Cape Horn and Beyond

         Early this morning I noticed that the ship was rocking and rolling more than we had experienced at any time on this cruise. Wind speeds during the night were

Our Track In and Out

around 60 miles per hour! We were headed to Cape Horn (actually around Hornos Island) . Cape Horn is the most southerly point in South America and is the northern boundary of Drake passage. For many years it was the main route of the old clipper ships. We were in the Atlantic then headed to the Pacific and then back to the Atlantic again. The Captain made an announcement around 7:30 that we were passing the Cape Horn lighthouse on the port side. Unfortunately we are on the starboard side and by the time we were dressed and out, we had passed it. We could see the island but not the Cape. The rocks were really being pounded by the sea.

Once we got out into the Atlantic, the seas calmed considerably. The rest of the day was overcast then partly cloudy later! Now that we are in the Atlantic heading north-east, we should see some very nice sunrises!

         We were on a steady course on our way to the Falkland Islands. Apparently, the ship can get into the port for tender about 50% of the time. We do not have a tour planned but hope to get something ashore to go see the penguins.

        The daily program this cruise leaves something to be desired. For instance between 10 and 11 this morning, there were 3 things that we wanted to attend! Morning Zumba went for almost a full hour. We are happy to go to it because it is hard to get any exercise with the temperatures on deck constantly below 10C. We did watch the egg drop contest. It only had 2 teams and they awarded 1 prize! The cup with a single balloon made it but lost to a well constructed parachute that floated very gently down the 2 decks! Judy and I went in different directions in the afternoon but met for the 3 pm wine tasting. We had an invite because of the Elite status. We stayed but we were suppose to attend a wine tasting at a later date. We never looked at the date on the invitation and in the past there has never been more than one tasting. We did have a good laugh about it. We did try 2 wines that we have made in the past. They were a Verdicchio (white) and an Amarone (red). We both liked the red!

Tonight's Dessert

       Tonight we attended a production show called Motor City. The music was all songs that came from Detroit artists. Tomorrow weather permitting we will be tendered to Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We hope to hire a private tour besides the usual exploring of the town of 1200. The photos show Cape Horn which we passed early this morning.

Ushuaia Southern Most City In The World

    After sailing all night through the Magellan Strait we got up to mountains with some glaciers on both sides of the ship. The weather was sunny but the air was brisk. No warm weather here. We were not scheduled to be along side until after noon. We did have a tour scheduled.

 

 Breakfast at he International Cafe was very light. The Captain did announce that the pilot was coming aboard but that was followed by the sighting of 2 whales heading in the opposite direction which caused quite a stir among the passengers. The morning Zumba went for almost a full hour followed by the easy line dance class. I sat with the Cara the cruise staff member who did the line dancing. She is from Niagara Falls and had taken dance at some point. I gave her some information on some of the easy dances that we have done over the years as she was looking for new material. She was really interested in “What Does The Fox Say” dance but not for teaching.

Land's End

At Land's End

    We ate lunch in the dinning room since we had some time before we went ashore. The town of Ushuaia has about “60,000” people in it but they must count a lot of people in the outlying areas. It is a typical small town of a cruise ship stop with the tacky shops all selling the same types of things. The real stores were closed because they usually close in the afternoon. They do have some nice jewelry pieces made out of local stone which can only be bought in Argentina. The government does not allow the export of the stone. The shop was closed! We also saw whole lambs cooking in the window of restaurants. The were on racks over wood burning fire pits. By then it was time to get back to the ship for our tour!

National Park

Cooking Lamb

    We took a tour called Drive to the end of the World. It took us into the national park to the place where the Pan Am highway ends at the Beagle Channel. The channel is named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin. This is an area of sub-Antarctica forests. There were snow capped mountains which ducked in and out of the clouds. The guide was very good and we had a good introduction to the people, explorers and problems of this national park. One of the most interesting items is the damage that the beaver has caused. It was introduced to try to spur a fur trade But having no natural predators, has proceeded to destroy the forests with their dam building. Of course they were introduced from Canada!.

