Songs and Dances and a few things in-between

Wow, what a busy past 24 hours. First of all, last night was the cruise ship authorized version of "The Voice", complete with turning chairs, red neon and a silly-looking silver statuette. Seven semi final contestants sang, some barely better than a drunken karaoke, but all were enthusiastic. A winner was selected by audience vote and the best singer did not even make the finals, but great fun was had by all, and the antics of the onstage judges was the best comedy show all week.

This morning we arrived in Buenos Aires, where we are again adjacent to the working commercial port.
Our first order of business this morning was getting ourselves fed and organized by 8 to head out on a tour of the Tigre Delta, which is a region north of the city of Buenos Aires filled with a lot of lush, green islands that are a tangle of waterways and creeks but absolutely no roads. As in Venice, Italy, all commerce and transportation is via the water. It was sprinkling off and on, but was an absolutely fascinating glimpse into an entirely different way of life.

Most folks travel by boat, whether by public bus boat:

Or by self propelled boats:

And there are boat gas stations along the rivers:

And while I didn't manage to get photos through the windows, we also saw grocery boats, delivery boats, rowboats, mail boats, and trash boats. The homes all have docks, some in good repair, some so rickety looking that I would think your foot would break through if you stepped onto them. Each home has a name, and the name of the home is the address along the river for mail delivery. Trash is bagged and placed in a wooden or metal basket hanging from the dock where it is picked up by the trash boat.

Here are two small shacks, but they have a nice dock and boat lift.

This one looks like they are getting ready to do some work on it. The home is on the right and is in good shape. Notice the trash basket on the pole just in the left of the picture.

The photo above is what I thought the whole area felt like; big lush trees, homes tucked back off the water. A 'patio' on the dock and a place for boats to tie up when visitors or workers come to your house. Notice the mailbox on the left of the dock. It was a very fun experience.

After returning to the city, we chose to be dropped off in town, which turned out to be at a corner only one block from our future hotel...the one we will check into in two days. We stopped by to make sure we could drop our luggage tomorrow morning, and then tried to change some money but were unsuccessful as we had to have a passport and it was back on the ship. Instead we changed some money at the port exchange (no passport needed, just ID, no idea why rules are different) for a slightly less favorable rate. We also decided to use our Uber app to get a ride back to the port, and it worked fine, after some confusion as to where we were starting from. But the price was right, $2.38 to go back to the port vs. $5-$10 for a taxi. So we are all set for our day tomorrow: Debark, drop luggage at the hotel, Uber over to the domestic airport, fly to Iguazu Falls and see the park/Falls and spend the night before reversing course the next day and returning to Buenos Aires and our luggage at the hotel. Or at least that's the plan.

Tonight we stay overnight in this port before debarking tomorrow. Since it is an overnight, many of the ship officer's are getting to take the evening off and 'going out' for dinner tonight. We have had to finish our packing, and place the bags out in the hallway for pickup, and then attend our final cocktail lounge happy hour and dinner with our friends. We've had such a very good time that it is hard to say farewell to Jackie who leaves tomorrow evening on a 9:15 flight. (FWIW, it seems all the flight to the US leave late in the day, arriving in the early morning hours the next day. It is going to make for a long day for everyone when heading home.)

Which brings me to the Dance portion of our program. Tonight after dinner there was a local dance/folkloric show. Plus five guys with those Pan flutes. And their grandfather who introduced each song or dance and then hummed along from the wings or shouted "second verse" when he felt like it for the songs. We saw the Argentine Tango champions perform a tango; they were quite good, but I think their ACL's must be completely dislocated because they whipped their knees and feet in many directions very rapidly and I am not sure attached ligaments can do that.

The father (2nd generation) and sons (3rd generation) performed traditional gaucho dances with lots of stomping and toe-tapping. Gaucho dances are called something that sounds like 'Malombo', and is essentially a half tango. Only the man dances (ladies must stand still and only swirl their skirts) and the knee whipping thing is limited to the ankle and feet. But oh can they whip those feet around. The main step involves a stomp followed by standing on the right side of the foot thus bending the ankle at angles normally only seen when you step in a gopher hole and break something. Then they do it on the other foot and then whack the toe behind them and do more stomps and then bend their ankles on the sides again. Then they bring out the 4th generation and the two adorable little boys (aged 4 and 5) somehow manage to perform all the correct steps without falling down and while smothered under shirts and pants that they will eventually grow into in about two years. It was adorable.

