South America

Valparaiso (Santiago, Chile)

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Valparaiso - Here's Stephen onboard with a lovely view of our departure city.

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Before Boarding Zenith, we had some lovely views from the hilly streets of Valparaiso.

Puerto Montt

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The Strait of Magellan and The Chilean Fjords

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After our first port stop, Puerto Montt, we had a scenic day cruising the Chilean Fjords .. we had a nice viewing of the Skua / Amalia Glacier.

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The days began to lengthen as we headed south, and this day felt like a day in Alaska! Hard to believe we were so far away. We had drizzle and wind for our two days viewing the Fjords and the Strait, be sure to bring good rain gear, and a jacket to protect from the wind, the temperature isn't that cold, but the wind makes quite a chill if you are not prepared, we packed appropriately so were fine.

Punta Arenas

Upon our arrival in Punta Arenas the rain was dispersing and a beautiful full rainbow arched over the port city.

We decided to take the penguin tour to Magdalena Island. We boarded a bus at the dock, the bus drove onto a Ferry and we had an hour and a half trip to the island. It was very very windy up top, there was free coffee and the buses were comfortable to sit in. Our tour guide gave information and narration about the area for the duration of the ferry ride, we really enjoyed it. As the boat landed, many penguins scurried away so they could let down the ramp. It was very windy, and quite the chill when it blows, have hats and gloves for sure, along with your wind / rain gear.

Click on this picture for a full page of Penguins !

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Hi Mom,

Just a short message today I have to use the ship's internet since we came
right back after our port stop .. its fifty cents a minute here.. some places
in Chile cost sixty cents and hour ! what a difference eh?

This is odd, I am writing to you from the Celebrity Showroom, they have
a few computers at the back of the theatre in a glassed in room.. no light
though since they are showing a movie at the moment, makes it fun to type,
good thing I don't have to look at my fingers :)

Everything is terrific ! We have not had very bad seas but it has been
a bit rough most days, people aren't sick or anything just a constant rocking
when we are in open ocean, at the moment we are in the inland waters of
southern South America. We are at our last stop in Chile.

Today we went to Magdalina Island... it is a penguin reserve. We took
a ferry boat and spent time there I took lots and lots of pictures ! They
have little burrows in the ground and you can look in and see mama penguin
and her chicks. The chicks are a few weeks old now, they are past brooding
season really. There were 300,000 on the island we visited it was very
fun !

The cruise director came to our door the other day, it was a surprise, not
something that usually happens .. I answered the door and he was standing
there and said "it is a peculiar path that has led me here".. well what
happened is he read something on the internet I wrote about the cruise
in our last port... he followed the link to my website and saw I liked birds
and lent me a copy of a book "Birds of the Beagle channel" which is where
we are cruising.. so I looked up about penguins and other birds, it was
very nice of him...

This has been a cruise I wish I had brought a calendar ! We have invitations
for captain club parties, connection parties (internet group) we had private
casino demos because of our Select status .. hehe it was fun Stephen wanted
to know how Craps works so now he knows all and more than he'd want to know,
I wonder if he will try it.

We passed the Straight of Magellan and Chilean Fjords the last two days
at sea. It reminded me of the inside passage to Alaska but more rugged..
We stopped at a glacier that flows into the water.. if I get up at 4am
tomorrow we are going past a series of 5 of them before arriving in Usuaiah
.. I better sleep early !

It has been cloudy and rainy for the 2 days at sea but sunny today, it started
out grey but is clear now, Puntas Arenas is very windy in the afternoon
!

We have several lecturers on board, we have had talks on the volcanoes,
glaciers, Beagle Channel, explorer expeditions, and digital cameras. We
usually have them during days at sea, it really has made for a full and
fun schedule.

Tomorrow we are on a catamaran trip through the Beagle Channel .. we should
see wildlife and gorgeous scenery. I'm glad I packed long underwear ! Some
people came expecting it warm throughout and have to buy clothes in ports
and onboard. I'd say this trip would be like going from Florida to Baffin
Island and Back.. start off and finish hot and warm but the middle gets
quite cold.

The sun doesn't set until around 11pm ! We are so far south and it is
summer. Tomorrow's port is where boats base to visit Antarctica.

Thank you for reading my messages and I hope you enjoy them, this really
is the trip of a lifetime.

Love,
Tina

Many more penguin pictures on my Penguin Page

The Beagle Channel and Ushuaia

The Beagle Channel - On our way from Punta Arenas, Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina we passed many glaciers. Alas we needed to be up for about 4am as the parade of glaciers began... We camped in the Fleet Bar and enjoyed the show!

We didn't mind getting up for 4am so much since even the Cruise Director, Chris, was up at the Fleet Bar with maps and to let us know what we were viewing. I have never been on a cruise where the CD was so accessible, he regularly stayed behind after port lectures and answered individual questions until everyone had gone. He really added to the enjoyment of our experience.

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Ushuaia, Argentina

Zenith on the left, and the Marco Polo (Orient Lines) right.

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Hi Here is an update of what we've been up to since we spoke on
the phone from Usuaia, Argentina.

