Around the Horn in 80 days.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Great report Roy! Looks like you had a good day with the weather too.

Sunrise pic👍

Did they do anything special with giving out roses at dinner for Valentines Day?

On a cruise with HAL we were in the PG and I received a log stem rose.

The penguins were adorable.

Denise😊

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

Day P42, Friday, February 15, 2019, At sea, MS Prinsendam

I'll start this post off with another little bit of nostalgia.  A plaque in the aft stairwell marks the Prinsendam's first visit to Antofagasta on January 22, 2007.  Her final call was almost 12 years later, January 20, 2019.

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It was another lovely day at sea.  I cut my morning walk to 3 miles (12 laps) since On Deck For A Cause would follow later in the day.  Late in the walk the sun was just peeking up above the water as I rounded the bow and was fully emerged when I came around the stern.  It had been extremely warm in Puerto Madryn but felt cooler on the water; I was comfortable in a gortex jacket.

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On Deck For a Cause was at 9.  A good sized group of people assembled in the atrium for a group photo.

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We started to walk about 9:10.  The walk was 3 miles or 12 laps.  I counted one lap I had walked getting breakfast and walked 11 with the group.

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The walk is supposed to be non-competitive but there's something in the group dynamic that pushes a bit.  I started timing my laps beginning with the second (after we were spaced out a bit) and found I walked my remaining 10 laps in a little less time than I would normally do 9.  After the walk there were cookies, fruit, lemonade, and water.

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At 10:30 there was a coffee chat with Shirley Dominguez.  She will perform again as part of a
variety show the evening we leave Montevideo.

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The morning (and expedition phase of the voyage) concluded with an 11AM talk on the albatross by Craig Franklin.

In his final noon update for the segment Captain Jeroen indicated the good weather we have would continue for the rest of the day.  At noon our latitude was 39 degrees 25 minutes south.  That's pretty much a mirror image of what I have at home so I will not be that far from the equator again until March 27.

The afternoon featured a 2PM "Virtual Bridge and Engine Room Tour" featuring video footage of the engine room, engine control room, and the navigation bridge.  The program was run by Chief Engineer Peter Massolt and Second (Navigation) officer Mark Massolt (yes, Peter's son).  The presentation was followed by about a 20-minute Q&A session.

The usual 5 were at table 19 for one of the last times as one of our party goes home from Buenos Aires.  I liked the mixed seasonal greens, strip loin, and mango blueberry crisp.

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Sunrise and sunset times swing widely from day to day as we sail north-south and east-west.  Sunset was about 7:45 and I stepped out on deck on the way to the show.  It was almost a green flash quality of event and the moon was framed by the canopy structure on the rescue boat.

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The featured entertainment was magician/comedian Basilio Tabacchi.  I was less than impressed and left midway through the show.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/tabacchi.jpg

I'll take my parting shot from the walk.  There was one old guy I passed a couple of times who was moving very slowly, I would say hobbling along.  Seeing him took me back to one of the classic bible stories.  My reaction was that like the widow who dropped 2 small coins in the basket he was he was walking although it was not easy for him and his walk was at least as significant as for any of the people for whom there was little need to put effort into the walk.  To borrow from another story, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

On 2/14/2019 at 10:22 AM, cat shepard said:

Love the title “Ice Pilot”. Sounds cool. Pun intended.

 

We had a similar session with the ice pilot when I was in Antarctica on the Crystal Symphony.  One of the comments he made was "I spent my career (Coast Guard Icebreaker) running into things.  Now my job is to help other people NOT run into things". I thought that was a very cool way of looking at it.

 

18 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Great report Roy! Looks like you had a good day with the weather too.

Sunrise pic👍

Did they do anything special with giving out roses at dinner for Valentines Day?

On a cruise with HAL we were in the PG and I received a log stem rose.

The penguins were adorable.

Denise😊

 

 

 

 

The waiters came around about the midpoint of the meal giving out long stemmed roses.

 

On 2/14/2019 at 1:32 PM, DeeniEncinitas said:

Happy Valentines Day!