After this they let the ladies dance again, in something called a milongo which is supposedly more popular than tango in Argentina. It seemed a sort of cross between tango and foxtrot and waltz box. But the best part was Grandpa, calling out the beat from the wings, singing something like "toppy tippie toe tee....tippie toppy toe toe" which dissolved the audience into gales of giggles while trying to look solemn at the two couples performing the dance. It was the best family dance band I have seen in a long while.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Today found us in the port of Montevideo, which is directly in the old town section of the city. It is also adjacent to the commercial port AND there is another cruise ship in port today (Costa Luminosa) so it was a pretty bit of organized chaos getting us moved to the pier. Even with our directional thrusters fore and aft, we needed a guiding tugboat to nudge us into place. All this started around 3 or 4 am however, when the local pilot came onboard, and it was about 6:30 when we finally docked--meaning, of course, that I did not get a full night's sleep. Tom, on the other hand, slept through almost all of it, only waking up when the tugboat loudspeaker came on in Spanish at around 5:30 or 6:00.

We wandered across the street and into town about 9 a.m., but absolutely nothing opens before 10 down here, and then closes again between 1-4 for siesta and then remains open until about 8. We did walk the main avenues and checked out a few of the plazas as they began to wake up and start their day, including this market where the smells are amazing as they roast the meats for the day.

We also were intrigued with this fruit and vegetable stall

but by noon the heat was up to 90 degrees and we were getting sticky. So we decided to head back to the ship, and take another shower before lunch in lovely air-conditioned comfort.

And then, boo, today is the day we dislike the most onboard ship--packing day. We have to put our bags out tomorrow evening for Wednesday's departure. But since we are staying in Argentina for three extra days before flying home, we have to pack for three locations: two days in Buenos Aires, an overnight trip to Iguazu Falls and the regular pack-everything-in-the-suitcase-except-what-you-need for the last evening onboard and the day of travel back to the US.

Tomorrow we arrive in Buenos Aires for an overnight stay on the ship; we have a tour of the Tigre Delta by boat in the morning, then we'll spend the afternoon touring before returning to the ship for our final goodbyes to the crew and an early departure in Wednesday. I will try to post something more tomorrow evening, if I can. We can hardly believe this cruise is nearly over.....

Puerto Madryn

What a difference a day makes when you are traveling north in South America. Since leaving Puerto Montt (on the west coast of South America) eight days ago, the upper decks of the ship have been virtually empty. The pools were drained, and safety tape was strung across the steps. And to be honest, it was so windy and cold that even the guys making pizza and burgers on the Lido deck were wearing stocking caps and warm jackets. The loungers for Movies Under the Stars occasionally had people using them, but if they did, they were huddled under two or three lap blankets keeping warm.

Then yesterday we arrived in Puerto Madryn, which is almost directly across the continent from Puerto Montt, but on the east side, in Argentina. People were out on the decks, the loungers were being claimed and filled, the pools were being filled and suddenly it was looking like a Caribbean cruise ship instead of an Antarctic expedition. Looking over the railing we saw people in speedboats and jet skis zipping around wearing just bathing suits or shorts and tank tops.

Puerto Madryn is a beach town of about 100,000 residents. Big, wide sand beaches like Padre Island, only on a sweeping bay with the city plopped into the middle. People can drive onto the sand, so they do, and you see families having picnics on the beach, with the car parked next to the beach chairs and the kids building sand castles or the teenagers checking each other out. The beach is busy, but very uncrowded, and there is a wide sidewalk lined with palm trees, vendors, tour guides and people just strolling with their dogs. The sidewalk separates the busy Main Street and the city from the beach. I have to tell you all this, because I failed to take any pictures of this up close. <sigh>

