Monday, February 20, 2012
Today is our fifth cruising day travelling north to
Tuesday’s destination, Puerto Madryn. We woke up just before 8 a.m., when the
door of the east facing stateroom across the hall was opening and bright light
flooded under our door and lit the room like a light being turned on. We went
for breakfast in the dining room, which was not very busy, then walked just
over a mile before grabbing a coffee and going the lecture on the “Race to the
South Pole”. After the lecture, we collected our passports that had been given
up onboard on the first day. The
passports were collected for completion of Chilean and Argentinean Immigration
and Customs documents by the ship’s administration. Next we returned to the
Deck 11 track for another 2 miles of walking before a visit to the Casino followed
by lunch. The afternoon continued with a trivia game in Rendez-vous room where
we joined team Winnipeg for their fifth round.
At 3 p.m. we joined our group for a tour of the bridge which was very
informative. On the port and starboard sides the bridge extends 4 meters on
each side and there is a window in each extension floor which helps in docking
the ship. For the rest of the afternoon
we went for ice cream then attended Jim Kennedy’s final talk on stories from
his career at NASA. He gave his website weneedourspace.com and a website for an
astronomic photograph that changes daily apod.nasa.gov.
We danced for ½ an
hour before another gourmet dinner. Every day a different person compliments me
or Larry about our dancing. After dinner we went to a talk on tomorrow’s port
Peurto Madryn, then danced until it was time for tonight’s magic show.
Tonight’s theme is White Night party.
People are to wear something white. The Grand Foyer is draped in sheer
white fabric and the Salsamore band is playing from 10:30 until 1 a.m. and the
Rendez-vous room and Constellation room also have bands playing until
late. After the show we danced to the
ship’s band in the Rendez-vous room before checking out the Grand Foyer, but
there no dance floor. People were
dancing carpeted areas, which is not good for the knees. We decided to go to a quieter area and take
advantage of the first clear night skies in five days and see the southern
sky. Even on the partial deck above Deck
11, the railings were lit and it was hard to get night vision to see the stars. We did manage to block some light see the
main stars and find many Milky Way stars.
We ended our day after midnight.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Today is our fourth sea day, the first of two in a row, as
we cruise around southern South America and travel north. We were told there could be rough seas in the
Strait of Magellan, (Punta Arenas) but the waves were less than a meter. We were expecting fog and rough seas again
for Cape Horn since the currents of the Pacific, Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans
all pass through the gap between South America and Antarctica. The ship’s
passage earlier in February was very rocky.
We were up on deck just as the sun was rising at 6:28 a.m. The ship was
already positioned by Cape Horn, so pictures of the island, lighthouse and
Albatross Monument could be taken. You needed a good telescopic lens to get a
photo of the Albatross Monument. The
temperature was about 4 C with a 20 km wind, which made taking pictures into
the wind a bit of a challenge. The ship
turned 180 degrees after an hour to give guests in the balcony and verandah
staterooms a view no matter which side of the ship their stateroom was on.
There was also a smaller ship at Cape Horn, which lowered zodiacs into the
water to transport their passengers to the shore, to climb the steps carved in
the rock to get to the lighthouse and Albatross Monument. While on Deck 11, we walked around it for three
miles pausing occasionally for photos and a hot chocolate break, before leaving
just after 8 for breakfast in the dining room. Today’s table guests were we met
a couple from St. Catherine’s, Ontario and a couple from Durham, England. After breakfast, we went to the lecture, “How
Did They Find Their Way Home” about the early sea explorers of the 16th
and 17th century. Then went to Deck 5 to the Emporium for the T-shirt
sale and bought T-shirts.
We had a leisurely lunch with the ship’s Catholic priest, a
couple from Lloydminster, Alberta and a couple from Manchester, England. After lunch,
I went to the Theatre to watch part of the final Argentine Tango lesson, and
went to the cafeteria on Deck 10 for a
Mocha Coffee and Larry went to the casino and the lecture about the
International Space Station. We had a
short nap, since we are going to “Dancing with the Officers” at 11 p.m., before
getting ready for dinner.
We danced for ½ an hour before and after dinner, then went
to the musical show then returned to the Rendez-vous room to dance before going
up to Deck 11 to the “Dancing with the Officers” show. The band, So Cool Quartet, played a Tango and
a Samba for about 6 to 8 couples. It was
only the second Tango we have danced in a lounge.
The “Dancing with the Officers” show was hilarious. Eight
volunteer ship’s officers were paired with eight passengers, drawn from names
submitted earlier in the evening. The
purpose of the contest was to entertain and look like you were dancing
too. There was an audience of over 400
in the Constellation Room for the contest.
After two dances, three couples were eliminated by the judges. The judges
were the hotel manager, the cruise director and the Argentine Tango performer
and instructor. After another three
dances, three more couples were eliminated.
Leaving the ship’s Safety officer and his Brazilian partner in her late
60s and the ship’s Food and Beverage Manager and his Portuguese partner in her
early 60s to dance an Argentine Tango and then an interpretive dance. Both ladies were lifted a few inches above
the floor several times during the dances and were great sports for the whole
event. All the passenger volunteers
received a ship’s T-shirt as a participant memento. The ship’s Food and Beverage Manager and his
Portuguese partner won the contest. After
the show ended at midnight we finally went to bed after a long day.
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