a high predicted of 90F and sunny. The last weather website we checked was 67F. The daily Passages predicted a high of 69F. The Passages forecast had been off by 10 degrees for Antofagasta, so we weren't trusting it. It started out quite chilly and warmed up comfortably, but we had to leave in mid-afternoon anyway. The port provides a free shuttle bus in the port from the ship to the Passenger Terminal Building and in fact passengers are not allowed to walk freely inside the port area at all, although there is a place where the locals may and it has a restaurant and a handcrafts market, but it is not for cruisers. RSSC provided a free shuttle bus to and from Casino Vina del Mar about every 30 minutes.
We had a really good day today. Today we had a private guide arranged that Debbie had been in touch with for months. (Debbie first found him listed in a Frommer's guidebook and then on the Internet.) She had promised to bring him some gifts from the USA and one of them was chocolates. We were again searched here by Chilean Agriculture outbound (Customs inbound) and again it was 100% but this port had 2 cruise ships here today. (RSSC Mariner and HAL Prinsendam) They had 2 cruise ships here yesterday, so they are set up to handle it. You have to take port shuttle buses about 1 mile from the cruise ship berths to the Passenger Terminal building. There you are line up against the wall and you have to set your things on the floor on the other side of a rope. A dog goes by and then a 2nd dog goes by. The first dog just about picked Bob up and the 2nd dog ignored our things. Debbie and the woman next to her got pulled for another inspection. Everyone was very friendly and asked if a dog had ever touched Bob. Well, yeah! In their mouths? Yeah. OK, maybe that was it. Then, they found the bags of Ghiradelli chocolates and thought maybe that was it. Then they requested a demonstration of our collapsible sunhats, everything passed inspection and Debbie was free to go. Right outside the door with a sign as promised was Leo Silva, our guide. One of the first questions Leo asked was where had we come from. He thought we were going around the other direction since that is what most cruise ships that call here do. They just go from Rio or Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and back again. That means that most passengers are either starting or departing here and not many passengers do any touring here. Also, most people are encouraged to visit Vina del Mar or Santiago or the wineries. We are very happy with our decision to see the local side of Valparaiso instead. Anyway, Debbie told Leo our last port was Antofagasta. He was surprised and asked her if she liked it. She made a face and said no. He laughed. He said he had been there and he did not like it either. Seems Antofagasta is not welcoming to Chileans from out of town either, so it wasn't just us!
We had a great day walking and taking public transit here. Valparaiso is an old and unusual city. It was first settled in 1542, it was raided by pirates like Sir Francis Drake, it prospered from the California gold rush and then it languished after the opening of the Panama Canal. It has a naval base and is the seat of the Chilean Parliament. It meanders up and down the hills and is centered on the bay. It has a number of old ascensors or funiculars. We took the oldest funicular, the longest one, and the most representative one. These were really amazing. We had a really great day and everyone was happy and smiling and waving and even photographing us. Pasted below is the description from Leo's website. http://www.rutavalparaiso.cl/
LONELY ROUTE
Ruta Valparaíso we have created an innovative and personalized way of doing tourism. A guide will pick you up and take you through a Valparaíso by bus, just like a friend.
You will have the chance to mix-up with people and places where our daily life events take place. You will visit interesting corners, old elevators, typical places and all athractive places Valparaíso can offer.
LONELY ROUTE INCLUDES
Guide Hotel/City Tour/Hotel
All bus fares
La Sebastiana, Neruda's museum ( ticket is not includes )
Photographic walking tour on Concepción and Alegre hill's
Typicall elevator
Bay boat-trip ( ticket is not includes )
DURATION
Departure (Morning tour): 09:30 am. Return: 14:30 pm
Departure (afternoon tour): 15:30 pm. Return: 20.30 pm
DAYS
Tuesday trough Sunday
Minimum of 1 tourist are required.
Tickets for atraccions are not includes.
PRICE: $14.000.- per person (Chilean Pesos)
Since we were here on Monday, the Neruda museum was closed. Also, since we were cruising in and out we skipped the bay boat-trip. We walked and walked. We strolled a couple of blocks through a flea market. The local dogs here had fresh bones from the butcher shops this morning. We took 3 buses and 2 electric trolleys. The trolleys dated from the 1940's. We took 3 ascensors and they dated from 1883 to 1916. The first was Ascensor Larrain, the second Concepion and the last was Artilleria. They were really amazing. We visited the local Wall St. and hit an ATM and saw Leo's wife and daughter. We visited a crafts market and Margie bought a wooden picture of Valparaiso and Clay and Debbie got T-shirts. We had lunch at J. Cruz M. Casino Social Museo, a quirky little local place with live, local music and shared Chorillana for 3. It was a big platter of french fries topped with scrambled eggs with onions and chunks of beef. It was served with bread with chili sauce. Margie had a Sprite, Debbie had a Coke and Leo and Clay had local beers. It was Del Puerto and Clay had both a dark and an amber ale. You can probably forget trying to find this place without help, it was down a tiny alley!
