Andes, Cape Horn and Patagonia

ANDES, CAPE HORN AND PATAGONIA FEB 17 – 25 2013

This segment of the cruise is the one that most interested me when I started to research the area and ports that I would be visiting – it is in many ways not dissimilar to the rugged BC and Alaskan Ports with its mountain peaks, flowing rivers, water side glaciers and interesting and relatively small coastal towns.

While the ship is calling it the Andes and Cape Horn cruise – the area is generally referred to Patagonia – the large expanse of land covering the bottom portion of South America and taking in large portions of both Argentina and Chile. I don't have the expertise to provide much details on Patagonia – just Google it if you want to learn more.

The Andes are to South America as the Rockies are to North America – the spine of the continent. While we won't see the peaks for another day once we do we will basically see them all the ways north.

Once we leave Cape Horn on Wednesday evening – we will now be travelling west and north for the remainder of the cruise – we will be finished with the Atlantic and will have only the Pacific Ocean for the remainder of the cruise.

Yesterday Tuesday Feb 19 marks by my count our 25^th day of the cruise which made it the half way point of the cruise.

Today Feb 20, 2013 as I write this marks one month since I left Vancouver by train – where has the time gone.

We will reach a latitude of about 55 degrees south when we reach the Cape.

A little recap:

Since leaving Puerto Madryn we set sail for the Falklands but it was announced at suppertime by the captain that weather conditions were deteriorating and tendering wouldn't be possible – given how the ship was rockin and rollin and spray from the waves was reaching the promenade deck very few people publicly were criticizing the decision by the Captain but I am sure I will read on Cruise Critic that someone's cruise was ruined because they didn't get to the Falklands – tough luck – while some ships have by-passed the Falklands for political reasons the ocean in our case was a sea of whitecaps and large rollin breakers – I am still fairly spry and I have never found it easy getting into a tender boat even in calm seas and after one rough tender sea in Grand Cayman was glad I didn't have to try to board one.

While many myself included were disappointed I was not surprised based on what I had read and heard online.

The weather as expected has cooled dramatically from the heat of Rio etc. Out have come the long pants, hoodies, toques etc – it's the wind chill that is making it feel cold – the actual air temp is fine for those of us from the Canadian west coast.

Strong southerly winds which usually mean warmth in the northern Hemisphere are the opposite here – they bring in cold air off of Antarctica – while it was sunny the past two days it has dawned cloudy and Gray on Wednesday but with good visibility we should get a good view of the Cape.

Once the decision was made to by-pass the Falklands the ship altered course and slowed down – we would now have a full day at sea cruising down the south Atlantic ocean before starting a turn west and into the Drake Channel – the most southerly of the three passages that are available to mariners to get from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side.

Drake channel separates the continent from Antarctica – much of the area around the tip of the continent is actually a series of islands – not unlike the Canadian arctic.

We will venture to Cape Horn and reach it about suppertime on Wed Feb 20 – we are expected to spend an hour or so circumnavigating around the Cape and Hornos Island. After that we will retrace our route until we reach the Beagle Channel which will take us to our next port of call – Ushuaia. The Beagle channel is the middle of the three routes between the oceans.

The Straits of Magellan are the most northerly and direct route around the continent as this waterway separates the actual continental land mass from the islands and in particular Tierra Del Fuego island.

As for my health – the meds given by the Doc have certainly helped but I must admit the penicillin based one was not fun taken with food – that one is over – the cough medicine still has a ways to go and except for a brief coughing spasm this morning I am feeling quite chipper.

For the port of Ushuaia – pronounced oo shoo-AYE-ah I have a private tour planned with Red Head Anne – it's an early start – meet at 6:45AM – it will be about 6 hours in total – we will travel and see Garibaldi Pass which separates the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds – it is a low pass only about 1500' above sea level – travel to the end of the Pan-American highway and see the signpost for Alaska – interesting to note that the northern terminus of this highway is Fairbanks Alaska which I have visited and that a good portion of the highway travels through BC.

