We are Home

We made it home without any problems.  The snow in Denver caused us no delays, but people on flights during the previous afternoon and night had cancelations and delays.

It's nice in a way to be home, but no one brought my breakfast or made my bed this morning and I'm sure no one will start doing the laundry that is building up in the laundry room as we are unpacking.  I do love being spoiled and waited on while we cruise. It's always rough getting back to real life - I could easily the the old lady that lives on a ship.

I'll do a summary in the next day (or so).

last evening on the ship

The bags are packed and out in the hallway.  The cabin seems very empty.  I could still stay on for the next Grand Voyage to the Med  but I guess I need to go home and deal with the real world for a while.  Ack, I have to cook and clean??!!  And the laundry.  Oh well, the final night always is a bit sad as we are leaving many new friends and of course, leaving another adventure.

We saw on CNN that there is a big snowstorm hitting Denver right now so I don't know what to expect for our flights tomorrow.  I've checked the 9News website and there are a few inches in Denver and Lakewood already.  So... we'll be home tomorrow if Mother Nature is nice to us.  We have a Southwest flight at 11:30 but it's not direct like we always try for... we do have to change planes in Houston - but the first direct flight I could get was late in the afternoon and I didn't feel like hanging around in the airport all day.

I'll do some summary posts after we get back home.

Random Thoughts

  We are just two days from the end of the cruise. As usual I could stay on for another one, but I’d want a balcony cabin. We have managed ok with the outside cabin, but we both really missed the balcony… then again I could wish they would somehow just give me the Penthouse! The space in the outside cabin is fine - actually bigger than some balcony cabins as we have a loveseat, chair and coffee table, but I miss the sound of the sea and the fresh air and having the floor to ceiling size of the sliding door as a window to see outside.

 

The computer that runs the ship information channel on the TV broke shortly after the cruise began. That is the channel where you get current information on temperature, wind, wave height, etc. It also gives the ship location on a map so you can get a good idea of your location. I had never realized how much I depended on this until it wasn’t available. I would have especially used it while we were in the Chilean fjords, Antarctica and the Amazon. They say it will be fixed for the next cruise-the new computer is waiting in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The crew and staff of Prinsendam is probably the best we have ever experienced. Although I think the cutbacks are slightly noticeable in that the stewards and waiters care for more people than some years back, everyone is happy and cheerful (at least when we, the passengers, can see them). They all seem to enjoy their jobs and to really like being on Prinsendam as they really do get to see the world as opposed to the ships in the Caribbean and/or Alaska.

 

I have found the people on the ship to be very friendly and polite - of course, there are the exceptions… a couple that are constantly complaining about everything and one lady that is one of the rudest people I’ve ever been around - she is one of those that thinks everything should revolve around her and demands that it happen that way.

 

I’ve made a number of new friends that I hope to keep in contact with.

 

The attire of the passengers (on all lines we have been on recently) is considerably more relaxed than even just a few years ago. Formal nights are not nearly as formal and it seems they don’t even ask passengers that are not at all dressed up to change clothes or use the lido for that evening. I’ve heard a number of complaints from people that don’t like the ‘casual’ atmosphere. I guess it is here to stay and we will have to adapt or move to Cunard.

  

That’s it for now… I might have more later. I’ve added thoughts from a number of people that have wandered by as I’ve been writing.

 

 

 

Thoughts from other People:

• I feel like I’m leaving a new family - passengers and crew.
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• I don’t know how anyone could experience Antarctica and not believe in a Higher Power.
• Exciting and Awesome.
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• We’re on course (from the Captain).
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• I like the food on the ship.
• The way the staff and crew treat you they make you feel special.
• They should put a cover on the extra roll of toilet paper so men don’t “whiz” on it. [note from Sue - you have to wonder about this guy if this was his only 'thought' of the cruise]
• Cold and Penguins (from Thom, Cruise Director)
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• This is a ‘complete’ cruise, we have traveled in all types of weather and climates. There is nothing that beats Antarctica. (from Kevin, Asst. Cruise Director)
• Unexpected. The brochure told you what to expect, but it was so much more. I couldn’t believe the juxtaposition of Antarctica /vs. Amazon River. I had expected the Amazon River to be the highlight of the cruise, but it turned out to be Antarctica. I just couldn’t believe it.
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• 70 days seems like eternity on a boat.
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• Not many 33 year olds haven’t been on a cruise this long.
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• 70 days is just not long enough… I could stay on for more (except maybe to see my new granddaughter).
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• The cruise went to too many places that were too similar.
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• Fun.
•  
• Can’t wait to do it again.
• I’m glad I did it, but I’m glad it’s over.