We had booked an excursion here, which was titled "Dolphin and Sea Lion Safari*". *wildlife sightings not guaranteed. This entailed hiking down the pier 15 minutes to the beach and then climbing onboard a rigid inflatable boat, which is essentially a zodiac raft on steroids. It had those inflated-round-tube sides but with a fiberglass floor and held about 30 passengers. Once onboard, we were pushed into the water with a tractor, floated free of the boat trailer and off we went. Puerto Madryn is surrounded by nature preserves and ecological reserves, so where the city ends is just open space. And on the coast, among the coves and bays and cliff sides are a variety of animals. We went first to a nesting area filled with cormorants and terns. The sounds of the birds were easily heard over the engine of the boat and when we stopped and drifted it was just a cacophony of birds. Many of the terms were swooping nd swirling all around us. At this point, all the people jumped up to take pictures and because of where I was seated, all I really captured was pictures of the people, but there is one that includes some birds.

And of course, I was able to take a really good picture of all the people on the boat.

Next we headed off to where the sea lions gather. There are two beaches separated by a cliff. The first beach was the nursery, where the females give birth and raise the very young pups before they rejoin the rest of the colony on the cliff side. The cliffside is where the main families gather, with several harem groups consisting of one male and their females and immature offspring. This area is the one with natural slides down the cliff surface for entry into the water. And yes, there are some birds, here, too.

The last area is the Peter Pan beach. This is filled with male sea lions who don't have a harem so they just hang out together until they grow up into a bigger, stronger male and can amass their own harem.

After the sea lions we went to a further stretch of coast and were fortunate to spot and follow several pods of dolphins. These were the black/grey and white astral dolphins 🐬. It's mating and birthing season, so we spotted many displays of dolphins leaping fully out of the water and slapping back down on the water. The dolphins also seemingly loved to play with the boat, zipping back and forth under the boat, then surfacing within just a few feet. So close that we could hear their blowholes breathing. And the water was so clear that we could see them swimming along side us before surfacing. Now, do I have pictures of this? Nope, dolphins are very fast. I do have video, but I cannot post it here and I have no idea how to edit a clip and put it on Facebook....but it exists.

What I do have is this Where's Waldo picture of dolphins. Seriously, it looks just like open water, right? Nope, there are at least eight dolphins in this photo, mostly just dorsal fins or partial surfacing. The easiest to spot is smack dab in the middle of the picture, where that patch of whitecap is visible. That's a surfacing dolphin. That's the only one I'm going to give you....the rest you have to find for yourselves.

A quiet, easy day.

Just a quick blog post tonight--mostly because I am not interested in the production show tonight, having seen it several times and I am in-between the movies tonight. Tom is out fetching popcorn from the theater. We've noticed a distinct warming of temperatures outside, and a full variety of weather conditions today; sun, fog, lightning and perhaps rain. We had another relaxing day with little of real note to report. We have been enjoying visiting with our friends. So much so that Jackie decided to book our next two cruises with us! So now we have three booked together over the next year...and Denny and Kathi are considering booking the October one as well. So, you can tell that we all like cruising together.

Tomorrow we are in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. It is an area with several ecological reserves for much sea life and birds. Our adventure for the day will be a ride in a zodiac boat to one of these. Right about now I am wondering "what was I thinking when I booked that?!?" I'll have to let you know tomorrow if I was an idiot, or not.

Stanley, Falkland Islands

Today we are in the Falklands. While most passengers have taken tours, we elected to just wander about the little town of Stanley. The port lecturer Julio, advised us that it is a very small town, and has only one real street, Ross St. In fact, he said it was nearly impossible to get lost, and if you do, "just to sit down on this little patch of grass next to the road and start crying and someone will come along to assist you."

Well, you probably know what comes next. Jackie and I had to go to that little patch of grass, where we sat down and pretended to cry. We think it made a very funny picture, but here we are on the street and the patch of grass.

Denny and Kathi were off early this morning to get a tour to Volunteer Point and the King Penguins. It is a long, bumpy and sometimes boggy ride in a four wheel drive vehicle. The rest of us opted for a walk up and down Ross St., a look at the memorials to the wars and general people watching before heading back to the ship. Of course, that included a couple of souvenirs and gift shops, where we 'had' to spend our leftover £ from the last trip. We managed some penguin socks, a couple of gifts, an ornament for the Christmas tree, and miraculously no hats or tee shirts.

