3 days at sea

I miss talking to you so thought I would provide a bit of a picture of what life is like after 3 days at sea. Many folks are going a bit stir-crazy but personally, I find it enjoyable and relaxing. I am thinking that a couple of years ago that wouldn't have been the case so I believe retirement has a lot to do with it. The weather has turned most agreeable for hikes on the promenade deck and my walking has picked up considerably because of it. It seems that doing 5K a day with the sun shining and the wind at your back (okay, well at least half way :-) is so much easier than on the treadmill. We have befriended a woman travelling solo who loves to walk and we've been inspiring one another to greater distances. She is a lawyer from Washington State specializing in elder law so it makes for some very interesting promenade discussions. After the morning walk and stretch with Dr Oz it is usually time to take in some sun (not much more than 20 mins required in direct sunlight owing to that depleted ozone I keep mentioning) and on to whatever the 11:00 lecture entails. Today we had cocktails with the Captain at noon. It was an invitation issued to all of us who are continuing back to Santiago after Buenos Aires for the turnaround. All but 33 of us are disembarking in Buenos Aires. We will do a half-day tour in Buenos Aires to get the lay of the land for our arrival back to BA on the 24th but will leave our serious touring in Buenos Aires for when we have our two week stay at the end of our trip. Tomorrow we dock in Montevideo, Uruguay and have a trip to Punta del Este planned. This is the Riviera of Uruguay where the Argentinians all come for the beaches in the summer so it should be a good view of summer life. Kind of like being in the County in July, I think :-). The following day we hit Buenos Aires and the next Montevideo again as we begin this turnaround cruise. So, after a very quiet 3 days at sea, it will be 3 somewhat bustling days and I am up for that as it will then be a few days before we get back to our penguin viewing. Tonight we had the 3rd of our 'formal' evenings for dinner. They really do pull out all the stops in terms of the menu in the main dining room on those nights. Neither of us felt like getting gussied up on the first formal night so we ate in the casual restaurant but after we went to the second one and experienced the menu we'll likely attend the 3 on the return trip. For example, tonight's dinner included filet and lobster, escargots, pear soup. I have the order reversed :-) but you get the idea and can see why I am happy that I am so excited about my daily walking. It is an absolutely necessary pastime. I have returned to a somewhat more normalized eating pattern with fruit, yogurt and some protein for breakfast and a really healthy lunch because when we first got on the ship it was wayyyy too easy to get into 3 course breakfasts and lunches and nowhere to go with it. The fitness room is quite good but crowded on sea days so I find it easier to simply walk more and do lots of stretching. A balance now seems to have been found with the incredible desserts having become a treat every few days instead of something to have with every glass of water :-) On our next leg I plan to take in more of the Digital Workshops as everyone is raving about them and the instructor is apparently very good. Perhaps I will learn how to post my pictures better. You will be the first to know. Take care and I will talk to you tomorrow from Montevideo..............xoxo

Falkland Islands - no stop

No Falklands on this leg. Hopefully, we will be able to get in there on our return next week. With 25 foot swells, the Captain felt that it was too dangerous a tender operation. The Port Stanley harbour is open to the east and that is where our wind is coming from today. It is a half hour tender so no one on board doubted the wisdom of his decision although we are very disappointed as our excursion was to be to a sheep farm and we were looking forward to that. Next week’s is to a penguin rookery so we will hope for better weather. Instead, we have slowed down our speed somewhat, which makes for a tad less rolling walks, and will arrive in Montevideo, Uruguay on the 10th, after 3 days at sea and a big climb in temperature. Montevideo should see us back up into the high 20s which will be a welcome change as today’s adventures would have been our coldest and wettest yet here in the Falklands. Also, we packed far more hot weather clothing than cold so we’ve been tiring of not having much change - yes, we do have laundry on board  . Bathing suits can return in a couple of days!! We have had a couple of surprisingly wonderful art lectures on board. One on art history from Botticelli to Warhol, one on Salvador Dali and this afternoon on Erte. The days at sea are filled with this kind of thing – cooking demos, music concerts, digital workshops, movies, etc. so the time can go as quickly or slowly as you would like to have it. I think that today, other than the Erte lecture and a classical piano concert, I may just read as I’ve not been having time to do much of that. Tonight we will enjoy another great dinner in the Pinnacle Grill (the fanciest of the restaurants on board) to help a new friend celebrate her onboard birthday. So……my friends, unless we have some unscheduled excitement I will be in touch on Wednesday from Montevideo…Be healthy and happy……xoxoxo