 

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Our last port of call. It was a beautiful day, perfect blue sky along with the blue waters of the Caribbean and temperature around 80. Ponce is located on the south side of the island - San Juan is on the North and is a much larger city and port. We left the ship about 9:30 and our timing couldn’t have been more perfect as the first of two marching bands was just marching up to perform. These were all school children from Ponce and a nearby town/school. The band from Ponce was quite large and included baton twirlers, flag twirlers and cheerleaders. The other band was quite small, but had a couple baton twirlers with it. In both bands there were some very small children, one in particular (in the middle of the front row of the picture) absolutely stole the show; he was perfect - a real showman and never missed a beat.

Since this was a Sunday we had been warned that there wouldn’t be much open in town so we decided to just walk along the boardwalk and watch the people feed the fish and birds. This particular pelican was really funny… he was awfully picky when he was getting free food handouts… right after he took this fish, he spit it out and didn’t want anything to do with it again.

We have only two more days of the cruise left… you can feel the mood changing on the ship; it’s much more subdued.

Barbados

We were entering the port at Barbados as we woke up; there were already 3 ships docked and the Grand Princess was following us in. The others were from P&O, Fred Olson and the Freewind so it was a crowded day at the terminal.

We waited until about 9:30 and then headed off the ship and took the special shuttle around to the terminal since we were the farthest ship, Prinsendam had arranged for the shuttle. I thought we had been here before (Jim said no) but as soon as we entered the terminal I knew I was wrong and that this would be a new port for us. We decided to just get a taxi for a couple hours and do a short tour of the area rather than go into the downtown for shopping - how much stuff can people actually buy?!! I saw lots of shopping bags coming back onboard later in the day so I guess people are still buying something.

We had heard that there were monkeys on the island so we asked our driver about it and he said yes there were some quite close… he then stopped to buy some bananas for us to feed them. We did a short tour of the city and then headed to the monkeys that are located near the Country Club. He found them right away and we spent about 30 minutes feeding them and taking pictures. These monkeys were much tamer than those on Devils island - these had no fear of people or my camera.

Then we drove through the countryside and saw several smaller towns and then headed back to the port. Our driver was excellent and explained everything…. Of course, the fact that this is a former British Colony means it is English speaking which was very nice!

After we got back to the ship we played trivia (and did miserably!) and then went to the deck BBQ around the Lido pool. By that time, my bones really needed to stop sitting and get flat so we headed back to the cabin and spent a short evening reading.

From Brazil into France

On Monday and Tuesday we were at sea and it seemed there were several things we wanted to do. Monday we had a special “Swim across the Equator” which I decided to do since I missed the swim with the penguins. As you can see in the picture, the pool was quite crowded. Thom, the cruise director, is the guy in the tux and hat. There is a slightly larger pool on the aft Deck 9. On Tuesday they had the Mariner’s luncheon… since everyone onboard is a Mariner, it was divided into two lunches just like the dinner seatings. It was a nice lunch and the Captain spoke a bit about our travels and the challenges of the Antarctic and the Amazon.

Wednesday we arrived at Devil’s Island off the coast of French Guiana. This is where France sent some of their prisoners until the 1950’s. There are actually three small islands together named the Iles du Salut; the others are Ile Royale and Ile Ste-Joseph.
We actually were on Ile Royale - not Devil’s Island as it has no facilities to even dock the tenders. The island is an interesting hodgepodge of restored buildings including a small hotel and restaurant and the remains of the prison buildings. There were several paths you could take to explore; it takes about an hour to walk all the way around the island. We were there about 5 hours because there were lots of monkeys big ones and small ones and I had to take lots of pictures. These are wild monkeys, but they are somewhat used to people and if you held out a piece of food, eventually one would get brave enough to come and snatch it quickly and run away. There were also some little rodents called Agouti (I think) - they were kind of cute and everywhere.

Eventually we came back to the ship, hot and tired, but it was a great day… I really liked it much better than some of the large cities we visited - but there were a lot of people that didn’t like this type of stop at all and didn’t get off the ship. I think Holland America did a great job of balancing the types of ports on this cruise - there really has been something for everyone.

