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Today is our last day on land for a bit! Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Tomorrow we begin 5 days at sea on our way to, visiting and returning from Antarctica. Ushuaia is the southernmost city, population 80,000. We took our first ship shore excursion together and opted to do the Tierra Mayor Trekking! We had a great time - it snowed for the entire trek, which was beautiful but meant we really didn't get to see the Andes. The trekk was about 2 hours long and was followed by sandwiches, cake and coffee in a house type building. This was a welcome chance to warm up. We got pretty wet from the snow and it's pretty chilly here - 7 degrees at the height of their summer. The sun came out for a couple of brief moments and it really is beautiful.
Lots of ships in port - we were one of six I believe. Tonight I'll have to find the laundry room so I can dry out my gloves and hat for the following sea days!
We've been told our satellite service which is already pretty sketchy will be worse for the next 5 days - we'll do our best to update the blog but who knows... we're both excited and have our fingers crossed that we'll continue to see wildlife - close enough to take a picture of!
Tonight we're dining in one of the specialty restaurants, "Polo Grill" with new friends Keith and Gill. They're originally from England but have been living in Colorado for the last number of decades. The "Polo Grill" is the ship's steak restaurant and we prefer it to the Italian "Toscana".
We bought some Chilean wine the other day so it's being decanted for us for tonight's meal!
Lots of ships in port - we were one of six I believe. Tonight I'll have to find the laundry room so I can dry out my gloves and hat for the following sea days!
We've been told our satellite service which is already pretty sketchy will be worse for the next 5 days - we'll do our best to update the blog but who knows... we're both excited and have our fingers crossed that we'll continue to see wildlife - close enough to take a picture of!
Tonight we're dining in one of the specialty restaurants, "Polo Grill" with new friends Keith and Gill. They're originally from England but have been living in Colorado for the last number of decades. The "Polo Grill" is the ship's steak restaurant and we prefer it to the Italian "Toscana".
We bought some Chilean wine the other day so it's being decanted for us for tonight's meal!
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Happy Valentines Day! Adrian and I had a fabulous time in Punta Arenas! We had a wonderful brunch with these beautiful cappuccinos while exploring this community. We visited the craft markets, walked the waterfront, spied some Imperial Cormorants, and admired the monuments and murals.
The city has some spectacular architecture and a beautifully treed main square complete with musicians. This is our last Chilean Port - we're off to Argentina this afternoon. last night we received certificates for traveling the Chilean Fjords and this afternoon we celebrated by opening one of our Chilean wines. I am still suffering with a cold, but am now wearing my mask and am out and about - I visited the medical centre onboard, so I know I don't have Covid and did get some over the counter meds to help with my symptoms. Hoping to be much better tomorrow - we have a trek planned.
Adrian and I celebrated Valentine's Day with some champagne and a lovely meal in the Grand Dining room. Happy Valentines Day everyone!
The city has some spectacular architecture and a beautifully treed main square complete with musicians. This is our last Chilean Port - we're off to Argentina this afternoon. last night we received certificates for traveling the Chilean Fjords and this afternoon we celebrated by opening one of our Chilean wines. I am still suffering with a cold, but am now wearing my mask and am out and about - I visited the medical centre onboard, so I know I don't have Covid and did get some over the counter meds to help with my symptoms. Hoping to be much better tomorrow - we have a trek planned.
Adrian and I celebrated Valentine's Day with some champagne and a lovely meal in the Grand Dining room. Happy Valentines Day everyone!
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Today we're at sea gain - with the highlight a photo stop at the Amalia Glacier. I'm still not feeling well - removed my mask for the photo - so Adrian's been on his own again today. He attended Bridge and then went over the lesson with me in the cabin. The weather's been gloomy most of the day but brightened up at summertime - it's light until 10 pm now so our best views of the Fjords have been this evening. Tomorrow we arrive in Punta Arenas.
