He was requesting us to come to the Bridge for a kind of meet and greet. It also asked us not to speak about this to anyone as he could not have all 3500 passengers asking to visit the Bridge.
As it was, we needed to have Security (two officers) meet us outside the Bridge Entrance on Deck 14. After passing through several locked checkpoints we were led onto the vast Bridge where the Captain was waiting for us.
Backstory.
In the beginning of the Cruise I had sent a letter (handwritten) to the Captain informing him of my desire to have a meeting with him to discuss his ship-handling experience and to see if he needed any of mine.
No I didn’t!
I did send him that letter though. In it I requested a visit, and it was handwritten! We received a short note in return informing us that we would receive another letter later on informing us of the time and date when we would be able to come to the Bridge.
Back in the day a visit to the Bridge was not that big a deal. Along with a visit to the Engine Room they were fairly common and usually occurred while still in Port. Enter 9/11 and all bets are off.
Finally, our invite came. It was the day before yesterday and the visit was to occur at 10:00 the next morning. Paula needed to exchange her At Sea Bridge (card) Game for an At Sea Bridge Tour.
All I needed to do was show up.
But…. we did not go empty-handed.
A few days before in Ushuaia I had taken a photo of the Majestic Princess with the background being the two identifiable mountains, Mt. Olivia and Cinco Hermanos. They were visible behind the ship. No one else got this photo as it was Gaby, our TBL Guide, that got us to this vantage point. Princess Cruises doesn’t even have this pic! (They do now as I gave the file to our Cruise Director). Anyway, I asked the Photo Dept. guys if they could help me out as I wanted to give it to the Captain. They rushed the order and on our way to the Bridge we picked up an 8×20 wood-block print that we could give to the Captain. It’s the one at the top of this page.
The Tour
The Bridge is gigantic! It is 150’ wide inside and obviously spans the entire width of the ship and then some. This is essential because the Captain needs to be able to see directly fore and aft and straight down when he is docking the ship. Yes, The Captain is the one with his hands on the controls when coming in or out of port.
The Bridge spans the entire width of the ship and then extends outward on each side so the entire boat can be viewed from up there.
The “Watch’ is comprised of four personnel, the Officer of the Deck, the Assistant O.O.D. and two lookouts who spend their entire four-hour watch gazing at the waters around the ship. Yes, even though there are numerous types of radar running at all times, there is no substitute for two pairs of eyes scanning manually.
Here you can see the two Lookouts facing forward. That’s the Officer of the Deck sitting behind them.
I was allowed to take some pics, but no videos were allowed. The following will describe most of everything.
That tiny wheel right in front of that chair is the Ship’s Wheel. It is used just sometimes to steer the ship.
Actually, that little toggle lever that the Captain has his finger on is what steers the ship, just like a video game! There are five (5) different stations that the ship can be controlled by. Three by the main console, and one each in the Port and Starboard wing stations.
This is the crew’s outdoor recreation area. It is not visible from any of the passenger cabins.
This is the Ship’s Bell and it gets used everyday at noontime when the Captain gives his navigational update to all on board.
Here you can see the two redundant stations that the O.O.D. and the Asst. O.O.D. have in front of them. You can also see the electronic charts that can be accessed from anywhere on the Bridge. The Captain has a full instrument cluster in his cabin so that he can monitor anything from in there.
The Captain in front of one of the Bridge control stations.
Here is a photo of Paula, Giuseppe Castellano, and the new Captain.In this one we are out on the Starboard wing, and you can see all the way back past the orange lifeboats to the end of the vessel. That bump-out up top is the Sky Walk on the Lido Deck.
When our Tour was finished we showed the photo of the Ship to the Captain and told him that it was for him and that it was just taken a few days ago in Ushuaia. He appeared to be genuinely grateful.
Maybe that will be my “Get Out Of Jail Free” card the next time they want to throw me into the Brig.
One of the more interesting ports of call on this Cruise is Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. This is the same set of islands that Argentina tried to “annex” back in the early ‘80’s. Not many folks get to visit there as it is definitely not on the regular Cruise Itineraries of most lines. To say that it was one of the highlights of this particular Cruise would be an understatement.
We pulled into the anchorage area right on time, around 0700 which gave the local authorities time to come out to our ship, get the paperwork done, and let us lower the Tenders as this is a Tender Port. We are way too large to fit close to the main harbor of Stanley.
This is where the rub is.
It is a half hour Tender Voyage to reach the Port.
We are anchored in a nice calm deep-enough bay on the lee side of an adjacent spit of land. Stanley is accessed by going through a small strait and then into the larger bay (wider but not deeper) on the other side of the spit.
We were early getting into the meeting area of the ship where we were to receive our “tickets” with our first-come-first-served Tender numbers on them. We were in touch with our Local guide, via WhatsApp, this time from Viator as TBL did not have any Guides on this archipelago. They were ready to get to the Port as soon as I informed them that we were on our way.
Not five minutes later we heard that three-tonal sound that indicates that an announcement is coming next. This is the usual S.O.P. as keeping everyone apprised of our time and situation is quite critical. And it is usually the Captain that come on the system, at least initially, then he turns it over to another “voice” that regularly comes on and announces things like “Tickets with #19 may proceed to the Tender area, have a nice day in Stanley!”
So, when the Captain came on and immediately told us that he had come to the unfortunate conclusion that he needed to cancel that day’s call in Stanley…. well maybe you can sense the obvious disappointment in the ship, but you probably really can’t because unless you were one of the Thousands(?) that were waiting their whole lives to see penguins in the wild, then you really have no idea.
To the uninitiated, who at the time were experiencing the calm waters that we were anchored in, the Captain’s decision was met with incredulity and vocal unpleasantries. The problem was that fetch of water on the other side of the spit that was not in a leeward position at all. In fact, it was directly affected by the winds that we were presently sheltered from, but the Tenders would soon be going, teeth first, into. The chance of getting everyone to shore was indeed possible, the chance of not retrieving everyone at the end of the day (when the winds were forecast to increase significantly) was also extremely possible.