Last night was the Green & White Ball in celebration of St. Patrick’s day but as usual, I was asleep prior to its starting time of 10 pm.

Parintins, Brazil

Many of the people on the ship (about 300) had booked the Boi Bumba show. We had booked it as soon as we found out we were going on this adventure on the advise of our friends Ray and Joann who said it was fantastic. The show is a tradition for Parintins and represents the killing of a bull at the request of a slave woman back in the 1800‘s… it’s a much longer story, but the costuming and celebration is said to rival Carnival in Rio on a smaller scale. The real festival takes place in June in a huge outdoor arena, but they have a brand new indoor convention center with (a little) air conditioning for us tourists that melt in the heat. There was a projection or press booth up high at the back and I asked the ship photographers if I could go up there with them so I got wonderful shots. Jim also got a good spot - sitting on the floor right up front. The show lasted a little over an hour and was filled with wonderful costumes, dancers and music. It is a must do if you do an Amazon cruise.

The town of Parintins is a small town and you could visit much of it in a day, but as we were late in reaching it in the morning we had no time to explore it prior to the show and afterwards it was just too hot. We chose to instead just look at some of the local crafts… Jim looked for a shot glass with no success and ended up getting a T-shirt as we had Reales left to spend and this was our last port in Brazil. Then we sat in an outside bar and shared a local Brahma beer before heading back to the ship.

Oops, I was just looking at the pictures I had for this blog entry and saw the one of the Boy Scouts. They were all along the way from the ship to the convention center to ‘help’ us. They all looked so cute and were so willing to help I just had to include a picture.

I’m pooped, we have had a number of ports one right after the other so I’m really looking forward to these couple sea days before our next stop at Devil’s Island.

Manaus, Brazil - Day 2

We finally were given permission to dock at about 9:00 in the evening so by 10:00 we were docked at the floating pier.

We got up at about 6:00 as we had a jungle riverboat excursion booked; it left right on time and was very easy since we were docked and the riverboat was only a couple hundred feet down the pier. It was a very nice two level boat with wooden bench seats built in instead of the plastic chairs used on some of the others which also double as river transportation for the locals. The chairs need to be moveable so they can hang their hammocks from the rafters above - we saw many of these go by filled with people in their hammocks…. Not a bad way to do it.

This tour was pleasant, but not great. We traveled up the Rio Negro for about 30 minutes and then docked at a floating restaurant, gift shop and piers. There we boarded smaller 10 person canoe-type boats for a ride into the smaller tributaries. We saw a few birds and one dolphin (for a brief second) and some of the giant lily pads and then returned to the floating pier for a return to the ship. On the way back we went out to the Meeting of the Waters where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet the brown muddy waters of the Amazon. It is interesting in that they don’t finally completely blend together for many miles downstream.

If we hadn’t done the wonderful river trip at Boca da Valeria this probably would have seemed better, but it really goes to show to take more advantage of the possibilities offered at local stops.

Tomorrow the Boi Bumba show.

Manaus, Brazil

Interesting morning… we were approaching Manaus when we woke up about 7 this morning and we could see Royal Princess just ahead of us. I was looking forward to seeing her here (we did our World Cruise on her last year) before she is moved from Princess to P & O cruise line.

We neared the port and then both ships just sort of sat there. Soon the Captain came over the speakers and announced that there was some sort of a port dispute that included the Harbor Master, the Navy, Government officials and who knows who else and we would not be able to dock for a while. Every half hour he updated us with the announcement that there was no news yet. Finally about 12:30 Royal Princess was allowed to dock and we were told to anchor and use tenders. Although not a perfect solution it did allow those with excursions to go as they had all been rescheduled.

Jim and I were planning to go to the zoo today and not much else as we have a jungle river excursion here tomorrow morning. We decided to wait until later in the day when we were supposed to be able to dock, but it’s now almost 6:00 and we are still at anchor. The Captain just announced that he is still hopeful that we can dock sometime tonight. (this is an overnight port for us). So… it was a very uneventful day for us, but probably a good thing as I’m hurting a bit from the stop yesterday (but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything).

