Punta Arenas - The HMS Beagle

 A visit to a museum with a full sized replica of the HMS Beagle was today’s highlight.

Crouched in Captain Fitzroy’s cabin, my mind conjured thoughts of what life must have been like on such a ship in such an environment. The museum, Nao Victoria, also has a full size copy of Magellan’s ship. 

Punta Arenas lies at a strategic point on the north shore of the Straits of Magellan.  Founded in 1848, it grew rapidly, benefiting from the steady flow of immigrants through the Straits headed west. Some chose to remain; the weather and offers of cheap land led to the rapid growth of sheep ranches and the wool trade, still a mainstay of the town’s economy. 

It dawned on me this morning, looking at the cruise tracker on our cabin monitor and sipping a first cup of coffee, that our “rounding” of Cape Horn, while technically correct, was actually a little timid. A real rounding would include further transit west and then north up the rocky, stormy, west coast of Patagonia. 

But reality quickly set in. We are on a cruise. Seeing notable sights must be combined with a level of comfort and safety. We have seen and experienced Cape Horn, and the Beagle Channel, and the Straits of Magellan, and Punta Arenas. The fjords of Chile and a glacier or two lie before us. 

We cannot ask for more. 

Cape Horn

 

Seldom does one complain that the weather is not bad enough. But that was the sentiment among a handful of us on deck this morning . Our highly anticipated rounding of Cape Horn occurred under cloudy skies with light rain, but little wind and on utterly calm seas. I don’t think the Captain complained. 

We left Ushuaia yesterday evening, arrived at Cape Horn at 8 this morning, cruised around Hornus Island, and are now cruising back through the Beagle Channel towards Ushuaia. We will continue through the Channel and the Straits of Magellan to Punta Arenas, our next stop, and then back through the Straits to the Pacific, and up the coast of Chile. 

The 611 km long Straits of Magellen (red line) were controlled by the Dutch East India Company in the 18th-19th centuries. They made it expensive for competitors to use. Additionally, the narrow sections of the Straits were difficult for large sailing ships to navigate. 

William Schouten sailed around the Horn (blue arrow) in 1616, establishing its strategic significance. Despite the potentially disastrous weather, it became the route of choice for large ships until the Panama Canal opened in 1914. This route (blue line) is also known as Drake’s Passage, on the historical assumption that Drake sailed through. 

The Beagle Channel (yellow line) was first sailed by Robert Fitzroy, commander of the HMS Beagle, in 1831. The young Charles Darwin was on board as the ship’s natural scientist. 

Seas are still calm, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. Tomorrow: Punta Arenas. 

Ushuaia

Shortly after docking, we drove with our excursion group to Husky Park, not far from town.

There we set off on a 4 km walk. The well marked trail led across boggy meadows and over a few hills to a beaver dam, built across one of the small rivers flowing through the valley. 

We returned to the starting point for coffee and cake. Husky Park has 80 husky dogs in its care. We learned some about the care and feeding of huskies: very social animals. Definitely not house pets. 

Returning to town, Eve and I explored. The main street is lined with outdoor gear shops, tourist shops, and restaurants. Lots of tourists. 

Our Artania  was the largest of four cruise ships docked in the harbor. 

I thought we could as well be in Jackson, Wyoming, if Jackson had a large enough cruise pier. 

The Drake Passage

 

The temperatures are dropping. We have been cruising due south since yesterday. 

                    Air Temp.       Water Temp.

25 Jan.               24                      22

26 Jan.               22                      19

27 Jan.               17                       17

28 Jan.               12                       11

Our current latitude is 53S. Cape Horn is 

56S

Everything south of 60S can be defined as Antarctica. A ship can set course due east or due west and sail around the globe at this latitude. There is no land mass blocking the way. 

A cold sea current circulates the globe here as well, blocking the entry of warm currents from the north. The collision of the currents contributes to the highly unpredictable and often severe weather associated with sailing around Cape Horn through the Drake Passage. 

Today’s lecture in the ship’s lounge on Antarctica and the Drake Passage brought home to me how unsymmetrical the climate zones of the globe are, something that sailors have known and dealt with for centuries. 

Tomorrow, Ushuaia. 

Logistics

 

We are on our way to Ushuaia. Two highlights for the day to report. 

First, today is my birthday and, this being a German cruise line, it was celebrated in style. We had dinner together with two pairs we have become friends with. At the end, a cake was delivered from the kitchen with much singing from the staff. 

Second, a special reception (I pretended it was for me) was held before dinner for the couple hundred guests in the upper decks. The ship’s captain, the cruise director, and the hotel director each took turns on stage relating to us their backgrounds and telling a memorable story or two from their experiences at sea. 

The hotel director’s tale impressed me. He is responsible for the kitchen. The complexity of assuring sufficient supplies of food of the expected quality to a ship underway around the world amazes me.  The ship must restock items at most ports, and the planning and execution takes months. 3 containers of fresh supplies were loaded in Buenos Aires, for example. 

Let’s talk about pineapples. They are grown in tropical regions (Brazil, for one) and shipped to Hamburg, where they are repackaged and shipped back to Brazil. Seems like double effort, but these long, well developed supply chains are reliable, in contrast to trying to supply pineapples directly from Brazil to our ship. The best locally grown fruit is exported to U.S. or Europe anyway. 

