December 31, 2007
Cape Horn
On Monday (Dec. 31st) we cruised around Cape Horn. This is where the Antarctic, Atlantic & Pacific Oceans meet. It was extremely windy & the weather fluctuated from sunny to rainy to hailing in about 10 minutes.
December 30, 2007
It’s the End of the World: Ushuaia, Argentina
Ok, maybe it’s not really the end of the World but Ushuaia does consider itself to be the southernmost town. It sits along the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego, along the Beagle Channel.
We hopped aboard a smaller catamaran and cruised through the Beagle Channel to see several islands full of Sea Lions, Cormorants (black & white sea birds that look like Penguins from a distance) and lots of other sea life. We disembarked the smaller ship and then drove through the Tierra del Fuego National Park. At this point we picked up a tour guide who had certainly spent too much time bonding with nature.
She told us her name, but followed it up with “everyone calls me Crazy Horse.” Ms. Horse (the “Crazy” part would soon be clear) pointed out all the different varieties of plants that, for all we could tell, were various weeds. We pretty much knew we were in trouble when our guide started to do animal impersonations (she did a very nice male Llama call). Things went downhill when she started to do TV animal personality “voices” such as Flipper. This was followed by a detailed description of the difference between Flipper and a Kingfisher (complete with audio examples). We feared that she was about to start some sort of “animal call sing-along.”
Next up… Animal Kingdom Karaoke where Earl from Bass Lake, Georgia will sing along to “Jingle Bells” in the styling of Billy the Big-Mouth Bass.
Maybe that’s why most people got off of the bus at the very next stop. In all fairness, this was the town Ushuaia where you could do some shopping (rather than staying on the bus all the way back to the ship).
We hopped aboard a smaller catamaran and cruised through the Beagle Channel to see several islands full of Sea Lions, Cormorants (black & white sea birds that look like Penguins from a distance) and lots of other sea life. We disembarked the smaller ship and then drove through the Tierra del Fuego National Park. At this point we picked up a tour guide who had certainly spent too much time bonding with nature.
She told us her name, but followed it up with “everyone calls me Crazy Horse.” Ms. Horse (the “Crazy” part would soon be clear) pointed out all the different varieties of plants that, for all we could tell, were various weeds. We pretty much knew we were in trouble when our guide started to do animal impersonations (she did a very nice male Llama call). Things went downhill when she started to do TV animal personality “voices” such as Flipper. This was followed by a detailed description of the difference between Flipper and a Kingfisher (complete with audio examples). We feared that she was about to start some sort of “animal call sing-along.”
Next up… Animal Kingdom Karaoke where Earl from Bass Lake, Georgia will sing along to “Jingle Bells” in the styling of Billy the Big-Mouth Bass.
Maybe that’s why most people got off of the bus at the very next stop. In all fairness, this was the town Ushuaia where you could do some shopping (rather than staying on the bus all the way back to the ship).
Glaciers Galore in the Beagle Channel
Our ship cruised through the Beagle Channel which is a part of the Strait of Magellan. There were 6 major glaciers and several minor ones. The pics say more than we ever could.
A pod of Orcas also appeared. At home (and on the Alaska cruises), these creatures are considered the highlights. Around here, no so much. The locals do not like them so much because they eat the fish & the penguins. We suppose that if our Orcas ate something cute & cuddly (like kittens) they wouldn't be too loved either.
A pod of Orcas also appeared. At home (and on the Alaska cruises), these creatures are considered the highlights. Around here, no so much. The locals do not like them so much because they eat the fish & the penguins. We suppose that if our Orcas ate something cute & cuddly (like kittens) they wouldn't be too loved either.
December 29, 2007
Our First Penguin Sightings!
Okay... Lori and I (this is Joel posting) are super excited about our stop today in Punta Arenas, Chile. We got our first penguin sightings! We both got some amazing snapshots and had to share them with you.
December 28, 2007
Chilly Chile -- Amalie Glacier
While today is another day @ sea we cruised into the Peel Inlet to view the Amalie Glacier early this morning. This is 1 of 48 glaciers in the Southern Ice Fields. While the ship was not able to get as close to this glacier as it can to the ones in Alaska it was still a spectacular site.
Puerto Chacabuco/Coyhaique
About 1400 people live in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile & most of them fish for salmon for a living (they pronounce the L in salmon). We took a tour through Coyhaique & Simpson Valley where we saw many beautiful sites. In Coyhaique we stopped at their natural history museum that was about the size of a double-wide trailer. It had artifacts such as a cordless phone, radio, empty liquor bottles & of course, the rare hand-crank pencil sharpener (those were seriously the highlights). The visit to that museum had to be probably the best 10 minutes of our trip so far!
December 27, 2007
Puerto Montt – Nothing says Christmas more than Llamas and Salmon
Puerto Montt has a climate very much like what we have in the Northwest. The plants, trees and even animals are very much in tune with home. So, it was really easy to forget that we were in South America.
• Dandelions -- √
• Volcanoes that have recently erupted -- √
• Mountain Ranges (Andes) -- √
• Lots of green -- √
• Usually lots of rain -- √ (although it was sunny & warm when we were there)
• Salmon -- √ (most people in the area fish for Salmon for a living)
• Scotchbroom -- √ (they seemed quite proud of having this)
• “Billy the Big-Mouth Bass” interactive wall sculpture -- √ (complete with festive Santa hat)
That is until you saw the families spending their traditional Christmas at the beach (apparently, that’s what they do).
Since it is the start of summer here students were on their summer vacation.
