Day 30 &31 ~ Fun Days at Sea ~ 3/1 & 2/09

Seems like this cruise is quickly slipping by. We are already at the end of the second leg. 2 Relaxing days were had by all.

On 3/1/09 ~ we met Zydecruiser ~ “Bill” from CruiseCritic.com at the Salsas 49ers meet & greet = 4pm & sat and talked for about 1 hr. He has a great site – If you haven’t already seen it – check it out at www.zydecruiser.com

3/2/09 ~ We are saying goodbye this evening to 4 wonderful people sitting at our dinner table #437 ~ Jo, Dave, Donna & June ~ if you are reading this ~ I will miss you ~ and please do keep in touch.

Ezriah & Marie who have sat with us for 2 legs now are moving to late seating so Ezriah can see the “sail a ways” better ~ so that leaves Joan & her cabin mate who we have yet to meet ~ plus of course Ruth & I.

I took a picture of Martina our waiter & Peter our assistant waiter & had one taken of Ken singing & another with Ken, Ruth & I.

We have got to get up really early for our tour tomorrow in Valparaiso & Vina Del Mar ~ so I will say goodnight!!

Puerto Montt, Chile 2/28/09

Puerto Montt is the Pacific's entry point to Chile's Lake District, a verdant strip of land surrounded by lakes, rivers, volcanoes and of course, the Pacific Ocean. The city itself is situated on hills that climb in a V-shape from the natural harbor. It usually rains every day in the summer, but when we arrived, we were told it had been sunny for almost a week.There's actually plenty to see just by walking around the town, and great shopping opportunities at the artisan's markets and malls, but most guests chose a shore excursion because there are so many diversions in the region. Want to hike up a volcano? Try your hand at fly-fishing? Kayak under waterfalls or go whitewater rafting? It's all available here.

We ( Marilyn, Steve, Les, Joyce Ruth & I) ~ got up very early & were ready at 745am for tendering into the Puerto Montt Pier and arrived just before 9am to terra firma. We met Carlos Nado our tour guide who speaks perfect English – email & tel.
Our tour includes on the way to the mountains a quick Puerto Montt City Tour then heads to Puerto Varas & Llanquihue Lake, an Llama & Emu Farm with a absolutely beautiful view of Osorno, the Petrohue Falls in the Perez Rosales National, Emerald lake, an Frutillar and afterwards the local Fish market & Angelmo the local market place. See below for more specifics on these areas.
Puerto Varas: is located about 12 miles northeast of Puerto Montt, this "City of Roses" is quaint and charming, perfect for a nice walk along the shores of Lake Llanquihue with the reflection of the cone-shaped, snow-covered Osorno volcano always present. There's a great craft market and several cafes to enjoy a nice coffee and a raspberry kuchen.

Petrohue Falls and Vicente Perez Rosales National Park: The gorgeous route through this national park on the way to the foot of the Osorno Volcano takes you slightly off the main road to these falls. Created from an eruption of the Osorno several centuries ago, the large volcanic rocks form the basis of the multiple cascades. The falls aren't high or as impressive as Niagra, Victoria or Iguazu, but there are several pathways and bridges that traverse the river, offering incredible photo ops, especially with the ever-present Osorno in the distance (and the sound is nice too). It is for these views that people love visiting this region. *This park is not scooter friendly.

Frutillar: This small hamlet perfectly preserves the German and Austrian architecture from the immigrants in the late 1800's; talk about a picture-perfect postcard view! The town edges onto Lake Llanquihue, is filled with flowers and timbered chalets, and if you're lucky, you'll be there for the Semanas Musicales de Frutillar, a series of weekly outdoor concerts (mostly classical, some jazz) held during the months of January and February. *** We stopped at one of these timbered chalets café’s on the way back for many fruited varieties of German cheesecake & coffee ~ yummy! ~ See picture of café.