Our ‘anchorage’ spot in the Falkland Islands
Please note the serenity of the surrounding waters. This was our only view of the Falkland Islands. We learned later that only half of the attempted landings here are successful. Misery did not love company.
It was a gutsy call on the Captain’s part. The classic damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario. The easy decision would be to let everyone go out and worry about it later, but the smart decision was the one that was made because as they say when trying to get to the top of mountain…. getting to the summit is optional, getting back down is mandatory.
Anyway, we now have more than the amount of what you may expect of adults ready to burst into tears and that is neither an exaggeration nor is it a comment on anyone’s status as a “grownup”. It just goes to show you the level of anticipation and hopes that were now dashed on the rocky shore that we could see from the ship.
When this occurs, there is another set of consequences that need to be dealt with and I’m not just talking about the refunds of all of the Shore Excursions that were booked. I’m talking about the fact that the crew was anticipating a day when the vast majority of passengers would be ashore, and they had planned accordingly. The daily routine of contests, trivia, lectures, and everything else takes a hiatus on these days. When it suddenly and I mean suddenly takes an about-face, well let’s just say that this is when you get to see what that Cruise Director and his Team, and all of the Dining Personnel are made of because now no one is going ashore, everyone is disappointed and it’s their job to put as many Band-aids on everyone as is needed to quell the rioters.
The crew rose to the occasion as they always do and at least made the day of those captured on board a fun one.
Another aspect of this Missed Port Day was made evident on the next Port Day, two days hence, in Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
You see, there are some Penguins there.
Cute little Magellanic Penguins.
“Mom likes me best!”
And….there are Llamasthere! These are Guanaco/Patagonian Llamas; they are different from their other cousins in the Andes.
Now I knew this, and I also knew that as soon as everyone realized this then the mad race to procure a coveted spot on the already filled Tour Busses would spill over into the Private Tours sector. Armed with this knowledge and having my trusty laptop with me I quickly logged into our TBL account and booked a tour to the Magellanic Penguin Rookery (baby raising!) that is located about two hours south of Puerto Madryn. And this is the time of year that the kiddies are still hanging around the house before they get kicked out into the cruel world.
Successful I was in retaining Alex, one of the TBL guides here in Puerto Madryn.
Successful we were in staking out a strategic Waiting Spot in the Walk-Off area as this was not a tender port, we were actually going to be secured to a Pier. Before we left our stateroom I glanced down at the pier where I saw an unusually large number of buses lined up and waiting (I presumed) to take folks to the same place that we were going to. As it turns out, the demand for additional Penguinos Tickets made the Shore Excursion folks do their best to hire more and more buses to accommodate everyone.
Ouch! That meant that our Private Tour of the little guys was going to be trampled by the masses.
Unless…. we were increasingly strategic and cunning in our efforts to get to Penguin Central first!
Back to our place in line. We thought that we had a great spot. We had arrived early, figured out which way we were to be allowed to disembark, and set ourselves up accordingly.
Until…. Someone (security) came by with those ‘velvet-rope’ stations and proceeded to cordon off our area. The guy behind us raised holy hell to the point where I thought that he may be thrown into the Brig! Paula glanced over to me, and I said lowly, “just stand here and don’t make eye contact.” She nodded. The hope was that when the Go button was pushed, we would just slip by and get out. In the meantime, about twenty (20!) officials from Argentina marched aboard purportedly to “check credentials” and the like. We kept looking at the time because our whole day was depending on us getting off the ship and getting in front of those buses of millions that were waiting to run over us.
Finally, that Tonal Sound emitted from the speakers announcing that the ship had ‘cleared’ immigration and that we were free to go ashore. We never heard the end of that announcement because as soon as it was indicated that the announcement was of a positive nature, the masses pushed forward, and we shot out of the hull like a fire hose on steroids!
Yes! Successful again we were!
We (yes… just us!) were the very first to be jettisoned out onto the pier where we booked it to the mainland about a half mile away! There our trusty Guide, Alex, was waiting for us. He had already known about the newer vast influx of invader species and acted accordingly. Rushing aboard his little Renault, we felt like Luke and Leia strapping themselves into the Millenium Falcon when Han busted them out of the Mos Eisley Spaceport.
We hit the National Road #3 at 120 (kph) and headed south.
Our guy, Alex!
Driving through the heart of Patagonia
We were confident that we would be among the first to arrive at the Punta Tombo Magellanic Penguin Colony. I had planned on telling Alex that I would give him an extra $10.00 for every bus that he passed but our getaway was so successful that that tactic was deemed unnecessary. We shuddered at the thought of wading through hordes of Penguinos Aficionados in order to gain a peek at these little guys.
“But Mom! He hit me first!”
Success(!) does not even come close to the fact that we were the first (by far!) to get to the Sanctuary. Alex’s plan was for us to walk to the end first and then take our time walking back. This was an excellent plan guaranteed to get us the most time with our tiny friends as possible. And it worked great despite that fact that as soon as you hit the trail there were Black and Whites all over the place! Who can resist the impulse to stop and say Hi! to these little guys and snap a few candids! We couldn’t!
Baby Magellanic Penguin (left) with Mom, just outside their burrow.
Mom and two youngin’s
Two adults. They stand about 24′ tall and weigh about 7/8 pounds. They mate for life and come back to the same nest/burrow every year. The male arrives first and awaits the appearance of his partner. We are not sure if they are married as we saw no one around to ‘Officiate’ a wedding.
They arrive in September and the chicks are hatched about a month later with both parents taking care of them. This a snoozer on the nest.
“Hey Bill, where’s Chuck going?” “Not sure Arnie, I’m not a Penguin Prognosticator, I’m a Llama!”
“Hi ya Pete!” “Hi Ralphie, Hey Randall” “Have you seen Chuck?”
“Yea, I think he went down that a way, by the Llamas on the beach, said he wanted to go swimming.”
“Hey Chucky! Keep up will ya! You’re the one that wanted to go swimming!”
“Surfs up!” “Cowabunga dude!”
“I’m outa here!” “Me too!” “Yea, me too, too!” “Ha! what are ya? A ballerina or somethin’? Get it? Tu tu!” (Silence) “Hey Chucky! c’mon, let’s go!”
