Heading South (Again)

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Well it’s time for John and I to hit the high seas again (hopefully they don’t get too high when we round the Cape) so that means it’s time for another Blog. I’m sure you’re now all jumping up and down with joy about reading it (ok maybe not all of you so if not just ignore it, smile next time you see me and tell me you enjoyed it, and then you’ll never know what fun you missed out on). This time we’re heading far south to South America (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay) and Antarctica. Yes I know it’s winter as most of us have been reminded in the past few weeks with the white stuff covering the ground but it’s actually summer down there so off we go to celebrate my upcoming milestone birthday (one of those that ends in 0’s) before I’m too old for this stuff.



It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 years since I made this trip the first time but it was such a fantastic trip that I’ve known I wanted/needed to go back since before that one ended. The last trip was my big post-widowhood trip to prove I could do it on my own and get my life restarted. So much has changed in my life since then and I’m looking forward to sharing these wonderful places with John; although it is going to put him ahead of me in Continents since he spent a few hours in Africa at some point and I haven't been there. Neither of us has been to Asia but we have the others covered.



Still a lot of packing and chores to take care of this weekend before we fly to Santiago Monday evening. We’ll spend one night there and then have a full day tour (including Winery stop for John) heading over the coast to spend a night in Vina Del Mar before boarding the Veendam on Thursday in Valpariso (I’ll include the itinerary at the bottom of this post) for 20 days. We’re also going to spend an extra night in Buenos Aires before flying home on the 31^st. There will be a few days when we’re actually in Antarctica where there will be no internet access so those posts will be delayed. Thanks for sailing along with us.



Guess I’d better let John add a few words about what he’s looking forward to on this trip too. As usual he’ll be writing most of the blog (since he’s the much better writer) but I’m sure I’ll get my 2 cents worth in once in a while and will post some photos (not that I intend to take many penguin photos) along the way.



We’ll be trying a limo service to the airport, as parking at the airport is about a wash when being gone almost four weeks. We’ll have extra time at either end of the cruise to do some sightseeing and to get our wits about us after the long flight. Sharon really needs a vacation, and she is really looking forward to seeing some penguins. One of the big venues for penguin viewing is in the Falkland Islands. On her last trip high seas prevented her from reaching that port (that would be forty-five foot high sees… I can only imagine). Our current itinerary does not include these Islands, though it did when we booked the cruise. About nine months ago we received an awkwardly worded notice that the Falklands were being dropped from our destination ports because of weather. I know the weather forecasting models the weather services use are good, but to predict Mother Nature so far out is really amazing. I suspect the author of our correspondence was told to inform passengers that the (political) climate wasn’t conducive to stopping at the Falklands. In the past year Argentina has denied port entry to cruise ships that have visited the Falkland Islands. Princess Cruises has removed Argentina as a destination from all of their ships so they can still stop at the Falklands. There's still a chance we'll go there instead of Puerto Madryn but we'll have to wait and see.



We are still packing, and Sharon is looking forward to enjoying her newfound 4-star Mariner’s Society status, which most importantly gives us, free laundry service for the cruise. That was after all, the real reason for our one week cruise from Montreal to Boston in 2012. She says that cruise was for me to see Prince Edward Island. I am looking forward to this cruise, and I hope you find our Blog entertaining. We'll try to post again from Santiago but if possible otherwise it will be Thu after we board.



Itinerary

Thu Jan 10 – Sail from Valpariso

Fri Jan 11 – Sea Day

Sat Jan 12 – Puerto Montt, Chile

Sun Jan 13 – Castro, Isla Chiloe, Chile

Mon Jan 14 – Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Tue Jan 15 – Chilean Fiords (Scenic Cruising)

Wed Jan 16 – Amalia Glacier & Canal Sarmiento (Scenic Cruising)

Thu Jan 17 - Strait of Magellan, Cockburn Channel, & Beagle Channel (Scenic Cruising) plus port of Punta Arenas, Chile

Fri Jan 18 – Glacier Alley (Scenic Cruising) and port of Ushuaia, Argentina

Sat Jan 19 – Cape Horn and Drake Passage (Scenic Cruising)

Sun Jan 20 – Sea Day

Mon Jan 21 – The Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica (Scenic Cruising)

Tue Jan 22 – The Danco Coast , Antarctica (Scenic Cruising)

Wed Jan 23 – The Antarctic Sound, Antarctica (Scenic Cruising)

Thu Jan 24 – Sea Day

Fri Jan 25 – Sea Day

Sat Jan 26 – Puerto Madryn, Argentina or hopefully Port Stanley, Falkland Islands depending on both types of climate (weather and political)

Sun Jan 27 – Sea Day

Mon Jan 28 – Montevideo, Uruguay

Tue Jan 29 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Wed Jan 30 – Buenos Aires, Argentina (and they kick us off the ship)

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Comments

[Penny Grimes]

Good luck on your voyages
Thanks for including me on your blog.I'm always excited to learn about different locales & am looking forward to seeing your pictures.