Beagle Channel, Ushuaia, Argentina and around Cape Horn

We made our way around Cape Horn this morning with unusually calm seas and high winds but not the hurricane force that is often experienced on this leg of our trip. It was very exciting to be standing in the bow, being blown sideways trying to capture a picture of the Island of Horn which, to you all, will appear to be "another of Sally's rock pictures". The simple but often complicated passage from Pacific to Atlantic Oceans carries with it the stored memories of Magellan and Drake but I would have to think that after they first viewed it they didn't get to go below for a breakfast of warm oatmeal with stewed figs and bananas. Nope....that would be me but it diminishes the excitement of the rounding of the Cape in no way. Yesterday, I got my first penguin viewing and it was simply fantastic. They are the most magical wee birds and I do not know why we humans are so enamoured of them but certainly the dance they provide for their viewers has a lot to do with it. We saw Gentoo and Magellan penguins on an island in the Beagle Channel. The Gentoos are the larger of the two, more of a miniature King or Emperor (only found in Antarctica :-( with orange feet and bill while the Magellans are small, cute and a bit more marked in their black and white colouring. How is that for a naturalist's description? :-) We have lots more of them to come so you may tire of pictures but I certainly won't tire of seeing them. I took a couple of videos and will try to put one of them on if they aren't too large. After rounding Cape Horn we are now cruising at full speed in Drake Passage making our way to the Falklands for tomorrow morning. Lots of swells on this passage so it will be great for sleeping tonight! Love to all, Sally xoxo p.s. looks like I am having some technical difficulties with uploading pictures tonight....will try to do better tomorrow........

Punta Arenas, Chile

Greetings from Punta Arenas, Chile, the southernmost city in the world. Well, Ushuaia, Argentina (where we will be tomorrow) lays claim to that, as well but since Ushuaia is on Tierra del Fuego, the Chileans figure it makes them the ‘continental’ champions. No matter how you figure it, we are very far south. It is strange to know we are in the middle of their summer and the temperature rarely gets above 15. All four seasons can be represented on a daily basis and we are told that our tour this morning was one of the best days of this entire summer. I only had to wear a turtleneck and a light jacket while the sun was out but bought a hat and pulled out the gloves when it went behind a cloud. We got back to the ship and sat outside to have something to eat as it was sunny and feeling warm. Within minutes it darkened, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees (at least that’s what it felt like) and the rain and hail started up. Ten minutes later we had brilliant sunshine. And so on and so on…….it will be like this until we get further north in Argentina which will be a few more days. As we head up to Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires we will be back up into the 30s. Each day has been extremely different from the one before which is making for some very interesting times. Punta Arenas is visually not a very impressive city. With a population of 100,000 it is only in the burgeoning stages of tourism and as I mentioned yesterday it has mainly focused on lumber and oil to support its economy. Not unlike our far north, the wages here are 35% higher than the Chilean national average and many people try to come here for the last 5 years of their working lives as the national pension is based on that last five years. With the climate here being what it is - winters like our Arctic winters and summers like our southern Ontario winters  - it seems like a sort of penance to do before one retires. Retirement age here is 60 for women and 65 for men. We did the highlights of the city in about 4 hours, mostly involving many statues of Magellan and a museum highlighting how much the Catholic missionaries did for the development of the area. Not a lot of discussion about the demise of the native Indians due to the same influence. Interesting how that goes. Not a lot of difference in the hemispheres, is there? I will be looking forward to the more nature oriented view of the area on our return sail. Bye for now from the bottom of the Earth………love, Sally xoxo