Boca da Valeria, Brazil

Boca da Valeria, Brazil

When we woke up this morning a little before 6 we were already at Boca. This is a stop that I’ve really been waiting for as it is a small primitive village on the bank of the Amazon. We ordered our room service breakfast and ate as we watched the ship getting ready for the tendering operation. At 7:30 I decided to head for the Showroom to get a tender ticket since I wanted to be there (hopefully) on the first tender… the showroom was empty - everyone else apparently slept in. There were about 15 of us on that first tender and we were greeted by about 100 people - mostly children. They actually let school out for the day when a ship stops. Many of the children brought their pets and others were dressed in costumes. The only thing that spoiled it was their cries of “one dollar” “picture one dollar” We ran out of $1 bills pretty quickly but I did get some good pictures and I got to hold a sloth and a toucan. The sloth was darling… I’d like to take him home - he could live on the patio with Fred. They move so slowly it’s hard to believe he was real and his face was so cute and tiny - his whole head was probably smaller than a golfball. There were several monkeys, but this one was the cutest by far… very tiny hardly bigger than a mans hand and the baby was sooo cute.

There were several new buildings made of concrete, a church, school and a recreation/gathering center. The houses were all wooden and built on stilts. Some houses were decorated with artsy-type painting. I was taking some shots of one and the lady invited us in. There was a porch surrounding the whole house and then three rooms, kitchen with a gas stove and a rusty looking chest freezer (no fridge), bedroom and living room which was probably also the childrens’ sleeping room. We thanked her and tipped her and then walked back to the area where the tender docked to take a canoe ride up the river.

As soon as we had gotten off the tender we were adopted by about a dozen children and one young man… they stayed with us the whole time… the little girls taking turns holding hands with me. The young man had one of the boats and since we had said we would go with him I guess he didn’t want to loose us.

We got in the canoe and he headed up the river using a paddle at first and then a very small Honda motor mounted at the side of the canoe. We passed more houses - some with a cow or goats and a number with dogs. We also saw some different types of birds and then he turned the boat through the reeds and we were in a pond-type area that was full of the giant lily pads. Spectacular! He kind of paddled and poled us around there until we had our fill of pictures and then we headed back. I was about melted into a puddle of goo by this time, but that canoe ride was the best thing we’ve done since the Antarctic - it was actually worth the heat. But, good heavens the air conditioning felt good back on the ship.

We cooled off and then headed to lunch… then a bit more reading then Trivia and now we are sitting on the aft deck behind the Lido (at one of the three smoking tables) and I’m writing and running side to side taking pictures. We are just now going through a rain shower but it will clear in a few minutes. It’s hot and muggy but there is just enough breeze to keep it tolerable.

Tomorrow Manaus.

Santarem, Brazil

We arrived in Santarem later than planned as the current in the Amazon was causing us to run late. It didn’t matter to us as we didn’t have a tour booked.

This city was more to my liking; only about 250,000 population and no highrises. We rode the shuttle into the center of town where there were many stores selling regular day to day stuff. That is much more fun than looking at more masks, bags, and now dead Piranha fish in tourist stalls. There was a lovely church just off the main square, but I couldn’t get any pictures inside. We just wandered along a few of the streets and looked through the windows… nothing really for photographs but an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours. Then we came back to the ship in time to shower and change for dinner.

The morning was spent going back and forth from the cabin to the deck for photo ops. The river is at its widest here - about 9 miles so much of the time we weren’t near a bank, but when we were it was interesting to see both the rainforest and the houses built in random places along the banks and looking at the riverboats - some quite large with three decks and some very small.

This last photo is of the Lido staff. Alex, the supervisor (in the uniform in back), has become a good friend and has taken wonderful care of us since we eat dinner there everyday. There seem to be about 6 couples that have chosen to eat in the Lido as we see them every night. In this picture they are dressed for “Carnival Night”.

Busy Sea Day and Belem, Brazil


Yesterday just happened to be one of those sea days where there were many things I wanted to do. I started at 9:00 for the final session of our book club - we read ‘Letters from Paraguay’ this time. The book was interesting in that it took place in the general area we are visiting albeit in the late 1800’s.

After book club, I returned to the cabin for a quick drink of coffee before heading to a lecture on the upcoming port of Belem, then Trivia… then lunch and then a presentation by the Captain on the history of cruising. He says that not only is his profession cruise ships, but it is also his hobby. I did find bits of time to lie down flat to give my back a rest, but by the time we finished dinner I was ready to hit the bed and read. So far I haven’t had any problem finding books to read in Prinsendam’s library - it’s fairly large.