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I am still suffering with a cold so poor Adrian had to go to Bridge and wine tasting all by himself. The weather hasn't been great so our pictures of the Chilean Fjords are not awesome either.
Adrian tells me the ships Superbowl Party was pretty good - hot dogs, hamburgers, baked potato bar and of course buckets of beer on special? I started the Gilded Age, an HBO seri4es and went to bed early, hoping to feel better. Lots of motion on the ocean tonight too!
Adrian tells me the ships Superbowl Party was pretty good - hot dogs, hamburgers, baked potato bar and of course buckets of beer on special? I started the Gilded Age, an HBO seri4es and went to bed early, hoping to feel better. Lots of motion on the ocean tonight too!
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Today we arrived in Puerto Chacabuco at 12 noon. I woke up with a bad cold so spent the day self-isolating in the cabin. We didn't book a ship's tour for today having planned to hire a cab and do our own thing. Unfortunately since I was ill, Adrian ended up just taking the tender to shore and walking around.
It was a cool, rainy, cloudy and foggy day so I don't think he was too disappointed not to be on a tour. The port was very small however and all he managed to get to show for his time off the ship was a big bag of lays potato chips! A great find but not very Chilean.
Lots more "motion on the ocean" right now, some nice swells, we both find it quite wonderful but there are a few folks not enjoying the seas. Pretty sure there's more motion to come as we get closer to Antarctica.
It was a cool, rainy, cloudy and foggy day so I don't think he was too disappointed not to be on a tour. The port was very small however and all he managed to get to show for his time off the ship was a big bag of lays potato chips! A great find but not very Chilean.
Lots more "motion on the ocean" right now, some nice swells, we both find it quite wonderful but there are a few folks not enjoying the seas. Pretty sure there's more motion to come as we get closer to Antarctica.
I finished all the books I brought with me! Today I finished "Anxious People" which I borrowed from Adrian. This book was a lot of fun to read, a bit different style than I am used to but I loved it... I haven't read "A man Called Ove" yet but now can't wait to read it when I get home!
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Today we arrived in Puerto Montt, a lovely port city in Chile. From here we took a private tour to the volcano, the waterfall and then on to Puerto Vara. We had great weather so the volcano cooperated and was visible. The waterfall was lovely, if a bit crowded. Puerto Vara was a delight, wish we'd had more time here. this part of Chile was settled by Germans and still has a significant German influences. The house have a German/Swiss/Banff kind of feel. There's a gorgeous promenade the full length of the town's lakefront, along the beach. The waterside community is full of restaurants and shops and gets a 5 star from us - we'd definitely return here.
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We had a much-needed sea day today. Yesterday’s wine tasting, while wonderful, completely did me in. Much better after a good night’s sleep. We made it to Bridge and unfortunately, we have another wine tasting this afternoon, both of us are feeling a bit wined out. However, this wine tasting was with a sommelier who joined us in San Antonio for the Chilean leg of the cruise. He’s from the area and the wine tasting turned out to be great fun. Sadly, I let my Maritime roots down by leaving most of my wine on the table. I thoroughly enjoyed the tastes though. We took today to recover – no gym, not much of anything.
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San Antonio is the port we stopped at but this stop is consider Santiago - the city is a long way from the port so we decided to do a wine tour instead, with new friends, Steve and Mary.
We visited three wineries, the first was a boutique winery which made wines but also balsamic vinegars and liqueurs. This first winery served us five samples and then we managed to also try 3 of their liqueurs. we had a great time and left with a case of wine and a bottle of liqueur.
The next winery was also small and a bit more rustic. We only bought one bottle there. Finally our third winery, thankfully included lunch and we left without any additional bottles of wine. All in all a great day but our wine glasses runneth over!
We visited three wineries, the first was a boutique winery which made wines but also balsamic vinegars and liqueurs. This first winery served us five samples and then we managed to also try 3 of their liqueurs. we had a great time and left with a case of wine and a bottle of liqueur.