Great sunrise picture Roy. Glad you were able to get your walking in too!

Sad to see the ship models leaving, but agree I’m glad they are going to another HAL ship. This is starting to get very real with our Elegant Explorer that she will be actually leaving😒

Enjoy your cruise Roy!

This day is our anniversary 

Denise😊

 

It is very real.  I think when the 80-day itinerary was announced HAL must have had a pretty good idea that this would be the last time for Prinsendam and made it special.  Married on Valentines Day.  A belated Happy Anniversary.

 

Roy

[mame42]

Roy:  Your story of the elderly gentleman struggling to walk reminded me of my first cruise on HAL.  Several years ago I was on the losing end of a pedestrian vs SUV encounter, which left me with significant mobility issues.  Determined not to allow the accident to define my life, I booked a solo 3 week sailing on the Maasdam.  Each morning as I  struggled to walk around the Lower Promenade, other passengers would not only encourage me, but they would also take note of my slow improvement, cheering when I hesitantly took a few wobbly steps without my cane.

 

The warmth and support that I received from these relative strangers changed my life and is the reason I still sail solo with HAL.  Over the years as I have regained most of my mobility and strength, fellow passengers have helped me on and off boats and up and down hills, enabling me to get the most from my travels.  You know who you are...  Thank you !

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your day.

Your pictures are wonderful.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a beautiful day for your walks and everything else -- busy, busy.

 

Love the story of the old man.

 

Great pictures of the sun rise -- unusual picture of the rescue boat framing the moon.

[Mr. Boston]

Just catching up to your travels Roy.  Thank you for your most excellent reporting, I almost feel like I’m there!  What a wonderful analogy between the older gentleman and the widow, perfect story to read as I wake up.  I think you’ve just made my day!

[DeeniEncinitas]

THANKYOU Roy appreciate the kind words for our anniversary! Such a great picture of sunset and the moon over the tender, good shots👍 Your right about a green flash I’d say very close😊 We have some wonderful ones especially after all the heavy rain we have had! 

Thanks again for taking us along on your journeys and to the older man trying and succeeding in his own right with your wonderful analogy with the Bible!!!

Stay healthy and enjoy your fantastic ride

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day P43, Saturday, February 16, 2019, Punta del Este, Uruguay

Punta del Este is a bit of a misnomer.  It is a point at the eastern mouth of the Rio de la Plata from which the Uruguay coast extends to the northeast.  While not the easternmost point in Uruguay it is the southernmost point.  The peninsula is largely a resort town with a population of about 10,000.

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My walk on the ship was quite broken up.  I was out on deck about 5:30 and walked 2 laps (½ mile) on the lower promenade deck before it was closed off to prepare the tenders for service.  I walked another half mile on deck 12 before getting coffee.  I walked 2 more laps, one for a picture perfect sunrise, and a second for breakfast.

This is my second visit to Punta del Este.  I was here on the Crystal Serenity in 2017 for a day and a half visit, taking a tour on the first day and walking around town on the second day.  Tours offered today included Olive oil and wine tasting, the Ralli museum, and a catamaran cruise ($50-200), but none interested me.

I took advantage of the lack of a pressing schedule to get a hair cut at 8 and then boarded the tender by about 8:45.  It's a long ride to town and our tenders were supplemented by 2 local boats.  On the ride to shore we were followed  by a kayaker who was keeping right up with us as we sailed along at about 10mph.

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My walk was only slightly different from the one I did 2 years ago.  It totaled about 4 1/4 miles in addition to the 2 miles I walked on the ship.

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There's a mostly wide walkway along the perimeter of the peninsula and I followed quite much of it, turning south from the tender pier and following it for about a mile and a half.

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My first stop was at a monument for the southernmost point in Uruguay.  The plaza included a large and very rusted anchor.

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Further up there was a memorial to the site of the first Mass held on the peninsula by the conquistadors on February 2, 1515.

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My walk on the Rambla ended at La Mano, a sculpture of 5 fingers rising from the sand nearest the narrowest part of the peninsula.