“I just wanna swim.”
“Maybe I’ll find someone to swim with over here….”
But….. we were sooooo far ahead of the rest of the ship that it made no never mind! We had the entire place to ourselves (as planned!) until we were on our way back and could discern a cloud of tourists on the horizon but by then we had had our fill, were sated nicely, and could now walk past (almost!) the cutest ones with impunity while the others were busy gawking (as we had!) at the first ones they came across.
This is a Chimango Caracara, a raptor in the Falcon family, endemic to South America.
Ditto
What is fascinating about these little guys is that they could care less if we came or went. They were thoroughly unfazed with our presence and the fact that their breeding colony is historically stabile would suggest that our proximity has no bearing on their living here. This Preserve has been here for 52 years and so we can assume that there have been several generations of penguins that have come to just ignore us and go about their business. They breed at about six years of age and have two eggs per year. The rules are strict, no touching (although they do come close enough for petting) and stay on the pathway (but there are burrows directly next to it).
Our next step was to get some lunch at their little deli/grill, and this was also successful as no one from the buses would dare to stop before going Penguin Watching! We had this place to ourselves also. Our first and only problem occurred next as since we were the first to arrive, we were the first to park, which would not normally be an issue except where do you fit 20 billion other vehicles when they arrive after you? Yes! Behind you and in between you and the exit, with buses parking willy-nilly as space allowed (and there was no ‘space’!)
By the time we had lunch and got into the car, all of the rest of the ‘parking area’ that you can see was jammed with more buses!
Had Alex’s car been any larger we would still be there.
About eleven years ago a skeleton of the largest dinosaur that ever lived was found near the town of Trelew, Province of Chabut, here in Patagonia. This is a replica of what it was thought to look like. The scale is accurate. That is Paula standing between the E and the L, she is not a dinosaur nor is she extinct.
To say that this day will go down in history is an understatement.
Whenever there is something of significance that needs to be announced to the entire ship, we hear a introductory three-tonal sound before the actual announcement commences. This is used for many different scenarios; General Announcements for the day, daily Noontime Updates on our position, reminders about special events taking place during the day, and of course any Safety Related Issues.
We left Ushuaia at around 1800 hours and with needing to proceed at a measured pace (mostly slow because we were still in the relatively narrow Beagle Channel) our ETA at Cape Horn was supposed to be at 0700 the next morning. We could have arrived there earlier, but time was built in because ‘rounding the Horn is one of those important nautical mileposts. I have a new friend on board, and he has his Certificate Card that he earned back in ’63 when he was on the carrier USS Ranger, and they went around. So having this Event on this Cruise was obviously one of its highlights, best be performed when your fare-paying passengers can witness it rather than at 0300 when only the Bridge and the All Night Buffet are awake.
The currents are tricky down there and the meeting waters of the South Atlantic, South Pacific, and Southern Oceans is in constant flux as none of these three siblings get along with each other.
Coming out of one of the smaller feeder channels that lead out to the Cape we could feel the effects of our position in the gradually increasing rocking of the ship. The Stabilizers were out but they can only do so much, and they are not any good when strategic handling is needed for safe navigation.
A few more miles to go and we could feel the strength of the wind picking up and this has an enormous effect on us as most of our silhouette is above the water making our superstructure act more like a sail than anything else. This ship is equipped with all of the latest handling gear needed, especially the bow and stern thrusters which have an enormous (positive) effect on handling when going slow. This worked to our advantage as the visibility was not good and even though we have several radar screens to use, roaring through these waters is unadvised.
Shortly before that 0700 proposed meeting of us and the Horn, that aforementioned Announcement Tone was heard throughout the ship.
It was the Captain.
(He has a cool Italian accent)
“Ah…Ladies and Gentlemen” (he always begins that way) “We are coming up on our intersection with Cape Horn and the reports that we are getting from the automated weather station on the Cape is that we will be experiencing winds of 35 to 45 knots, with gusts to almost 65 knots. The seas are currently running at about 18 to 24 feet and are forecasted to remain there. Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you that the Majestic Princess can withstand those conditions like it was a toy in the bathtub, we are in no danger whatsoever…… but I would be remiss in my duties if I did not inform you and ask you all to please put on your life vest found in your staterooms. I will keep you informed of anything out of the ordinary so in the meantime, please stay inside and off the decks and get ready for the excitement of your lives! Ciao for now”
Most people stayed in their staterooms and watched from the safety of their closed door leading to their balconies. Those with inside staterooms gathered up on Deck 16 in the World Marketplace eating/buffet area. This has floor to ceiling windows.
The bow (you can see part of the Crew’s Recreation Area) as seen from the Deck 16 Forward Observation Area.
As we got closer to the Horn, the effects of those gusting winds could be felt around the ship. We were effectively rolling (obviously!) and pitching up and down as we went bow-first into the waves! That Emergency Claxon that we’re now all-too familiar with started sounding its ominous tones
It was that or Paula shaking me, “You fell back asleep! Quick, you’re gonna miss us rounding the Horn!”
Jumping up I grabbed my camera which I had already pre-set and turned on and ran to the sliding door of our room!
The scene outside was unbelievable!!!!
I kid you not.
The London Times had headline that day.
Cape Horn Weather Today Set An All-Time Record for Tranquility
Coming into Ushuaia, nestled at the base of the Southern Andes.
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world.
There are a few “settlements” that are a little further south, but that is really all that they are. That is what Gaby, our wonderful Tours by Locals Guide, informed us and she hadn’t led us astray at any point, so I believe her (plus I checked our map!).
It is also a part of Argentina, not Chile.
I told you that I have this mental block on the pronunciation to the point where my Fellow Traveler is ready to throw me over an Andean cliff. Thankfully Gaby realized that that would be bad for business and quickly came to my rescue with a lesson on how not to put a sh sound into what was quite obvious to me as being needed (according to the spelling!) Plus, we need to add a random Emotional Support W thrown in just in case.
So, here is the Official Pronunciation:
Ooo – swyi – a
Not…. You–shoe-aye-ee–aah (or something just as tongue twisting.)