After a quick pizza and salad lunch, we are relaxing on our wind-protected balcony, watching the tenders come and go from the port and contemplating which movie to watch this afternoon. Tomorrow is another sea day before we arrive in Puerto Madryn on Saturday. If anything interesting happens tomorrow, I will blog about it, but then again, it may just be a lazy day and I might skip a blog post....we'll see.

Sailing 'Round the Horn

Cape Horn--Fabled and feared route of the clipper ships and merchant vessels. Stories of terrible weather and seas so deathly that many never survived and many who did swore never to travel that route again. We nearly slept through it.

Not to minimize what sailors of the past have endured or died for, but today's seas were some of the calmest we have had the last week. The wind....now that was pretty strong, about 40 knots (46 mph). But snug in our stateroom, we almost slept through the whole thing.

When I left you yesterday evening, we were still docked in Ushuaia due to the wind. We finally left sometime after oh-dark-thirty, which wakened us briefly, but we essentially slept through that, as well. At 3 a.m. I was awakened again, this time by the thrusters, peaked out the window and saw that we were not moving but the side thrusters were holding us in place, crosswise in the channel. After about 45 minutes, we turned downwind and proceeded down the channel. We both surmise this event was when the Argentine pilot debarked, and the wind was high enough that we had to use our big ship as a windblock in order for him to transfer to the small boat. I was curious enough that I turned the TV on to the ship channel and saw this:

As you have read by now, we are traveling with friends on this cruise, one of whom is Jackie. We met Jackie and her husband Glenn on this very same ship back in 2012 when doing a Med/Greek Isles cruise. Sadly, Glenn died 7 months ago. But all through this trip, when the weather forecast has seemed iffy, or sometimes ominous, Jackie and I look at each other and say "we know a guy". And sure enough, the weather turned out fine, the seas turned calm, and the tour jet landed in Antarctica. All of those things have not happened in the last three cruises; ports we reached were missed, and tours were cancelled. Heck, Jackie and I were on the only tour on this cruise to reach the Penguins on Magdalena Island. So, think what you want, believe as you prefer, but we are both of the opinion that we're getting some extra assistance from her guy. And I don't think it was an accident that on this lovely, blue sky day, there was one cloud to the southeast when we arose, looking like this:

Yep, we know a guy. 🌞

Ushuaia Part 2

And here are the words to go with the pictures....

After yesterday's big day we both slept like logs and awoke with the sunrise in the middle of glacier alley, Beagle Channel, Patagonia. Lucky for us, all we had to do was step out on the deck to see the great scenery on both sides as we sailed by. Tom fetched coffee and croissants and we were set for the next couple of hours. I've included a couple of the best photos here, and this is going to sound terribly jaded, but if you've seen one glacier, you've seen them all, so I won't bore you with individual pictures of each one. Suffice to say they were all fun to see as we went by, both the big named ones and the smaller anonymous ones.

We have now docked in the port of Ushuaia, and are awaiting our tour time for a small boat wildlife cruise of some of the smaller bays and inlets along this part of the Beagle Channel. Our day appears to remain overcast, although the sun has been peeking through in spots, so perhaps we will see a bit more sun for our tour. The high today is a balmy 52 degrees, so it will be fine weather with or without the sun.

The wildlife cruise was quite interesting; we saw sea lions, cormorants (three kinds-rock, king and I forget). The photos show the rookeries out in the channel.

Just now we have heard from the captain, we are literally stuck in the port by the wind. It is currently blowing 43 knots from our left (port) side and we are tied up on the right (starboard) side. The net result is we cannot leave until the wind dies down, which could be very late tonight or early in the am. And THAT would mean we cannot get around the Horn and would have to transit the Beagle channel. We are hoping for the wind to drop very soon.

The only good news in all of that is that we have cell data service while in port.... so I am able to update this blog.

Ushuaia

Fin Del Mundo-End of the World

Just a couple of pictures from our day. I'll try to come back later and add some words.