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I turned back and walked back on a main street along the spine of the peninsula as far as the main square with a statue of José Gervasio Artigas, considered the father of Uruguayan nationhood.
.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/artigasplaza.jpg

I felt like there was time for more walking and continued south along the main street to one of the city's landmarks, the El Faro lighthouse, and then back past Artigas square to McDonalds where it was time for lunch and loading some maps on my IPAD.

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I  was back at the tender pier about 12:45.  In the harbor there were a number of large seals, locally called Sea Wolves.

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There was an Argentine steak dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and the ladies from table 19 were attending so it was just Jim and I at dinner.  He had done the wine and olive oil tour and I think was quite pleased with it.  I chose the caesar salad, pork picata, and mixed berry crisp.

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The featured entertainment was Yaniv Zarif, a multi-language singer.  He was better than I expected but doubt if I will return for his show in the second segment.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/zarif.jpg

 

As my parting shot there were a number of suitcases stowed under the deck 4 stairs in the evening, I believe all belonging to crew.  I get the impression that cruise lines like to do crew changes in Montevideo rather than Buenos Aires.  When on the Crystal Serenity  I had a dining room team for just one night as the original one left in Montevideo, and this time my assistant waiter served me for the last time today.  May Tinus and all the other departing crew have safe travels and a great vacation.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/packed16.jpg

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report of your walking tour of Punta del Este.

 

Great pictures.

 

I have never seen crew luggage stored that way when it was time for them to leave -- very unusual.

 

[puppycanducruise]

Wonderful report, as usual.

Love the sunrise picture.

It sounds like you did a lot of walking, good for you.

Thanks for sharing your day.

[travelnap]

Great pictures Roy.  We missed you yesterday on the sail away thread, but it was really slow.  Only four ships in port and it still took them over two hours for all of them to sail.  Today will be better, three HAL ships and seven total.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy!!!

enjoyed another fine report this AM.

you had great weather there.

I learn so much from your reviews and it always helps us with our travels.

With all the cruises I follow on you those sunrises and sunsets will never get old!

HAPPY SAILINGS 

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day P44, Sunday, February 17, 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay is roughly the size of the state of Washington.  About half of the population of 3 million lives in the capitol, Montevideo.  It's been a pretty regular stop for me; my 4th visit in the last 3 years.  On the Crystal Symphony in 2016 I did a walking tour of the historical center of town.  In 2017 on the Crystal Serenity I just walked around on my own through the historical city and Rambla which extends along 2 sides of the peninsula (the very end is a naval base). Eighteen days later I was back on the Zaandam and had booked a vintage train tour.  The train ended up out of service and I ended up pretty much repeating the walk.  It's quite a walkable city.  I was prepared to do the same this time but a tour caught my eye.

I did take a short morning walk of about 4 laps around the ship.  I hope the saying "Red sky in morning, sailor take warning" is just an old wives tale because it was bright red behind the ship.

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Tours ranged 1 ½ to 8 hours and $60-210.  I was on the 8-hour one, a visit to Colonia del Sacramento. 14 passengers (plus escort) boarded a large bus for the 2-hour drive up the coast.  Colonia del Sacramento sits on a peninsula in the Rio de la Plata almost across from Buenos and was originally established by Portugal as a base to monitor ships entering and leaving Buenos Aires.  The land access was controlled by a thick wall and moat with a couple of gates.

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It is a UNESCO World Heritage site largely because it is a fusion of Portugese and Spanish styles.  The town changed hands several times but there is strong evidence of both sides of the heritage.  The streets are all stone; the Spanish ones are smooth flat stones while the Portugese ones are more jagged and more difficult to walk on.

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As we walked we came to an unusual example of recycling.  There was a small convent with a pretty brief history; it was built in 1694 and destroyed by fire in 1704.  The convent itself was small but we could also see the foundation of a small chapel.  A lighthouse was started among the ruins in 1845.  The lighthouse has 2 sections, a square lower one with a round segment at the top.  The lighthouse was built on the foundation of the convent's bell tower.  We did not have time to go in but the views from the top of the lighthouse were said to be superb.