Now that we can walk the streets and not sound like a fool, we’re ready for our Tour of the area. I asked Gaby to get us out of town and see the back areas of this extraordinary region, and that she did! Everywhere you turn here is another incredible scene laid out before you to the point where my photos all looked the same because every time we rounded a bend or stopped the car the scene in front of us was really beautiful.
I know that I’ve got the wrong mountain range….. but doesn’t this remind you of something that would be in James Hilton’s Lost Horizon? It is, in fact, the Arakur Ushuaia Resort…. maybe another reason to return?
We were told that we were lucky that the weather was so nice. I guess that the weather down here resembles England or some other place that conjures up visions of dreary wetness. You will be able to see all of this in the photos as cloudy would be an understatement, but rainy it was not, hence the thankfulness! But unfortunately for Mr. Pixel Light Sensor in my camera it was an issue as gray skies and gray mountains are challenge for him (sigh). These are the kinds of issues that make me want to make return trips to places when the weather is just a little more cooperative because I just know that as majestical as these mountains are now, can you even imagine what they would look like on a bluebird-sky day? Well, you will have to because I’m not sure that a return trip down here is in the offing anytime soon…… unless…….
Just behind the city lie the two signature mountains. Mt. Olivia on the left and the Cinco Hermanos (Five Brothers) slightly behind and to the right.
Note the trees in this pic and how they are all bent (growing) to the left because of the winds here. Ushuaia is one of the (constant) windiest places on the planet. Of course.… It was dead calm when we were there.
Off we went up and into the center of the Andes that hover over this entire area. We are down at the tip of South America and as such the landmass gets narrower and narrower, but the mountains keep coming, consequently their domination of the region.
A view looking northward into the heart of the Andes
Mount Olivia….. 4420′ in elevation. The tree lines down here are not defined by thin air as they are back home in say, the Rockies. These tree lines are much lower and are the consequences of snow, wind, and rocky soil keeping the vegetation much lower than what we are used to seeing.
Far back behind Ushuaia and up in the hills, in the lake region. Yes, that is Gaby and Paula. Note tree line on the mountain behind, left.
One of several waterfalls in the area. It seems that no matter where we go waterfalls are the hit of the trail. Everybody wants to see waterfalls! When we get back to Texas, I’m going to get some big equipment and move some serious dirt, make a waterfall using gigundo pumps, and open up Don’s Waterfall Paradise and make a killing!
This was the route of the Pan-American Highway. It has since been rerouted.
To the upper road in this pic. Not quite as hair-pinny! Note the lower one was the older route
Another example of a more normal route of the Pan-American Highway which stretches from Alaska to the very tip of South America.
Ushuaia is the jumping off spot for may an expedition to Antarctica as its proximity to that continent makes it logistically and strategically easier. From major scientific expeditions down to adventure-seeking specialist voyages, Ushuaia has everything that you would need to outfit these. There are major outdoor retailers in town, gear stores, and great guide services.
Off they go! There are about ten Zodiac inflatable boats lashed on the stern of this adventure expedition boat.
But it’s not just Antarctica that draws people down here, the place is jam-packed with incredible trekking, hiking, and high elevation climbing, and it is easy to see why. Equipped with a new modern airport and of course a great maritime presence, it is not difficult to get here. We were thinking of driving the Motorhome down here until we saw the Pan-American highway winding its way through the Andes,,,,,, 0ops! No thank you!
We had a great time with Gaby learning about her life down here, Argentina’s pluses and minuses and she in turn asked great questions about life in the States. You would be surprised at how much other populations follow what goes on back home, or maybe you wouldn’t…… considering our habit of making a daily news cycle! This is just one of the reasons that we like this way of traveling, there is no better way to get a quick snapshot of an area than a one-on-one, several hours long, getting-to-know-you experience.
I will leave you with a photo of what the townspeople get to stare at every day as it is directly across the Beagle Channel from them. Aren’t they lucky?
Now if this isn’t Scenic Cruising, I don’t know what is!
Well….. maybe this one qualifies?
One of the big draws to this cruise was the “Scenic Cruising” in Chile along Glacier Alley, the Chilean Fjords, and around Puerto Montt.
First, we must practice how to pronounce the word Glacier.
To the uninitiated, you may think that it would sound like glay-shur.
Hah!
Since we are all cultured here and have all graduated (with Honors) from the Galactic University of Higher Learning, Earth Campus, and even though those credentials may be suspect, we should at least sound like we are snickery-smart! So, from now on we will pronounce the word that conjures up images of the Ice Planet of Hoth, as glaah-see-ur….. as in sounding like a graduate of Cambridge or Oxford.
Try it.
Glaaah-see-ur……
See?
Now, don’t you feel like going on Jeopardy?
Now that we are all so educated we also know that there are about 200,000 glaciers in the world and that the vast majority of them are in Antarctica and Greenland. And quite a few of us have taken advantage of the Field Trip and Outside Learning Opportunities for undergrads and have been on Expeditions, mainly to Alaska on one of those Sometimes Learning, Always Gambling, and Eating Fancy Floating Hotel Resorts that regularly ply those waters in the Summer. Some of us (Karen!) have even been to Antarctica to gather facts and souvenirs to bring back for Show ‘n Tell. (This is only for those who are working on their Doctorates in Penguinolgy and Glacierwatchingology.)
Our particular Field Trip was quite successful when it came to Glacial Inventory and V.E.M.B.S. (Very Early Morning Breakfast Snacks) The latter were needed because our Floating Classroom always came upon Items of Interest very early in the morning.
Amalia Glacier with Keen Observers
The first Big Item was the Amalia Glacier which comes right down into the fjord. This allowed the Ship to cruise as close to the Glacier as was permitted. Since we were the only ship there we were able to stay and actually perform a 360 degree turn as if there was an axis protruding from the center of the ship. The Amalia is about a half mile wider than the Mendenhall in Alaska (for comparison purposes) coming in at two miles wide and thirteen miles long. I mentioned that it sits on a fjord, one of the many in this part of Chile. Most “real” fjords exist only in Iceland, Greenland, New Zealand, Chile, and of course, Norway. There are specific criteria that pertains to fjords and their designation as such. They must be longer than they are wide, and the sides need to descend down into the water, with no real “beaches” or land protruding. Suffice to say that these waterways down here are considered the real deal and are quite spectacular in their own right. Throw in a few glaciers and we’ve got a real winner of a visit to this region.
