Tierra Fuego

Here I am again following up the presentations of the scientists. They talked about their various fields of expertise and also introduced themselves personally. Some of them have been with the Antarctic expedition for 18 years, others just joined this season or had been part of the group for 3 or 4 years. Most of them spend the summer (2 to 3 months) in Antarctica and go home to their various cities to interpret and analyze the found data and compare them to the previous ones and also to prepare for next year’s trip. There is always one doctor at Palmer Station, this time it was a young woman with a degree in emergency medicine from San Diego. All were very enthusiastic about their work whether it was the microbiologist, the animal expert, the computer specialist or the machinist. They spend their working hours collecting specimen and data and their free time kayaking, hiking, reading or sitting in the hot tub…
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!

Cape Horn

Cabo de Hornos – Kaap van Hoorn – Cape of the Ovens
No photo today, no Bettina typing today, no water in the pool and jacuzzies any more - instead heavy seas with larger swell than normal, nobody allowed on the walking deck, protective window covers not to be removed until the captains says so. Cape Horn is a true challenge for everybody.

This may be our last ocean cruise for some time to come.












peak values experienced:

apparent wind speed above 95 mph
wind force 12 on Beaufort scale (hurricane)
wave height 12+ m

Antarctic Islands

Here is your ice cube, now get a glass and the Scotch …

Bettina’s daily updates:

Day 8: Arriving in the Antarctic Sound was a big relief – not only were the waters calm and the ship stopped rolling in all directions but the vista that presented itself was mindboggling: Icebergs everywhere, huge mountains and wildlife galore - penguins, whales, arctic birds and various seals. We were sailing through “iceberg alley”, and remembered the ‘Titanic experience’… The weather played along beautifully. The skies were blue and the sun was shining. What more could one ask for?

Day 9: We were sailing south along the Antarctic Peninsula, going into various bays and inlets to get closer to the wildlife. We passed “Esperanza Station” in Hope Bay, a science research base with many red roofed containers. After lunch I took my first serious exercise session after a lazy week on board and walked 13 laps around outside deck 6 which makes for 5.2 km! I never had a view like this before walking for health – sun, blue sky, sparkling sea dotted with small and large icebergs, penguins frolicking in the water, sea lions lazing on ice floes and huge humpback whales showing off beside the ship by displaying their dorsal fin and waving with their lovely tail fins. It was warm enough even to walk without the otherwise very necessary tuque, shawl and gloves.

Day 10: At 6 am we picked up 10 American scientists from “Palmer Station” in one of the Antarctic Bays. They came aboard in a Zodiac to give 2 presentations to the passengers and to answer questions about their work. We are right now sitting in the showroom and awaiting their speeches. More about it later…

Antarctic Peninsula

Middle of the night (4:30 a.m.): Elephant Island – the first island belonging to Antarctica. The wind slowed for an hour, then blew up to again to 55 to 65 mph wind resulting in 6 to 8 m waves. More people missed breakfast – actually, I don’t think they really missed it – they just didn’t show up.

As promised by the captain, we made it into the Arctic Sound after lunch. What a beautiful and peaceful bay with all the trimmings: icebergs, penguins, whales, sea-lions, and albatrosses. More about this from Bettina’s desk tomorrow.

For Ricardo: Man, it is cold down here.

Well, at least the penguins enjoy it:

Drake’s Passage

After a beautiful sunset, a day with 45 mph (9 Beaufort) of wind from the west. Some people are seasick – so no pictures from today …

the Falkland Islands and beyond

Careful: they drive on the left side of the road!

Day 5: Christmas Eve, was spent at sea sailing the south Atlantic towards the Falkland Islands. We enjoyed the pool and hot tubs on deck 11 of the ship and listened to a lecture pertaining to our tour of Port Stanley in the Falklands. Good food and drink was had between the various activities. At night we had a special Christmas dinner which reminded us of home – goose with red cabbage and baked apple filled with cranberries. At 11 pm our captain Marco Carsjens introduced himself and his crew in the grand theater and we listened to 3 ship’s choirs singing Christmas songs from the various regions of the world. Very moving…

Day 6: Christmas Day at Port Stanley, the Falklands. We disembarked around 11 am and were driven ashore by tender boats. The trip from the Veendam to shore took about 20 minutes. Port Stanley is a quaint British town and the capital of the Falkland Island. One can see the multi coloured roofs of the houses from afar. There are only about 2000 inhabitants on the islands, most of whom live in Port Stanley. It is a military town with a few stores, a visitor centre and some souvenir shops. We walked through the town, went into the very British post office (which was open!!) to mail a few cards and to the war memorial commemorating the war between Argentina and Great Britain in 1982.

Christmas dinner was a very festive affair with passengers decked out in their finest, free champagne before the meal and delicious food.