We can highly recommend Leo Silva and Ruta Valparaiso to any future visitors to Valpo.
We sailed about an hour late. We were waiting for at least one bus to return. We did not hear which bus was delayed or why. Terry Breen spoke on the speakers during sailaway.
Tonight is Country Club Casual. There is a new International menu at LaVeranda. But, since Compass Rose is still serving local specialties, we will probably go there. The show tonight is Ballroom Bravo. Not clear if anyone will up for that tonight, but it is the 2nd time they have done it, so if we miss it again, we may have another shot at it.
Valparaiso, Chile - photos
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day 17 - Sunday January 20, 2008 - at sea
Sailing was not good, not bad. Captain Romeo said at noon that we were in 6-8 foot swells. This was producing some side to side swaying or rocking of the ship and both the swells and rocking increased as the day progressed.
Today was the International BBQ again on the Pool Deck. It is only 63F today and in the wind feels much colder. Margie and Debbie headed in to LaVeranda and Clay got a plate outside and joined them inside.
Naps all around today. Margie went to needlepoint. It has been a little rougher as the day progressed, but it has been nice on the port side with the coast of Chile to follow in the distance.
Tonight was Informal and we went to Compass Rose. They have been serving a lot of local foods on this cruise for both lunch and dinner. Clay has really enjoyed that and got ahold of a surprisingly hot tonight and turned red and hiccuped! Unfortunately, he forgot to take his camera to dinner tonight. Debbie and Margie both had chicken parmigana. Hopefully at some point we will get an opportunity to scan some menus and post them on this blog. Clay turned in early and Debbie and Margie got cafe lattes from the coffee corner and went to do some work on the jigsaw puzzle because Margie's needlepoint buddy, Kim, was complaining that she had no help now on it. We managed to get a few pieces in before Kim showed up to help. There were some good Billy Joel tunes drifting out of the Horizon Lounge for us to listen. Then we went to the 9:45pm show in Constellation Theater. It was a variety show. Singer Julie Grace, the ballroom dancers and the violinist/comedian Beverly Davison. It was a good show.
Today we learned that we have 670 guests onboard for this segment. Tomorrow we dock early in Valparaiso. We have a private guide booked here for a walking andpublic transit tour. We are really looking forward to it. More later.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Day 16 - January 19, 2008 - Antofagasta, Chile
Antofagasta, Chile photos
If it's Saturday, it must be CHILE!
We slept in and got a late, lazy start. We are all still recovering from the intestinal upset gotten on the overland trip and from the physical rigors of the quick climb and descent on our knees, feet, equilibrium, etc. coupled with the effects of losing 2 hours in the 2 nights after we reboarded. It is hard work, but somebody has to do it!Since we did not arrive at port until 1pm, we had both Compass Rose breakfast and Pool Deck buffet onboard.
We were not welcomed here. The port authorities were excessively authoritarian. We were told that we were the only cruise ship in a 12 month period and now we know why. Clearance was delayed and then they only allowed the passengers to exit the ship 36 at a time. We were told to take no fruit or vegetables ashore because of the importance of protecting Chilean agriculture. We were told that there would be random agricultural checks. Every person on an RSSC tour was individually searched as we exited the ship in groups of no more than 36, before we could board the buses. Some of the buses were then stopped at the port exit and the people and their bags were removed and they were individually searched again. On our return to the port, customs authorities stopped the buses at the entrance and all passengers and their possessions had to be removed to a building were we were wanded and walked through a metal detector and our possessions were x-rayed. Being big believers in security, we would not mind this, but it was at a 6-hour port stop with nothing of interest to the average tourist. We knew that the port had no tourist infrastructure, was remote, etc. but we had no been warned that a good chunk of our very limited time here would be spent in examining every individual on and off the ship. The people that were not in tour groups may have been treated differently, we don't know. But, we do know that they were not allowed by the Chilean authorities to disembark the ship until after the RSSC tour groups had departed.
We drove back to the ship the other day through 5 hours of nothing but brown desert and apparently this desert goes on and on for many more miles. One of the biggest, driest places on the planet. Antofagasta is in this desert. It served as a jumping off point for passengers doing overnight excursions through the Atacama Desert. RSSC would have better served its guests by spending this time here for just disembarking those guests and perhaps bringing on the Chilean Explosion of Culture show as they did and letting us move on to a more welcoming environment. Now this is from a person who would drive 3-hours to see a dry forest. So, we are adventurers and willing to appreciate whatever is to be seen locally. However, there was nothing of interest to see in this town, where we were not welcomed, and the closest sights of interest were too far to be seen in a 7-hour stop.
So, Antofagasta is a city of about 275,000. It is historically and currently dependant upon mining. It sits nestled between the cold currents of the sea and the mountains of the desert. It is remote and a pretty bleak location. There is a very large and modern shopping mall just minutes drive from the port entrance. It is visible from the ship and as docking, but as is frequently the case, you can't get there easily from here. The mall did provide free open-air doubledecker buses as a free shuttle from the port. Our advice to any future visitors would be in order of importance, just stay on the ship and consider it a sea day, or if you really must go ashore, just go to the mall. We never saw a taxi cab anywhere during the hours we spent out on our tour.