Paula taking notes on the obvious characteristics of a fjord, but this one gets her extra credit because it has a Glacier working its way forward.
Two more!
Even way up high…. these may never get to the fjords, but they are still glaciers.
I mentioned yesterday that getting the Posts written in a timely manner with all of the excursions and early morning “drive-bys” of Natural Wonders of Highly Significant Interest happening was hard to do. For example, the Amalia Glacier was booked for a 6:00 am arrival and even though we were scheduled to hang around for a bit, the excitement on board was palpable and most folks were lining the rails as we approached it. The rail up on Deck 16 was jammed three deep so I retreated to a more suitable position on Deck 7, technically the Promenade Deck.
Inch by inch, step by step our Glacier du Jour is searching for its ultimate genesis….. water!
Success! It just goes to show you that slow and steady wins the race! But, in our cases, glacially slow may be a bit overdoing that example!
The view was a little bit lower than from the top but there was practically no one there so I had the run of the rail and used that to my advantage as I did not need to jettison anyone overboard (and get thrown in the Brig for a third time!) There were small chunks of the glacier that had fallen off the main body. This process is called calving and is quite spectacular and dangerous when larger pieces let go of Mama. Luckily for us all we had were small, floating Bergie Bits, no large icebergs or anything dangerous.
A nice view of the “Bergie Bits” floating willy-nilly around Mom. When you think about it, the bottom layers of a glacier contain snow from thousands of years ago so that stratification that shows up as dirty “bands” is fallout from the atmosphere from a long time ago and that in itself holds clues about past climates, etc.
The day after Punta Arenas whilst on our way to Ushuaia, the furthest south city in the world, we sailed through a slot called Glacier Alley where we saw five or so other glaciers in different states of being. Remember it’s the start of the summer season down here and/but there is still snow on the mountains even though those mountains are not even 3000 feet above sea level. This “event” commenced around 05:30 and was in full swing at 07:00. We passed glacier after glacier down here, some more spectacular than others, but that is to be expected. For those of you that have been on the Alaska Field Trip you will know what I mean!
That classic blue tint that is inherent to glaciers was present in some of them and I suspect that if we had a sunnier day then we would have seen even more. That bluish tint/look that is characteristic to glaciers comes from the light that “escapes” from the ice. Sunlight wavelength’s longer than blue tend to get trapped in the ice while the shorter, bluer wavelengths can wiggle through and escape to be “seen”. The examples are fascinating and kind of eerie in a way as they almost “glow” with that blueish tint. Think of the ice as assort of vice-principal prism/filter that separates the light’s wavelengths and lets the blue ones out for recess while holding all the others in for a detention. We don’t care because we like the Blue Kids better anyway!
Crazy how light makes that “Blue”
That is water pouring out from under that glacier
The rest of the day is what this industry terms “Scenic Cruising” instead of another Day at Sea and we couldn’t agree more!
Sailing in the Beagle Channel towards the port of Ushuaia. It is not named for Snoopy; it is named for Charles Darwin’s ship the HMS Beagle
Ditto
Like a mirror
Towards the end of the day
Good night from the Southern Andes and the Beagle Channel
On to Ushuaia which I can neither pronounce correctly nor spell, so be prepared for another Phonics lesson!
Some waterfront buildings in Punta Arenas with tastefully done murals.
This one is very clever as everything that you see is actually painted on the side of a building!
It’s been a busy few days down here in Chile and Argentina. Lots of Photo Ops at crazy hours because that’s when the Ship sailed by them! This severely impacted my “work” time as these times were early in the morning. Toss is a string of Excursions, and you may be able to see why I’m so far behind!
It seems that most cities down here have a convenient “Photo Op” spot so when in Rome…..
Anyway, I need to go back to Christmas Eve and our visit to Punta Arenas, Chile. I’m going to have to admit to you that this particular day was a little disappointing and it all started about a month ago when our Tours by Locals guide either realized that they should have made themselves “unavailable” for that day because even though they gave us a month’s notice (and TBL did work overtime trying to find a replacement) no one made themselves available to us. We ended up booking with Viator, another private tour organizer. The difference is that we got an employee of a Tour Operator rather than a Guide Owner which is what TBL Guides are, they own their business and use TBL as a broker and coordinator of sorts, which accounts for the superb service that we always get.
Nicholas was our Guide for the day and at all of his 26 years of age, did a fine job of escorting us around his city and environs. Nicholas was very proud of the efforts made by the local government to rehabilitate older sections of industrial areas and convert them into usable spaces for public enjoyment.
A more modern piece representing the world and sailing ships
A monument to the first Chileans to arrive here and claim the area for Chile.
Punta Arenas is not that old a city. Most of the early settlers were here in the mid-1800’s and as usual the first thing that it was used for was a penal colony. It seems that quite a few of the further-reaches outposts were genesisized by this need/method. In time everybody made nice and just kicked the can further down the coast to the next, “Hey! Let’s keep ‘em here! Nobody wants to be here!” spot on the map until the previous scenario repeated itself several times until they ran out of continent!
Punta Arenas soon became a coal stop for the steam powered ships of its time. Coal was discovered just north of here and quickly it became one of the largest industries, practically taking over the waterfront, sharing it of course with the fishing fleet of the day. Nowadays the Waterfront is filled with esplanades, monuments, and gathering places for everyone in the city. According to Nicholas, coming down here with your family is one of the favorite things for the peeps to do.
This is the last remanent of the railroad that brought the coal down to the waterfront for the steam-powered ships of the day.
We then ventured further into the City, stopping at the Place de Armas, which every city has one of. This is the central plaza and is always dedicated to the Military hence the name, Place de Armas. The central statue/monument is a representation of Magellan and since Punta Arenas sits directly on the Strait of Magellan seems aptly named. The trees here are both gorgeous and on the older side, some of which are several hundred years old, even though they are not possessing a diameter of greatness. (I can’t believe that I just wrote that like I am translating speaking different language!) Suffer through it you must!