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A pair of museums we passed conveys the dual heritage.  One building (red) is strictly Portugese while the one next door started out the same way in 1731. After the town changed hands, a second story was added in Spanish style in 1793.

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What is now the main square was originally the military parade field but now has too many trees for a decent photograph.  A small plaza with nice seating is named for Manuel Lobo, Portugese founder of the site.

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Lunch was at a restaurant near the edge of the historical center.  We were indoors but the place had a very open air feel to it.

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Lunch became my primary meal of the day.  There was only one choice, either a fish or beef entree, but was an excellent spread.

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The town's church, Basilica of the Holy Sacrament, was built by the Portugese in 1808.  We were not able to enter before lunch because mass was just starting but I got a peek inside in the few minutes of free time we had I popped inside after lunch.

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We left Colonia del Sacramento about 1:30.  On our morning ride I spent most of my time deleting some useless stuff from my GPS but looked out the window more on the way back.  It was mostly rural farmland.

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Approaching Montevideo we crossed the Rio Santa Lucia.  It is the source of Montevideo's drinking water.

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Nearing the ship we got a view of the Prinsendam behind an old derelict ship.

 

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All aboard was 4:30.  We were back about 4.  In theory I could have gone to the 4PM Interdenominational service but I expected to be back later than that and sat in on mass Saturday evening.  I got ready for dinner and went up to deck 12 for sailaway.

The last dinner for disembarking passengers was the Culinary Council dinner.  There was really no entree that looked attractive but I found that although the everyday choices were not listed they were available.  I went with the carrot salad, oven roasted chicken, and raspberry tart before saying farewell to Andrea.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/dishes17.jpg

The featured entertainment was a variety show that improved as it went on.  The first act was comedian? magician? Basilio Tabaccji.  I sat along the port wall with my IPAD, choosing a spot where the screen would not bother others.  He was followed with a great set by Shirley Dominguez on the harp, ending with one of her best songs, a very lively Mama Mia.  There was a beautiful sunset just before the show.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/dusk17.jpg

About 120 people leave the ship in Buenos Aires and I saw a few bags out in the hall but the crew seemed to be collecting them almost as soon as they went out.   I hope my parting shot isn't too late but it's a wish for a great President's day for those in the USA.

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

21 hours ago, travelnap said:

Great pictures Roy.  We missed you yesterday on the sail away thread, but it was really slow.  Only four ships in port and it still took them over two hours for all of them to sail.  Today will be better, three HAL ships and seven total.

Yes, things got pretty crazy the last couple of evenings.  I was never quite sure yesterday if all the ships had left or not, and I think when the last of the HAL ships was ready to go my steward came by and I headed up for sunset and the show.

 

Roy

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your day with us.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your excursion sounded great -- but too long a day for us.  You saw and learned so much history.

 

Great pictures.

[cat shepard]

Your pictures are wonderful. The red of that sky - spectacular.

And I could easily see the difference between the streets - I would not want to drive, ride a bike or walk on the jagged ones.

 

I do have one question - was the roof of the restaurant that you ate lunch in made of glass? I love that open air look.

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, cat shepard said:

Your pictures are wonderful. The red of that sky - spectacular.

And I could easily see the difference between the streets - I would not want to drive, ride a bike or walk on the jagged ones.

 

I do have one question - was the roof of the restaurant that you ate lunch in made of glass? I love that open air look.

Surprisingly, that didn't dawn so much on me until I looked at the picture and said wow!.  I am guessing that there was some glass in the roof but only a part (which could not be visible from the street) since historical standards would not have permitted a full glass roof.

 

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

Uruguay looked like great weather so the red sky in the morning sailor take warning

turned out to be a beautiful day! We have had some really good red wine from Montevideo! The presentation for your lunch looked really good! 

Great sunset picture too! You had a long day WOW Roy so lucky!

Denise😊

[kazu]

Montevideo was one place we really looked forward to when we went to South America.