Day 7: We are on our way to Antarctica – in rolling seas through the “Roaring Forties” in winds of up to force 9… The ship’s anti seasickness meds come in handy, at least for me. Sigi isn’t fazed by the swell at all.

poor satellite connection

… more photos will follow, here is some text – no editing by Sigi this time:
Day 3: Buenos Aires sightseeing tour through the city and various barrios on a double decker tourist bus. We had to stand in line at ticket booth in full sun and later in another line waiting for the bus. The vendors around the city are clever and came to the line-ups selling hats to sweating tourist to prevent heat stroke…
We were lucky to get 2 seats on the upper deck of the bus which was open on all sides for a good breeze but had a canopy roof for sun protection. Well planned. The tour took us to the main attractions of Buenos Aires: city center, obelisk, Casa Rosada (seat of the government – think Evita…), Avenida de Mayo, Nuevo Julio Avenida, the great soccer stadium ‘La Boca’ and surrounding barrios. The whole tour took about three and a half hours and was well worth the time and money. Since we couldn’t have visited all the areas we saw on foot in just 3 days it gave us a good overall impression of Buenos Aires and outskirts.
After a little afternoon siesta at our marvelous hotel Moreno we went out on foot again to find a good steak house down at the canal. We walked across the Plaza de Mayo downhill across the bridge to a real great Argentinian steak restaurant, got a table outside on the terrace and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner with a bottle of fine Argentinian Malbec. It is very curious that most meals in BA consist mainly of meat, meat and more meat. It is not very common to be served any accompanying dishes such as vegetables and/or potatoes/rice etc. Sigi was very happy about this and didn’t miss anything, I ordered “vegetales grillados” (grilled veggies) which turned out to taste fabulous alongside my super duper tender piece of perfectly cooked (“a punto”) steak.
Day 4: Saying ‘adios’ to Buenos Aires and leaving the city on the “MS Veendam”. The transition from the hotel to the port went extremely smoothly. We checked out at noon, had the taxi take us directly to the Holland America Line Terminal and checked in there at 1 pm without a hitch. Everything was organized to perfection, and even immigration and security checks were done swiftly and efficiently. In no time at all we were on the ship in stateroom #321 on the first promenade deck with view out a big window to the balcony and sea. We went for lunch to the Lido deck on the 11^th floor, and by the time we came down to our cabin, our 2 suitcases had been delivered, sitting on the bed and ready to be unpacked.
We familiarized ourselves with the layout of the ship, getting lost a few times in the process but memorizing the most important areas. Dinner was served in the lovely “Rotterdam Dining Room” with excellent personnel attending us in a very attentive manner. It was already getting dark and closer to the departure time at 9 pm when we took our coffee and were contemplating if we should go on the outside decks to observe the big adios. Unfortunately it was dark by that time, and we decided to go to the grand theater instead to get an introduction of the entertainment staff on board. Michael, our cruise director hailing from Sasketchewan in Canada, gave an overview of the programme, and the entertainers came out to give us a taste of their various talents in singing, dancing and stand-up comedy. All of a sudden an officer asked on the PA system for the medical staff to call the bridge and get up there pronto. We didn’t think anything of it and enjoyed the rest of the evening. In the middle of the night we heard loud noises coming from the machine rooms that sounded like the anchor being lowered. Sure enough we had anchored in the Rio de la Plata River not far from Buenos Aires and stayed there until 11 am the next morning. The captain came on over the PA system to tell us that there was an accident on the sports decks #12 last night at departure. A crane arm on a barge that we passed had taken out one side of the railing of the deck which came down in a domino effect. There were passengers on deck, and some got slightly injured with abrasions and bruises, but luckily no one was hurt seriously. We had to stay anchored until the Argentinian coast guard had inspected the damage. Therefore we were a day late getting into Montevideo/Uruguay, arriving there around 7 at night instead of 7 in the morning. For that reason the port call of Puerto Madryn was cancelled, and we are now sailing directly to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Tonight is the first formal night with meeting the captain and celebration of the official start of the big voyage with champagne.

enter the boat

Well, no photos or text yet. Maybe never, depending on the speed of the Internet connection. We'll let you know in time.

in Buenos Aires ...

... we have arrived. First steak has been consumed and first bottle of Argentinian wine is gone - therefore, more, later ...

here some impressions from the trip via Dalles to Buenos Aires
and some pictures from our first day in the city,
or go to the roof top of our hotel.

Ricardo was right: Man, it is hot in Buenos Aires. On the second day I got my first blisters on the left foot - Hola and Adiós from limping Sigi.

Third day photos: still unedited.
Last day: batteries may be empty ...