Our tour. Sadly, this was a big disappointment. We have had some great days seeing the local sights in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, not so here. We paid RSSC $45 per person for a 3-hour tour in an air-conditioned coach. Since we had to sit in Constellation Theater and wait for first the overland tours to depart and then around 150 people to file out in 36-person clusters, we just waited it out and did not press to the doors. This put us on Bus 5, the last for the Highlights of Antofagasta. (Sadly, we drove out of the port past the overnight people still standing on the pavement in the sun putting their belts back on and repacking their bags at the customs stand!) While the first 4 buses were air-conditioned, apparently someone got greedy and overbooked this tour, providing a fifth bus that was not air-conditioned. Since it was high humidity and in the upper 80sF it made for a very unpleasant afternoon. The sound system on our bus was not working well and the guide did not really try to use. He was gesturing with the mike and speaking with it away from his mouth. So, that coupled with the roar of the wind with the bus in motion meant that we could about every 5-10th word. For......and......it.......sure.......old........mining...........ruins........Army...........mall..........square You get the idea. So, the highlights of Antofagasta. We went first to La Portada which was admittedly worth a drive if not the 2 personal searches lined up in the sunshine. But, at each stop the guide, Emilio, just spoke as the bus was moving then opened the doors and told us to get out. He did not tell us when to come back or speak to us as a group on the ground where we might all gather round and be able to hear him. Once we were out of the bus, people scattered to return or not at their will and Emilio went off on his own. So, predictably, this meant some long waits on a hot bus as Emilio and Montserrat (our Regent Travel Concierge escort) went to round them up. (We regret not identifying Montserrat, hope that is spelled correctly!) as a RSSC staffer in our earlier discussion of our dinner with Scott Kinney, her boss. We were seated on opposite sides of the table and never really got to talk until we landed on the same bus.) Then we drove into the center of town and unloaded at the main square. Same story as above. No idea what we were seeing or any of its significance and the mystery of when and where to reboard and the wait. Then we drove to the Huanchaca Ruins. This was some concrete piles with rebar sticking out, scattered around the edge of a cliff. Since we heard nothing on the bus and knew Emilio would bolt, no one moved to get off the bus. Debbie asked what ruins? It's got rebar, it can't be historical, what is it exactly. The answer came back, not over the sound system because of course now we were sitting still and it might have been useful, that thishad been a silver refinery and it closed operations in 1901-02, we think. A few people got out just for the sea breeze. They hadno where to wander, so we weren't there long. Now Emilio told us that we were going to the handicrafts market for some shopping. The bus stopped and he told us we had to be back onboard and ready to leave in 10 minutes. Since it had taken us more than 5 minutes to unload each time and up to 15 minutes to reload this was beyond all comprehension. We checked our maps later from the Travel Concierge Desk and there was a handicrafts market uphill one block from where the bus actually parked, but Emilio did not point it out or guide us up there, so no one saw it. Since we had no time it really was a moot point anyway. So, the people that got off the bus walked to where it looked like we had been directed and there were 9 booths open and as many closed and they were selling rayon blouses, stuffed animals, belts, plastic clocks, etc. Some people did come back with silver jewelry and polished rocks, but in 10 minutes there was no way that 36 people could have a shopping op at 9 booths, so we mostly left sweaty and empty-handed. At this point, Emilio was in a rush to get us back. Our RSSC ship-wide Complimentary Event was to begin at 5pm and it was almost 4:30. Now, we know why. The search on our return to the port. We made it back onboard just in time to drop our hats off at the cabin and get a seat in the Constellation Theater. So, we sat sweaty for the music and dancers. This was a group from the local university. The music was loud and there were a lot of dancers. They do a lot of hanky dances. We have no idea why. There was some talking it was in Spanish and was untranslated. The one thing that was translated midway through was that the music and dances were representative of the North of Chile. We got back to the cabin to wash up and see the sail away and the thermometer we had left on our coffee table read 115F. It was in the sun, but in an air-conditioned cabin! We imagine that was about the temperature in the bus today. There were a bunch of big, ugly jellyfish in the water off our balconies!
We decided to stay in on this Country Club Casual night and watch a DVD. Debbie finally shook loose the ship's copy of De-Lovely at the Reception Desk. We ordered from Room Service and watch inMargie's cabin. Unfortunately, her TV just keeps getting worse and worse. We have filed a complaint or 2 about this and at our dinner with Richard Fenn when he heard about her wobbling picture promised to get it fixed. Well, when we get off someone in 736 will have a new TV within a month. But, not us. Early to bed again with a plan to sleep in again before Sunday Brunch in Compass Rose on Sunday.
Antofagasta, Chile photos
If it's Saturday, it must be CHILE!