Belem, Brazil

We woke up this morning and looked out the window to find the brown water of the Amazon. Yup… no more blue sea - it’s truly brown. We were going very slowly as it is very shallow - so shallow that we need to anchor about 20 miles downstream from Belem and the transfers are being done via local ferries and then a long (45 minute) bus ride that has no air conditioning. I decided that I’m too much of a wuss for that kind of heat and the fact that both the buses and the ferries are running kind of a random schedule so there could be a very long wait for a return. It’s currently just after lunch and Jim still says he might just ride the ferry across to the dock and then return… I’ll let you know. I’m enjoying just watching the activity on the water; there are many little boats ranging from local ferries to small rowboats. The close-by village of Icaraza looks like it would be interesting to explore; very green (duh!) with many businesses and houses. I just watched a huge cloud build and then sweep across the river dropping rain and within 10 minutes clear out again. You can see Belem in the distance and it is another very modern city with many skyscraper (or at least very tall) buildings.

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Well, I got interrupted as I was writing above. It’s now late afternoon and people are returning. Those that just rode the ferry over to the little town said it was wonderful, many little local bars/cafes right on the edge of the water and a great local market. The few that have returned already from the long trip into Belem aren’t quite as thrilled with their day. It looks like I missed a really great port - I seem to do that on every long cruise. Oh well, we have a few more to go, but time is getting short.

Fortaleza, Brazil

Another city of about 2 million people. We took the shuttle into the city early as it dropped us at the Central Market and a block away is one of the largest Cathedrals in Brazil.

The Central Market was a disappointment in that it really seemed to be a huge tourist market rather than a market where the locals would shop. The cathedral was huge and beautiful and had many many stained glass windows, but either was fairly new or had been totally refurbished and had none of the old architectural interest that I love. We debated on walking a few blocks, but all we could see were more shops so we came back to the ship. It was 95 degrees and bright sunshine… as the Cruise Director said later… a heat index of 350 degrees. Ok, I’m a wuss, but the heat just knocks me these days, I was so poopled when we got back to the ship I didn’t want to move off the bed (I had a nice cold washcloth over my head!).

Jim said I should post this picture of me with two of the dancers that welcomed our ship into Recife a couple days ago.

Recife, Brazil and Random Thoughts

Recife is another big city - a couple million people live here. We were docked a distance from the town so there was a shuttle that took us into town. We left the ship just before 8:30 - again trying to beat the heat and it was good that we did as it got hot really fast. We wandered several streets on one side of the river and looked at the market stalls and then crossed one of the bridges and did the same on the other side. There were a 5 or 6 churches in a very close area and I had to check each of them… I still love seeing the ornate interiors. One, St. Anthony’s, was covered in gold plate and they didn’t object to photos as long as you didn’t use flash. The highlight of the day… I finally found a shop that had hair barrettes so I can get my hair up of my neck! It was a quiet rest of the day and we placed last in trivia by 2 points. We are certainly maintaining well… and we are having fun where we hear some of the other teams fighting.

 

I don’t have any really interesting pictures here, so I’ll skip uploading any.

 

 

 

Random Thoughts

 

I love the small ships - ok, you are probably getting tired of hearing that, but they are so much more ’ship-like’ that the floating hotels. They aren’t geared toward families so kids would probably be very bored, but for adult travelers they are perfect.

 

• Prinsendam was built in the 1980’s (the exact year escapes me right now) and she is needing constant maintenance on the large systems. They have been constantly working on the sewage system and water systems and occasionally the air conditioning system. So far the outages have been not too bad and the Captain has rewarded the passengers with wine or drinks for our patience. The AC in our cabin is on its last legs… the little flap that moves to change the airflow (how you control the temp) is almost rusted out so Jim has had to move it by hand, but once we figured that out it really hasn’t been a problem for us but it needs replacing.
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• The Captain was asked recently if he felt Holland America would keep Prinsendam and he replied that since she almost always sails completely full and people love her it looks good for her to remain in the fleet.
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• While some of the lecturers have been very good, some have been pretty poor. With all the ships today looking for speakers this would be a perfect time for anyone with the urge and the talent to join the speakers agency. You would need to be a good speaker and very knowledgeable about your topic as cruiseship passengers aren’t too forgiving and will walk out on bad lectures.
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• There have been no complaints about the food - both the Lido and the dining room have been getting great reports. I’m particularly impressed that they can serve lobsters that are fairly large and cooked well. I had given up on ordering lobster on ships several years ago as they were never good. The beef is all cooked very rare and if I want it more well done they just toss it on the grill for a minute and it comes out perfect.
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• In listening to the passengers it seems that the Asia/Australia Grand Voyage is the choice for most for their next cruise -- or the World Cruise. It really does seem that once you have taken a long voyage that is all you are interested in doing.