    We arrived back at the ship around 7:30 and had just enough time to get changed for diner. One couple did not make it. The photos posted shows the town and the national park.

Ashore in Punta Arenas - A Very Nice Visit

    Today was a full day in the city that will be the last of the stops in Chile. It also was probably the best weather day of the trip so far. As you will see in the photos, it was sunny and warm(?) the entire day. We had selected as a tour a trek up a ski hill

Ski Hill Walk

(1000 meters). We thought that it would be a good chance to see the entire area and it was. After a short bus ride, we were taken to the ski club and then up the ski lift to the top. From there we walked down the 2.2 kilometers back to the bottom of the lift. It has rained the night before and the trail was very muddy in places but we were able to see the different types of trees that grow in this area. We also passed some old ventilation shafts from the coal mines that were in the area. The walk ended with a cup of hot chocolate and a dessert.

      We were dropped in town not far from the tenders and from there we were able to explore the city of 140,000. The central square had was filled with the local craft sellers, all selling the same woven good and souvenirs. We had been told that the main cemetery was a real place to

Overlooking The Town

visit. We walked for awhile as we saw a cross at the top of a hill. When we got there the views of the city in the sunshine was worth the effort. Problem was it was not the cemetery. After asking directions we headed back down the hill. After following another road for blocks we asked directions again just to be sure. We found that we were headed in the opposite direction. So the third time we started out, we finally got to the place we were looking for.

   

Cemetery

Cemetery Trees

Interesting Flowers

  It was an extremely interesting place. All the tombs were above ground and reminded us of what you would see in New Orleans. Some of the crypts were well maintained, others were in disrepair. The photo might do justice. From there we trekked back to town and back to the ship, about 7 hours after we started out the day.

    The show this evening was called “The British Invasion” and featured the music of the Beatles, Queen, some Who and the Rolling Stones. Diner saw us still at the table after 2 hours, a regular occurrence. Again we all agreed that the food has been excellent this cruise. We also attended a demonstration put on by the world champion Tango couple. They certainly did not teach us those moves in the class. All in all a very good day!

The posted photos shows the ski hill walk as well as the cemetery!

Amalia Glacier and Magellan Straight

      We were up early this morning. The ship had moved down one of the many fiords in Chile to arrive at the Amalia Glacier for our allotted? 1 hour of viewing. The temperature was about 0 (32F) and as expected the wind was blowing. Having been up close and personal with the Alaskan glaciers, we were not as awestruck as we might have been. Although we were out on deck, we could have stayed in our cabin as the Captain was nice enough to turn the ship so we could see the glacier from our cabin. The posted pictures should give you a sense of what it really was like. You can see that we needed to be bundled up today. Fortunately when we are in port the temperature is suppose to be between 50-60F.

 

Amelia Glacier

    The ship turned around and sailed for a good part of the day north around 1 when we headed to the open ocean for a few hours before we headed into the Magellan channel and on to our next port. We basically retraced our steps out of the fiord. The weather remained rainy and overcast

Today being a sea day, Zomba was the first activity of the day. Today's session ran for a full hour. The instructors does 3 levels for each song. Level 3 is a bit much but it is getting easier for me now that I have “mastered” some of the moves. He uses the same music every day so that helps with the routines. The lounge was full of people, more than we have seen in the past. Line dancing followed that and as expected is was basic but gave a chance to move around a bit. Judy went to Spanish class and after 3 classes she can say “HOLA”.

     We did attend another excellent lecture on the Southern Continent concentrating 

Sailing Inland

of the oceans of the area. We have not see much wildlife except for a few birds which could possibly be Albatross. We did miss the Country Night because the timing conflicted with our dinner. In port and going to the top of a ski lift tomorrow.

A Special Day AT Sea

  Another day of cruising south along the coast of Chile. As we are getting further south the days are getting longer and the weather cooler. Sunrise is around 6 am and sunset at 10 PM. It is also cool with the temperature less than 50F. We have enough warm clothes for the port visits but probably needed a few warmer things (sweater) during the day for around the ship.