The next winery was also small and a bit more rustic. We only bought one bottle there. Finally our third winery, thankfully included lunch and we left without any additional bottles of wine. All in all a great day but our wine glasses runneth over!
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We had a great day in Coquimbo. We chose to simply enjoy the port community - we walked a huge portion of the waterfront, they're working on a fabulous promenade complete with a fish market, street vendors, lots of places to eat and outdoor exercise equipment for the community.
They were obviously harvesting seaweed for some use.
Lunch was our first empanada of the trip - shrimp with mushroom and cheese and another beer.
We returned to the ship tired and ready for the ships 2 for one happy hour - I had "English Affair" and Adriana had " Serianna" or something like that - his was the strawberry one in the martini glass!
They were obviously harvesting seaweed for some use.
Lunch was our first empanada of the trip - shrimp with mushroom and cheese and another beer.
We returned to the ship tired and ready for the ships 2 for one happy hour - I had "English Affair" and Adriana had " Serianna" or something like that - his was the strawberry one in the martini glass!
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Today we’re at sea. Over this first leg of our cruise we’ve gained 4 hours from San Francisco. This change in time has made the days longer, and sunsets later as we head further south to the midnight sun of the southern hemisphere. Now we can watch the sunset from our balcony after dinner.
We continue to take Bridge lessons, lots to learn and remember! We’ve also continued our wine tasting journey - I think wine tasting will be a regular thing for us. It’s a lovely way to spend an hour or two, trying wine, paired with great food in the middle of the afternoon, on the ocean.
On these sea days the ship works to keep us entertained and take more money for us - while we’ve happily succumbed to wine tasting, so far we’ve managed to resist the constant spa specials (still way overpriced, the casino Blackjack and Poker events and the regular boutique and jewelry sales. This blog includes some pictures of what’s on offer here!
We haven’t made it to a lecture yet - wine always seems to win out!
The air is a bit cooler now so sunbathing is at a perfect temperature, I try to avoid midday and we generally sunbath around 3:30 or 4 for a bit, still ended up burning my eyelids though. The pool area is largely empty at this time so it feels like our private yacht. Lots of folks rush to be ready for dinner by 5 so they can get the 2 for 1 happy hour drinks available between 5 and 6! So much strategy required to cruise well!
Our wine tasting attendance has gotten us some lovely glasses of after dinner wines as gifts from our wine steward, Anthony. We’re already planning dinner parties for our return to introduce them to many of you!
I’m working on photos for a post on the food to give you an idea what’s available and what it looks like. Adrian’s having fun practicing what he’s learned - that you really can have whatever you want!
We continue to take Bridge lessons, lots to learn and remember! We’ve also continued our wine tasting journey - I think wine tasting will be a regular thing for us. It’s a lovely way to spend an hour or two, trying wine, paired with great food in the middle of the afternoon, on the ocean.
On these sea days the ship works to keep us entertained and take more money for us - while we’ve happily succumbed to wine tasting, so far we’ve managed to resist the constant spa specials (still way overpriced, the casino Blackjack and Poker events and the regular boutique and jewelry sales. This blog includes some pictures of what’s on offer here!
We haven’t made it to a lecture yet - wine always seems to win out!
The air is a bit cooler now so sunbathing is at a perfect temperature, I try to avoid midday and we generally sunbath around 3:30 or 4 for a bit, still ended up burning my eyelids though. The pool area is largely empty at this time so it feels like our private yacht. Lots of folks rush to be ready for dinner by 5 so they can get the 2 for 1 happy hour drinks available between 5 and 6! So much strategy required to cruise well!
Our wine tasting attendance has gotten us some lovely glasses of after dinner wines as gifts from our wine steward, Anthony. We’re already planning dinner parties for our return to introduce them to many of you!
I’m working on photos for a post on the food to give you an idea what’s available and what it looks like. Adrian’s having fun practicing what he’s learned - that you really can have whatever you want!