 

That’s it for now - more later.

 

Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

We’re not in Antarctica any more - aaacckk - I’m ready to go back. It was about 87 when we left the ship at 9:00 (trying to beat the heat) with humidity of about a million percent and it just got hotter. Some of the decorations of Carnival were still around on some of the squares so it really looked festive and there was a combination of old architecture and newer buildings. We visited several churches; one is quite famous, St Francis, as the interior is completely covered with gold. We looked at some of the souvenir stuff and then stopped at a café with umbrellas for a Coke. Good timing as it started raining - so we just waited there until the rain stopped and then we walked several blocks to the elevator and returned to the ship.

This city was a surprise to me; I expected a quaint small city and it is a huge city of 2 million people. Luckily the quaint part of the city is right near the port. It is built on two levels, the higher level is way high, you either take a taxi or shuttle the long way or you ride the elevator. We had been warned not to bother to try to walk up - even if you are in good shape. We decided to take the H Stern shuttle up and then ride the elevator down.

This city was the center of the slavery trade both for North and South America so the majority of the population is black and much of the culture is derived from Africa. Frank, the onboard tour guide, had told us that there would be many very large costumed “Mammies” for picture taking and that they would want a dollar for the picture. There were many around and they were all dressed in great clothes, but I will say that most are not really that large; they wear considerable padding and a bustle-type affair under their skirt to make them look very large. The price has certainly gone up… no more $1 for a picture - now it was $5 and they would chase you down to get it. There we also some other street performers, jugglers, dancers and acrobats… and they all had their hand out. We had gone with a ready supply of $1 bills, but it got old quick. I sure preferred Peru where the people wanted you to take their picture and many refused to take anything in return.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We should have booked a city tour here. There is only one cruise ship terminal and several ships in and they are having a turnover day which means that the terminal is a madhouse. We took the H Stern free shuttle to their main headquarters since that seemed to be the only transportation possibility. It was actually a nice ride of about 25 minutes through the city to the Ipanema beach area. We did their short tour through their workshops and then looked at some jewelry which was beautiful, but either beyond my means or the rings and things I could afford I just really didn’t need. We then walked to the beach and watched the ‘beautiful bodies’ strutting by and the men playing volleyball. The few juice bars nearby were all completely full so we decided to wander in the other direction and soon tired of just looking at the shops so we headed back on the shuttle. It was nice that they took a different route back to the ship so we were able to see all of Ipanema beach as well as Copacabana beach and hotels.

We had a local show in place of the regular shows in the evening. It was done as a small version of Carnival and put on by one of the Samba schools. The costumes were great and quite skimpy. I’m sure this will be the favorite show of the men onboard. I’ve decided if I go and buy a sparkly thong, bra and some feathers I’ll suddenly have a figure just like theirs! Ok, I’m just wishing… it wouldn’t have happened even when I was young.

I should back up here and say that as we arrived into the port we were out on the deck and could see Sugarloaf and Corcovado with Christ the Redeemer on top. It was about sunrise and it was quite misty, but at least I have seen them and have a few (rather poor) pictures. We are supposed to pass by those same areas again this afternoon when we leave port so maybe I can get some better shots then.

There is a huge U.S. aircraft carrier, Number 70, the Carl Vinson, anchored here in the bay and we have been watching the sailors being shuttled back and forth to the ship. It’s quite interesting to see it this close.

We have been following the CNN coverage of the earthquake in Chile. 8.8 is a huge earthquake and it makes it seem so much more real since we were just there a little while ago. Our guide there talked some about their earthquake risk and the fact that they are constantly having tremors. Although what we are seeing shows the devastation, I actually am impressed with what didn’t happen. Most of the new buildings in Santiago and other cities have been built to stringent earthquake standards and seem to have come through this remarkably well. It is so sad to see the old historic buildings that have had so much damage - the historic architecture is what I love.

