0106

I took another HAL tour in Punta Arenas. It was my final opportunity to see penguins. Here is the tour description. Board a boat to cross the famous Strait of Magellan. You will be plying the same waters as Sir Francis Drake and Charles Darwin. Upon arrival at Magdalena Island, declared a Natural Monument in 1982, you will see one of the largest penguin colonies in southern Chile and get acquainted with the unspoiled habitat of penguins, cormorants and many other birds. A substantial colony of Magellan penguins nests and breeds here. These penguins return every year to this spot between October and March to lay eggs and raise their young. They bury their eggs in sandy burrows and under shrubs; most of the chicks will have hatched at this time of year. The animals are naturally curious but untamed; they will scamper into their burrows or try to reach the water if approached too quickly. A snack pack is provided. After ample time to observe the birds, it is time for the invigorating walk back to the catamaran and the navigation back to Punta Arenas. You will have about one hour on the island to observe the curious and entertaining penguins before returning to Punta Arenas. It was nice that the catamaran left from the same pier where the tenders arrived. It took two hours to get to the island. The seas were relatively calm but I understand that the passage through the Strait can have seas of three meters. If it had been the first penguin colony I visited, I might have been impressed. Unfortunately, we were approaching the end of the season and the juveniles had already left. There is a path that you must stay on to walk around the island. I saw many birds and some penguins. It was extremely windy. I had a much better experience on all of my other Penguin tours.

A beautiful cruise through Glacier Alley on the way to Punta Arenas. All the glaciers are on the starboard side. All the pictures were taken from my verandah. Gorgeous waterfall I took this last picture after 9 as it was beginning to get dark.

@billcoSorry you had to be medically disembarked. I hope all HAL passengers would receive the same excellent service. I hope you have smooth travels home and that you have a full and quick recovery from your medical issues.

We finally got to shore at 9. Our tour with only 10 people was wonderful. Our guide got us ahead of many of the large busses and took us on an easy hike at our four stops, away from the crowds. She was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. Unfortunately, getting a tender back to the ship was a nightmare. One pier shared with other tour vessels. Incorrect information given by HAL employees about what line to stand in. We got in line at 2 and were back on the ship at 3:25. All aboard was supposed to be at 3 and the tenders are still running at 4. Ushuaia cannot handle the 4 ships at the pier and us tendering on a shared dock.

Our ship has not been cleared yet. We have been waiting an hour. Our tender tickets are 9; they are currently distributing #31.

We attended the Super Bowl celebration last night. It was comfortable watching in Billboard. I walked through the Gallery Bar and the Main Stage where they were also showing the game. Sliders, chicken fingers, egg rolls, veggie dippers, popcorn were passed by the servers. The game was also shown in the cabins.

Good Morning from Ushuaia! We are impatiently waiting for the ship to be cleared. We have a private tour with Alma Calma to Tierra Del Fuego National Park.

On the Oosterdam, Super Bowl starts at 8. It will be shown in the Main Theater, Billboard and Gallery Bar starting in 30 minutes. Will report back on the experience on my LIVE thread. BTW, I have never see the commercials the two other times I watched on a ship. Just the live stream of the game.

Just attended a wonderful recap presentation by the naturalists. These photos taken by Tim are from the slideshow that was shown at the end of the presentation. Sad the Antarctica portion of the cruise is over but looking forward to the ports on the west coast of SA.

@KayFrancisWe definitely used our balcony. I believe it is better to be starboard from BA to Santiago and port in the opposite direction. Others say it doesn’t matter.

@agathasmum Tender tickets were distributed in The Rolling Stones Lounge on deck 2. We have been meeting for our tours in the Ocean Bar on deck 3.

We are extremely lucky to have Captain Kevin Beirnaert on this voyage. He is easy to approach and will happily converse with you. I appreciate his skill in the difficult conditions of an Antarctic passage. I appreciate his honesty. He was ask why we missed Punta Del Este. He said it was his decision along with the corporate office, because when he looked at how many ships would be in Port with us, they were very crowded. By altering our schedule by one day, there were fewer ships in Port. Thus we would have a better experience.

You need to join your Roll Call. If it is the cruise mentioned above, enjoy your transatlantic days!

We are rocking and rolling as we head north. The Captain said we will leave the Antarctica region at 4pm. We enjoyed our brunch. Food was excellent.

This was our route through Antarctica

Our final stop in Antartica was the Palmer Station, a US Research facility. Zodiacs came out to the ship to pick up some packages; my understanding is it was batteries and mail.

I am honored to have heard Tim Nash’s lectures. Yesterday, Melting Ice and Rising Sea and this afternoon How is Climate Change Affecting Antarctica and What Does it Mean for Us. Some website links if you would like to learn more. This morning Lou Sanson gave an excellent lecture on Antarctica and Subantarctic Penguins- Life in Cold Climates. His own pictures and the stories of where he took them added to the presentation. The lecture series has greatly added to my enjoyment of the cruise.

Antarctica swim. It was snowing!

Southern most post office and an expedition sailing ship the size of the Endurance.

Good Morning!Maps that have been posted are useful for tracking our progress 😊 If you have photos of penguins or whales from where we were yesterday or will be today, please post. Videos seem to slow down the ability to access CC while in Antartica. We are currently traveling through brash ice. What a unique sound. A humpback has just been spotted in the channel. Time to get out on the bow.🐳

I am only using my cell phone to take pictures so they do not compare with the other traordinary pictures of the previous Oosterdam live threads. I shot a lot of video of the whales; when I get home I will edit it to take out individual photos. I tried to post a 5 second video of a whale breaching but it will not upload. I will leave you this evening with a picture of the sun setting at 9:30.

I am currently on a 22 day cruise in South America and paid $35. I paid $35 on my 15 TA in October too. Contents of my bag: 3 jeans 2 yoga pants 2 shorts 1 dress 1 dress shirt 3 t shirt 6 underclothes 6 sox

Words cannot describes our day in Charlotte Bay, cruising the Lemarie Channel culminating at Cuverville Island. So many whales, now at the gentoo penguin colony and we are still seeing whales. If there is anyway possible for you to go on this cruise, do it! It has been exceeded my wildest dreams. In the words of my new British friend, “I am gobsmacked”

We are slowly moving into Charlotte Bay. I have the bow camera on and can hear the commentary. Whales have been spotted. Time to suit up and go on deck. I’m glad I packed a bag of winter gear. Silk base layer, fleece sweatshirt, waterproof pack coat, scarf, hat, mittens, boots. You need all these layers if you are going to stay outside for any length of time in 34F degrees with a 20 knot wind.

Yesterday afternoon, Tim Nash presented Key Moments in the Scientific Discovery of Antarctica:Unlocking the Secrets of the Ice House. Very interesting lecture about boring into the ice and discovering the historical climate conditions. A cautious tale of global warming I was able to view the lecture I missed on my cabin TV last night. Georgia Sanson’s Structures in the Snow: A Historical Perspective on Antarctica Architecture I am very happy they have been recorded for later viewing in the cabin.