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Published: February 1st 2011
An unexpectedly exciting day!
We were in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, which is a 50,000 pop. relatively new resort area about halfway down the coast. We berthed at the end of their very long pier, on the leeward side, so the wind wouldn't blow us against it. Hugh and I walked into town, watched the school kids having their gym classes on the beach, bought a new cheap wristwatch for me (since the humidity of Rio was too much for my old one), and had a treat from the local bakery. We really enjoyed the town because it was not very busy, was full of "locals," and most of all because it was just the right temperature!
When we had seen it all, we walked back to the ship, noticing that the wind had really picked up. We were only allowed to cross the gangplank one at a time because it was a little wobbly. We went up to the restaurant to have some lunch and, within minutes, the captain came over the loudspeaker and announced that no one would be allowed to go ashore from that moment on. So, after we finished eating, we went out on deck and found that
the gangplank had been taken away! There were a couple hundred passengers stranded on the pier, many who had just arrived back from shore excursions. The ship was straining at its moorings and the captain called for the tugboat and pilot boat to push from the other side. Eventually the gangplank was put in place again, but it took 40 minutes to get the crowd aboard, with the gangplank needing to be repositioned often as it jerked around. Quite a scary ordeal for everyone! The captain was itching to shove off, but since we weren't scheduled to leave until 6:00, passengers didn't have to be back on the ship until 5:15. And, since it was a sunny day and not windy in town, those who were off exploring didn't have any idea of the drama taking place back at the ship.
The last passenger arrived at 5:05, but then we had a new problem. Three of the lines were moored to a detached pier that the pilot boat tried three or four times to get near (so someone could jump off, climb up, and loosen the moorings), but the sea was just too rough! So, eventually, the decision was made
to abandon (cut) those ropes, then the others were unhooked and the ship practically flew away from the pier.
We have now had our dinner and are heading out of the very large bay. We wonder how rough it will be when we get to the open sea!
The captain really earned his paycheck today!
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peter de koning
non-member comment
what a day!
Another exciting story! What those cruise companies do to entertain their customers! They change even the weather for you. It is beyond my imagination that it happened the way Suzy wrote it. So it is a good thing that you added photos of the story. I still have to say that I enjoyed very much the photo of the, a bit, fat couple on the Rio beach. Did that couple go on a cruise twice a year? So thank you again for your stories and the very enjoyable way of writing them. Best wishes, also from Clasien. Peter.