We slept in and got a late, lazy start. We are all still recovering from the intestinal upset gotten on the overland trip and from the physical rigors of the quick climb and descent on our knees, feet, equilibrium, etc. coupled with the effects of losing 2 hours in the 2 nights after we reboarded. It is hard work, but somebody has to do it!Since we did not arrive at port until 1pm, we had both Compass Rose breakfast and Pool Deck buffet onboard.
We were not welcomed here. The port authorities were excessively authoritarian. We were told that we were the only cruise ship in a 12 month period and now we know why. Clearance was delayed and then they only allowed the passengers to exit the ship 36 at a time. We were told to take no fruit or vegetables ashore because of the importance of protecting Chilean agriculture. We were told that there would be random agricultural checks. Every person on an RSSC tour was individually searched as we exited the ship in groups of no more than 36, before we could board the buses. Some of the buses were then stopped at the port exit and the people and their bags were removed and they were individually searched again. On our return to the port, customs authorities stopped the buses at the entrance and all passengers and their possessions had to be removed to a building were we were wanded and walked through a metal detector and our possessions were x-rayed. Being big believers in security, we would not mind this, but it was at a 6-hour port stop with nothing of interest to the average tourist. We knew that the port had no tourist infrastructure, was remote, etc. but we had no been warned that a good chunk of our very limited time here would be spent in examining every individual on and off the ship. The people that were not in tour groups may have been treated differently, we don't know. But, we do know that they were not allowed by the Chilean authorities to disembark the ship until after the RSSC tour groups had departed.
We drove back to the ship the other day through 5 hours of nothing but brown desert and apparently this desert goes on and on for many more miles. One of the biggest, driest places on the planet. Antofagasta is in this desert. It served as a jumping off point for passengers doing overnight excursions through the Atacama Desert. RSSC would have better served its guests by spending this time here for just disembarking those guests and perhaps bringing on the Chilean Explosion of Culture show as they did and letting us move on to a more welcoming environment. Now this is from a person who would drive 3-hours to see a dry forest. So, we are adventurers and willing to appreciate whatever is to be seen locally. However, there was nothing of interest to see in this town, where we were not welcomed, and the closest sights of interest were too far to be seen in a 7-hour stop.
So, Antofagasta is a city of about 275,000. It is historically and currently dependant upon mining. It sits nestled between the cold currents of the sea and the mountains of the desert. It is remote and a pretty bleak location. There is a very large and modern shopping mall just minutes drive from the port entrance. It is visible from the ship and as docking, but as is frequently the case, you can't get there easily from here. The mall did provide free open-air doubledecker buses as a free shuttle from the port. Our advice to any future visitors would be in order of importance, just stay on the ship and consider it a sea day, or if you really must go ashore, just go to the mall. We never saw a taxi cab anywhere during the hours we spent out on our tour.
Our tour. Sadly, this was a big disappointment. We have had some great days seeing the local sights in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, not so here. We paid RSSC $45 per person for a 3-hour tour in an air-conditioned coach. Since we had to sit in Constellation Theater and wait for first the overland tours to depart and then around 150 people to file out in 36-person clusters, we just waited it out and did not press to the doors. This put us on Bus 5, the last for the Highlights of Antofagasta. (Sadly, we drove out of the port past the overnight people still standing on the pavement in the sun putting their belts back on and repacking their bags at the customs stand!) While the first 4 buses were air-conditioned, apparently someone got greedy and overbooked this tour, providing a fifth bus that was not air-conditioned. Since it was high humidity and in the upper 80sF it made for a very unpleasant afternoon. The sound system on our bus was not working well and the guide did not really try to use. He was gesturing with the mike and speaking with it away from his mouth. So, that coupled with the roar of the wind with the bus in motion meant that we could about every 5-10th word. For......and......it.......sure.......old........mining...........ruins........Army...........mall..........square You get the idea. So, the highlights of Antofagasta. We went first to La Portada which was admittedly worth a drive if not the 2 personal searches lined up in the sunshine. But, at each stop the guide, Emilio, just spoke as the bus was moving then opened the doors and told us to get out. He did not tell us when to come back or speak to us as a group on the ground where we might all gather round and be able to hear him. Once we were out of the bus, people scattered to return or not at their will and Emilio went off on his own. So, predictably, this meant some long waits on a hot bus as Emilio and Montserrat (our Regent Travel Concierge escort) went to round them up. (We regret not identifying Montserrat, hope that is spelled correctly!) as a RSSC staffer in our earlier discussion of our dinner with Scott Kinney, her boss. We were seated on opposite sides of the table and never really got to talk until we landed on the same bus.) Then we drove into the center of town and unloaded at the main square. Same story as above. No idea what we were seeing or any of its significance and the mystery of when and where to reboard and the wait. Then we drove to the Huanchaca Ruins. This was some concrete piles with rebar sticking out, scattered around