Using my finger for scale, note the narrowness of the growth rings. This is how a tree hundreds of years old can be still on the ‘slim’ side.
In the center town square.
Another monument to Mr. Magellan. The Mermaid has two tails representing the bottom of South America and the two Oceans that are joined there.
Apparently one of Punta Arenas most popular tourisimo atractiones is the local cemetery. I must admit that it is quite unlike anything that we have ever seen and is rather remarkable in its design and mission. The photos will explain better than I can….. all I can add is that the result of this planning was surprisingly successful because as we walked through the paths surrounded by these trees of privacy, one felt rather isolated and I dare say serene, all at the same time. It was unique to say the least.
Some mausoleums are quite ornate
These crazy-manicured trees (?) provided privacy, intimacy, wind shelter, and “roads’ all at the same time.
In this case the tree grew up and needs to have a ‘tunnel’ cut into it for access to this one.
Rows, and rows, and rows…..
Some are from well-to-do families…. ornate doors, stained glass windows inside, and are obviously cared for regularly.
While others lie here unattended and forgotten.
Our last spot required a ride quite a way out of town along the coast road which was a nice respite from the city. Our destination was the first fort in the area, and it was easy to see why this location was initially chosen as the view of the Strait was unequalled by anywhere else in the region. The fort was erected in 1844 and was rehabilitated one hundred years later in 1944. That in itself, at 80 years old, made everything look as if it was from back when it was first constructed.
The coast road to the fort and as you can see these flowers (Lupin) grow everywhere!
This white one is an Invasive Species
I probably took twenty pics of these!
Yes, this day was a little dreary and drizzly at times, but it actually added to the feeling of remoteness that the original settlers must have experienced here.
Our four hours flew by, and we eventually ended up back at our ship. A Feliz Navidad to Nicholas and his driver were warmly returned to us and even though the day was not what we initially thought that we were going to have, we learned that just about any experience given by a local person who is proud of their home can end up being a very satisfying day. Nicholas received a very nice review from us as he certainly deserved it.
The Ship and Crew do a wonderful job of decorating. The other day there was a Gingerbread House making/decorating contest with over 30 teams/houses being completed. Judging was done by the Staff including the Captain! They are all here displayed for everyone’s enjoyment.
That Red #12 Bus Tour was the last of the Big Group Tours that we had booked. The rest are private tours, either with Tours byLocals or Viator. This will help make everything a bit more personal and we will probably learn a lot more details about where we are going and what we see.
In the meantime, I have selected some random pics that I’ve taken over the last few days.
Commentary has been added for your amusement.
I guess that the line in Big Yellow Taxi by Joanie Mitchell can be applied here….
You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone….
The converse of that may be true also.
If you’ve never had it, then it is impossible to miss it.
Some things stick out and smack you in the face when traveling to, in and around, and from places other than the ones which are familiar to us…… so let’s throw Joanie in here and add that consequences can go both ways. We usually conjure up thoughts of negative consequences when the subject comes up but when you think of it, the possibility of positive consequences is equally available. Most of the time it’s just our perspective.
Another anachronism from the past goes like this…. be careful what you wish for….
If you mix all of these ingredients together and don’t have an agenda, then just realizing that they are there becomes the reality of this example.
Ok Donny, you’ve definitely been hanging out in the Engine Room sniffing the degreasers…..What in the name St. Verbose and all that’s wordy are you even talking about?
I’m going to great lengths to try and make sure everyone understands that I am not judging here, not one little, teeny-tiny bit, I’m just observing. See photos and observations below.
The Great What’s Going On Here Caper
These examples of Wires Gone Bad are from some recent visits to Mexico, Peru, and Chile. They beg the question, Who’s in charge of Utilities and the like? The answer (without much research on my part) is obviously no one! This is an example of ZERO overreach by a Government. Is it Good? In some cases, we all wish that Government interference(?) in our daily lives could recede a click or two…. But in these examples? There 2.7 million independent cable service providers in these parts, everyone running their own lines! Is this good? Maybe…… maybe not. Only you can be the judge.
Here is a case of Walker Beware. This is just one of over twenty on this street alone that had these ornamental planting boxes recessed about four inches down. One must be extremely careful when walking on these streets. Holes like this abounded and you can add in metal rebar pieces sticking up out of concrete and other hazards that would never be tolerated in the States. Again, should this be a case of folks needing to be personally aware of their surroundings and have some accountability for themselves? Not watching where you are going? Good Luck! Or is it the responsibility of government to ensure that hazards like these are nonexistent.That fine line between overreach and personal freedom is, like many things, a matter of perspective…… and of course debate.Which, of course, I am not inviting. Remember these are just observations! Maybe having a set of regulations in one area may not work in another. This is where learning about others and their culture, and preferences, helps make Travel so interesting!
On to stuff that’s way more mundane!
Well, the Mill Pond has ceased to exist! While this photo does not quite do this scenario justice as we are probably 40′ above the water here, you can see that the white-caps are abundant and the waves a tad tumultuous. The only negative here is that the Stabilizers are working magnificently!
As of yesterday, this was our position. We were in a fjord at the end of which was a pretty cool glacier. More to come on that, but here’s a sneak peek!
That’s the Amalia Glacier looking over our shoulders. More pics when I get them ready. Today is Punta Arenas, one of the spots where our little Tuxedoed Friends, the penguins (!) start showing up in abundance!
From down here in Penguin Paradise Paula and I wish you all a peaceful holiday season…. Kwanza, Hanukkah, and Christmas all bring the message of Peace on Earth, Good will to Everyone to the forefront.
Mt. Osorno and the ‘active’ Mt. Calbuco, early morning as we came into the harbor.
The largest recorded earthquake (in modern times?) was here in Chile on May 22, 1960, which was rated a 9.5, and it lasted for an incredible 10 minutes! Since then, almost every year has had an earthquake, and they are all registered at over a 7.0! So why was I surprised to find a string of volcanos down here just inside the coast?
