Monthly Archives: December 2024

Antarctica Pt 2 DEC 29 2024

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As we continued around the islands and fjords of Antarctica, we were blessed with great weather other than occasional fog and low visibility. Unlike anything we had ever seen, we continued to be in awe of the majestic beauty.

Gentoo Penguin Colony

For two days we had snow and we were visited by a snow penguin.

One day we stopped near Palmer Research Station operated by the United States Antarctic Program. They do marine and biology research focused on seabirds and plankton. We watched as two zodiacs brought research scientists over for presentations on their work. Can you see all the ice in the water?

They had lunch and dinner on the ship and they mentioned how they especially enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables. I believe they were gifted with several boxes of fruits and vegetables to take back to their station.

We had heard so much about Drake Passage and Cape Horn. They have a notorious history for rough water, fierce winds and dangerous waves. We had already crossed Drake Passage once on the cruise with no problem. Now we were about to be tested again as we cruise Drake Passage for a second time as we cruise to Cape Horn, located on the small Hornos Island.

We cruised completely around Hornos Island. The reputation of Cape Horn is notorious as it is known as “the graveyard of ships”. There have been many shipwrecks here with more than 10,000 lives lost, making it the largest underwater cemetery in the world. After the opening of the Panama Canal, the number of ships navigating around the Horn was significantly reduced.

The day dawned with beautiful clear skies, no wind and calm seas. Unbelievable! The Captain said it is very rare to see this kind of weather here. Normally this area has 278 days of rainfall a year. We saw a sailboat close to shore and the cruise director commented it was crazy for a sailboat to be in these waters.

This area is part of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego archipelago. We could see the lighthouse, also called the “Lighthouse at the End of the World” high on the hill. Operational since 1991, it is manned by Chilean navy personnel. Currently a family of four lives there with their cat. They came outside and waved at us and the captain sounded the ship’s horn in return. Impossible to get a picture of them that far away without a high powered lens. A meteorological station is also kept there. Next to the lighthouse is a small chapel.

On the hill was the Cape Horn Monument also called the Albatross Monument.

The name comes from the two metal halves which when viewed from a certain angle, looks like an albatross in flight. It was built to withstand the 120 mph winds which blow at times. The memorial was built in 1992 and is dedicated to the memory of the men from every nation who died around Cape Horn. One interesting tidbit, during the 1978 Beagle Conflict between Chile and Argentina, Chile covered the island with landmines. In 2006 a project was started to remove the mines but there are still many unaccounted for.

Only members of the Chilean navy can serve as the Cape Horn lighthouse keeper. The keeper must be married in order to have companionship which is considered necessary due to the extreme isolation. The assignment is for twelve months however the family can request an extension. The current family just completed their second rotation and has requested a third. Supplies are restocked every 60 days but this can be delayed due to weather. Attempts to grow food in a greenhouse failed due to harsh conditions.

Sadly, we have completed our exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Next up: on to one last port in Argentina then Chile

 

Antarctica Pt 1 DEC 24 2024

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Antarctica…..I don’t even know where to begin. Remote, majestic, mysterious, silent, cold. Unlike any place on earth. According to Brittanica it is “the world’s southernmost, highest, driest, windiest, coldest and iciest continent.”  It also has the world’s largest desert, a polar desert.  It is the fifth largest and least inhabited continent.  It is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, surrounded by the Southern Ocean and contains the South Pole.  Most of Antarctica is covered by a sheet of ice which averages a thickness of 1.2 miles.  The seasonal population is between 1,300 to 5,100 depending on the season.
Antarctica is governed by about thirty countries as part of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System.  As part of the Treaty, military activity, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. We spent four days cruising the coast of Antarctica named Antarctic Peninsula including Elephant Island and Deception Island.

For the most part we had great weather except for occasional low visibility due to fog.  Since this is summer in this part of the world, we had 22 hours of daylight each day. Great for continuous scenic viewing.
Elephant Island is named for the elephant head like appearance and the sighting of elephant seals in 1821.

The next bay after Elephant Island is Hope Bay. The Captain informed us that Hope Bay was full of icebergs so the ship would add cruising of Deception Island to our itinerary instead.

Deception Island is the flooded caldera of an active volcano.  It was named for its deceptive appearance as a normal Island until you get close enough to see the caldera. Our captain was able to get the ship close enough to “Neptune’s Bellows so we could see the caldera.  The narrow entrance of the channel into the caldera was too narrow for a ship our size.

