A simply beautiful day ...with calm seas and sunshine.
Hard to believe we are here!
Below are some more photos taken on this lovely day.........
Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Going Around the Horn
Here are our certificates for "rounding the Horn". It was an epic moment for me-a stellar and unforgetable day. How fortunate can one be?
A simply beautiful day ...with calm seas and sunshine.
Hard to believe we are here!
Below are some more photos taken on this lovely day.........
A simply beautiful day ...with calm seas and sunshine.
Hard to believe we are here!
Below are some more photos taken on this lovely day.........
Bottom of the World Glaciers and Fiords
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Hi Family and Friends,
Just checking in again. Internet is kind of busy with lots of other people and slow, so I type on Kathe’s laptop and she copies and paste’s it to the Internet. Thank you Kathe!
Well, we had a grand night, as is every night. After dinner each night, we have really good entertainment in the “Queen’s Lounge”. Pianist one night, guitarist one night, show girls one night, a comedian, and tonight I think it’s another showgirl stage show. It’s always different and always good fun.
So, our next port, if I am recalling correctly, was Porte Montt, Chile. All of these towns that we are hitting on the coast of Chili, are dependent on the fishing industry. Mostly salmon, some king crab (expensive!) and the areas are cold. Summertime is now,and I think they are lucky to see the sun occasionally. But, the countryside is really pretty.
Puerto Montt, when you get out of the town, as we do on our bus tours, is just beautiful. Kind of reminds us of northern California. Even the vegetation. We took about a 4 hour tour, just our group of 15, all over the place, and there were 2 huge lakes in the middle of the countryside, kind of like Tahoe. COLD! And yet some people are always in the water, and of course, the kids will swim in anything! Any temperature!
We stopped at a little ranch and petted llamas, and I had to find a little puppy to hold!
No pictures anymore, too hard and time consuming to download.
One of the most beautiful stops was a national park area. Huge boulders and cascading water. I think it would have been a class 12 on the rapid scale! And this is summertime and the water level very low. Lots of fish, and I bet a fly fisherman’s paradise.
The town of PM is rather like lots of others in the souvenir department. But, we have picked up a few little gifts for everyone. Many homemade woven and knit items.
Always very colorful.
The next day found us at a huge glacier, and we pulled right up in front for a photo op.
The day was glorius and chunks of ice floated in the surrounding seas. A sea lion camae up to see what was going on! The cruising is so lovely and relatively smoothe. Sometimes we can see land, in the fiords, and sometimes we are in the open sea. So far we have been lucky with the weather. The previous trip had weather going around the Horn, a 42 foot wave, and they instantly lost $150,000 worth of china, and lots of booze.
All the hot oil and condiments went flying on the upper deck. Lots of cleanup!
We docked at Punta Arena, which is one of the two most southern towns in the world.
Took one of my favorite tours, we went out to the summer penguins! Saw some emu’s along the way, wild! Got to the penguins after about one hour. We walked out to the area where they gather, on a wooden path. There is a colony of about 10,000. CUTE,CUTE! They are about 1 ½ feet tall, and there were some older babies that were losing their fluff. Lots of noise, and it’s so different, because they nest in the seagrass, not snow and ice! There are little trails through the grass and they mate and have their young in burrows. Lots of humping! They follow the leader in little groups as they come out of the grassy area to the water. Waddle, waddle!
Went back to the town, had lunch, shopped in the local square and tourist “traps”. They do tend to sell the same stuff town to town. But we were certainly glad they were selling some woolen scarves as it was VERY cold and VERY windy when visiting the penguin area.
Got back to the ship, and did some of our usual activities. Some people play games, others read, others sleep, walk around the deck (3 ½ laps equal one mile), and some of us took a cooking class (hands on), with one of the chefs on board. FUN!
Evening always finds our group in the beautiful dining room, and we have 2 tables right at the stern windows. Lucky us!
We have gone through more fiords and more glaciers, and are about to land at our port of Ushuaia which really IS the city furthest south in the world. We have a tour scheduled to last 4 hours, so it should be fascinating.
Not too much sea life, but lots of birds, some albatross,big and small.