Because I never put two and two together to come up with an 8.5! Of course volcanoes and earthquakes are related! Don’t worry, I am not going to launch into another diatribe of Mr. Plate Tectonics and his Friends, I’ve bored you all enough with that while on the World Cruise. But nevertheless, here we are in one of the most “active” regions on the planet.
Since we were basically clueless to just about everything having to do with Chile, we chose Excursions that sounded like fun. So, Volcanoes, Waterfalls, and Lunch! sounded just right.
We pulled into Puerto Montt, a small city on an inland bay that served as our starting point. This was the first of (too) many Ports where we will need to use the Tenders to get back and forth from the dock to the ship. We were strategic members of the illustrious Red 12 (stickered) group. This was a popular activity because we found out that there were groups from Red 9 all the way through to Red 13 who all had the same itinerary, thankfully on different buses!
Our Chariot
The competition was fierce between all of us as the drivers maneuvered themselves around jockeying for position, trying their best to have their respective Group arrive at the destinations first (assuring themselves of good tips!) We were highly successful in this endeavor as Francisco (our driver) managed to squeeze through impossible opportunities on the highway and we only needed to knock two of the other buses off the road. One ended up in a ravine but thankfully all passengers escaped with only minor injuries. On the plus side, we were able to snag their desserts from lunch since they were all at the hospital.
Our first stop was the Osorno Volcano which resembles either Mt. Fuji or Mt Kilimanjaro depending on whether you favor Japan or Tanzania. It has that classical conical volcano shape to it, see photo!
Classic shape
Osorno has an elevation of 8,701 feet and because of its location in the Lake Region, the surrounding area is rather flat assuring those around it with a 360-degree view. It is still considered one of the more active volcanoes in the Southern Andes with the last eruption happening in 1869. But the previous 300 years had it erupting eleven times helping it attain that ranking. Today Mt. Osorno is a popular skiing mountain as there is snow on its higher levels twelve months out of the year. Hiking and regular sightseeing round out the reasons for the rest of us to come here. The views are spectacular as to the south you can see right into the backbone of the southern Andes.
This is the second day of Summer down here!
You-know-who with an all-year-’round cement you-know-who
Local inhabitant.
Looking down the backbone of the Southern Chilean Andes
Path to the End of the World
On the other side of it however, you can see Mt. Calbuco which last erupted in 2015. No one was hurt, but it was quite spectacular as Chloe (our guide) was present and snapped a photo of it that she shared with all of us. This event was totally by surprise and illustrates the unpredictability of our ever-changing tectonic activity. I was lucky and found this one on the internet and it resembles Chloe’s almost exactly.
Spectacular and scary all at the same time
Present day Mt. Calbuco, east side
Same, but closer and from the western side
Our next stop was to get us even closer to Mt. Calbuco as the Petrohue River winds its way around its base and is quite spectacular in its color, clarity, and nature. Waterfalls abound and this entire area is accessible to most folks as it is now one the regions favorite Parks.
Mineral content gives the water that color
And this is the ‘Dry’ Season!
Two views for the price of one!
Back in the mid/late 1800’s the Chilean government passed a curious law entitled the Law of Selective Immigration and its goal was to encourage immigrants of a medium social/high class cultural development to colonize areas of Chile, one of which was this local Lake Region. The results were that they had small towns and the like resembling areas such as Bavaria and the Black Forest in all aspects, including traditions, architecture, and industries. Today there are about 20,000 folks in Chile that still speak German and there are German schools and publications in these regions.
Puerto Varas is one of the towns in the Lake Region sitting on the shores of a huge (215,000 acres) lake, Lake Llanquihue (pronounced yzan-kew-ee according to the Magic Translate Person inside Google). I suspect that it, and the town, would have more German-sounding names if the immigration had preceded the already established town and area!
About one quarter of Lake Llanquihue
Our lunch was at the Buena Vista Hotel which lived up to its name as it was directly on the shore of the lake with Mt. Osorno sitting firmly on the horizon. The entire town had a European feel to it, particularly the buildings which resembled chalets and the like.
A modern ‘Chalet’
This is an example of a German Christmas Tree display for a Town Square on the left, that’s Paula on the right.
Another one, these are put up and sponsored by local civic/business groups.
An old-school hand carved German Nativity. Baby Doggie will need to move in a few days when Baby Jesus comes along!
Local craftsmen Christmas Market.
We were informed before we left the ship in the morning that the last Tender would depart the Town Dock at 4:00pm as the ship was to sail shortly thereafter. When we were on the bus Chloe asked when the last boat back to the ship was and she was told 4:00 pm to which she replied, “Good, we will leave Puerto Varas at 3:30, it takes a half hour to make that distance.”
That would be fine if everything else was equal but (here it comes!) all of the other Excursions did exactly the same thing!
Oops! this is not good!
When we arrived at the dock there were probably close to 2000 passengers in line waiting for the Tenders.
It was 3:59 pm.
Oops – Oops!!
There is no way to transport 2000 people, 150 at a time, across a half-mile of water in less than one minute! It would take the Starship Enterprise and a very quick-thinking Mr. Scott longer than that to beam everyone aboard in time!
Oops-Oops -Oops!!!
…. ah… forget about it! They can’t leave with that many of us still on shore…. Very, very bad press would be someone’s legacy!
So, gradually we all made it back to the ship and as the last tender was being hoisted up and into its berth, the Captain put the petal to the metal (so to speak) gunned the throttles and burned rubber all the way out of the harbor.
The townsfolks thought that the volcano had erupted once more as the smoke from our getaway is still hanging there.
It is a fact that the coldest temperature ever recorded is on the East Antarctic Plateau and that temperature is a whopping minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit!
So why in the name of all that’s freezer-burned are you traveling down that way at this time of year? It’s almost Christmas, it’s snowing here, and the days are getting shorter and shorter!
I’m glad you asked that Mr. Popsicle!
