Live from the Mariner

[Hambagahle]

We are at present off the CHilean coast, heading for Valparaiso where we will be tomorrow. We boarded in Lima - this is our third Mariner cruise - and we are delighted with the state of the ship - new decoration since the last time, wonderful coffee area etc - but especially with the high quality of lectures. Terry Breen is back and in full swing! I didn't expect to see her since I read she had gone off to Holland American, but she is here and just wonderful. In addition we have Edwina Currie, a British politician who is giving a series of talks on politics and her husband who is speaking on security and policeing (he was with Scotland Yard). We also have Dr Sheldon Simon from ASU in Tempe who gave a crackerjack talk yesterday on the US "From the Cold War to the War on Terror". But the icing on the cake is the Circle of Interest on the Falklands War. We will be there in about 10 days and we have Commodore Jamie Miller talking to us about that war, plus an army general who went in to mop things up afterwards, who is one of the participants but obviously an enormous resource. We feel really spoilt.

Our Captain is Alfredo Romeo - "It's me from the bridge..." and his crew are great. I shall certainly not want to get off in Buenos Aires but I suppose I shall have to.

If anyone needs any questions answering about things on board I shall be happy to help if I can.:)

[Paint Horse]

My wife and I left the Mariner in Fort Lauderdale. We would have liked to stayed onboard for the South American segment as well.

 

The captain is too funny with that "It's me" introduction on the PA. Plus in my view his name is perfect for an Italian since I own an older Alfa Romeo. He said he once owned one as well, but his wife wrecked it. Since mine has bent by my wife four different times over the years, I know what he means.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm interested in hearing about clothing--how cold does it get around the Horn, how much stuff you had to bring to cope with the changes in climate.

[OrpingtonT]

Thank you, Hambagahle. I love these snippets from actual sailings. It was good to hear that Capt Romeo is still employed. He is a very approachable man, good company and very funny. His " it's only me from the bridge" has become a classic.

 

Also that Terry Breen is back. She was on our Alaska cruise and she was superb. But I have never met Edwina Currie, though I know of her, of course. She had an extra-marital affair with John Major whilst he was Prime Minister (just after Margaret Thatcher). I am not telling tales, she chronicled it in a book and it achieved wide publicity, as you would expect.

 

Is the social hostess on board Louise Ross? Lovely lady from Manchester, UK.

[Hambagahle]

Wendy - I think we need to expect the unexpected on this cruise! In Lima, where we boarded, temperatures were in the low 20's, centigrade. they are having a cool summer. Then in Pisco it went up to 26C. Very nice sunny and of course, dry. Antofagasta was about the same but today in Valparaiso, where it has been consistently in the low 30'sC today was cool - right now it is only 22C. This am there was fog and it was 15C when we left the ship. More news on this later. So clothes at the moment are cotton but layered.

Orpington T - Louise Ross - I agree 100% a super person! - is on Voyager on the World Cruise at the moment. I asked Brian Townsend the Cruise Director on Mariner at present. I am waiting eagerly for Edwina Currie's second talk!

[redcisco]

Hambagle - just wondering how your Circle of Interest is going. From the description on line it looks cool. Id love to see the Commodore in his military uniform!

[Chip AZ]

Your in for a treat as I just did that route. Once you get passed Valparaiso all you see are mountains, no lights, no people. It just goes on and on and on. Do yourself a favor, stand out on the deck at night and watch the moon light up the peaks.

[Hambagahle]

Wendy and others - we have encountered very unusual weather! In Puerto Montt it was cloudless and around 26C. Everyone had been telling us it wouldl be cold and rainy! Yesterday in Puerto Chacabuco it was 31C and very sunny. We went on the "Patagonia in Depth" excursion and walked for two hours in the rain forest. We were glad of the shade of the trees!! Had a wonderful guide.

 

So for packing - while one needs to be prepared for the worst, one also does need to think about hot weather. Today we are in the fjords and the pool deck has been full since the fog left at around 11am. Apparently the water in the pool is warm - I have not tried it yet.

 

The Falklands Circle of Interest is fascinating. Jamie Miller did wear uniform for his talk the other day - more than two hours of gripping tales of the fighting and his shipwreck. Apparently he will wear dress uniform for the dinner on Feb 1. We are enjoying hearing Jamie's stories and also getting to know others in the CoI.

 

So far, great voyage - and tonight, with no ambiant light,,we will definitely go looking for the Southern Cross.

 

best to all

Gerry:)

[Chip AZ]

The Southern Cross is hard to find, I had to have someone point it out to me. This is not a warm part of the world we had some clear days, but mostly cloudy ruled. 3 weeks ago. It was rough in the Pacific but dead calm in Fjords

 

Enjoy the Southern Sky.