I will also take a chair lift ride up to the Le Martial Glacier – it is a 30 minute walk from the top of the chair to the Glacier – the Glacier itself is within view of the city and if time permits will explore some of the town.

I have the cold weather gear handy including my red Olympic mittens and 2010 Olympic volunteer blue shirt and toque to wear if necessary.

After Ushuaia we will cruise the Beagle Channel to Punta Arenas for a port visit – then cruise their equivalent to the inside passage past the Amalia Glacier and then into Puerto Montt – those two ports are tender ones – I have ship's excursions to getting off won't be a problem.

With me cancelling Puerto Madryn, the Samba tour being cancelled by the tour operator and our failure to make it to the Falklands I have saved almost $600.00 in excursion costs.

More later and coming up – the tip of the Continent – Cape Horn.

Medical centre visit Feb 17, 2013

A VISIT TO THE MEDICAL CENTRE FEB 17, 2013

Despite a last minute call from Red Head Anne saying she had room for one on her private penguin tour I opted to declin and decided to head down to the medical centre to get this cough or whatever checked. Expecting a long line-up I was presently surprised to see only a handful of people waiting to see the Dr.

At first impression it looks like any walk in clinic – a reception area and then some consultation rooms.

I am greeted by a para-medic – the clinic is staffed with 2 Drs, 4 nurses and 2 Para-medics and obviously a least one pharmacist.

She has me fill out the form – the usual – personal info and a brief medical questionnaire and a brief outline of my problem – then she takes me into an exam room – takes my blood pressure – normal, takes my pulse rate – normal, checks my temp – normal – good first step – back in the waiting room it is obvious that what I have seems to be the flavor of the day as most others were hacking away as well – 10 minutes or so later I see the Dr – he's the chief medical officer on this cruise – he asks a few questions - has me take off my shirt and has me lay down on the bed – starts examining me – take a deep breathe – cough, cough, another here , cough cough – exams my abdomen area – not much coughing there – shirt back on – into waiting room to await prescriptions – I am given a codeine based cough syrup called Codeine Linctus – take 10 mm three days a day and Azithromycin – a three day supply – it's a capsules but since I can't ingest pills whole he just states open up the capsules – I know this isn't as effective but it seems to be working – it's two at a time for three days.

This medicine is designed with those with upper or lower respiratory infection which seems right given that I was coughing as he examined me and I usually have the worst coughing session after eating.

He strongly recommended that I don't go ashore and stay on the ship which is too bad because after you walk the 1000 feet to the port everything is right there but I learned later that it being Sunday just about everything was closed.

The complete visit took about 35 minutes – haven't received the charges yet – it will be sent be my room later in the cruise and when I get back will submit to one of my insurers.

As of this writing the following morning I am feeling much better and look to be ready for the Falklands. Cheers!

A sea day in sick bay Feb 16 2013

A SEA DAY SPENT IN SICK BAY – SATURDAY FEB 16, 2013

I will get around to posting my report on Rio, Buenos Aires and Montevideo but first this update.

For the last couple of days I had been fighting off the start of a cold – for me that is usually a dry cough and coughing spells and they usually subside after a day or two of rest but there were two important ports Buenos Aires and Montevideo so I decided to soldier on – I was okay for B.A. But it was another matter in Montevideo – by this time I was starting to pop the aspirin in the hope of getting through the day – it was only a short three hour tour and I survived it – back to ship and to await the opening of the shops to get some cough candies and medicine – but the ship is taking longer to re-supply – it is coming up to 6PM and I have another decision to make – I am scheduled for an all day ship excursion in Puerto Madryn in two days time but the cancellation period expires at 6PM – this is an all day trip – 8 hours in total to see penguins and sea lions etc – it is also very expensive at $289.00 which is almost double what some of the private tours are charging – it was either cancel with no penalty or run the risk of missing it and being charged. I cancelled.