the edge of a cliff. Since we heard nothing on the bus and knew Emilio would bolt, no one moved to get off the bus. Debbie asked what ruins? It's got rebar, it can't be historical, what is it exactly. The answer came back, not over the sound system because of course now we were sitting still and it might have been useful, that thishad been a silver refinery and it closed operations in 1901-02, we think. A few people got out just for the sea breeze. They hadno where to wander, so we weren't there long. Now Emilio told us that we were going to the handicrafts market for some shopping. The bus stopped and he told us we had to be back onboard and ready to leave in 10 minutes. Since it had taken us more than 5 minutes to unload each time and up to 15 minutes to reload this was beyond all comprehension. We checked our maps later from the Travel Concierge Desk and there was a handicrafts market uphill one block from where the bus actually parked, but Emilio did not point it out or guide us up there, so no one saw it. Since we had no time it really was a moot point anyway. So, the people that got off the bus walked to where it looked like we had been directed and there were 9 booths open and as many closed and they were selling rayon blouses, stuffed animals, belts, plastic clocks, etc. Some people did come back with silver jewelry and polished rocks, but in 10 minutes there was no way that 36 people could have a shopping op at 9 booths, so we mostly left sweaty and empty-handed. At this point, Emilio was in a rush to get us back. Our RSSC ship-wide Complimentary Event was to begin at 5pm and it was almost 4:30. Now, we know why. The search on our return to the port. We made it back onboard just in time to drop our hats off at the cabin and get a seat in the Constellation Theater. So, we sat sweaty for the music and dancers. This was a group from the local university. The music was loud and there were a lot of dancers. They do a lot of hanky dances. We have no idea why. There was some talking it was in Spanish and was untranslated. The one thing that was translated midway through was that the music and dances were representative of the North of Chile. We got back to the cabin to wash up and see the sail away and the thermometer we had left on our coffee table read 115F. It was in the sun, but in an air-conditioned cabin! We imagine that was about the temperature in the bus today. There were a bunch of big, ugly jellyfish in the water off our balconies!
We decided to stay in on this Country Club Casual night and watch a DVD. Debbie finally shook loose the ship's copy of De-Lovely at the Reception Desk. We ordered from Room Service and watch inMargie's cabin. Unfortunately, her TV just keeps getting worse and worse. We have filed a complaint or 2 about this and at our dinner with Richard Fenn when he heard about her wobbling picture promised to get it fixed. Well, when we get off someone in 736 will have a new TV within a month. But, not us. Early to bed again with a plan to sleep in again before Sunday Brunch in Compass Rose on Sunday.
Antofagasta, Chile photos
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Day 15 January 18 - At Sea
We are 1/4 of the way through this trip! Today was spent catching up. We had a lot of laundry to do. Then we had a lot of photos to sort through and catching up on the blog. Plus by today the intestinal thing had caught up with both Clay and Margie. So, we laid pretty low for most of the day. There was an outdoor BBQ on the Pool Deck though, Fish al Fresco. Clay and Margie went to Terry Breen's morning talk and heard that Mariner had bought a 400-pound tuna yesterday and they were going to try to get it up on the Pool Deck today for this event. Well, say no more, we are there! There were a couple or really big fish in a very small boat serving as decoration behind the grill. Debbie and Margie were not interested in the fish and so went inside to eat at LaVeranda and Clay got some fish and took his plate inside to eat with them. Clay also had a new local beer onboard. Cristal. He liked it. As part of the catching up, Margie got caught up in printing Machu Picchu photos to make postcards and writing and addressing them and forgot about needlepoint. She was missed. Also, the whole day was off because of the lost hour of sleep!
Tonight was Formal night. We had an invitation to dine with Scott Kinney, the Travel Concierge Manager. We were seated with 2 other couples from our hallway who are on for the entire Circle and a single woman named Montserrat and a young man named Alejandro from the Tour Desk. (Hi Babs and Jim!) It was a fun evening and a good end to the day. Ludovich, who arranged this dinner, will be pleased to know that the Travel Concierge Desk got an earful of feedback this evening. Margie wanted to go to the show, Beverly Davison, and had to go alone. Margie met some of the new arrivals and the show was very good. Wonderful music and great humor. We learned from Scott that we would lose another hour tonight and Debbie and Clay threw in the towel after dinner. Tonight is very clear for the first time in a while and there were things to see in the night time from the balcony. There was almost a full moon and it was very bright reflecting off the water. There were a few clouds and stars visible. Debbie has put in a request at the Reception Desk for an Astronomy night onboard to show us the Southern sky at night. The man at the Desk seemed surprised by the request and did not write it down until Debbie explained about the Southern Cross and that the constellations were different below the Equator and people might not know about it and be interested. He finally said it was a good idea and he would pass along hersuggestion. Fingers crossed. Margie has never been below the Equator on a ship before and so far RSSC and Mariner have done nothing traditional to mark the event. No crossing ceremony, no Southern Cross talks/shows. We're sure Margie is not the only first timer aboard who may be disappointed or missing something they don't even realize. Anyway, tomorrow is another port day! Antofagasta and our 2nd Complimentary Event for the ship. Below are the website descriptions.
