Because the Horn is there 2023

Before the opening of the Panama canal (around 1914) Punta Arenas, in Chile was a major port for ships transiting between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is on the Strait of Magellan (where Joshua Slocum sailed in about 1897.) We had an excellent guide who gave the history of Chile. We visited a huge cemetery to hear the stories behind some of the  founders, an open air museum and a catholic museum. Great detail and excellent exhibits but I suffered from “information overload” so left the bus, found an internet cafe to post photos to this blog and there met some young (musical theatre) dancers from Oceania Marina. These dancers had been on the ship for nearly eight months! I then walked down the main street back to the ship.   Here are some pics from the very interesting bus tour visiting several excellent museums.

We arrived four hours late due to the strong (Force 9) gale in the Drake  passage. Ushuaia is the main port for Antarctic cruises. 60,000 population. Previously an Argentine penal colony after being the site of an English mission in the 1800s. It claims to be the capital of the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) also the southern most city, which it is not as Puerto Williams, in Chile across the Beagle channel is further south.  I did a bus tour on the edge of the Tierra del Fuego national park. Great scenery. Had lunch at a restaurant situated at a ski resort (closed for the summer).   Here are a few pics from Ushuaia.

Joshua Slocum's book "Sailing alone around the world" was first published in 1900. Here are some abstracts about his experiences near Cape Horn in the Magellan strait. The strait was  discovered and first traversed by the  Spanish  expedition of  Ferdinand Magellan  in 1520, after whom it is named. February 19th 1896. "By daylight the next morning the  Spray  was again under way, beating hard; but she came to in a cove in Charles Island, two and a half miles along on her course. Here she remained undisturbed two days, with both anchors down in a bed of kelp. Indeed, she might have remained undisturbed indefinitely had not the wind moderated; for during these two days it blew so hard that no boat could venture out on the strait, and the natives being away to other hunting-grounds, the island anchorage was safe. But at the end of the fierce wind-storm fair weather came; then I got my anchors, and again sailed out upon the strait. Canoes manned by savages...

  In December 1974 thirty four year old Bruce Chatwin left a journalistic job in Buenos Aires and went “walkabout” in Patagonia.  Patagonia is not a precise region but a vast territory that encompasses 900,000 square kilometres of Argentina and Chile at the most southern part of the South American continent.  The result of his travels was this book that I finished reading as we approached Ushuaia. The book was published  in 1977. Paul Theroux, a travel writer I have enjoyed immensely over the years wrote a review of the book. He wrote “In this uttermost place on earth, legend matters more than literature - stories of outlaws, cannibals and giants…… His book is pure pleasure - full of incident and anecdote and the oddest of facts imaginable. He has fulfilled the desire of all real travellers, of having found a place that is far and strange and seldom visited……. In Mr Chatwin’s book it is exciting, boisterous and bizarre, populated by Indians and exiles. The exiles are...

  As we left Antarctica the weather deteriorated - fog rain and we missed a view of Deception Island which is the caldera of an ancient Volcano.  As soon as we were in clear water in the Drake Passage the wind was about 40 Knots. By midnight it was blowing 50 Knots. The ship had to slow down and the pitching and rolling was fairly dramatic. There was all sorts of crashing and banging that woke one up. It was a force 9 strong gale. By the next morning the wind had dropped to 40 Knots. All the outside decks were closed. The swimming pool and outdoor hot tubs were drained. Salt became encrusted on the windows. One had to be very careful wandering about the ship. I took some Stugeron which I had bought in England last October just in case of need. I did not experience any lack of appetite. The ship, because of the need to slow down, will be arriving in Ushuaia four hours late. As soon as we passed Cape Horn to port the sea was calm again. Experiencing a strong gale on a cruise shi...

