Sunday, March 10, 2013

At sea

Clear, windy, and cold

 

We rocked all night long, but by morning the sea had calmed. The skies were clear, but it was windy and much cooler. Once again I got up about 8 o'clock, dress quickly, and left the room so Marcia could sleep in. I ate my usual breakfast in the Lido, and then head to the library. I was surprised to find my answer sheet from yesterday hanging on the wall as the daily quiz winner. I got a pack of Holland America playing cards as my prize. Today's quiz is about wine, and although that would appear to be right in my wheelhouse, I can barely answer any of the questions.

 

I met up with everyone, as usual, about 9:30 in the Lido. This is our second consecutive day at sea, but unlike yesterday, it is going to be a busy one. Jerry and I went to the lecture on glaciology at 10 o'clock - we were impressed by the presenters knowledge. At 1 o'clock it was team trivia; we finish back in the pack because we did not know a cow had four stomachs. At 2 o'clock Jerry and I attended a lecture on our next to port of call, followed by the magic lecture at 3 o'clock. The magician taught us a few tricks that the grandchildren should enjoy. Finally, at 4 o'clock was the Spanish lesson.

 

The Yunkers hosted happy hour, where we polished off open bottles of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, and opened a new bottle of Cabernet for dinner.

 

This is the second of our three formal nights, so we had to dress for dinner, which really wasn't much of chore as we haven't done anything physical all day. We shared a table for six with a couple from Marin County, California. He is a retired physician, an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Once again we enjoyed entertaining conversation along with our dinner. All four of us had the surf and turf, which consisted of a very petite filet mignon and some jumbo shrimp. It was probably the best meal we have had yet on the ship, and the first one in which the portions were a reasonable size. It seems that, by and large, the portions have been larger than they were on 30 day cruise on the Rotterdam.

 

We had little time after dinner before the show. Tonight was a repeat performance by the Uruguayan harpist, and the singer whose show we missed last night because we chose to watch the movie instead. The harpist was again outstanding; the singer, on the other hand, made us glad we chose the movie last night.

 

We retired to our cabin shortly after the show. We need to be off the ship at 8 AM tomorrow morning for our tour of the penguin colony.

 

 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Punta Arenas, Chile

Overcast and cold

 

Last night we sailed into the Straits of Magellan and through its narrowest section. Unfortunately it was dark and we could see nothing. The ship was docked by 6 AM and we were awakened by the accompanying noise. I had set the alarm for 7 AM; we got up, dressed, and headed to the Lido for breakfast. We were ready to get off the ship and meet our guide for our private tour at 8 AM.

 

Unfortunately, when we got off the ship we found no one holding a sign with our names. We walked the short distance across a bridge to where several taxis and vans were parked, but did not find our guide there. Over the next hour I made numerous phone calls trying to find our guide. Finally about 9 o'clock we head back to the ship, where of course, we found our guide. He said he had been there since 8 AM, but apparently he was engaged in conversation with someone else when we got off the ship.

 

After this rocky start, we are finally on our way. Our driver/guide is Julio. He speaks excellent English. He is from Santiago Chile, but is of Czech descent. He is married to a woman from Punta Arenas, and has lived here for 10 years.

 

The skies are overcast and there is little wind, which is unusual for this area. Julio says if the sun appears, the wind will increase.

 

Julio drove us about 60 km to the penguin colony on Otway Sound. The road was paved about quarter of the way, the remainder was gravel. Julio has a Ford Expedition, and it handles the primitive road quite well. The landscape is rather bleak; it looks much like Scotland, or Wyoming with a little more water. The trees are low and all lean to the east because of the constant wind. Julio says the area was originally forested; the early settlers attempted to clear some land by burning the trees. Unfortunately, the strong winds cleared a much broader area. Today, these steppes are primarily use to graze sheep and cattle. The ranchers are moving from the traditional sheep to cattle, because of depressed wool prices and premium prices for their beef, which is considered organic. Along the way we saw Lesser Rheas, Upland Geese, and Andean Condors. As we got farther from Punta Arenas, the skies became partly cloudy, and as predicted, the wind picked up considerably.

 

We finally reach the penguin colony, which lies on a private ranch. The owner built a toll road to allow access to the penguins, and now he makes more money from the tourism than from the ranch. We walked about a mile over wooden walkways and saw a couple dozen penguins. Some had burrows right next to the path. Marcia was tempted to try and pet one, but thought better of it (it is illegal). This is the very end of the penguin reproductive season. The juveniles have all left; all that remain are the adults who are unable to depart until they have finished molting. In a couple of more weeks there will be no penguins here. Julio talked to a fellow guide in the parking lot who had arrived earlier - his group found no Penguins. I guess we are fortunate that it took us the hour to meet up with Julio.

 

In addition to the Magellan Penguins, we observed the interesting fauna, including Mata Negra, and Mata Verde, which share the steppes with the grasses, but isn't eaten by the sheep because it is bitter. We also saw Llareta, which looks like moss but feels like plastic.

 

Julio is well-versed in the flora, fauna, geology, and the history of the area. He has been an excellent guide. He drove us back to town and left us at the central square, with directions to a recommended restaurant a few blocks away. Punta Arenas appears to be a surprisingly livable place, considering the mostly barren landscape.  About 130,000 people live here, and it is a modern and clean city. Industries include coal, oil and gas, wool, beef, tourism, retail, and services. It wouldn’t be a bad place to live if you could stand the climate.

 

It was now 1 PM, and we were ready for lunch. We located the restaurant and had an excellent meal. I had conger eel in a sauce that would have made cardboard taste good. Debbie and Jerry both had salmon, and Marcia had a king crab appetizer and a bowl of soup. We shared three avocado salads (two would have been plenty) and a good bottle of Chilean Chardonnay wine.

 

After lunch we returned to the square to see the statue of Magellan and to browse the kiosks. It started to lightly rain, and it continued to sprinkle off and on for the rest of the day. We found a coffee shop with Wi-Fi, so we ordered a couple of drinks while I posted to my blog and check email. We browsed a few shops on the main street, but by 4 PM it was time to return to the ship. We located an available taxi and Jerry negotiated the fare to get us back to the port.

 

We thought we had returned in time for team trivia at 4:30 only to find that it had begun at 4 o'clock.

 

The ship departed at 6 PM. There were dolphins playing in the bow waves of the tugs assisting us.

 

The Yunkers hosted happy hour. At 7:30 we headed to the Crow’s Nest for a party hosted by the officers. There we met the art director, the self-described oldest officer aboard.  It turns out he is the crew member who rescued Marcia the other day!

 

We went to the dining room at 8 PM, and therefore service was a little slower than usual. Our table was for four, so we had no victims to torture with our tales tonight. Marcia had prime rib, while the rest of us had rack of lamb. We never finished dinner until nearly 10 PM.

 

The show was put on by the male members of the cast, and it was certainly one of the more forgettable performances.  We retired to our cabin shortly after the show ended.