    The morning was started with a light breakfast and then 45 minutes of Zumba! It is a real workout and with the ship rocking a bit today, it was a bit of an unusual experience! We also managed a lecture on South America, a port talk and a Spanish lesson for Judy. I did a cross word puzzle! We also had a Tango class in the afternoon. The teachers are professional dances and probably the worse tango teachers in the world. They explained things in 2 languages – English for the ladies and Spanish for the men. That coupled with the fact that we could not see them (they stood in the middle of about 80 dancers made it very difficult to learn anything (let along the flaring legs!)

Dessert

   However today was a special day because we are among the 40 or so most traveled passengers with Princess. That means that we were invited to the Captain's private luncheon. It was really done up! We were met at the door by the hostess, introduce to the Captain, had our picture taken (which was developed and given out later) and shown to our table. We sat with the Head of the Hotel Operations. He was a very easy going Italian from Northern Italy in charge of almost everything dealing with the passengers. There were name takes at each spot along with a menu with our names printed individually on it. We were seated with an American couple and one from Calgary Alberta. Maggie went to the University of Windsor and graduated in 1974. She worked for Shell Oil in Clagary before she retired!

  

More Desserts

 For lunch we had lobster Tarte Tatin to start followed by Peach Sorbet. The main dish was a choice between Herb Crusted Fillet of Beef or Salmon Fillet topped with a Scallop Mouse on Lobster Mash Potato! The wine that they served was excellent. Dessert was a White Chocolate Orb. I posted a photo of it. The centre of the table also had a dessert. A really good meal and a nice surprise. We had heard of these dinners before but on this cruise we actually are one of the most frequent passengers. There are only about 60 “Elite” on this ship. There are many passengers from South America which is to be expected.

   After a restful afternoon, dinner and 2 shows completed the evening. With 3 American couples. They are from California, South Carolina and Georgia. We have a doctor, electrical engineer, a jewelry designer as well as a nurse and a teacher at our table! Discussion ran the range from American gun control, football, socialized medicine and male strippers! I will not say who took the lead on these topics but Danny's in Windsor did come up.

    

Petrohue Falls, Orsono Vocano and Puerto Varas

     6 AM comes early on a cruise ship! Since we had elected to take an all day tour and we had to tender into Porte Montt, we needed to be ready to go by 7 AM. Needless to say we were facing a rather long day.

The Orsono Volcano

This area is called the Lakes District. It was settled by German settlers in the mid 1860's and many of the building, especially in the town of Puerto Varas displays a very German look. Our tour took us to a waterfall close to the volcanic mountain that we were to visit. The guide was very good although he would use Spanish words for things and sometimes that was a bit hard to understand. The worse part was the pronunciation. He used Spanish for English words.

The first stop was the Petrohue Falls. The waterfall was more a series of rapids carved through the volcanic basalt lava flow. The dark rock presented an interesting formation. However, it is very dry at this time of year and the “falls” were a bit low to say the least.

The second stop was at the Osorno Volcano, the main reason why we picked this 

Walking On The volcano

particular tour. It is a large composite cone with glaciers at the top. It reminded us of Mount Fuji – same type and shape. The volcano last erupted in the 1830's and was observed by Charles Darwin. In the morning as we were driving towards the area it was sunny and bright. We could almost see the top of the cone. By the time we got there in the late morning the clouds had moved in, the wind picked up and it was raining. The ski lift where we stopped was about half way up the mountain and the combination of wind rain and altitude made for a less than perfect setting. Although we had plenty of warm clothes, it was still a place where you took the photo and retreated to the bus in a hurry!

Lunch of soup and Chilean farm raised salmon was very tasty. We stopped at an old German restaurant filled with antiques. The meal was good, the company was friendly and the Chilean red wine was even better. After lunch we headed for a small town called Puerto Varas, the centre of the lakes tourist district. We had about 30 minutes in the town and that was plenty. As a tourist centre it left much to be desired.  

What Else Cold!