[Hambagahle]

After I left the computer and went on deck yesterday the weather changed completely. It suddenly got cold and grey! the pool deck was vacant in a few minutes!! No Southern Cross visible last night!! (In fact I grew up in the Southern Hemisphere so know what to look for - if it is clear). Today there are clouds but lots of sun and we are in the fjords again. Temp is 11C. Brisk but not much wind. Lots of sea lions in the water. Terry Breen is commentating from the bridge so I can't spend much time here! She is great and makes everything so interesting.

Clothes today - defintely need warmer things than yesterday and "wind" is forecast for Punta Arenas tomorrow so I suppose anoraks will be in order. Rough seas too, most likely, between PA and Ushuaia...

[Travelcat2]

Thank you so much for your posts -- they are so helpful (will be near that area, on the Mariner, next February). Packing for a cruise in that area is quite challenging. Please keep us up to date with your cruise.:)

[Hambagahle]

Yesterday we were in Punta Arenas and went to the penguin colony at Otway Sound. We were told it would most likely be cold and windy, so we dressed in turtlenecks, warm trousers, had hats and gloves and good anoraks. In fact it was around 22C and sunny - we didn't need the gloves etc and were rather hot.

Some tips on this excursion. First, Regent says it is "a two mile walk in each direction from the parking lot". In fact the entire loop is 1.5km long - just about one mile. We did it easily in the hour that was allotted. Most of the time you are on a boardwalk and they even had buggies to rent ($25 each) if you needed them. We saw quite a few penguins - there are about 5000 there according to the people who run it.

Something to keep in mind is that it is about an hour and ten minutes drive from the dock, mostly over very dusty dirt roads. Well, if it were raining it would not have been dusty, but yesterday it was!

 

Today the temperature has dropped - it is around 11C at present, 5pm. We are at sea enroute to Cape Horn where the waves are supposed to be up to 9m high and it is blowing hard - I saw wind speed at 80kph just now. So we have been told to expect the sea to be rough. So far, however, it isn't bad at all. Some people ate outside at lunch!

 

Packing for the trip is really hard because you cannot tell in advance what weather to expect. We have been really lucky with nice sunny weather and very little rain so far. Terry Breen keeps telling us how lucky we are!!!:) :)

[Hambagahle]

The other evening we rounded Cape Horn. Captain Romeo had told us that he expected strong winds and high seas. He took the route between the two islands, so for much of the time we were in protected waters. At the time we were sitting at dinner at Signatures, looking up at the Cape Horn lighthouse and cross and enjoying tornedos rossini! Quite a contrast!

However once we left the sheltered waters and rounded the actual Cape we were in rough seas. Not too rough though (Terry Breen said they could have been much worse, but the wind dropped unexpectedly just as we were arriving at the Cape.) The Observation Lounge was packed with people - the Captain included! A couple of glass display cases crashed to the floor, but no one was hurt. Then after rounding the Cape we headed north and the seas, while not calm, were not bad at all.

Yesterday we were in the Falklands. These islands have a reputation for bad weather - strong winds and horizontal rain. But yesterday it was 12C and sunny with a stiff breeze.

Our Circle of Interest group was driven about 2.5 hours out to Goose Green and Darwin. Our guide was wonderful. He had been the head of the Radio station when the Argentines arrived in 1982 and spent the entire war on the islands. So he was very well informed indeed. We saw the spot where Colonel H Jones was killed at Goose Green, then moved on to San Carlos Bay where the landings took place and visited the small cemetary there. One of our number had served in the Falklands and was instrumental in creating this lovely memorial and he explained it all to us. We then had lunch at a farm - interesting to meet and chat with a local couple - before driving two hours back to the pier. A very long day, but very interesting. Unfortunately for a few members of the group the Circle had been overbooked and we could not all fit into the same minivan as had been planned. Some missed out on the commentary but we swopped places and they joined the group in the main van for the drive back. Those of us who did not need to swop got two excellent commentaries instead of one!

We are now at sea en route for Buenos Aires where the forecast is for 30C. I will sign off with this e mail unless there are specific questions, but as "packing hints" I would say bring: fleece, long underwear, rain gear, hat and gloves, scarf, really good walking boots (not sneakers), warm socks as well as the normal "cruise" things for warmer climes - and especially a hat or visor. The southern sun is strong. We have had temperatures ranging from 30C to 6C so far and wind from nothing to 100km/hour. If you have a walking stick (collapsable kind) it would be a really good thing to bring. I brought mine and have used it several times. It fits easily into a backpack so can be brought along on excursions with no trouble.

To those considering a cruise around the Horn I would say do it! It has been an amazing experience.

[OrpingtonT]

Wonderful post, especially the commentary about rounding the Horn. I also liked the experiences on the Falklands, it must have been great to have re-lived that. Sounds a super cruise, Hambagahle. Makes me quite envious.

[basedow]

What a wonderful and descriptive commentary you have provided! I had not given a lot of consideration to a South America cruise but you have indeed whetted my appetite.:)

 

Thanks so much!