New Years - 2016 - Day 13

At least the days are starting to get warmer.  Today is Punta Arenas, Chile and the weather was supposed to reach a high of 54 degrees.  It might have been that high at sometime but with the wind, the actual temperature was a lot less.  Still – it was better than yesterday.

This is the city where the famous Captain Shackleford had his excursions to Antarctica.  The city was among the first Spanish settlements along the Strait of Magellan coast, dating back to the late 16^th century.  The Strait of Magellan is the passageway that was found to go from the two oceans without going around Cape Horn.  We will be in the Strait of Magellan starting tonight as we head to our next port of call after two sea days.  Right now, we are in Patagonia which is an area of Chile like we live in the Midwest. 

We had to take a tender into the port as they have no facilities to have large cruise ships such as our dock close to town.  The waves were very rough and it was an experience getting on and off the tender.

We met out guide and driver at the pier for a 3 hour tour of the city.  It was interesting learning about the city and its history as first a military penal colony to a farm community and now a mining and tourist town that has only 150,000 people in it.

We toured a museum about the city and its history and also tour a cemetery, which was supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and it certainly was.

In looking at maps of the bottom of the world, we are closer to Australia that we are to Bloomington -   Now that is amazing!!

At the end of the tour, our guide found a shopping area with Kahula and Barb wasn’t going to get any until she found out that the price was only $12 a bottle, a lot less than in the US, so we got two bottles. 

After the guide dropped us off at the pier, we walked about 4 blocks to a restaurant called La Luna (the moon) that she recommended and it was one of the best ever.  Barb had baked King Crab and Ed had Tenderloin and they both were amazing dishes because of the sauces and how they were prepared.

We also found a new drink made up of a Chilean liquor, calafati berries, sugar and lemon.  It was called a Calafati Sour drink and wow was it good.  I might not have calafati spelled correctly, but the drink was really very good.

We then walked up to the City Center and the main park where they were all kinds of booths set up to sell souvenirs.  We bought our casino supervisor, Carla a present and also a present for the waiters 17 month son as they have been so good to us.  Ed also bought a sweater and Barb bought a ring as well as some souvenirs.

Then we walked a few block to the ship going into numerous shops along the way until we made it to port where we took the shuttle boat back to the ship.  The waves were really rough and the bow of the tender probably rose 15 feet up and down!!

After we sorted out everything we bought, it was time for a nap after a fun day in town.

The entertainment tonight was a singer/guitar player and he was pretty good.

Then it was time for dinner – it seemed like we just ate, but we went anyway and then we went to the casino where Barb won just a little and Ed had his largest loss!  Just wasn’t the night – but hopefully tomorrow when we will have the first of two sea days.

Night

 

Our ship from town

At the top of the town - notice our ship on the right

Rest in peace

Lunch

Barb with our tour guide buying "stuff"

 

New Years - 2016 - Day 12

When we went to bed we were not sure if the ship was going to be able to dock in Ushuaia and when we woke up we were docked.  We are truly on the end of the world and it is an amazing place.  We got off the ship at 7am and walked the very long pier to the end and found the Pira Tours office.

We had booked an exciting tour and we were so glad that we were able to dock.  Yesterday the port was closed because of high winds.  The winds were high this morning, but not high enough to cause the ship a docking problem. If you Google Ushuaia you will see that we are not on the ocean but in an area of islands at the bottom of South America and will be in the islands for a couple of days as we start back up the west coast of South America

Docked next to us were a couple of tour boats that were headed to Antarctica – this is cold and that would be much too cold.

We dressed very warm in multiple layers for the trip and it was a good thing because it was cold, but not too cold to enjoy the journey.  The day started out at 30 degrees and maybe made it up to 35 degrees.

The tour started with an 1 ½ hour bus ride through the countryside until we reached a private farm consisting of 20,000 acres and also an island called Ile de Lobos.  It is a 4^th generation farm and they do not rely on farming anymore but just on tourists visiting their island which houses a huge penguin colony.

At the farm, we first visited a museum and research laboratory with lots and lots of skeletons, including those of whales that had beached themselves on their property.  Then we boarded a zodiac boat with twin 200 horsepower motors for the 15 minute to the island and the penguins.  The boat went about 35 miles an hour and the waves and wind made the trip out very rough.  Barb sat in the back to minimize the bouncing on her back.  Ed made the mistake of staying up front!!  Coming back, we both sat in the back.

There are numerous tours to the island by catamarans from the city docks; however, the company we were using is the only company that is allowed to land on the island and walk among the penguins. 