Feria Artesenal Angelmo: The artisan market stretches for blocks and blocks, and is reportedly the best place in all of Chile to purchase Chilotan products (woven items of wool and alpaca) from Chiloe, an island off the coast near Puerto Montt. You have to bargain, but even if you don't, the posted prices are low enough to make you want to empty your wallet. Baskets, hand-spun and hand-dyed wool sweaters, blankets, Chilote ponchos, hand-made boots, leather goods, carved wood figurines, jewelry and alpaca rugs are all offered at the craft market. To give you an idea of the great prices ~ Alpaca & silk scarves went for $4.00 each, shawls, $8.00 each and sweaters = $23.00 each.

Scenic Chilean Fjords & Glacier Cruising 2/26 & 27/09

2/26/09 ~ The Pacific coast of southern Chile is a fjord land, similar to the fjord lands of northern Europe. A dissected region of islands, channels, inlets, straits, and bays, the Chilean fjords are very sparsely populated, with only a few towns and cattle ranches to be seen along the shores. The Chilean fjords extend south into Tierra del Fuego, the territory at the southern tip of South America that is divided (often contentiously) between Chile and Argentina.

Dirk, our naturalist and Goose, the cruise director have been talking over the intercom telling us what we are passing and seeing along the way. Everyone has found a prime seat near a window or braved the cold all bundled up outside.

One of the first things they told us to see is the Amalfi Glacier ~ see picture above.

Ruth and I have found our same seats in the Black Pearl dining room at a dinner table next to a window. It is warm in here with no drafts. Ruth is better & now I have come with the same cold that is ravaging this ship. Darn!

Later on in the day about 4pm when the Salsas 49ers were just beginning to gather in the Lido they called us over the intercom to come and see Popius and Brushin Glaciers. I took pictures but thru the rain, fog & mist I could not get a great shot of its enormous beauty. Imagine the Amilia Glacier above only 5 -10 times bigger.

About 11pm we hit the Pacific Ocean to begin our travels toward Puerto Montt and the Carnival Splendor began to rock & roll with treacherous 25 ft or higher swells. And the rough water kept it up for the night and throughout the next day.

2/27/09 ~ The weather is dreary & cold today. The fog keeps you from seeing more than 2-3 feet past your camera hand.

Tonight is Cruise Elegant Evening on board.

Strait of Magellan Cruising ~ 2/25/09

There were rumors flying today as to why we did not sail on time last night ~ the ship said high gale force winds but the sea was so calm ~ others said 2 ambulances arrived =1030pm and took 2 people on stretchers away. We sailed soon thereafter over calm seas but not soon enough to get us to Punta Arenas on time.

The sun rose today on a very beautiful crisp day. A flat sea, majestic snow covered mountains looking much like iridescent transparent glass & fingers of puffy white clouds painted on a gorgeous blue sky.

We had planned to tender in & go with Les & Joyce, Marilyn & Steve, Mike & Linda, Ruth & Carlos Galindo our tour guide on the Punta Arenas ~
“Otway Sound Penguin Rookery Tour”
Email: galindotour@hotmail.com ~ but we did not get the pleasure this time around.

Instead we cruised through the Straits of Magellan & the Beagle Channel & saw majestic beauty including the Cross of the Seas ~ see pictures.

Ushuaia, Argentina~ 2/24/09 (6am-6pm)

Happy Mardi Gras everyone at home!

Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world and one of two main cities on the island territory of Tierra del Fuego. Surrounded on three sides by towering peaks, the city is located on the border of the Beagle Canal and offers unforgettable scenery and a National Park framed by the sea, forests, lakes and mountains. This protected land includes the beautiful Lakes
of Fagnano and Roca and the southernmost sub-Antarctic forests. Once a small fishing village,

Ushuaia is today a welcoming, busy town with a growing population, at present numbering about 50,000 inhabitants. *(see picture I took about 730am of Ushuaia above)

We (Kay, Debbie, Allan, Annie, Shirley, Jean, Jeanette Ruth and I met in the Splendor Lobby at 8am and disembarked soon thereafter.