So, this is the latest, all is wonderful, the ship just beautiful, and everyone is happy with this trip! We are a great group and meld wonderfully.
Will check in again, and remember someone, give our pups an extra hug and show them our pictures so they will remember us!
Much love to all, Pam and Harry
Hi Family and Friends,
Just checking in again. Internet is kind of busy with lots of other people and slow, so I type on Kathe’s laptop and she copies and paste’s it to the Internet. Thank you Kathe!
Well, we had a grand night, as is every night. After dinner each night, we have really good entertainment in the “Queen’s Lounge”. Pianist one night, guitarist one night, show girls one night, a comedian, and tonight I think it’s another showgirl stage show. It’s always different and always good fun.
So, our next port, if I am recalling correctly, was Porte Montt, Chile. All of these towns that we are hitting on the coast of Chili, are dependent on the fishing industry. Mostly salmon, some king crab (expensive!) and the areas are cold. Summertime is now,and I think they are lucky to see the sun occasionally. But, the countryside is really pretty.
Puerto Montt, when you get out of the town, as we do on our bus tours, is just beautiful. Kind of reminds us of northern California. Even the vegetation. We took about a 4 hour tour, just our group of 15, all over the place, and there were 2 huge lakes in the middle of the countryside, kind of like Tahoe. COLD! And yet some people are always in the water, and of course, the kids will swim in anything! Any temperature!
We stopped at a little ranch and petted llamas, and I had to find a little puppy to hold!
No pictures anymore, too hard and time consuming to download.
One of the most beautiful stops was a national park area. Huge boulders and cascading water. I think it would have been a class 12 on the rapid scale! And this is summertime and the water level very low. Lots of fish, and I bet a fly fisherman’s paradise.
The town of PM is rather like lots of others in the souvenir department. But, we have picked up a few little gifts for everyone. Many homemade woven and knit items.
Always very colorful.
The next day found us at a huge glacier, and we pulled right up in front for a photo op.
The day was glorius and chunks of ice floated in the surrounding seas. A sea lion camae up to see what was going on! The cruising is so lovely and relatively smoothe. Sometimes we can see land, in the fiords, and sometimes we are in the open sea. So far we have been lucky with the weather. The previous trip had weather going around the Horn, a 42 foot wave, and they instantly lost $150,000 worth of china, and lots of booze.
All the hot oil and condiments went flying on the upper deck. Lots of cleanup!
We docked at Punta Arena, which is one of the two most southern towns in the world.
Took one of my favorite tours, we went out to the summer penguins! Saw some emu’s along the way, wild! Got to the penguins after about one hour. We walked out to the area where they gather, on a wooden path. There is a colony of about 10,000. CUTE,CUTE! They are about 1 ½ feet tall, and there were some older babies that were losing their fluff. Lots of noise, and it’s so different, because they nest in the seagrass, not snow and ice! There are little trails through the grass and they mate and have their young in burrows. Lots of humping! They follow the leader in little groups as they come out of the grassy area to the water. Waddle, waddle!
Went back to the town, had lunch, shopped in the local square and tourist “traps”. They do tend to sell the same stuff town to town. But we were certainly glad they were selling some woolen scarves as it was VERY cold and VERY windy when visiting the penguin area.
Got back to the ship, and did some of our usual activities. Some people play games, others read, others sleep, walk around the deck (3 ½ laps equal one mile), and some of us took a cooking class (hands on), with one of the chefs on board. FUN!
Evening always finds our group in the beautiful dining room, and we have 2 tables right at the stern windows. Lucky us!
We have gone through more fiords and more glaciers, and are about to land at our port of Ushuaia which really IS the city furthest south in the world. We have a tour scheduled to last 4 hours, so it should be fascinating.
Not too much sea life, but lots of birds, some albatross,big and small.
So, this is the latest, all is wonderful, the ship just beautiful, and everyone is happy with this trip! We are a great group and meld wonderfully.
Will check in again, and remember someone, give our pups an extra hug and show them our pictures so they will remember us!
Much love to all, Pam and Harry
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Coming into Punta Arenas
We had to be up and at it early this am to meet up with our guides to Punta Arenas. I watched the tugs gently tuck our ship into it's berth.