Very Large/Wide Iceberg

Colony of Chinstrap Penguins

On the shore we could see part of the 200,000 chinstrap penguins.
On Christmas Eve the ship’s officers and crew put on a special holiday show. Choirs from the Phillipines and Indonesian as well as an International Choir put on a fantastic show.

On Christmas Day we attended a church service led by passenger volunteers and later that morning Santa Claus visited the small number of children on the ship.

Next up: Antarctica part 2

 

Falkland Islands DEC 22 2024

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As the captain predicted, we had gale force winds and rough weather as we approached Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Rather than abort the port, the captain decided to wait offshore to see if the weather improved. The captain said he couldn’t dock if the winds were greater than 30 knots and our winds that day were 50. Also this port has no tug boats available to help ships dock. After waiting several hours, the ship was able to dock. By this time most people had missed their scheduled excursions and chose to stay onboard. WIth the strong winds and cold temperatures, we chose to stay on the ship.

After a second day at sea, our next port was a big one, the Falkland Islands. The Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Stanley. The Falklands have an internal self governance but the United Kingdom is responsible for their defense and foreign affairs.

The Falkland Islands was uninhabited until 1764. Since then it has been ruled by French, British, Spanish and Argentine settlements, until the British took over in 1833. Argentina still claims the Islands. In 1982, Argentina invaded the island and they battled for two months before the English restored order. Still today, Argentina still believes the Falkland Islands belong to them and is a source of tension and hard feelings between the two countries. We were told not to wear anything with Argentina on it and be sure not to even wear the colors of the Argentina flag. To say it is a sore subject for the Argentine people is an understatement. Bill left his Buenos Aires, Argentina hat on the ship!!

The morning of our visit dawned with bright blue skies and calm seas. We were extremely lucky since the captain said only 50% of ships are able to anchor here. Just the day before, two ships were unable to stop because of poor weather.

This is a tender port so we had to get a tender boat ticket and wait for our number to be called. It was a 20+ minute ride to shore which wasn’t bad since the water was calm.

The capital,Stanley, is remote with a population of 2,500 people and 1,000,000 penguins!

We didn’t have an excursion booked here so we got on their new Hop On Hop Off bus, just started this year.

Totem Pole of Direction

Cross of Sacrifice

It is not a large island and they didn’t have a lot of stops, but our main interest was Gypsy Cove to see Magellanic penguins. Located four miles from Stanley, it is part of a National Wildlife Reserve.
Avian flu is a real concern here and has claimed the lives of some of the penguins, so as a precaution we had to walk over a disinfectant pad before entering the Reserve.

There are park officials located all along the paths to keep over eager tourists from getting too close to the penguins. Obviously the penguins were used to people since they seemed indifferent to our presence. Simply amazing to see them this close!

Other sights on the island included the Lady Elizabeth, a 1879 shipwreck.

The Christ Church Cathedral (1890) is the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world.

The Whalebone Arch made from the jaws of two blue whales, was erected in 1933 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of British rule in the Falkland Islands.

We stopped at the 1982 Memorial Wood, a small forest of trees dedicated to the British forces who served and died during the 1982 Falklands War, and found a geocache.

A great day in the Falkland Islands!

Cape Pembroke Lighthouse

Next up: Antarctica

Uruguay DEC 17 2024

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After a busy day in Buenos Aires, the next day we were in the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. With a population of 1.3 million, it is the capital of Uruguay. Instead of a Holland America excursion, we booked a private tour with Viator. A three hour tour of the highlights of Montevideo, it was just the right length of time to see this small capital city.

It was a perfect day with sunshine and temps in the 70s.

We stopped at Constitution Plaza where we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral constructed in 1804.

Baptism Area

The Salvo Palace, built in 1928 is now used for offices and private residences.

The Legislative Palace is the meeting place of the General Assembly of Uruguay.

Monumental equestrian statue & underground burial chamber for Uruguayan revolutionary José Artigas.

We noticed a lot of dog walkers in both Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Evidently it is a profitable business in those cities, especially with college students.

And of course, every place has a city sign and we borrowed the country flag!

Next up: Punta del Este, Uruguay

Our third of call was Punta del Este, Uruguay. Known as the Monte Carlo of South America, the Hamptons of South America and the Miami Beach of South America. A tiny sleepy town of 13,000 people for much of the year, during its high tourist season its numbers swell with wealthy jet set tourists crowding the harbor with their yachts .