It was more amazing than we expected and the highlight of the trip.  We walked among about 1,000 pairs of nesting penguins and saw baby chicks that had been born in late November and early December.  They were all gray and furry and just starting to come out of their nests, which are burrows in the soil. You had to be very careful to not step on one if you were not looking where you were going.  We had no expected to see this and be able to walk with them.

We had rain, sun, sleet and snow all in one day and this is their summer.  They have only 2 - 4 days a year when it gets up to 78.  They get over 300 inches of snow a year.

We have some amazing videos and we will put them at the end of the blog once we reach Santiago and can download them. 

Then we took the bus back to the city and had an hour to shop and the wind was terrible and then it started snowing so we walked back to the ship.

Once on the ship, we took our “stuff” to the room and went on deck to have a very late lunch.

Then it was back to the room to take a nap.  We are tired and windblown but have wonderful memories of this trip today.

We overslept and missed the entertainment in the main lounge so we watched the ship sail away up the channel and watched us go by some amazing glaciers.  Again I have video of them and a great waterfall that I will put on the blog when we get to Santiago.

Dinner was of course good and then we went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed had his worst night so we were back in the room before midnight – not what we would like, but that’s what happens sometimes.  The high today was 30 but tomorrow it is supposed to be up to 52 – summer time in South America!!!

Tomorrow is Punta Arenas, Chile – night.

 

Arriving on the penguin island

1 month old chicks

Mother and chicks

One of 5 major glaciers we passed in the early evening

Yes it was cold and windy but what an experience!!!

New Years - 2016 - Day 11

When we awoke at 8:30am – the sky was clear and the waves were not too bad.  It had been very rough in the evening.  Barb was up more than Ed with the rough seas and the noise from the ship such as in our cabin where the drawers kept banging into the door until we finally put a towel in between them.  The good news is we went through some bad seas but it did not bother us as much as we expected.

Ed went and had breakfast and then onto the gym for a ½ hour.  It was still rough enough that the pool water was spilling out over the deck and pretty hard to walk.  It was also cold – 44 degrees.

So, the best thing to do was to go back to the cabin and we slept until almost noon!!

Then we got up and went to the Aqua Spa for lunch and had grilled tuna which was wonderful.  Our best meals for the cruise so far have been in the Aqua Spa for lunch.

Last night the Captain announced that we would get to Cape Horn and see it late at about 9:00pm; however, this morning he announced that the front was moving too slow and so he was not going to sail the ship around Cape Horn and we would not see it.  We then will sail inland for the next several days on the Strait of Magellan and the Chilean Fjords before coming out in the Pacific Ocean late Thursday, Jan 14 so the sailing will be very calm.

We didn’t realize it, but Cape Horn is an island and the Captain took the ship on the inland side of the island.  Prior to getting there, we sheltered in place on the east side of the tip of South America to let the storm go past us.  Late in the afternoon, it was very calm where we where we located and not moving.

We played a gambling session in the afternoon where we both lost a little.  We also found out that Carla, the Casino Supervisor might be with us next year when we sail from Dubai.  She is really great and we have been on several cruises with her. 

After gambling, we sat and listened to the band and singer for 45 minutes.

Then it was time to go back to the cabin for a short nap as the show was moved to 6:00pm and 8:00pm to have them over by the time the seas got rougher.  We have been told however that they roughest part of the trips was last night – so that is good.

From about 3pm until 8pm, the ship stayed in a safe place and faced the front into a 65 miles an hour wind!   We felt virtually nothing because of the skill of the captain in keeping the ship straight on.  Once we started up again, the waves and the winds made it pretty rough.

The show was a violinist and it probably was the best individual show that we have ever seen on a cruise ship.  He was really, really good and played all kinds of music in his 45 minute show.

Then we went to dinner and then onto the casino.

They were having a special players drawing for a good watch and Barb won one of the two drawn!!

We both played and Barb had her biggest winnings and Ed his second best night so it was a great night in the casino.

By the time we got to the cabin, the rocking had lessened and it should make for a nice night sleeping.

Tomorrow is Ushuaia and we have an exciting tour booked to see the penguins.  We have our winter clothes out and hopefully it will a great stop.

Night from safe seas!!

 

Going out for the evening

 

New Years – 2016 – Day 10

A day at sea - so Ed was up earlier than Barb and ate breakfast, saved some deck chairs and then went to the gym for ½ hour on the aerodyne.  After that he visited the future cruise desk because they just announced an African cruise tour.  We can’t go because it conflict with another cruise that we have book – but maybe for 2017.

Barb then came up to the sun deck and we stayed in the sun until it was lunch time where again we ate in the Aqua Spa and this time split a grilled pork with grilled vegetables.

We were very surprised that the weather was so good.  The sun was hot and we were only able to stay out for about 3 hours.