Strait of Magellan

Cruising the Strait of Magellan and what an outstanding cruise it is. If you would expect the bottom of the world to be similar to Alaska and northern Siberia, you would not be surprised. The landscape is similar, yet alien. As you navigate the passages at the tip of South America, the magnificence of the scenery unfolds at every turn in the channels before you. Absolutely unspoiled mountain ranges and spectacular glaciers are all around. All of it is very peculiar and most primitive. When Magellan reached South America in 1520, he named Patagonia (patagones: “big feet”) for the local tradition of wearing bulky protective shoes (and what were YOU thinking?) and that will be precisely what we need for our shore excursion tomorrow. Mid morning we attended a lecture on tomorrow’s port of call, Punta Arenas, the city that faces Tierra del Fuego across the Strait of Magellan. Today its economy is focused on providing services to the oil, coal and fishing industries, as well as sheep ranching but for most tourists it is merely the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park, 400 km north. I plan to take the tour to the park on our return leg and tomorrow will do a more localized tour of the area. We have choices of so many nature/adventure/history based excursions that it is sometimes difficult to choose but I will certainly be looking forward to the Torres del Paine trip as it is some of the wildest scenery in the world. I am getting ahead of myself, however, as that will be a couple of weeks away. For now, the day is filled yet again with the beauty surrounding us and as the day wears down I will experience this from the Greenhouse spa. Life is great and I am truly blessed and most thankful for it every day. Stay well and happy….. Loads o’ love, Sally xoxo

Darwin Channel

Good Day! I am feeling as though I’ve been dropped into a Tolkien novel. We are cruising the Darwin Channel and the scenery is breathtakingly ethereal. I don’t think my pictures can begin to do this justice but I will upload one anyhow in hopes of sharing some of the feeling. Even though I know I am on a ship with hundreds of other people, when you sit off by yourself (there are lots of comfy chairs all around on the ship and one can always find a spot alone or in a group to sit and watch the ‘scape go by) and see this it is wonderfully mesmerizing. One can only begin to imagine what it must have been like for Darwin and his crew as he sailed these waters discovering the rich wilderness that abounds. It has made me very excited to see what is to come as we continue south. I will keep in touch but right now I am enjoying the peace of this part of the sailing and will get back to it. Be safe and happy, Sally xo

Puerto Montt

Our entry into shipboard life has been smooth as silk and for this we are very thankful. We boarded the ship late due to very heavy seas that delayed the ship's arrival for 3 hours and in addition they had an outbreak of some G.I. illness (likely norovirus) on the last cruise so had to go through their incredibly thorough sanitization protocol before they would let us board. They keep this hyper-vigilant protocol up for 72 hours so until then the crew has to do everything and I mean everything on board. Passengers can't touch much of anything in the dining rooms, to the extent that they sugar your tea, salt your food or whatever you need. Fortunately, I don't do either :-) but you get the idea. If no one has become ill within 72 hours of when we embarked they will open things up. There are and Purell dispensers literally every 5 feet and outside every restaurant and public room. As you will all know, this has me very happy :-) It has not prevented us from enjoying shipboard life. It really is quite funny, at nearly every meal we have met more Canadians, usually from Toronto, some Americans and there are also quite a few Germans on board and then a mix of other nationalites. The crew are helpful and friendly. Today we had our first shore excursion in Puerto Montt as yesterday we were at sea. The weather has started to cool already with temperature today about 15 and overcast but we are in the Lake District and it will likely be like this and cooler as we continue south and begin cruising the Chilean fjords tomorrow on your way to heading around the Cape. We have two days at sea with spa treatments scheduled for both of those :-) and then hit Punta Arenas, last stop before Cape Horn and first stop with penguins! Can't wait.........Today's excursion was very interesting. We headed to a Chilean farm (don't tell anyone or they won't let us into Argentina!) where we had the traditional dancing, horse shows, music and roasted cow lunch. We met some really nice folks and enjoyed it immensely. Stay well, all and will talk to you after Punta Arenas........Sally xoxo