Remember, everything down here is reversed! The Winter in the Southern Hemisphere starts on June 21st, and the summer starts on December 21st! Which means that our brains are going kerflooey with trying to wrap themselves around the fact that we usually associate DecemBrrrrr……… with COLD! But here we are only a few days away from what is usually the shortest daylight day of the year, and now we’re experiencing another Longest Day! (We already had ours back in June, so this is quite the treat, and we feel very selfish that we get TWO of these days this year!)
Down here we’re tilted towards the sun while all you guys are far, far, far, away from the sun!
By the time that we round Cape Horn at a latitude 56 degrees SOUTH latitude (the equivalent spot up north is Copenhagen, Denmark and Omsk, Russia) so you can see that as far south as we are, there’s still plenty of distance to cover before we’d hit the South Pole.
Just a hop, skip, and jump and we’d be there!
Now, to give you a bit of perspective…. the tip of Cape Horn is as far away from the South Pole as NYC is from San Francisco! But….. the Drake Passage is only around 600 miles wide, so in theory, Cape Horn is only 600 miles from the nearest part of Antarctica which makes it a little easier for “Explorer” type passenger ships to bring fare-paying Adventure Passengers to Antarctica! (I am trying to convince the Captain to blow off the rest of the Itinerary and take us there so that we can ‘March with the Penguins’!
I’ll get thrown in the Brig….. again.
I can see the headlines now…… 3500 travelers stranded at the bottom of the world after crazed passenger hijacks the Majestic Princess in order to “get to Antarctica!”
My daughter Lorelyn once told me that one of her criteria for deciding whether to do something (or not!) was how was it going to read in the morning papers…..
Hmm….maybe we could just do a “drive-by”?
By the time that you read this we will have experienced our Longest Daylight Day. It was yesterday and we had an excursion to some volcanoes and waterfalls in Puerto Varas, Chile. To give you a brief preview all I will say is that it was Magnificent(!) and that that particular Post is just waiting to be written, all of the photos have been assembled and are just itching to be shown…… soon!
Sneak Peek (or Peak!)
It was still daylight when I went to bed last night and it’s almost daylight now, so I’d better get a move on here… in the immortal words of John Wayne,
“C’mon boys, we’re burnin’ daylight!”
And as much of that as we have, I don’t want to waste one little minute!
The Captain deserves a Standing Ovation for his close quarters maneuvering yesterday. We were in San Antonio Chile, which is the Port for Santiago, Chile’s capital and largest city. This was (as usual) a Container Port and was busy as such.
A few days ago, there was a segment of “Crew Call” with the Captain which was held in the theater because of its popularity. He explained a lot about being at Sea and other aspects of his job and its duties. There was a Q & A at the end. During this time, we learned that he prefers to back into a berth (if he is allowed) and that he, in fact, does bring the Ship in and out of Port.
The “pilot” comes on board right before entering the administrative zone of a harbor and is there strictly to assist in the safe navigation of the harbor. The Pilot knows the local waters, and any of the dangers, both recent and permanent, that lay submerged under the water. The Captain retains full command of his vessel at all times. He can choose to override any of the “suggestions” that the Pilot may have, but he or she best be sure because if they are wrong, and have gone against the Pilot’s recommendations, and it results in an issue, they can kiss their careers goodbye.
There is only one place in the world where a Captain relinquishes command of his vessel and that is for a Panama Canal Transit. And after seeing what this encompasses on our World Cruise, you can understand the highly technical nature of this maneuvering demands an experienced Canal Navigator in charge.
On to yesterday!
We were berthed as far into Port as is possible, bow in, which means that we needed either to turn around or back out. Remember the Captain prefers to back in, so that he doesn’t have to back out.
Well, as things would have it, another big container ship came in behind us during the day which kind of sandwiched us in between them and the front of the berth (land) in front of us. (See diagram) The rest of this scenario will play out mainly with photos. I needed to run back and forth, port to starboard in order to try and capture the finesse needed to extricate the ship from its berth. All of this was accomplished without the assistance of tugboats although they were wisely standing by in case of emergency.
On with the process!
We are the red ship. The yellow one was the one that arrived after we did and “blocked” us in. The Captain needed to swing the stern out and away from the dock, start the reversing process (yellow arrows) and keep us in the middle. There was also a thirty-knot wind coming in off of the ocean which just added to the issues.Once turned, we could proceed forward (blue arrows)
This is the Stern backing to the left. That ship behind us was the one that came in after us.
We are now out into the middle and need to back up and squeeze through between that MSC ship and the end of the far berth (white spot)
We are now backing out at probably 3 knots or so, very slowly
Still backing. That tugboat has a slacked line attached to us so that if needed it can drag a much larger line (hawser) out of us and attach it to herself.
As much as these rough guys may joke about the foofy life of a Cruise Ship Crew, they stood in admiration of the ship being handled without the use of tugs. They all waved at us
Ditto
Now we need to start swinging the stern to the right so as to back into the next waterway (see first diagram) and we need to do this and not have the bow come in contact with that big container ship that waved at us. Remember, currents and wind have an effect on this maneuvering, a ship does not have wheels and tires to keep it from drifting….. only skill and thrusters.
We need to back into this waterway and not come in contact with that ship right behind. We cannot finish our turn until the bow clears the aforementioned MSC ship, so we will be coming quite close to that one behind us. We are the largest ship in the Port at over 1000′ in length
Looking forward, we still need to clear that MSC ship in front before we can finish the turn. I am back by the stern here which means that you are looking at almost 900′ of ship still in front of me.
Here you can see that ship behind us as we have now cleared the MSC so we can continue our turn and back into that other slot.
Almost! we are now straightening out so that we can proceed out of the Port in a straight line (see first diagram). Note the waves and surf in this photo, they are coming in off of the ocean and are an indicator of the wind involved.
All clear on the starboard side!
All clear on the port side! All Ahead slowly!
Looking back. That spot in front of the COSCO ship was where we were, bow in.
I hope that you have enjoyed this blow-by-blow description of our efforts to get underway safely. It was quite an experience to be on board, and it demonstrated the seafaring ability of our Captain and his crew very nicely.
This the effect of a tugboat churning up the waters and the tasty little critters that live near the bottom. The gull’s wait patiently(?) for this to happen and then just swoop in and grab a snack!