Safe in Rio

We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this morning. We went out on deck to take pictures as we came into the port - that was when several passengers mentioned that there had just been a huge earthquake in Santiago. We have been watching the coverage on CNN. I’ll write more later.

Monte Video, Uruguay

Monte Video, Uruguay


We crossed the river from Buenos Aires during the night and arrived in the port at Monte Video about 30 minutes late - about 8:30 in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny but cool morning - probably a little less than 60 degrees with a little wind and predicted to be about 75 - couldn’t be better.

This was our second Ensemble Experience private shore excursion for our group. We all met in the Half Moon room at 8:45 and about 5 minutes later they announced that the ship had been cleared by the local authorities. So we weren’t late at all to meet with our tour guides, Maria and driver, Jorge. Maria was a fantastic guide, she is a school teacher during the school year and also a lawyer. And as most of our guides have been, her English was perfect. We did a bus tour of the city with a number of photo stops and it was interesting to see the preparations for the inauguration of their new government next week. She did say that much extra security will be in place since “Hillary” is attending. We traveled through the downtown and government areas of this city of over a million people and then through several suburbs which enabled us to see the wealthy areas, middle class and low class areas. In the lower class areas she referred to them as shanty towns, but all the houses were brick or concrete block so they were far better than sum of the slums or shanty towns we have seen on our travels.

Then we went into the countryside to a winery where we had a short tour. This is actually a harvest and production time for them so it was very busy and smelled very ‘winey’. Then we went into the dining room and for a very large Uruguayan barbeque lunch and the opportunity to sample many of their wines. There were two local musicians playing guitars and singing and a number of the people in the group had great fun dancing. A considerable amount of wine was consumed! J Everyone was disappointed when we had to board the bus and return to the ship.

I was totally pooped… I did manage to go up to the Lido for a bowl of soup and then I didn’t move the rest of the evening except to look out the window a couple times during sail away.

Today is a sea day as we are heading north to our many stops in Brazil. I can report that we are holding a steady last place in Trivia and enjoying every minute of it. It is amazing how many times we have the right answer but decide to use a different one.

Buenos Aires

The night prior to Buenos Aires we had our second Ensemble Cocktail party and everyone attended - this time I chose the Explorers Lounge for the party so we weren’t so crowded; it was perfect. I asked almost everyone for a quick description of the Antarctic and I got two consistent responses: “indescribable” and “awesome.” That pretty much sums up how I feel about it. Everyone agreed that they could have spent several more days in the area before heading out.

We arrived in port to gray and rainy skies, but the rain soon stopped and we headed into the city. We were planning to taxi directly to the Recolleto area to do some photography in the cemetery where Eva Perone is buried but the line for the taxies was quite long so we ended up taking the H Stern shuttle bus to their jewelry shop in the Marriott Plaza Hotel and then taxiing over from there. This cemetery is fascinating as it is made up of beautiful above ground mausoleums - each corner you turn seems to be better than the last.

Eva’s mausoleum is actually one of the least impressive, but it is always marked with many fresh flowers and, of course, with many people crowding around to see it. After about an hour of wandering around, the rain started again and we put on our little plastic ponchos… almost everyone else left so we had the whole place almost to ourselves. Now I admit that blue skies would have made prettier pictures, but I took bunches anyway and I didn’t have to wait for anyone to get out of my picture! The cemetery dates from about 1830, but the earliest date we could find was about 1840. Some of the mausoleums are well cared for and others are falling into ruin. Most have windows in the doors so you can look inside. These are family plots and probably hold many coffins both above and below the ground. They have a tiny stairway going to the underground area inside each structure. Many also have stained glass windows or cupolas made of glass. One of the pictures here shows the interior of one mausoleum where the door was open.

The rain continued sometimes a little bit and sometimes harder so we decided to have lunch in a nearby Irish Pub to see if it might stop. When we came out it was raining even harder so we found a taxi and headed back to the ship.

This was an overnight port so when we awoke the next morning to beautiful blue skies we headed back out. This time we just wanted to wander around the city a bit so we again rode the H Stern shuttle and spent about 3 hours looking in the shops on Calle Florida; the main shopping area. Jim bought a new belt but I can tell you from the size and number of the shopping bags being carried back onto the ship, we were in the minority in not buying much. Even though we had been here in December, I still feel that I have just barely scratched the surface of this fascinating city. There was a folkloric show late in the afternoon in the showroom and then in the evening we headed to Monte Video.