And now in words (edits in italics by Sigi):

Day 1:

Arrived after a LONG 10 ½ hour flight in Buenos Aires. Welcomed by a hotel (Moreno) taxi driver who didn’t speak a word during the 20 minute drive from the airport to the hotel. There we stowed our luggage because it was too early to check in and went out to start exploring our surroundings. First problem: North is indicated on the city map as being to the right lower corner, meaning in our view it’s south east … a bit tricky to navigate… but old reliable map reader and navigator Sigi was able to get us to the canal with all the cool restaurants and promenade (she tries to be funny here, I missed the target by a mile). Lunch on a terazza with dos cervezas and a big Argentinian steak. Lots of Spanish to listen to and also trying to speak and understand… Not easy after being up for over 24 hours.

Back to the hotel and a very necessary siesta. After that it was back to the city – walking to the Avenida de Mayo where a big Tango festival was underway on the avenue. Stages were set up every few dozen meters with Tango singers and dancers performing. The avenida was splendidly lit for the occasion. Later at night the audience and pedestrians were participating in Tango dancing right in the street, each couple trying to out-perform the other. Sigi and I didn’t dance – not knowing the Tango moves and being too tired by then (and we didn't want to insult the Argentinians). However, there was enough energy for a meal and a bottle of wine in a botega overlooking the spectacle in the street.

Day 2:

We overslept (What?)! Our bodies told us to relax and we listened. At 9.30 we went up to the 7^th floor of our hotel and had a buffet style continental breakfast – not before going out to the terrace which provides a spectacular view of the city (see surround photo).  Then it was on to our first serious excursion, the obelisk in the middle of the city on the Avenida Nuevo Julio. Turned out to be a walking exercise of sorts because we went into wrong direction for about 5 km… Turned around and got there in the brutal heat of the midday sun, only to find the obelisk cordoned off for a car race… At least we saw it from afar - well 50 m! not 10,000 km. Back to the hotel for a longer siesta, nursing a few blisters. We did get up and going again in the evening, exploring the neighbouring pedestrian passages with all the street vendors. Found a couple of cheap sunglasses. My old one was broken, when we arrived, Sigi forgot his at home. Ended up in a very classy dinner place off the street, ate well and watched the goings-on outside. Back to the hotel and into the “Vinoteca” next door called “Aldo” where we took a very nice night cap of a Malbec Reserva 2009. The whole bottle was as much as we’d have to pay in Canada for a single glass … guess what we shall do tomorrow night upon return to the hotel.

On to a sightseeing tour in a double decker bus tomorrow – we found the bus stop and the “Boleteria” (ticket booth). (No extended walking for me!)

Day 3: once we have time
Day 4: maybe or maybe not

the day before the vacation

is the most productive day of the year:

find out that last year's pants won't fit,
your dog is always in the way,
get 15 e-mails to respond to,
your car doesn't start in the parking lot,
how many credit cards?
battery of the Bose headphone is not loaded,
where are the Tums?
open a bottle of whine.

It's done. Even the luggage tags are attached.

Ricardo says

Man, it is hot and humid in Buenos Aires in December,
but you have to see and experience:

Casa Rosada, Pirámide de Mayo,
“parrillas” in Puerto Madero ask for “entrecote”, or “a punto”, “El Establo”, in the corner of San Martin and Paraguay, “El Imparcial”, on Talcahuano one block to the south from Avenida de Mayo, looking for “empanada” with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec

ARA Presidente Sarmiento‎, Fgta Sarmiento 1862, Puerto Madero; Ave 9th de Julio, Plaza de la República, Obelisk; Recoleta, La Recoleta Cemetery, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Buenos Aires Abogacía

Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo, Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti (River Plate); San Telmo, Estadio Alberto J. Armando (Boca Juniors), Tango Caminito
and the music:
tango Argentina
tango Udo / text Udo
tango Shakira

polar bears

... cannot be found where we are going this year, however,
check out the video clips from our 2009 trip to the

North West Passage 1,
North West Passage 2, and
North West Passage 3.

Monday

Monday, Monday, so good to me
Monday morning, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening, you would still be brewing tea.

listen to the Mamas and Pappas ...



big decision has been made: the blue hockey bags will go on the trip

practicing

what am I practicing: saying good-bye

other things:
taking pictures with a new camera (example here),
reducing size (to fit into an airplane seat),
cleaning the hiking boots,
trying out a new template for slides,
looking for the multi-standard electrical plug.

deciding

now it's time to decide on the details of our tour:

Buenos Aires, three days on our own
Montevideo, Old Town, Graf Spee anchor, Legislative Palace, Prado Park
Puerto Madryn, National Park Puerto Tombo with Magellanic Penguins
Stanley and the Falkland Islands history aboard double-decker bus
Ushuaia, Train to the End of the World, Pipo River,  Canadon del Toro, Tierra del Fuego National Park
Punta Arenas, Fort Bulnes BulnesMedio, Strait of Magellan, Leñadura, Punta Santa Maria, Guairabo
Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas & Frutillar Highlights
and more in Valparaiso and Santiago

first complaints

I am a Samoyed, I have the right to meet the penguins, too. Don't leave me at home with Max ... houuhooohoouuuhoouuuuuu