Punta Arenas, Magdalena and Antarctica

First the best news: Yes, Tom made it to Antarctica! It was 32 degrees, sleet in the face, walking in 30 mph wind, on rocks, all outdoors. The wind was too much to take the zodiac boats on the water, so they just walked around for 4 hours. He's thrilled. (He also said it was the best decision I ever made to NOT go myself.)

Instead of Antarctica, Jackie and I went to Magdalena Island to see penguins. These are the chinstrap penguins, also called jackass penguins because of the braying sound they make. They were everywhere on the island, some 120,000 of them. While the sky was blue with puffy white clouds, it was also windy. Very windy. It was the make-your-eyes-water sort of windy. We loved it, but did spend much of our time in the semi-protected part of the island. This was good for two reasons: 1. The big crowds pushed ahead (there were a bunch of those people who think they have to be in front of everyone else) and that left us in relative quiet, so the Penguins took no notice of us few stragglers and behaved normally. 2. It wasn't as windy.

The great part was the Penguins were unafraid of us, and they waddled around right next to us. Touchably close if we had wanted. We stayed and watched as group of five with adults and fuzzy chicks left their burrow, waddled down the slope to the rocky beach, hopped across the rocky beach and then flopped forward into the water where they zipped away underwater.

We were again the lucky ones when we returned to the ship to discover our tour was the only one of three to have reached the island due to weather. We were on the old, slow, heavy ferryboat. It was built of metal and big and had no trouble with the waves and wind. But it took us 2 hours to get there and 2.5 back. The other tours were more expensive, but advertised they used the fast speedboats that reached the island in half the time. But they could not handle the wind-whipped waves, and had to cancel. I did notice that the waves and wind did not stop one tiny Chilean fishing boat from setting out that day.

Tomorrow is now today, as I was too tired to write this post before bed, but it is 6 am as I write. The sun is up, but the weather has descended for now, and all we can see to either side of the Beagle channel is mist shrouded peaks and hills. It looks to be another grey day, much like Washington or Oregon.

We're due to arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina at noon today and take a small boat out into the channel for wildlife and glacier viewing. I'll report on that tomorrow, but for now we are just watching the bottom of the world drift by.

Amalia Glacier-Fjords

We set the alarm to wake up early today for the GlacierAlley portion of our trip. Along around midnight last night we noticed a distinct 'leveling' of the ship as we entered the protected waters of the fjords. In some places along here we pass very close to land on either side, so it is quite amazing scenery. Alas, it is also cloudy and windy today, so the pictures are not spectacular, but are still interesting. Here is a shot from my protected alcove up top and you can see how close we are passing by.

As we approached the glacier itself, the onboard naturalist was announcing the different land forms and then got quite excited when he began to see the bits of ice on the water that indicate a glacier ahead. He called these pieces 'iceberg-lets' which we thought was a charming name, especially when pronounced by Ricardo Montalban, or at least a guy that sounds an awful lot like him. As the iceberg-lets became more numerous and pronounced, we were informed that there were two officers, the captain and the pilot, on the bridge and their only duty was keeping a watch for these iceberg-lets and their "impossible dangers". LOL.

We were lucky enough to spot some five or so pod of dolphins in the water. I don't recall what these black and white ones are, but they remind me of the orcas also found in cold waters.

I've included a couple of pictures of the glacier, which while impressive, was half covered in fog and clouds. On a sunny day the sun melts the glacier surface and the chunks of iceberg-lets form when they break away. Judging from the quantity we saw on approach, it must have been sunny and glorious yesterday. The captain turned us about and we are now proceeding back out of the straits to the open ocean on our way to Punta Arenas. Unfortunately, he also announced that as we hit the ocean, the wind will increase to about 40 knots and the swells will increase to 20 feet. It is supposed to remain that way until about 7 pm when we return to the protected waters of the Magellan Straights.

The crew is mopping up the decks, tying down the lounge chairs and somewhere I am sure someone has found a hatch to batten. It is so calm now, that it is hard to imagine what the afternoon will bring, but I know I will spend part of it reading in the cabin after lunch and then I will venture to cocktails up on the 17th deck and then dinner down on the 6th. Along about the time we finish dinner, we should be back in the quiet waters and able to walk easily about the ship.