A casino and 2 nice hotels on the lake were the highlights. The crafts area was basically in an alley with every shop selling exactly the same thing. We did manage to find a grocery store to buy some wine. The Concho E Toro we bought cost about $3.50 a bottle! Not all was lost in the town. A short ride got us back to the tenders after 4 pm with the ship set to sail at 4:30.

Although there are shows and entertainment going on around the ship, we decided to make an early night of it. 

Sunday - A Day At Sea

    What a difference a day makes! After the long day yesterday we were ready for a nice easy day today. We managed to sleep in and got up feeling better after our full 10 hours of rest. It was the most sleep in a long time! We had breakfast at the International cafe in the Atrium then a quick run to Zumba. It was not just “gold” but a full workout! I had to go easy but Judy did fine. 35 minutes was enough for me. That 

Glass of Bubbly

was quickly followed by a port talk “All You Wanted To Know about Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas”. The speaker was very good and provided useful info on what to do in each although we will be on ship tours. From there it was the Pub Lunch – fish and chips in Crown Grill. We have still managed NOT to go to the buffet! Finally the art auction and a few glasses of champagne filled the afternoon. Princess has changed the “routines” of the auction. That and the champagne keep our interest in the “auction”.

We made it back to our cabin in time

Strawberries

for the chocolate covered strawberries – one of the perks of having been on Princess. We get to order the afternoon canapes on formal nights. We went down to the Captain's Welcome aboard party where they were (as usual) serving champagne. Princess has cut down on offering all types of drinks but the champagne was available. This is the first time we have seen them coming around with the bottles and refilling the glasses.

Ah! Upgraded to a Mini Suite!

Dinner was very tasty. We remarked that the food the last 2 nights seemed to be tastier than in the past. Our table mates from California missed dinner – they were watching the football game!

Arriving In Chile

   After a very long flight we finally boarded the Golden Princess dock in Valparaiso the port for Santiago. We were at the Toronto Airport in plenty of time to rest before the 10 hour overnight flight. We were scheduled to leave before midnight but for some unannounced reason we sat on the plane until after 12:30 before we took off. Of course that meant that the arrival in Santiago would be about an hour late. The flight itself was good be the sleeping upright is a bit difficult to take. I managed to keep my eyes closed most of the night but Judy watched a movie and then was wide eyed. The results the next day were predictable!

Valpariso

Arriving in Chile was probably the most adventuresome of all the countries that we have traveled to. First it was the entry reciprocity fee that we knew we had to pay. The lineups were very long and slow moving. We were one of the last to get the required stamp. Next it was immigration which seemed to move at a snail's pace! Of course we also has the agricultural paperwork and finally the x ray of the luggage as we left the customs area. Each step involved a lineup and rather crowded conditions. The airport was not as modern as you might expect.

The best thing about the arrival was the way in which the Princess staff were there to help. Once we had cleared immigration, we were met by a rep and had about 4 

Our View!

different people help us on our way. We wee glad that we had taken the transfer!

The ride to the port took nearly 2 hours. Santiago is a very dry area behind the coastal mountains but as we proceeded to the port there was more greenery. We passed through the Casablanca valley home to the wine industry. Concho E Toro is the largest of the vineyards in the area. Finally at the port we checked in quickly but then needed a bus to get to the ship. The port at Valparaiso is a very old working dock area. The buildings that were used had broken windows and was probably an abandoned warehouse. Finally we arrived on the Golden at about 5 pm.

Our upgraded mini-suite is very comfortable. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and a full mini bar set up. We had 2 surprises in the room. First we we treated to a complimentary bottle of wine thanks to Penny and the CAA. We also received an invitation to the Captain's lunch. Apparently we are among the most traveled Princess passengers! That is a new thing for us. It was a quick turnaround for us but we were unpacked and to dinner by 8.

Relaxing in the Mini Suite

Our table mates seem very nice. They are from Georgia, South Carolina and California. They are well traveled but not necessarily on Princess. We both had the prime rib which was probably the best we have had!  By the time we finished dinner, we were too late for the Princess Theater opening show. We were both very tired from the overnight! By 10 we were sound asleep!