All of us were layered & bundled up because the ship told us it would be very, very cold & windy here ~ well . . . the sun was out, the sky was a gorgeous clear blue, and the sea was as flat as glass.

We headed towards town and found tethered to the pier several catamarans.

We choose one called Canoero Catamaranes of Ushuaia ~ (http://www.catamaranescanoero.com.ar/) or (reservaslosyamanas@amet.com.ar) or
(tel: 54-02901-433893/15513291) which would take us on a 2.5 hr Beagle Channel Sailing Excursion leaving at 930 am offering the classic Sea Lion Island with a multitude of Cormorants & the Les Esclaireurs Light House for $40.00pp.

This company also has a 6 hr excursion to see all of the above plus the Magellanic Penguin Rookery for $60.00pp.

What was supposed to be a freezing cold day turned out to be the most beautiful crisp day . . . People began to shed jackets, gloves, hats and other layers of clothes and leave them on tables & chairs as the air turned warmer and they all headed outside to the front of the vessel or up above to take a multitude of pictures.

They regularly served us free Mate, Regular Tea or coffee plus jelly filled cookies and coffeecake cut into squares as we slowed and almost stopped to take pictures of the sea lions, cormorants and the Lighthouse as well as most beautiful scenery.

We got great shots of the Carnival Splendor passing it on the way back in to the pier.

Once we disembarked everyone headed off on their to explore this pristine little town on a hill and found a Casino & shops filled with” End of the World” souvenirs, handicrafts, and a most beautiful stone set in all metals called Rhodochrosite. My favorite color was the Rose color.

Ruth made her way pretty good on her scooter ~ Up the steep hill to get to the main street thru town. Most all curbs had ramps but some shops including the internet café had a step up and in so I hurried in to add pictures to our last blog and start the next one. Internet charges here are $3.00 / hr.

A trivia fact about Ushuaia ~ for most of the first half of the 20th century, the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals. The Argentine government set up this prison following the example of the British with Australia or the French with Devil’s Island; escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego was similarly impossible

All passengers did as they were told & boarded the ship getting ready for sail away at 4pm.

We watched from our dining room table as a Princess ship sailed into the Harbor and let down anchor and also saw 2 ice breaker ships heading out to cruise in the Antarctica. Brrrrr!!

And to our surprise ~ you guessed it ~ we were still sitting tethered to the dock until = 11pm. They said there were gale force winds and we were safer staying at the dock than sailing. We were also informed around 9pm that we would be missing our next Port ~ Punta Arenas, Chile and would be getting more time sailing in around & thru the Strait of Magellan with commentary from our Naturalist, Dirk.

2/ 23/ 09 . . . Cape Horn Cruising

Cape Horn Cruising
Named after the city of Hoorn (in the
Netherlands) it is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile. It is widely considered to be the southern tip of South America. Cape Horn is the most southerly of the great capes, and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage; for many years it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world.

At 2pm ~ Goose, our cruise director came on the intercom and told everyone we were on our final approach to Cape Horn.

Ruth and I found a warm seat on the Starboard Side of the Black Pearl Dining Room and watched as we began to see the islands and rocks near Cape Horn and it was thrilling to watch them grow in size and mass as we sailed closer.

About 3pm Goose came on again and told everyone to move to the port side so we could begin to see Cape Horn in the distance looking exactly like the pictures we had pulled up on the internet prior to leaving home.

Here it was the tip of the world, the end of Patagonia, the beautiful and fearsome Cape Horn and here we were beginning to pass it on a beautiful calm day with full view and no signs of danger what so ever. It was wonderful.

"Patagonia" which essentially is the last 1000 miles, north to south of South America which encompasses Argentina on the east and Chile on the west. It is an area roughly 1000 miles long by from 600 miles wide on the northern end down to about 100 miles wide on the southern end and is as barren and wild throughout as land can get on this earth with territory ranging from the almost tundra like land near Puerto Madryn to interior desert like land and some rainforest to the extremely high and rugged mountains of the Andean Range slopping down to the more livable region of middle Chile and the uninhabitable region of lower Chile except for small areas such as Ushuaia, Argentina and Punta Arenas, Chile.