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

We made it! This is a commonly missed stop on these cruises as the weather is often too bad to anchor or even to get there. Both Amsterdam and Veendam missed it recently so we are feeling very lucky. This was my last chance for penguins so we had booked an excursion. I had wanted either one that went to King penguins or Rockhopper penguins but both were full so we were on one to Bluff Cove for Gentoo penguins. Now the excursion involved the tender, a small bus and then 4x4 Land Rovers and warned that is was not for those with back or neck problems, but I couldn’t miss my last opportunity for penguins up close and personal so I did it. It was a rough ride, but I survived it and am not a whole lot worse for it today! There were several thousand Gentoo penguins on a nice stretch of beach on a private farm AND 5 King Penguins!!! So I got my King penguin pictures after all. They are bigger than the Gentoo and have the distinct yellow around their upper chest - really beautiful - and then to make it even better one had a new chick hatched just the day before. They were a long way off but with my zoom I shot a ton of pictures. I hope you can see the adult feeding the chick between her feet.

I thought the Falklands were very interesting. They are very flat; the highest hills are only about 2,000 feet. There are no trees except in the town where people have planted them. It has a very different kind of beauty similar to how I picture areas on Scotland. Port Stanley looks very British or Irish and of course, the people speak a very British English. When we got back on the ship we found that we had been there at an interesting time for another reason. Apparently the President of Argentina had signed a new proclamation that morning claiming all the area including the Falklands and stating that any ships sailing in that area must have some sort of a special Argentinean permit. We don’t have this permit so we shall see what happens when we arrive there in a couple days.

Later in the evening we had dinner in the Pinnacle with the Ice Pilot, Captain Pat Toomey and had a great meal as well as getting to hear some more of his stories. He was a great addition to this cruise as he took the time to do pre and post Antarctic lectures. He has been at sea for his whole adult life and his wife often accompanies him.

Now we have two sea days before Buenos Aires. I’m sitting in the showroom writing this as they are giving Tango lessons. There are at least 40 couples (probably more) taking the lesson. The instructor is a really cute young man who is a member of the Pampas Devils who will be dancing on the ship for a couple nights. It’s times like this I wish my bones were in better shape as I used to love to Tango even though I needed someone that was a really good dancer to lead.

Antarctica Day 3 and next

Antarctica Day 3

Today was expedition cruising at its best - the Captain has been reminding us, our itinerary is totally based on weather and ice conditions. This morning we were supposed to enter the Antarctica Sound (Iceberg Alley) and see Paulette Island. Our approach to the Sound was blocked by pack ice that had not been reported. It was a huge area of sea ice and some icebergs that the winds had blown up from the southwest. After looking around for a while the Captain decided to head straight for Elephant Island. There was an expedition ship on the north side of the ice and we were on the south… There were 12 miles of ice between the two ships and both were looking for a channel to get through - neither found one. We finally doubled back to where we had started in the very early morning hours and then headed northeast. We had lost so much time that now there was no time to go to Elephant Island and we are headed straight for Port Stanley in the Falklands (plan D). We passed a number of huge icebergs but less and less of the small ones as we went north; by bedtime, there were none to be seen. For the many times that I’ve said I find the sea endless fascinating, I have to admit I miss the icebergs!  Especially the ones with penguins on them.

At Sea Heading to the Falklands

We left Antarctica at about 1:00 this morning and woke up to gray, foggy skies but again we have smooth passage in the Drake.

This morning was the Penguin Races; I had my penguin all dressed up in my sparkly necklace… we didn’t win the race but she was the best dressed penguin! Jim played in the Texas Hold’em tournament and was the 3rd out - good thing we aren’t gamblers.

We had lunch at the table with our Ice Pilot, Captain Pat Toomey. We had eaten lunch at his table a few days ago and he is really interesting… we are taking him to the Pinnacle tomorrow night as he will disembark in Buenos Aires. He gave a talk this afternoon describing what we actually did and the routes we ended up taking. He had done one just after Ushuaia detailing Plan A, the best possible itinerary and the one we would do if everything was perfect.

All in all it was a quiet day after the excitement of the Antarctic and it was nice not to be wearing the extra clothes and going in and out on the freezing decks for pictures. It’s still freezing out there, but I don’t have to go out.
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