Yes finally at Puerto Arenas 9th January Very rough seas last night. 8/9 gale force winds and the boat pitching and rolling. Surprisingly I am not feeling at all sick and Brian is on the tablets. In the night we turned into Canal Trinidad and during the morning cruised the calm waters of Canal Pitt, Andres and Concepcion arriving at the Amalia Glacier by 10 am. Its getting cooler outside but the obsessives walkers are marching round the ship doing their 4 lap miles. This seems to go on all day – a fairly restful day for us with the exception of another tango lesson after lunch then caught up with the twitchers on the promenade deck where we discovered that what I though was a sea gull was actually a small albatross of which there ... read more

Still not in Puerto Arenas yet but on our way. 8th January We arrived at our first port of call on the Chilean coast – a small town called Puerto Montt. Heavy German influence in this part of the world but again no beautiful architecture just low level functional homes and shops. BJB and I had signed up for white water rafting in the hope that there would not be many takers for that. In the event only 12 of the 1500 took the mini bus with us to go an hour east of the town through the more touristy Puerto Veras to the Petrohue river. It was raining when we arrived and the volcano hidden in the mists. Wet was never going to be an issue – in wet suits, helmets and waterproof jackets we ... read more

Actually just off Puerto Montte but not list here. 7th January Brian was at an all day conference so a chance for me to acquaint myself with shipboard life. This is a floating palace – Very Titanic and then some. Amazing food on tap all day long at several venues, a gym, spa and all that entails, swimming pool and whirlpools, a couple of theatres, endless live music bars two with dance floors, a casino, a very well equipped library to name but a few facilities. Add to that an itinerary of talks shows films, camera workshops and much much more. You name it and you will find it. There are 1500 people on board, mainly American, who are housed in ‘staterooms’ of various sizes. Ours is rather modest but spacious enough and overlooks one of ... read more

We are actually in Puerto Montte but couldn't pin down which region that is in Chile 7th January Brian was at an all day conference so a chance for me to acquaint myself with shipboard life. This is a floating palace – Very Titanic and then some. Amazing food on tap all day long at several venues, a gym, spa and all that entails, swimming pool and whirlpools, a couple of theatres, endless live music bars two with dance floors, a casino, a very well equipped library to name but a few facilities. Add to that an itinerary of talks shows films, camera workshops and much much more. You name it and you will find it. There are 1500 people on board, mainly American, who are housed in ‘staterooms’ of various sizes. Ours is rather modest ... read more

5th January Santiago in 4 hours behind UK time and beautifully warm. We were bussed to the Hyatt in the newer part of town and I got stuck in my seat and had to be cut out of my seat belt with scissors! Huge room on the 12th floor but not much time to enjoy it with a compulsory city tour an hour after we arrived. Our guide was a big blonde who looked like a mafia’s moll and spoke more German that English. (There are a lot of Germans here) She walked us through the old town into the cathedral and then to a coffee bar with legs! It had skimpily clad waitresses and was a bit like a poor man’s bunny club but with bigger legs. Nothing exciting at first glimpse in Santiago. Chilean ... read more

Now why am I offered Radlett as a location and not Elstree? The Romans would have had something to say about that. Having marched all the way from London on route for St Alban’s, Elstree was where they were allowed to sit down for 5 minutes and get out their sandwiches and ginger beer. Sorry Radlett – you were a patch of woodland back then and frankly compared with Elstree you’re just a new town. So Travel blog – get your priorities straight. Elstree is definitely on the map. Having got that off my chest, now let us turn to the thorny problem of weight. What chance did we have with Christmas just behind us and the excesses of New Year’s Eve ahead? Cruising is notorious for the endless eating, so its trainers and gym stuff ... read more

How do you pack for dancing, posh dining, hot counties, cold and wet countries and hiking without exceeding 23 kilos? At least we don't have to take golf clubs as well.... read more