The following morning we woke up early to be up on deck as we sailed around
Cape Horn... the morning was partly cloudy and relatively mild... We approached
the Horn from the east side of the island and sailed southward... So basically
we were already in the Atlantic Ocean when we awoke and must have entered
from a more northern channel while we were asleep. Soon before we reached
the tip of Cabo des Hornes (Cape Horn) the staff placed motion sickness
bags at each elevator and seasick medicine in our stateroom.. so we were
thinking they were expecting a rough ride... As soon as we reached the cape
a squall brewed up. We were on deck and met up with some folks from the
Connections group we belong to and joined them for some champagne and orange
juice as we passed the horn... We spent the time up on deck, aft of the
buffet outside where the tables are.. the table umbrellas were not open
but tied closed of course...

The squall stirred up, we had strong wind gusts and rain. It left as quickly
as it appeared... most of our time was moderate seas, nothing more than
15 feet I'd say. The sickness bags disappeared I dont think many had to
use them it wasn't very rough.. We took many pictures and the squall only
obscured the horn for about 15 minutes.

When we rounded the horn we actually went twice... First, from Atlantic
to the Pacific going westward, then the ship turned and we went from the
Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean going eastward, so we can say we went past
it both ways.

We had two days at sea, and arrived at the Falklands yesterday. We took
some pictures and video from up on deck but alas with 30 knot winds expecting
to reach 60 later in the day it did not make it possible for us to land.
This stop was requiring us to take the tender boats for about a half hour
trip to and from the ship so we were not able to get off. Instead the Captain
decided to make it a day at sea. By the time we reach Puerto Madryn tomorrow,
we will have had 4 full days at sea, one more and it would be as long as
crossing the Atlantic. Good thing Stephen and I like days at sea :) Since
we are moving northward it is warming up again.

Today's activity : Stephen and I are visiting all 20 food options available
and putting a little on video :) everything from early riser breakfast
to the late night buffet .. tonight its Argentina Tango Buffet .. guess
that means we have to tango through the food line. We are having a bite
at each of the 20 options so no big meals today .. it should make for some
funny video though. I am writing between the Bullion and Lunch seattings.

Waves have never been terribly rough, not so bad you see people walking
in a zigzag pattern down the hallway as the ship rocks, only seen that a
few times. We always have motion that you can feel, yesterday it rocked
me to sleep so I mostly just napped .. with 4 days at sea, why not? :)

Take care, hope all is well :)

Love Tina

Cape Horn

The morning up on deack for Cape Horn was a mix of cloud and sun, seas were slight as we approached the cape from the North and east side of the island. It was great up on deck for morning coffee and croissants.

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Hehe what can I say, a wind hair sculpture :)

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We had a great time up on deck as we cruised around the Horn.. We approached from the Atlantic side, and went west into the Pacific Ocean, and the ship turned around and we cruised by again going East, back to the Atlantic ! It was a blast. We joined some Cruise Critic folks up on deck for Champage and orange juice as we swung around the Horn.

As you can see, the seas were not rough, just a bit of a swell. It was very dramatic, though as we approached the Cape a squall stirred up and gave us some dramatic weather for a few minutes, then broke in time for more photos!

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Thanks for sharing the champagne guys ! -- whoa guess we took this picture when the squall hit!

The Falkland Islands

Well, we actually made it out to the Falklands, but alas the winds did not permit us to tender... We knew ahead that we had about a fifty percent chance of landing here. Winds were expected up to about 60 knots so they decided to not send the tenders out. Here's Stephen with our tender ticket we didn't get to use.. We did, however have a few nice photo opportunities, I'd much rather have at least seen the Falklands than to have missed the stop completely. May be a reason to try this cruise again sometime :)

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Stanley, Falkland, Islands

Hi Mom,

Short note from Puerto Madryn.. sunny and shorts and tee-shirt weather again,
finally on land after 4 delightful days at sea.

We are just going to enjoy a walk around town, visit a couple of museums
before a 3pm departure. Day at sea tomorrow followed by an overnight stay
onboard in Buenas Aires.

We had another Captain´s Club due last night, free drinks and reserved priority
seats at the showroom last night.. They have been quite generous with their
free drinks. Stephen bought 3 bottles of wine in Chile for 10 dollars,
so far the one we opened was surprisingly good. Not sure we´ll make it
throught he last two before we head home.. Food and drink are very inexpensive
here, as well as internet access from shore.

We have won trivia contests on board the times we tried it, oh boy we won
a garment bag ! hehe

Its a lovely ship, a bit smaller than the one we were on when we came to
Montreal (Rotterdam). Rumors on board are that Celebrity will be deploying one of their
newer ships that are much like the Radiance of the Seas (Infinity) to some exotic
destinations for 2004.. we´re going to watch that one and I´m keeping my
fingers crossed they will go to Australia - New Zealand.. this trip also
is tweaking our interest again to try an expedition cruise to Antarctica..
both Orient Lines and Abercrombe and Kent offer these trips, also National
Geographic may be offering some... max 100 passengers.

Anyway no current official plans but we are already discussing our next adventure!

So far Usuaia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Love,
Tina

Buenos Aires

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Tina