Not long after 330pm we were close in (within a mile) to the actual Rock called "CAPE HORN". We could see the statue of the Albatross, Lighthouse and the Chilean Flag flying overhead.

The Captain sailed around Cape Horn Island leaving the Atlantic Ocean and crossing into the Pacific Ocean then around to the Atlantic Ocean once more.

One of our lifeboats was dropped down and a few officers went over to procure a stamp denoting our sailing around the Horn from the Chilean Officials for the ship and our certificates we will receive later on. The winds were 57 knots and swells were 15 feet.

Sometimes you could see clearly and at other times the fog and mist obliterated all.

Around 4pm we headed up to the Lido to see what the Salsas 49ers were up to and found a few of our folks who will now forever be known as the “Polar Bear Club” braving the cold wind and rain and sitting in the Jacuzzi!

We stayed inside where it was warm and continued to watch as the Captain and the Chilean pilot steered the ship toward Drakes Passage where we will drop anchor near Ushuaia at 12M.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina~ 2/21/09

We docked early and were cleared for tours & passengers to disembark between 7 & 8am.

We met Shirley, Annie and Alan and finally got Ruth and her scooter off a very slender, steep and bumpy gangway even though officers told us they thought it may be too steep . . . Where there is a will there is a way!

Then we inspected all the free shuttle buses & decided the littlest one would work the best . . . so we waited & waited & waited for it to return.

The city of Puerto Madryn lies in the northeastern region of the province of Chubut, on the wshores of Golfo Nuevo. Founded on 28th July 1865 when 150 Welch immigrants arrived. The port is named in honor of Sir Jones – Parry whose estate in Wales was named “Madryn.” Today it is an important centre for tourists visiting the natural attractions of the Peninsula Valdez and coast plus a major port for aluminum processing & fishing.

The main places to see in Puerto Madryn are 1) Punta Loma: a sea lion rookery, 2) Peninsula Valdez: a UNESCO World Heritage Natural Reserve & 3) Punta Tombo ~ the biggest continental penguin rookery. To get there you drive over & back on dusty, bumpy roads & then a fairly long walk over sand & aggregate – which we elected not to do at this port. Information, prices & reservations for these tours can be found at http://www.southernstargroup.com.ar/ or southernstargroup@gmail.com.

3 km south of the city is the Puerto Madryn Eco Center with a $6 entry fee & an Oceanography & Natural Science Museum with a $2 entry fee.

Once the little shuttle appeared a young good looking Puerto Madryn man picked up Ruth & placed her in the seat in the bus while I assisted the driver with putting the scooter in the back trunk.

Once our group was boarded onto the shuttle they let the passenger line fill in the rest of the seats & we drove toward the beach on a very long pier that passengers & crew were absolutely not allowed to walk on & turned left & soon thereafter we were paralleling the beach.

It was about 15 min drive to the shuttle stop of downtown. Along the opposite side of the beach were many very nice handicraft stores where they sold Leather goods, Wine, Alpaca wool Indigenous Artwork, Patagonia wool clothing, silver & an assortment of Mate cups & Bombilla spoons.

I found an internet café that sold time for $1/hr & I even got change back from my $1.

All street curbs had ramps but many stores had a step up to get in. In the middle of town was a very modern 2 story mall.

We walked southwest into the city about 2 blocks to a open air marketplace in a park where the trinkets were much less expensive than the stores across from the beach & you began to notice more & more trash left laying around on the ground.
Shirley waited in a long line to have a local finger artist paint a tile in 3 min for her ~ the Orsono volcano, penguins and a hungry orca were displayed! It turned out beautiful.

Around 3pm we were on our same little free shuttle headed back to the ship.