Our tour bus never showed up...so we managed to snag two enterprising free lancing
van drivers to take us out to Cena Otway. It ended up being the same cost as the original tour and since we had not paid up front we were not out any money.
On the way out we pulled over to view some unexpected wildlife...Rheas!
Maybe you know them as Emus?
Finally we arrive at Cena Otway and after a short walk in high winds we saw the little guys we had come to see.....they are so stinking cute!
Kathe here-this video was taken by Russell of the darling penguins-we think that the penguin feeding another is perhaps a mating ritual-not necessarily a parent feeding a baby.
Our tour bus never showed up...so we managed to snag two enterprising free lancing
van drivers to take us out to Cena Otway. It ended up being the same cost as the original tour and since we had not paid up front we were not out any money.
On the way out we pulled over to view some unexpected wildlife...Rheas!
Maybe you know them as Emus?
Finally we arrive at Cena Otway and after a short walk in high winds we saw the little guys we had come to see.....they are so stinking cute!
Kathe here-this video was taken by Russell of the darling penguins-we think that the penguin feeding another is perhaps a mating ritual-not necessarily a parent feeding a baby.
Lunch at Restaurante Sotito's in Punta Arenas
Looking out over the town.....
A fabulous meal at such good prices.....I would have taken photos of the food but we were so damn hungry we devoured it on site and only left these licked clean
plates and empty bottles!
Penguins and Punta Arenas
We saw these wonderfully sweet penguins today at Cena Otway outside of Punta Arenas...what a wonderful sight. They bray like mules thus the
nickname of "Jackass Penguins!"
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
News from Santiago Chile Airport
Our intrepid leader Tom has arrived in Santiago Chile. He arrived early to do some fishing, but he also took the time to send us greatly appreciated information about how to negotiate through Santiago's busy airport. And here it is:
"Here’s the drill when you arrive at the Santiago airport:
First you go to a counter and pay your immigration fee – which is now $131.00 USD cash.
Then you will clear immigration which is a non-event.
Then you can stop at the money exchange counter and pick up a few hundred $$$ worth of pesos. Exchange rate was 448 CPesos to the dollar yesterday.
Then you will grab a FREE cart and pick up your luggage and proceed to customs where they x-ray your luggage for who knows what. Again, except for the hassle of putting it on and taking it off the conveyor belt not a big deal.
When you exit customs you will proceed to the outside of the terminal where lots of transportation is available. It is $25.00 US for a cab to the Sheraton Four Points. If there is a group of you (i.e. arriving from Peru) one of the small vans might be a better choice – you can check the price outside and then decide. There is no shortage of drivers wanting to take you into town."
First you go to a counter and pay your immigration fee – which is now $131.00 USD cash.
Then you will clear immigration which is a non-event.
Then you can stop at the money exchange counter and pick up a few hundred $$$ worth of pesos. Exchange rate was 448 CPesos to the dollar yesterday.
Then you will grab a FREE cart and pick up your luggage and proceed to customs where they x-ray your luggage for who knows what. Again, except for the hassle of putting it on and taking it off the conveyor belt not a big deal.
When you exit customs you will proceed to the outside of the terminal where lots of transportation is available. It is $25.00 US for a cab to the Sheraton Four Points. If there is a group of you (i.e. arriving from Peru) one of the small vans might be a better choice – you can check the price outside and then decide. There is no shortage of drivers wanting to take you into town."
So there you all have it! Thanks Tom and happy and safe journeys everyone.
Photo is thanks to okwest on flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/73409321@N00/
Thursday, January 24, 2008
From Chile to Brazil !
There are 17...count us!! Seventeen of us traveling together on a fabulous cruise. We are on the Holland America Rotterdam leaving from Santiago Chile on February 16th,2008 and arriving in Rio de Janiero Brazil on March 3rd, 2008. We have a splendid intinerary for our 16 day cruise including such places as Punta Arenas, Chile, Ushuaia, Argentina and Buenos Aires, Argentina. All of us will post on this blog-so get ready and get set for some fun reading and great photos! As we blog along you will get a glimpse of a life time adventure!Happy reading and to all my blog partners...get ready get set....South America here we come!
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