 

Your day there sounds like a good one. 🙂. Pics are great 😄 

 

 

 

 

[rafinmd]

Day P45, Monday, February 18, 2019, Arrive Buenos Aires, Argentina

While I have sailed out of Buenos Aries several times this was the first time I've arrived by ship.  I did not do an extended walk, doing 6 individual laps around the ship for coffee, sunrise, arrival, and breakfast.

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Buenos Aires is an industrial port.  There seems to be no particular cruise dock, just whichever one is open, and shuttle buses provide transportation to a real cruise terminal.  It isn't far to town but there are slums in the area and walking near the port needs care (I've done it but not with valuables.

We backed into the port just after 7AM.  It was a quiet morning with just one container ship in port besides us.  A second container ship and a container barge joined us mid-morning.

I had an afternoon tour but did not wait until then to go ashore.  A shuttle runs to the edge of central Buenos Aires and I was on the first (9:30) one.  It goes to an area with a nice open space, Plaza San Martin.  I looked around the park a bit and stopped for a while at McDonalds for coffee.

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Before returning on the 11AM shuttle I walked down a few blocks towards the ship for a look at the British Tower, a 1910 gift of the British in celebration of Argentina's independence, but with a taste of bitterness since the Falkland's war.

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My afternoon (1:30) tour was called "Behind the scenes at the Teatro Colon".  Well, not quite.  Our theater tour was scheduled for 3PM and in between we got a quick tour of the city.  We passed an interesting flower sculpture that is solar powered and the petals open and close according to the sun.

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A little further on we passed a monument to Eva Peron.

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The Teatro is pretty much in the center of town.  It was built in 1908, seats about 2500, and has great acoustics.  There is a grand entrance staircase, but like Titanic is (or at least was) reserved for those with the most expensive tickets.

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One of the lobby rooms is dedicated to composers of the time with a number of busts above the doorways.  The theater had gone into decline and was restored in 2005-2010 and a couple of spots were left undone to show the effects of a century of aging.

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The auditorium is quite large with 6 levels of balconies.  The first 3 levels are the best, much of the upper level balcony space is standing room.

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The theater has 3 functions, opera, ballet, and orchestral music.  The stage is huge.  The front section was raised to the level of the stage.  Orchestral music is performed on that section rather than on the stage, that section can be lowered to an orchestra pit for opera or ballet.

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Unfortunately, the tour did not meet the description, there was absolutely nothing we saw "behind the scenes" that we would not have seen by buying a ticket.  We did a little more sightseeing before returning, disembarking the bus in front of a huge rubber tree.

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At the stop we visited the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried.  We did not see her grave.

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In the same complex there was a lovely church (Basilica) where we stepped inside for a peek.  We were back at the ship about 5PM.

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It was just me at table 19.  Dinner was the caesar salad, ginger chicken, and peach crisp.  After dinner I popped up to the lido for cookies and ran into fellow cruise critic members Ann and Pat, just joining the ship after a very tiring journey.  The featured entertainment was a single 9:30PM show, Pampas Devils Gaucho.  I had seen the show on the Zaandam and did not watch it again, and in fact found myself quite sleepy.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/dishes18.jpg

My parting shot will be a welcome aboard to the 160 people who joined in Buenos Aires.

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your tour sounds fairly interesting -- a lot of history.

 

All to often we have had the same thing happen -- didn't get to see everything that was advertised.

 

Great pictures.

[puppycanducruise]

Wow,  you certainly had a full day.  So much to see.

Loved that giant flower sculpture.  And your sunrise picture was beautiful.

Thanks for sharing your day.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Looks like picture perfect weather in Buenos Aries, and the sunrise pic was awesome!

160 newbies coming on board there Hummmmm.

We had 120 newbies come on in Peru the second week and sure enough I got that awful cough 4 days later!! Hope you and your friends stay healthy. You know me Roy as a DDS

I always take precautions but it still happened. (This is only My opinion on the subject)

Im looking at more wonderful reports to come.

Have a great day!

Denise😊