Highlights of Antofagasta
Duration: 3 Hours.
Seated.
$45
Experience the historic beauty of Northern Chile during this orientation tour of Antofagasta.
Depart the pier for an orientation tour of Antofagasta, the capital of Region II, and an important shipping port for copper produced in Chuquicamata, the world's largest active copper mine. The skyline of this city of 297,000 residents is highlighted by ancient architecture and modern buildings perched on a plane formed by the slopes of hills reaching down to the sea.
Along the way, a visit will be made at the Main Square, or Plaza Colon, where you will find interesting monuments donated by communities of foreign immigrants. Sites of note at the Main Square include the Bandstand and Clock Tower, which were built with large ceramic blocks imported from England. You will also see the beautiful vitreaux inside the Cathedral, along with the recently-built Municipal Theater. From here, you will proceed to the Market Square, or Plaza del Mercado, where you will see tall palm trees, a monument donated by the local German community and a handicrafts market with high plateau textiles.
Next, you will continue on to the historical quarter, where you will view sites that include the saltpeter dock, buildings of the ex-Coast Guard and ex-Port Authority, home of the Regional Museum, and the former Railway Station, crafted entirely of wood. You will also see the fishing terminal full of vessels, and a local market. Heading south on Argentian Avenue you will find the Huanchaca Ruins, one of Antofagasta's most interesting buildings, and a national monument. This silver refinery, erected in 1888, is a huge structure with several round furnaces built with bricks imported from England. From here, you will take a drive along the coast to the opposite side of the city. En route, you will pass lovely beaches on the way to La Portada, a symbol of the entire Region II. On an island located just a short distance from the shore, you will see the erosion-carved, arch-like rock formation after which the area was named.
Following your tour, you will return to the pier and ship.
Chilean Explosion in Culture
Duration: 1 Hour.
Special Event.
Code: ATF-0003
This special event is included for all guests with the compliments of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Watch Chile's Andean history and traditions unfold during this lively dancing and musical performance onboard the ship.
You will proceed to the ship's Constellation Theater for a grand demonstration of folkloric dancing and music from Southern, Central and Northern Chile, where Antofagasta is located. Upon arrival, you will see Antofagasta's shared Andean traditions with Bolivia and Peru unfold during the Devil's Dance, or Diablada, in which a cavalcade of musicians and dancers dressed like angels and devils wage a battle between good and evil.
This region is also famous for its nitrate, or white gold, mined during the 19th and early-20th centuries. At the time, mining companies built small towns, or oficinas salitreras, in the northern desert pampas located near the mines. The wealth emanating from this area created an entire culture of miners during a period when The Charleston was the popular dance of the day. As an added bonus, you will have an opportunity to watch the performers recount this golden era through their colorful costumes, music and dance.
Day 14 January 17 - Back on the ship
Back aboard photos
Back onboard Mariner on 1/17.
There are new people onboard! So, there was a block party for sailaway. Since the ship was held for us, it sailed as soon as we and our luggage were aboard. We should note that the earthquake damage was evident at the dock. So, there was a block party being held during the sailaway. At the same time, we were sailing through this really interesting area! There was nothing about what to see at this sailaway and no announcement that there would be a speaker for it on the top deck. Debbie happened to be late with unpacking and tired and stayed in the cabin a while the block party was going on and could hear the talk through the balcony door. First it was not on the TV and later it was. By then we were almost out of the bay! Anyway, no idea what we missed. But, Debbie went out into the hall and told everyone to come out and see the Candelabra formation on the cliffs on the port side. No one came, no one had any idea what she was talking about. Terry Breen talked about it the next morning and almost no one knew what she was talking about! How could something so important just slip under the radar? Anyway, Clay and Margie came in to the cabin because they did not want to hurt Debbie's feelings and were astounded. The thing was 595 feet tall and can be seen from 12 miles out at sea according to Terry Breen. It was starting to get dark and there was a marine layer forming so we did not get great pictures, but hopefully you can get some idea.
It was Country Club Casual and we had a quick light meal in Compass Rose. Why you ask? Because we each wanted 2-3 desserts from that menu! So, we didn't eat much but we had a lot of dessert! We got back to the cabins to learn that the clocks had to be advanced an hour. Oh no! Just when we are desperate for sleep, we lose an hour! So, early to bed and trying to recover from the last 3 hard days. Was it worth it? Absolutely, Machu Picchu was just phenomenal. Was it a 6-star experience? No, not even close!