Here is the tarp that almost got away

And here is a shot from our room as we approach the ocean. Notice the horizon vs. the ship's rail.

More to come--wish us luck in getting into port and Tom on the plane to Antarctica tomorrow!

Down to the 49th degree

We've been traveling south along the west coast of Chile at a steady 17 knots for a little more than a day since leaving Puerto Montt. I grabbed a picture off the TV screen for you, which shows all of our ports, and our current location is the little triangle just above Punta Arenas.

So far, the weather has held for us, with blue skies and some scattered puffy white clouds, and the temperatures are about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday but still quite comfortable. Great conditions for January, especially when we see snow predicted back home. We have been advised it will turn windier, possibly MUCH windier, as we continue south, however. The captain told us this morning that the winds on the trip up last week were hurricane force, about 80 knots, along with rain. We will hope for better conditions. This summer-in-January thing has been odd for us with the mild temps and long hours of daylight. When we left home, we were happy that sunset had finally passed 5 pm; sunset tonight was at 10 pm.

Today was a rather lazy day....we had breakfast at 9:30, wandered about the ship, bumped into friends and chatted, ate lunch in the dining room, Tom attended a veteran's get together while I went to bingo with Kathi and Jackie. Nope, none of us even came close to winning the jackpot, maybe next time. Then we read a bit or walked about before meeting in the lounge at 5 for happy hour drinks and snacks before dinner. Not a lot to report as you can tell, which for us is a perfect day at sea.

We did sit out for a little bit on the balcony, just watching the wake and the birds. We think they may be frigate birds, but have no idea why we think we heard that. Nor do we know what a frigate bird even looks like, so I'll have to remember to look that one up in Sibley's upon our return. (White body no underwing, dark on top, long skinny wing, bent wing shape. Long beak much like a seagull.). Or I will stop by and see if the semi-professional bird watchers up forward have their books with them.

We have noticed that the swells have begun to increase today. The one factoid that does not seem to appear on the ship data channel is the sea condition, but the ocean has visible whitecaps along with that visible rocking of the rail. At times, the rocking motion puts great pressure on your joints, so many of us sort of bounce from one side of the room/hall/elevator to the other while trying to avoid hitting anyone else. It results in a sort of shipwide version of people as bumper cars. No big accidents that I know of, but with a demographic that is decidedly mature....well, we are all being cautious.

In a few hours (~2am Sunday morning) we will be entering the fjords of southern Chile and then about 8 am we will anchor off the Amalia Glacier for some viewing. Tom ordered room service breakfast for us tomorrow to be delivered just before we reach the Glacier, so we can sit on our balcony (wind permitting) and watch for wildlife at breakfast.

As it is late Saturday now (technically it's 15 minutes into Sunday here) I will try to post this and get the Glacier and fjord pictures up tomorrow.

Puerto Montt

Today was a very good day. The sun came out for us even though the forecast had been for scattered rain (and the past two weeks had been very windy and rainy). We are in Puerto Montt, Chile, gateway to the Lakes District and the first city settled by German immigrants to Chile in 1853.

If you were dropped here blindfolded you would swear you had been dropped into the middle of Switzerland or Bavaria. Until you notice some of the cows are llamas, or turn around and see the enormous Volcano Osorno. We got lucky today and were just able to see the top peaking in and out of the clouds.

We had a tour today of the Llanquehue (pronounced Yankee-way) region by a young man who was apparently wrangled into this by his sister, who is a professional tour guide. But Hernán is just a 17 year old high-school junior with passable, but limited, English. Nonetheless, we managed to ask questions, he knew most of the answers and even negotiated some reduced prices at the market for us. Our group took what could have been an awkward situation and turned it into a fun and memorable day. Trivia question for you all: Any guesses as to what these items are in the first picture below? We know the answer from Hernán, but I want to see what you think they might be?

After a leisurely dinner and show (Magic To Do by Stephen Schwartz for those of you up on your Broadway tunes) we decided to head to the room to catch up on the inauguration news and reviews. Tomorrow is a sea day as we navigate the Chilean fjords. It is now ten minutes before 10 pm, and is still light out!