• Dandelions -- √
• Volcanoes that have recently erupted -- √
• Mountain Ranges (Andes) -- √
• Lots of green -- √
• Usually lots of rain -- √ (although it was sunny & warm when we were there)
• Salmon -- √ (most people in the area fish for Salmon for a living)
• Scotchbroom -- √ (they seemed quite proud of having this)
• “Billy the Big-Mouth Bass” interactive wall sculpture -- √ (complete with festive Santa hat)
That is until you saw the families spending their traditional Christmas at the beach (apparently, that’s what they do).
Since it is the start of summer here students were on their summer vacation.
Rough Seas...
We've been fortunate enough to go on a dozen or so cruises in many parts of the World & have never experienced such rough seas, especially at night (which has made sleeping an interesting experience). Many of the crew members are turning shades of green.
Aside from a few bruises from bumping into things due to the rocking of the ship, we're still OK.
The odd thing is that the weather has been quite nice.
Aside from a few bruises from bumping into things due to the rocking of the ship, we're still OK.
The odd thing is that the weather has been quite nice.
December 25, 2007
December 24, 2007
Valparaiso, Chile – Both Kinds of Transportation: Bus & Motor Coach
Okay… On the bus to Valparaiso, our guide was very clearly practicing his English. He did his best to fit in as many words as possible on the 2 hr. drive. At one point he listed every name of every vine stock found in Chile. I suppose if you were a cork-head, you would appreciate that one particular “extinct” vine stock was rediscovered here in 1983. Lori and Joel? Not cork-heads, but his droning did provide time for a nap.
The port in Valparaiso is very commercial and was not really setup for cruise ships. This meant that we were ushered into a big empty building and given a number for a boarding group. Once our group was called, we then boarded a bus (3rd one this trip for those keeping score) that took us down the long pier to the ship. Once on board, we were funneled down to the main lounge where we could check-in. This was a very different embarkation experience from what we have had in the past.
So, we’re back on the Norwegian Dream. The Dream is not the most glamorous or largest ship that NCL has but does seem to have some of the more “exotic” itineraries. Ok, at least ones we are attracted to. This is the 3rd time we’ve cruised on this ship:
1. Summer, 2006 - Baltic Capitals (where we thought the Russians took off with our luggage w/o us)
2. Spring, 2007 - Mexico, Belize & the “exotic” port of Houston
3. Now - South America (this cruise)
We’re figuring that the wheelchair access on this ship must be spectacular, too. They say that the longer the cruise the older the average age of the passenger. We don’t know if this is true, but let’s just say that we are feeling extremely young.
The port in Valparaiso is very commercial and was not really setup for cruise ships. This meant that we were ushered into a big empty building and given a number for a boarding group. Once our group was called, we then boarded a bus (3rd one this trip for those keeping score) that took us down the long pier to the ship. Once on board, we were funneled down to the main lounge where we could check-in. This was a very different embarkation experience from what we have had in the past.
So, we’re back on the Norwegian Dream. The Dream is not the most glamorous or largest ship that NCL has but does seem to have some of the more “exotic” itineraries. Ok, at least ones we are attracted to. This is the 3rd time we’ve cruised on this ship:
1. Summer, 2006 - Baltic Capitals (where we thought the Russians took off with our luggage w/o us)
2. Spring, 2007 - Mexico, Belize & the “exotic” port of Houston
3. Now - South America (this cruise)
We’re figuring that the wheelchair access on this ship must be spectacular, too. They say that the longer the cruise the older the average age of the passenger. We don’t know if this is true, but let’s just say that we are feeling extremely young.
December 23, 2007
Welcome to Santiago, take your jewelry off!
Luck started going our way early on in the trip.
While making our way to the second leg of the flight to Santiago, we stumbled across some Texas relatives of the chicken. After a warm reunion (and a heart-felt goodbye) we boarded our flight to Santiago.
Once in Chile (and at our hotel), we discovered that NCL had a small hospitality desk setup at the hotel. We were able to sign up for an afternoon tour as well as direct transportation to the pier the following day. So we quickly cleaned up and got onto a bus for a city tour of Santiago. One of our directives was to take all of our jewelry off & leave it at the hotel.
One of the most interesting stops was in the heart of a market. In the large square stood a tree (sponsored by Coke – what’s up with that?). It was a bit wrong seeing this huge Christmas tree decorated with logos standing in front of one of the larger cathedrals. It seemed like half of Santiago (about 3 million for those of you keeping score at home) was there all at the same time.
Off the beaten path, our guide negotiated a short tour of a local armory. Afterwards, the captain asked for a group photo so he could document the tour for his duty logs.
The tour ended with a funicular trip up to the top of San Cristobal, which gave us some spectacular views of the city.
For tomorrow? An early bus ride to the pier in Valparaiso and our first day of the cruise.
December 20, 2007
A Foray Into Podcasting!
powered by ODEO
If you listen closely to this podcast you will hear Chloe performing an aria in the background. To the left is a pic of her in action.
- Click on this link for more info. about the Flip Video Recorder
- Click on the link below to subscribe to the audio podcasts via iTunes as well as through RSS feed readers:http://odeo.com/channel/672973/view
December 16, 2007
South American Chilean Fjords Itinerary
• Santiago, Chile
• Valparaiso, Chile
• Puerto Montt, Chile
• Puerto Chacabuco, Chile
• Cruise Strait Of Magellan
• Punta Arenas, Chile
• Ushuaia, Argentina
• Cruise Beagle Channel
• Cruise Cape Horn
• Stanley, Falkland Islands
• Puerto Madryn, Argentina
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
December 15, 2007
South American Chicken Excitement
The Chicken is truly excited about his upcoming South American trip. It's less than a week away!
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