Here are some asides from today:
Everyone needs an entry ticket to Machu Picchu. Since there were 69 of us, Lima Tours had handwritten the names and nationalities as required on each ticket and they just handed out one to each of us. One guy on the bus, who turned out to be a man named Angel,said the winner would be the person who got their own name on a ticket. A woman seated across the aisle from Debbie had hers and waved it around. Debbie saw her name and realized that she had the woman's husband's ticket, Donald. She offered it to him and got Toni's which could be a man or woman. (Here is an aside. Later, we met Angel and Margie had his ticket, which she traded Robert Schwartz. Margie then found him, but he went by Bob, which complicated things. Bob did not want his ticket back, but would swap Margie for Daisy's ticket. She did not want Daisy's and kept Bob's. Debbie came to Margie and told her that Bob, her little mascot dog, had been to the top of the city of Machu Picchu and though she had not known before that his last name was Schwartz, that she would trade her Toni's ticket for Bob's. Clay started and ended with the ticket of Harrison. We never did find our own tickets, but we did get some back to their rightful owners. Margie also got Linda to give Angel's wife's ticket to her. And there ends our aside.) Our wonderful guide Harvey told us later that if we had our passports with us, the ticket booth people would have stamped them for us. Alas, we did not have our passports, someone else did. We don't know who at the moment.
The steepest and final portion of our climb was up to the Guardhouse. Margie was bringing up the rear and being coaxed by Harvey. About 25 big, shallow, narrow, turning steps from the top Margie was balking and thegroup that was still climbing was standing panting waiting for her. Margie started complaining about being a 70-year old woman when there was an enormous clap of thunder. Margie's eyes got big and she shot up the flight of 4 steps in front of her. That was surely a loud message of something from someone!
Here is a small world moment story. As Debbie and Clay were finalizing their deal with their market vendor to hurry to the train station and get back up with Margie, a man walked up to Clay behind Debbie and asked him if he had gotten his Monet T-shirt at the NC Art Museum exhibit. Clay said yes and the man said, I was responsible for that exhibit. Debbie turned around and recognized Larry Wheeler as the Director from the NC Museum of Art. What a surprise! As we exited the Market with Margie, we saw a group of 4 men pointing at us and it was Larry pointing out the T-shirt to his traveling companions. Very funny! Then as we toured the reversed train on the way back to Cusco (A disappointment! The engine was now in front of the Observation car, and the kitchen car was the end of the train, so there was no view front or back. Plus, now we were the next to last car and we had an incredibly rough ride back, apparently from the loss of the stabilizing of the engine.) So, on the way forward Debbie was stopped by the 4 men in a booth a car forward of ours who called out to the Raleigh people. They were all amazed at seeing the T-shirt at Machu Picchu, the Aguas Calientes market and on the Hiram Bingham train. On the way back to our car, Debbie asked Larry if she could take a picture of him with Clay in his Monet T-shirt. Larry agreed. (Larry, a photo postcard is on its way to you from Chile, our next stop!)
The bus ride back down was just as impressive as the bus ride up because it came with a surprise. As we rounded the first switchback, a group of Indian boys in bright red costumes was yelling and waving. One was pointing to himself with both hands as we passed. Debbie told Clay, did you get a photo. No, why? Because that boy is going to beat us to the bottom. How? I don't know, slide on his butt, swing on vines, he'll go straight down while we drive a longer distance zigzagging back and forth. Sure enough, a few swichbacks later, we noticed the stone stairs exiting and entering the jungle on either side of the road and then the kid starting flashing by and waving each time. He got more red-faced each time! At some point, he had to run down the road in front of the bus to get to the next set of stairs and he did so waving back to us the whole way. At the flat road to Aguas Calientes, they stop the bus and let the kid on to collect money and have his photo taken. Then, the kid gets a ride back up to the top. The boys are only allowed to do this when school is out. School is out from December to March, so now. The kid was only wearing sandals on his feet. He must make a lot of money when he can work. Machu Picchu Bus Racer must have as short a career span as professional dancer or NFL player! The market was amazing and Debbie and Clay never got further than the first booth at which they stopped, that woman had vendors running from all over the market to get them what they wanted. The vendors all knew where we were headed and when we had to be there. A word should be said about all the street vendors here, they all speak very good English, they are extremely polite, clever, and not aggresive when you say no.
Back aboard photos
Back onboard Mariner on 1/17.
There are new people onboard! So, there was a block party for sailaway. Since the ship was held for us, it sailed as soon as we and our luggage were aboard. We should note that the earthquake damage was evident at the dock. So, there was a block party being held during the sailaway. At the same time, we were sailing through this really interesting area! There was nothing about what to see at this sailaway and no announcement that there would be a speaker for it on the top deck. Debbie happened to be late with unpacking and tired and stayed in the cabin a while the block party was going on and could hear the talk through the balcony door. First it was not on the TV and later it was. By then we were almost out of the bay! Anyway, no idea what we missed. But, Debbie went out into the hall and told everyone to come out and see the Candelabra formation on the cliffs on the port side. No one came, no one had any idea what she was talking about. Terry Breen talked about it the next morning and almost no one knew what she was talking about! How could something so important just slip under the radar? Anyway, Clay and Margie came in to the cabin because they did not want to hurt Debbie's feelings and were astounded. The thing was 595 feet tall and can be seen from 12 miles out at sea according to Terry Breen. It was starting to get dark and there was a marine layer forming so we did not get great pictures, but hopefully you can get some idea.