Onto Saturday – I was determined to get the cold behind me and basically spent the day in the cabin – sleeping, taking both aspirin and Robitussin and Halls and generally doing nothing – did venture out for meals as holding food doesn't seem a problem. As the day wore on my decision to cancel was the right one because as I type this up in the evening and while I am feeling a little bit better I need another day or two to fully recover – while Puerto Madryn is the start of the Patagonia venture it's a port that if I miss I can live with – I have penguin tours also planned on the Falklands and Punta Arenas, Chile – this is the scenic part of the voyage and I want to be healthy for it – depending on how I feel in the morning I will either stay on the ship or go ashore and do a short visit.

Cheers from sick bay.

A combined report - Rio, Buenos Aires and Montevideo

THREE PORTS OF CALL INCLUDING AN OVERNIGHT STAY IN RIO

I had originally planned to do a separate post on each of these ports – Rio, Buenos Aires and Montevideo but since I have fallen behind on my writing and having been not feeling well for a couple of days – it's an upper respiratory infection which seems to be doing the rounds of the ship – this will be covered in a later post – I am combining them in one longish one.

I will only outline the highlights of what I did in each of the ports – so here goes.

Rio Feb 10 – 11, 2013 – this will be the first time that I have overnighted in a port on my many cruises.

First a little about the port area – it is a large port area and there are seven other ships in town – there are basically line up one behind the other – we are in position 4 which means it is about 4000' to the terminal – there are shuttle bus running continuously 24/7 during our stay.

There are a few shops in the terminal area – it is very busy because many of the ships here are embarking/disembarking passengers etc.

There is free WI-fi which seems to work in most of the port area but not on the ship.

For the first day which is Sunday I have booked a city tour which in reality is a drive to Sugar Loaf Mountain and then up the two gondolas to the top.

We arrive to a large line-up – the weather is already hot and humid – it takes almost two hours to get to the head of the line – we are a bus load of about 42 and the tour guide is trying to keep us together – we have tour tags to help identify us – at the first station she elects to have us spend about 20 minutes taking in the sights before proceeding to the top on the second gondola ride – each ride is only three or four minutes and the cars hold about 60 -65 people – there are two cars – one in each direction – the views at the top are impressive – as we were sailing into Rio – which is a very beautiful harbour – we could see both Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer statute – while the weather is hot and humid the views are somewhat distorted by a hazy sky but we can see Copacabana far below us and it is packed – a mass of humanity everywhere – it is also a Sunday so those that weren't already on vacation and at the beach are heading there – the traffic is dreadful.

We linger at the top for some time and I treat my self to a hot dog and a nice cold beer – pay for it with US but get hosed on exchange.

When it's time to leave we are faced with another 45 minute line-up – finally on the car and down to the first station – very little wait here – finally back on the ground we board the bus and head back to the ship – we were suppose to be back around 3PM but it is now 5PM – I spend a little time in the terminal – picked up some pop and local beer and returned to the ship all tired out etc.

Originally I had a dinner show planned but I knew in advance that it was cancelled but there might be something else in the works – no dice – Red Head Anne also has a private event planned but she is fill and no one cancelled so it's either venture the streets of Rio or stay on the ship – for safety reason the first option isn't really feasible – so I take in a special one time only performance by a Brazilian dance troupe before the head for the Samba dome themselves – it was a very entertaining show and we were allow to film it – then it being a warm night its out onto the deck – I can see the area where the Samba dome is located and can see some of the lights from the stadium – it's then off to bed for me.

Day 2 in Rio Monday Feb 11, 2013 – I have booked a ship's tour with a local Jeep tour operator for a half day tour of Tijuca National Forest and a visits to the beaches of the city.

These jeeps are the type used on safaris – open-aired and holding about 8 – 10 passengers – the National Forest is located within the boundaries of Rio and is a 4000 acre green respite with waterfalls etc that was replanted about 150 years ago – it climbs to provide many good views.

