Blogs from Atlantis, Atlantic, Oceans and Seas - page 5

Geo: -62.4905, -59.7569Excellent day today. We stepped off the ship and onto Antarctica for the first time this afternoon. From our balcony, we could see that it was going to be a beautiful day and a perfect one to walk outside. The ship stopped in Yankee Harbor in the South Shetland Islands and launched the Zodiacs with the expedition crew members early in the morning. They selected the landing location on Greenwich Island, set up the day's group gear, and marked off the areas where the guests were allowed to wander. Although there are some no-go zones, guests are free to walk around on their own. Seabourn has made a point of saying that the guests are not shepherded around when on shore, but allowed to take as much or as little time as they like ... read more

Geo: -55.6825, -55.5536What a night!! The storm that prevented us from stopping at Stanley kept the ship bouncing around a lot last night. About 2:30, we were awakened by jolting movements of the ship and the thundering noise of the waves hitting. That lasted several hours while we tried to sleep. I took my first Dramamine of this voyage, and it worked sufficiently. We weren't even in the Drake Passage yet, but it was the roughest sea that I have ever seen. The spray completely covered the balcony several times and the waves rolled up higher than our windows. Went back to bed and hoped for it to subside, but knew we were still at least a day and a half from the other side of the Drake. As it turned out, that was the worst ... read more

Geo: -44.971, -59.4208Today was the first of many sea days. It takes two full days to get to the Falkland Islands where we will anchor outside the bay and take tenders into Stanley. It has been a nice day. We tried the trivia game contest which was sort of fun, but challenging in the way I don't like (rather British-centric) so I don't know if we will go again. I tried to see the ship's blog of the trip on the white iPads they have for guest use, but they weren't working at the moment I tried them. We had dinner in The Grill. It is the specialty restaurant that has replaced the former Restaurant Two. Seabourn has partnered with Thomas Keller to improve their food offerings and The Grill is his signature restaurant. He modeled ... read more

Geo: 20.1253, 94.9318We have now settled into a familiar daily itinerary. The ship moors up overnight. I still find it fascinating to see them pulling the ropes up to any object on the river bank usually a tree. The staff line the path from the gang plank up to the top of the river bank to make sure we don't fall. We take a walk through a village and see how the people live. They really have next to nothing. The wooden shacks don't contain any worldly goods and some don't even have electricity. They are still all well dressed usually in the longyi, the long skirt worn by both men and women. Although as a nation the Burmese are slim they get by with enough to eat usually rice or deep fried onions like a ... read more

Geo: 21.6378, 95.3636There are no proper jetties at most of the stopping places along the river, so it is a matter of walking along a gangplank and then clambering up steps carved out of the river bank. The staff are out in force helping everyone with smiles and "mingle a bar" (Burmese hello). We walked along the dried mud paths, which are totally flooded during the monsoon season, and into a large village. Each family in the village has a large house where they all live and sleep together. In the dry season they live on the ground floor and during the monsoon season they move up to the upper level. Historically this village is important because it is where the first Anglo-Burmese treaty was signed in the 19th century to end the 1st Anglo-Burmese war. ... read more