This generally works smoothly. But given the vagaries of ocean transport, the hotel director gets busy when a container ship has been delayed, for weather or other reasons, and the pineapples aren’t there on the pier. He has to find and get substitutes, hopefully without the guests noticing. Respect!

Next time I will tell you about the challenges surrounding liverwurst and mineral water. 

Puerto Madryn - The Steppes of Patagonia

 

Eve and I set forth early morning on foot. 50 meters from the ship, we encountered a group of sea lions taking the morning sun on the steps of our pier. 

Puerto Madryn downtown reminds me of a dusty town like Salinas in California’s central valley. Wide quiet streets, low-slung houses, sparse vegetation, little traffic, and chicken shops. 

We did a stretch along the beach, then picked up and followed the trail of historic sites in town. Another similarity to California:  “old” means 100-150 years. Not a lot happened before then. 

After lunch, our guided tour set off to see the backcountry of Patagonia. Arid steppes dominate the landscape. The cliffs on the bay offer nurturing grounds for sea lions and cormorants. 

Our final stop for an afternoon snack was at an Estancia in the middle of dusty nowhere. Merino sheep are raised on the ranch. Tourism provides some useful side income. The ranch also serves as a rescue station for guanacos that are injured or sick. 

We drove back to town to discover that sudden strong winds had blown down the ship’s gangway, leaving us to wait on the pier for its replacement. The ship’s departure for Ushuaia was further delayed until the winds calmed down. 

A little taste of the adventure that awaits us rounding Cape Horn, perhaps?

The Definition of Fine Dining

 

Five courses are standard at the evening dinner here on ship:  an appetizer, a salad, the soup, the main course, and a dessert. 

The waiters bring each individual course for every guest at the table simultaneously to the table and with ballet like precision, on cue, set the plate before the guest. “Bon Appetit!” is expressed. We guests at the table consume our evening repast together. 

A rather civilized tradition. 

Last night at the Officer’s Table we learned that it is custom to offer a toast with each course. As most at the table were strangers, the first toast with the appetizer was a little forced, as we all awkwardly looked each other briefly in the eyes with our glasses raised. 

When the dessert arrived, the toast flowed freely, with much gayity and laughter and happy clinking of the glasses. 

Today is a sea day. Tomorrow we explore Puerto Madryn. 

Prost!

Bora Bora

We took the tender boat to shore with no specific plans, other than seeing as much of the island as possible and avoiding the water, other than for a short swim. (We have gotten our fill of direct sun for a while.) After talking to a couple of tour operators, we decided to rent a car and plan the day for ourselves. 

A 32 km long road encircles the island. We easily acquire an Avis rental at their harbor office, and set off to drive the island CCW. 

There was little traffic, and parking on the roadside is easy. One caution: Eve made sure we didn’t park under hanging coconuts. 

The views across the lagoon to the atolls where the rich and famous hang out are splendid. We find a couple of spots where a short hike up a hill gives us a better perspective. 

We finished one loop and started around again to find a lunch spot. The Bora Bora Beach Club was perfect. 

After lunch, we continued our second loop.  On the northeast side we hiked out on a promontory where two abandoned US canons from WW II can be found. The view over the lagoon was, as you might now expect, exceptional. 

Returning hot and sweaty to the car, we drove back towards the tender pier, stopping for a quick swim before returning the rental. We took the tender back to ship, showered, and collapsed in our deck chairs for a review of the day. 

10 out of 10 points. 

Tomorrow is a sea day. Yaaayyy!

From 40 to 48!

 

Eve asked me recently, “How many people have we met on the ship since we started?”  We made a list, and settled on 40 or so. “Met” means sitting with at breakfast or dinner, and having conversation. We seldom exchange names during our small talk, but usually discuss our destination on this cruise, describe our cruising experiences, and say where we are from. When Eve says, “Rostock” or “Kassel” or “Berlin”, I know exactly who she is talking about. 

The restaurants on the ship do not take table reservations, to encourage such interchange among the guests. This suits us well. The  tables seat 4 to 8 people, and we have made a point of sitting with new people regularly. Seldom have we been disappointed. After 5 weeks, we have developed stronger ties with a couple of pairs (“Bonn” and “Dessau”) and we sit together in the restaurant, if places are free. 

Tonight, by formal invitation from two staff members, we sat at an officer’s table in the restaurant with three other pairs who were making the round the world cruise. It was a delightful evening. 

Buenos Aires - Final Impressions

The day promised to be sunny and hot. Our desire to spend the day on foot was limited. The better known neighborhoods of Buenos Aires are widely scattered. What should we do?

A Hop On, Hop Off bus proved to be an ideal solution. We got a complete overview of the city from the comfort of the bus, and explored on foot at two stops. 

The first was Palermo, an older neighborhood of colorful houses and cafes, nestled along tree lined streets. It struck us as very European. 

The second stop was La Boca, Buenos Aires’ first harbor. La Boca has a passionately celebrated football team.  We enjoyed a beer and empanadas before getting back on a bus. 

The bus crisscrossed the city, driving by various monumental government buildings and important plazas. Our knowledge of Argentinian history is vague at best. The details provided by the audio guide did not stick. 

A strong impression of the immensity and self-assurance of Buenos Aires remains.