I am underway – there are a lot of jeeps today as this is a popular tour and other ships are also offering it.

Our first stop is at a viewpoint called Vista Chinese – once again it isn't that clear – still hot and humid but you still get a great view – then it's on to a waterfall – called Cascatinha Taunay – tumbling down along the roadside and then our final stop in the park – Capela Mayrink – an old church and the starting point for a short walk – 15 minutes or so through the forest with a placid stream on our left to the main admin centre of the park where the jeeps are awaiting us for the next leg of the tour – a visit to the beaches of Rio – as we come down from the forest the first beach we come to is call Sao Conrado – mostly a locals hang out and not very busy – next we come to Leblon – more busy and very beautiful – one advantage of an open air transport is it is easy to get pictures – we continue our drive along the beaches and come to Ipanema – it is packed and there is a Carnaval event so we need to divert through the town and then its onto Copacabana – it is very beautiful and very busy – my only regret is that the tour didn't stop and let us dip our feet in the ocean.

Finally back on the ship and dead tired.

I have two days to recover but it on those two days that I start to cough – only a cold coming on – it is also the time that the ship announces a Code Red – which is the health warning for an outbreak of the Noro Virus and the implementation of stricter food handling protocol – removal of salt and pepper shakers – cutlery handed to you etc.

Buenos Aires Feb 14, 2013 – we arrive late as the ship took longer to navigate its way up the Rio de la Plate delta. This is only the start of our delays.

I have a ships tour of the city with visits to the Plaza de Mayo – basically Independence Square – magnificent architect – then a visit to the historic artist colony of La Boca district and then finally Recoleta cemetery where Juan and Eva Peron are entombed.

The port area is industrial and you must use the shuttle for the ten minute ride to the terminal – once out of the terminal area it's smooth sailing – found the city friendly, clean and it appeared to be safe.

The weather has cool some – a little more tolerable but by now my cough is becoming more frequent.

Buenos Aires was also the end of Leg One of this cruise – we said goodbye to about 500 cruisers and welcomed aboard a like number for the second leg – this group also appears to be some what younger – 40 to 60 age bracket.

We were also held up for over 90 minutes while local officials did there homework - whether this has anything to do with us scheduled to visit the Falklands in a few days is anyone guess but it is starting to put us behind schedule – fine if you are on ship's tour but a headache for those who organized private tour.

My now I am feeling shitty – pardon the expression – will try and make it through tomorrow's visit to Montevideo and see how things do.

Montevideo Uruguay Feb 15, 2013 – we arrive 90 minutes late – I take my tour of the city – we visit Independence Plaza – the historic soccer stadium where Uruguay has won 4 world cups – the ornate Legislature building with it's marble lined walls – all the marble is from the area. We drive by many of the ornate houses in the city and I elected to get off at the market – which is only a 5 – 10- minute walk from the pier. Spend some time there and then take in the Graf Spee monument adjacent to the pier.

It's also decision time – I barely made it through the tour today and while the weather has cooled I am feeling miserable – while tomorrow is a sea day the following day is Puerto Madryn where I have a very expensive $289.00 all day tour to see penguins, elephant seals etc but where the cancellation time is 6 PM tonight – as I have penguin visit also planned in the Falklands and Punta Arenas I make the decision to cancel.

More on that ina subsequent post.

We are also late in leaving but this was because the ship is being replenished with food etc – I counted 10 containers that need to be unloaded and then transferred to the ship which and only handle two skids at a time and took longer to do – it also attracted a large crowd of on lookers on the promenade deck who cheered every time a skid of beer was sucessfully transferred and one final cheer when the job was completed.

Next up Port Madryn and the start of the Patagonia part of the journey.

This second leg of the trip from Buenos Aires to Santiago is basically a visit to Patagonia – that wonderful tract of land that makes up the bottom portion of the southern South American landscape.