The crew from Palmer Station left us around 1 pm when we also started to make our way north away from Antarctica towards Cape Horn. Soon our captain Marco Carsjens came on the PR to tell us the bad news about the weather forecast: Rough seas and high winds were predicted starting later in the evening. Oh shoot! I was so hoping to be the lucky one with smooth sailing through this world famous treacherous area. It was not to be. We ate dinner at our appointed time in still relatively calm waters but not soon after the waves began to swell! Around midnight we were in pretty rough seas, and it was supposed to get worse between 7 and 9 the next morning.
Day 11: The weather has gone from bad to worse, seas rolling, wind howling, and I did not feel good. The captain came on again to inform us that unfortunately the forecast predicted hurricane force winds and waves of up to 10 metres. Not funny!!! The whole day was lost at least for me who didn’t even venture out of our cabin once. We had breakfast delivered to our room, I didn’t eat lunch, and Sigi went for dinner into the Lido. He wasn’t fazed by the storm one bit, didn’t feel sick or had the jitters. He is such a sailor! I had the “seasickness dinner” brought to the cabin around 8. It consisted of beef broth, steamed chicken with rice and veggies, a green apple and hot tea. Meanwhile the winds were up to force 11 on the Beaufort Scale, and the ship was slamming in all directions into the waves. It felt like a 30 hour rollercoaster. The best way to survive this is either by lying down or sitting upright in the corner of a sofa (which I preferred). I didn’t have to throw up but still felt sick to my stomach, and the circulation in my body was more than underwhelmed which made for a very lightheaded and queasy constitution. At midnight we had finally surrounded Cape Horn and were sailing into smoother waters towards the Argentinian city of Ushuaia. The harbour pilots took over around 2 am, we had a good night’s sleep and arrived at the Ushuaia dock at 8 the next morning.
Day 12 (New Year’s Eve): Upon arrival in Ushuaia we disembarked and walked the short distance to the city centre for sightseeing and shopping. Ushuaia (60000 inhabitants) is situated between the foot of the Andes mountains and the sea. It is very hilly and only consists of 2 main shopping streets. We walked through them and got a few souvenirs before going back to the Veendam for a short break. We had booked a tour with the ‘tren a la fin del mundo” (train to the end of the world) to the “Tierra del Fuego National Park” at 12 noon. A bus took us through town to the train station where we mounted a small historical steam train with 4 passengers to a compartment that took us slowly into the park. A local guide explained the flora and fauna to us, as well as the history and geography of the area. We were let out of the train twice to enjoy particular vistas, especially at the Lago Ensenada with the snow capped high Andes peaks in the background and the southernmost postal station on earth at the lake. Many passengers mailed a postcard or two from there to themselves at home or to relatives and friends.
Arriving back at the ship we took afternoon tea at the Rotterdam Dining Room while the second in command captain (“the drop dead guy”) performed the de-docking and started sailing north towards Punta Arenas in Chile where we will arrive tomorrow. Meanwhile though we have to take a good rest in order to be fit for tonight’s New Year’s Eve programme onboard starting with an extra special delicious dinner and later a “black and white show” at the theater. We are looking forward to the events, even more so because the weather is good, the water calm and the wind normal. We are also protected from the open sea by islands and peninsulas and are now sailing through fjords and “glacier alley”… By the way, we found in our cabin upon returning from the excursion 2 officially printed certificates with our names on them proclaiming our successful rounding of Cape Horn, signed by the captain Marco Carsjens!
Happy New Year to all!!! Feliz Ano Nuevo, ein Frohes Neues Jahr and une Joyeuse Nouvelle Annee!!! Cheers to you and 2012!