Once again we booked a tour through a private company and we had an excellent local guide. We enjoyed exploring the city in a minivan rather than a big tour bus, Our guide was enthusiastic and spoke fluent English.

Since this is a very small peninsula, we could easily see the highlights in three hours. But first we had to take a tender boat over for a twenty minute ride. No problem since it was a beautiful, warm day.

La Mano is a famous sculpture (fingers) and symbol of Punta del Este completed in 1982.

Church of Our Lady of Candelaria is a sweet little Roman Catholic church.

The Punta del Este Lighthouse is 147 feet tall and a working lighthouse using electricity. It was built in 1860 using a volcanic cement mix from Rome.

At the harbor fishermen were cleaning their fish and throwing the scraps to the waiting sea lions and birds.

The next day was a welcomed sea day. A day to sleep a little later and a day to relax after all the past busy days.

Next up: Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The captain announced during his noon talk he is expecting gale force winds during the night and 35 mph winds tomorrow while in Puerto Madryn. Not sure what tomorrow will bring!

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina DEC 16 2024

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Another adventure has begun! Our final adventure of 2024. On December 14th we flew from Orlando to Miami where we caught an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Overnight flights are never easy. WIth only a few hours sleep we arrived mid morning. Our travel agent had arranged transportation to the cruise port which included a short tour of Buenos Aries. We were really too tired to enjoy it and just wanted to get to the ship.

This cruise port was different than any other port we have sailed out of anywhere in the world. We checked in and went through immigration and security at the main terminal. We then had to catch a shuttle bus to board the ship. The port is a huge container port with a few cruise ships added. It made for a long boarding process for two tired travelers.

This is a new Holland America ship for us, the Oosterdam. Our last two cruises were on the Zuiderdam which became like a second home to us. Each ship is different and this has been an adjustment for us.

The Oosterdam was in port for two days so after settling into our cabin, we were able to get some rest. After a long flight, it is always a relief to see all our luggage made it to the ship!

This is The Puente de la Mujer (Spanish for “Woman’s Bridge”) a rotating footbridge.

The next day we had scheduled an eight hour excursion of the highlights of Buenos Aires that included lunch and a tango show. We had an great local guide who spoke excellent English.

Buenos Aires, population three million, is the capital of Argentina. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, they are about to enter their summer season. Its economy is mainly agricultural and manufacturing.

Our guide said the three most important things to the Argentine people are family, food and football (what we call soccer). Families often gather together for barbecues and they eat a lot of beef. Dinner is usually eaten around 9:00  at night.

The Pink Palace is the official workplace of the president of Argentina. Unlike our White House, it is not his residence. The original pink color came from mixing white paint with cow’s blood. It is supposed to keep the paint from peeling in the high humidity.

We visited Recoleta Cemetery, the resting place of presidents and other important Argentinians. It is also where the body of Eva Peron is buried. A former controversial first lady of Argentina, her embalmed body was kidnapped by the Argentinian military when a coup removed her husband as President of Argentina. The body eventually made its way back to Buenos Aires in 1976 where it was buried in the Duarte tomb which was her family’s tomb. Requests to join her with her husband has been rejected by her family. You may be familiar with the 1996 film “Evita”. The guide laughed and told us that even though Evita Peron had once acted, she never sang “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”. It really is a fascinating story to read.

The government rents the space for the family tombs. If payment is missing the remainders are removed and a waiting list is used to replace your spot. One man wished to be buried in a cave so his family created a “cave like” tomb.

We love visiting cathedrals and in Buenos Aires we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity. A Roman Catholic cathedral built in 1779.

Pope Francis served here before moving to the Vatican in 2013.

Buenos Aires is a colorful city with a European architectural influence. We felt safe there however our guide cautioned us at every stop to watch for pickpockets and cell phone theft. Evidently stealing cell phones is a big thing and they have been snatched right out of people’s hands. They use the cell phones for parts.

After a busy day of sightseeing,we were all starved. Our tour included a four course Argentinian lunch.

The people in Argentina eat a lot of beef. Our lunch included appetizers of beef empanadas followed by a huge steak with fries. All delicious. Argentinian wine and beer was included. After we were all stuffed, we were treated to an exceptional 45 minute tango show. Amazing talent.

A great day in Buenos Aires. So glad we were able to visit!

Next up: Montevideo, Uruguay