Then it was time to go to the blackjack tournament were Ed qualified for the final but didn’t win.   We then played in the casino for a little bit and Barb broke even and Ed was up just a little.

Then it was time for a nap before getting ready for the evening.

We will not have many pictures because we really didn’t do anything.  We did take a video of the waves, which are starting to get big.  We cannot down load as we are at sea, so we will save them for later.

 

Going out for the evening

 

New Years - 2016 - Day 9

Today we arrived in Puerto Madryn which is close to the end of the world and looks like it.  The landscape is very barren.  Originally we had a whale watching trip planned; however, the operator of the trip sent us an email last week saying the whales had left the area to go to colder water so our trip was cancelled.

There was a 7 hour trip, including 4 hours driving by bus to go see penguins; however, we are taking a private trip on our next stop that is by boat to see penguins so we didn’t go on the trip from here.

We took a shuttle bus into town and attempted to book a car and driver to go see the sea lions but they have also left to go further south.

Bottom line is that we simply walked around the main part of the town for a couple of hours, bought a couple of souvenirs and took the shuttle bus back and ate on the ship.  We didn’t even see anywhere that we wanted to eat in the port.

We ate in Aqua Spa and then were out in the sun for an hour before coming in.  Barb has gotten too much sun over the last couple of days so we have to be very careful.  For only the second time ever, she used spf 45 this afternoon!

Next we took a nap and then dressed to go out for our usual evening activities.

The next two days will be spent cruising and it is amazing how much cooler it is getting. Hopefully we will be able to be out in the sun at least tomorrow – we will just have to wait and see.

The shows are before dinner which really makes it nice.  Tonight it was a comedian/juggler who was pretty good. 

Dinner was as usual and very good and then it was onto the casino where Barb won a little and Ed did not!!

Tomorrow we will be at sea and we have been told the ocean will start to get rough as we round Cape Horn – wish us luck.

Night from the Atlantic Ocean.



Ships grounded in the harbor

A local "tree"

A tree carved - one of many

A morning snack




 

New Years – 2016 – Day 8

Day 8 of our trip was supposed to be our first day at sea but of course it is our second.

Ed got up first and went and had breakfast and then did exercises in the gym.  Barb slept in and during the night though that she was in trouble because of too much sun.  She stayed in bed most of the morning and Ed sat out in the sun, probably getting a little too much also.  At 9:30am it was pretty cool but by 11:00am it was wonderful in the sun.

Barb came up to the deck at Noon and we went to eat in the Aqua Spa again and they cooked us the best lunches that we had ever had on Celebrity – a grilled chicken with all kinds of vegetables.

Then it was time for Ed to clean up and go out with Barb as she was feeling good at this point and we went to the slot tournament where there were not enough players so they told us they were not going to do it.  So, we both played our own slots and blackjack.  Barb lost a little and Ed broke even after an hour.

The rest is very predictable – we took a nap – people watched – went to dinner and then to the casino.

About the only thing that ever changes in our evening is whether we win or lose.  Barb lost a little and so did Ed, but neither much so life is good!!  There were no players in the casino by 11:30M so we left after talking a little with the staff and went to bed.

There are really no pictures because we didn’t do anything except relax – it was good.

Tomorrow we dock at Pueto Madryn, Argentina - Night - Night

 



Going out during the day



Going out for the evening

News Years - 2016 - Day 7

This was to be a great day in the port of Punta del Este, Uruguay, which is supposed to be the summer playground of the rich and famous of South America.  We were going to take a tour to an island and be able to swim with the sea lions.

At 7am, the Captain woke us up to tell us that the seas were too rough for the tenders to operate safely and that we were going to bypass the port and go on to the next port and of course have a sea day today instead of a port day.

So we went back to sleep and after getting up and Ed eating breakfast, we out on the deck to get some sun.  It was very windy, but we were out early enough to get a good spot on the pool deck.

We stayed there until noon and went to the Aqua Spa for lunch and then realized that maybe we had been in the sun too long.

So we came back to the cabin, cleaned up and walked around and did a little shopping in the gift shops.

Then Ed played a short session at blackjack and didn’t win so it was time to go back to the room for our nap.

After our nap we dressed for dinner and watched people and listened to music until it was time for dinner.

Dinner was good as usual and then of course we went to the casino where Barb lost and Ed won a little.

We stopped play after only an hour because once again there was no one at the blackjack tables to play with. 

All in all it was a very relaxing day – maybe too relaxing and this is the reason we will never do a cross-Atlantic cruise as there would be just too many sea days and not enough to do.

Not many pictures because there wasn’t that much we did!!

Night



Lunch at the Aqua Spa

 

Going out for the evening