  We are spending two days and nights cruising part of the Antarctic peninsular. The ship will not be stopping but just cruising at a slow speed at times. The first stop was Elephant Island and then Admiralty Bay where many of the research establishments are located. Initially the temperature was 3C but now down to 1.5C. A couple of times a day there is great commentary by Dr Peter Carey. The weather has been overcast and foggy at times. However we have had great views of humpback whales, penguins, and many birds. The humpback whales are feeding on krill. They are the same species as those in the northern hemisphere although their feeding and breeding areas are only in the southern hemisphere. We are also weaving our way through small icebergs and a lot of brash ice.  There is a difference is seeing everything from the deck of a cruise ship rather than a small boat. On Polyandra in Glacier Bay in Alaska we were able to go quite close to glaciers, to the extent of causing a cer...

Having had the stop at the Falkland Islands cancelled we expected we might have a rough passage though this strait between Terra del Fuego at the tip of South America in Argentina.  In fact we had a following wind and very moderate seas with some pitching and rolling of the ship.  On board there have been some excellent talks. Dr Peter Carey - a zoologist who lives in Christchurch New Zealand and Dr Craig Franklin also a zoologist on faculty at the University of Queensland have been the leaders of a group of four speakers. These two are co-authors of a book “Antarctic Cruising Guide”.  We have had several lectures on the ecology, wild life, glaciers, photography, climate etc. If one misses a lecture because for example having an intermediate bridge lesson or playing duplicate bridge one can watch it later on the TV in ones cabin  . Additional lectures have been on Scott of the Antarctic - the story of Scott who reached the South Pole three weeks after Amundsen and th...

  We have an extra day at sea because the Falkland Island visit has been cancelled due to high winds. On board Oceania Marina is a five star hotel. The food choices are enormous and during the first few days one wants to sample everything. For about five evenings during the twenty day voyage we will be eating at one of the specialty restaurants. The service in restaurants is superb. One orders food and it comes within a few minutes. There is a separate Sommelier in each restaurant who is please to take your card to pay for any alcohol. When you board at the start of the voyage you are provided with a card that is linked to your designated credit card, it opens your room and is a passport when you go ashore (they keep your passport for the duration of the voyage). Internet has been better than expected and Hugh was even able to talk to his wife Caroline,via WhatsApp, who has just had a knee replacement. However you can only have one device connected at a time. Whether the internet w...

  Puerto Madryn is an aluminium producing fishing port in Argentina that was founded in 1865 by 153 intrepid Welsh families. The building of an aluminium smelter in 1973 resulted in employment for about 5000 of the inhabitants. The Bauxite is shipped in from Chile and other countries. The electrical energy (a great deal is needed to smelter Aluminium) comes from a hydro electric dam some distance inland.  We went on a tour to visit a sea lion colony. I managed to get some great photos and videos with my IPhone 14 Pro smart phone which I hope I can post to this Blog while on the ship.  The internet on the ship is fairly good but somewhat dependant on the location in the Ocean. When we are in the Antarctic the internet help person on board told me he did not know what the coverage would be. Oceania has not yet adopted Elon Musk’s Starlink but he had heard that they will be using it in the future on the Oceania ships. After the sea lions we travelled over gravel roads to a f...

This was day two. The forecast was for 31C. Yesterday I had not put on any sunscreen and ended up with sunburn on ones arms, face and knees on the bicycle ride. We managed to buy some sunscreen in Montevideo and so I was well prepared to-day.  Fortunately it is possible to post with internet on the ship. The ship was anchored off and so we went ashore by tender. I talked to a farm owner from South Texas. He was 87 and sold off the oil leases on his land in 2020 because he feared the Biden administration would increase the taxes on his revenue from the oil leases (oil wells).  When I meet someone from Texas I like to ask them how many guns they have at home. (Hugh suggested I should not ask such direct questions). Anyhow this gentlemen had four hand guns, four hunting rifles and four shotguns. He has hunting (shooting) on his land. He keeps a loaded handgun in the bed board!  His guns are in contrast to two other Texans who had many guns including AK 47s.   Here are s...