It was Country Club Casual and we had a quick light meal in Compass Rose. Why you ask? Because we each wanted 2-3 desserts from that menu! So, we didn't eat much but we had a lot of dessert! We got back to the cabins to learn that the clocks had to be advanced an hour. Oh no! Just when we are desperate for sleep, we lose an hour! So, early to bed and trying to recover from the last 3 hard days. Was it worth it? Absolutely, Machu Picchu was just phenomenal. Was it a 6-star experience? No, not even close!
Here are some asides from today:
Everyone needs an entry ticket to Machu Picchu. Since there were 69 of us, Lima Tours had handwritten the names and nationalities as required on each ticket and they just handed out one to each of us. One guy on the bus, who turned out to be a man named Angel,said the winner would be the person who got their own name on a ticket. A woman seated across the aisle from Debbie had hers and waved it around. Debbie saw her name and realized that she had the woman's husband's ticket, Donald. She offered it to him and got Toni's which could be a man or woman. (Here is an aside. Later, we met Angel and Margie had his ticket, which she traded Robert Schwartz. Margie then found him, but he went by Bob, which complicated things. Bob did not want his ticket back, but would swap Margie for Daisy's ticket. She did not want Daisy's and kept Bob's. Debbie came to Margie and told her that Bob, her little mascot dog, had been to the top of the city of Machu Picchu and though she had not known before that his last name was Schwartz, that she would trade her Toni's ticket for Bob's. Clay started and ended with the ticket of Harrison. We never did find our own tickets, but we did get some back to their rightful owners. Margie also got Linda to give Angel's wife's ticket to her. And there ends our aside.) Our wonderful guide Harvey told us later that if we had our passports with us, the ticket booth people would have stamped them for us. Alas, we did not have our passports, someone else did. We don't know who at the moment.
The steepest and final portion of our climb was up to the Guardhouse. Margie was bringing up the rear and being coaxed by Harvey. About 25 big, shallow, narrow, turning steps from the top Margie was balking and thegroup that was still climbing was standing panting waiting for her. Margie started complaining about being a 70-year old woman when there was an enormous clap of thunder. Margie's eyes got big and she shot up the flight of 4 steps in front of her. That was surely a loud message of something from someone!
Here is a small world moment story. As Debbie and Clay were finalizing their deal with their market vendor to hurry to the train station and get back up with Margie, a man walked up to Clay behind Debbie and asked him if he had gotten his Monet T-shirt at the NC Art Museum exhibit. Clay said yes and the man said, I was responsible for that exhibit. Debbie turned around and recognized Larry Wheeler as the Director from the NC Museum of Art. What a surprise! As we exited the Market with Margie, we saw a group of 4 men pointing at us and it was Larry pointing out the T-shirt to his traveling companions. Very funny! Then as we toured the reversed train on the way back to Cusco (A disappointment! The engine was now in front of the Observation car, and the kitchen car was the end of the train, so there was no view front or back. Plus, now we were the next to last car and we had an incredibly rough ride back, apparently from the loss of the stabilizing of the engine.) So, on the way forward Debbie was stopped by the 4 men in a booth a car forward of ours who called out to the Raleigh people. They were all amazed at seeing the T-shirt at Machu Picchu, the Aguas Calientes market and on the Hiram Bingham train. On the way back to our car, Debbie asked Larry if she could take a picture of him with Clay in his Monet T-shirt. Larry agreed. (Larry, a photo postcard is on its way to you from Chile, our next stop!)
The bus ride back down was just as impressive as the bus ride up because it came with a surprise. As we rounded the first switchback, a group of Indian boys in bright red costumes was yelling and waving. One was pointing to himself with both hands as we passed. Debbie told Clay, did you get a photo. No, why? Because that boy is going to beat us to the bottom. How? I don't know, slide on his butt, swing on vines, he'll go straight down while we drive a longer distance zigzagging back and forth. Sure enough, a few swichbacks later, we noticed the stone stairs exiting and entering the jungle on either side of the road and then the kid starting flashing by and waving each time. He got more red-faced each time! At some point, he had to run down the road in front of the bus to get to the next set of stairs and he did so waving back to us the whole way. At the flat road to Aguas Calientes, they stop the bus and let the kid on to collect money and have his photo taken. Then, the kid gets a ride back up to the top. The boys are only allowed to do this when school is out. School is out from December to March, so now. The kid was only wearing sandals on his feet. He must make a lot of money when he can work. Machu Picchu Bus Racer must have as short a career span as professional dancer or NFL player! The market was amazing and Debbie and Clay never got further than the first booth at which they stopped, that woman had vendors running from all over the market to get them what they wanted. The vendors all knew where we were headed and when we had to be there. A word should be said about all the street vendors here, they all speak very good English, they are extremely polite, clever, and not aggresive when you say no.
Back aboard photos
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