Glacier Alley and Ushuaia

Thursday, February 7

Weather:  55º F, Cloudy

Dramatic, fantastical, otherworldly—this is the end of the world, for real. Positioned at the southernmost tip of Argentina, this memorable port town is cradled between the pristine—and towering—Martial Mountains and accessed by the picturesque Beagle Channel. Founded in 1884, the far-flung spot welcomed missionaries, gold prospectors and naval officers before becoming known primarily as a penal colony. After its closure under the infamous Argentine leader Juan Perón, the large jail was reconfigured to house one of the city’s most popular museums. (Source: hollandamerica.com)

Google Maps

Today was a "two-fer". A combination of a scenic cruising day AND a port stop. Beginning at 6:30 am we were sailing through Glacier Alley with commentary by EXC Guide Kevin. There were a lot of low hanging clouds and just a generally gray morning. We saw multiple glaciers, none of which I remember the name of. 😏

Notice the distinct line in the water. The silt from the waterfall coming off the glacier causes the water to look milky.

Lighthouse in the Beagle Channel leading into Ushuaia.

As we sailed into the Beagle Channel, I kept track of our position using the maps.me app. With the occasional drizzle, we chose to view the glaciers from the protection of the Lower Promenade deck (deck 3).

When we first saw Ushuaia I got concerned that we were just going to sail by and skip the port which the Zaandam has done on a prior cruise this season. Not the case. If you notice in the last map above, there is a small island in the channel. The captain sailed around the island and came into Ushuaia from the other direction.

Our first glimpse of Ushuaia.

Breakfast had been light because we wanted to do an early lunch prior to our docking in Ushuaia around noon. When we went to the buffet at lunch it was obvious that everyone else had the same plan. Around 12:30 the captain made the announcement that the ship was cleared and we could go ashore. We joined the crowd making their way down to Deck A...a little easier for us than most since the gangplank was just down a short flight of stairs below our cabin.

The Celebrity Infinity was alongside the Zaandam as well as two or three expedition ships and what looked like an old sailing ship.

We walked down the long dock and past some shops looking for our tour guide, Ruben. I had gotten Ruben's name from the Ushuaia forums on Tripadvisor and had made arrangements for the four of us to do a private tour with him. It wasn't until we had gone the length of the long dock and got outside the official port entry that I saw someone holding a sign with my name. Right away I noticed the guy was wearing a name tag that said "Federico". He introduced himself and said Ruben wasn't able to make it and had asked him to fill in.

I was disappointed and a little concerned. I felt comfortable booking with Ruben after reading quite a few positive reviews online, but I knew nothing about Federico. Federico offered to call Ruben and after they talked in Spanish for a couple of minutes, he handed me the phone. Ruben apologized and said he had emailed me to let me know he was having car trouble and didn't want to take a chance of getting stranded a long distance away in Tierra del Fuego. I hadn't seen the email (yet) because I hadn't had any cell service for a few days. He said he would understand if we wanted to cancel, but at that point we didn't have any alternative so agreed to go with Federico.

Federico promised he would give us a good tour. He said he had already finished tourism training whereas Ruben was still working on getting certified. AND...he added that he had a better car than Ruben. 😉 Federico lead us to where his car was parked and he was right...it was a very nice and very clean car!

Our first destination was Tierra del Fuego and to get there we drove on the last few miles of the Pan-American highway.  This highway is a network of roads stretching from northern Alaska to Ushuaia, a distance of around 30,000 miles. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road." Technically that isn't true since the highway has a 100 mile gap between Central and South America but still...pretty impressive.

I was a little surprised to find that the section of the highway at Ushuaia was a dirt road...a very dusty dirt road. At times it was hard to even see where we were going. Federico's nice clean car did not stay clean for long.

The end of the Pan American Highway.

Wild horses.

When we reached the entrance to the park, Federico went in with Bob and Kent to help translate as they paid the entry fee via credit card. The cost for the two of us was $25.94. While in South America we primarily used our Capital One Visa card that has no foreign transaction fees. I have the Capitol One app on my phone and as soon as Bob made the purchase I received a notice of the transaction and also a text letting me know that our card was used in a foreign country. The text ask me to confirm that the charge was OK.

There were many large tour buses in the park, but since we were in a smaller car we were able to take a different road. Frederico parked and lead us on a walk along a clear, bubbling stream. In 1946 beavers were introduced in the area as a possible source for fur trading. The fur trade industry wasn't successful and the beavers multiplied and have caused millions of dollars in damages since then. We witnessed some of this damage.

Federico showing us some berries...

...which we sampled!

Getting away from the crowds.

If you know Bob you are not surprised by this photo at all.

Beaver damage.

Ribs anyone? 

I am not necessarily a bird watcher, but we saw some pretty unique birds in the park!

This bird reminded me of a loon...our Minnesota state bird!

Mussels exposed during low tide.

The "End of the World Post Office" is a tourist spot many visit so Federico took us there next. The post office was closed but the location is beautiful. Federico knows the man who opened the post office and from what he told us the guy is quite a character. We left the crowds and walked along the shoreline. It was low tide which exposed many mussels and other interesting things in the tide pools.

End of the World Post Office...closed.

Our last stop in the park was a scenic overlook. Federico warned us it would be crowded but that was an understatement. The view was nice, but tour bus after tour bus were unloading people in the area. Many were on Holland America tours from our ship. We only stayed long enough to follow the boardwalk and get some photos. There was also a bathroom next to the parking area that we were able to use.

People were lined up to get their photo by this sign I just snapped a photo and kept walking.

After we left the park, Frederico drove us to an overlook where we could see our ship and the town. I found it interesting that we had to go through a police check-point leaving town, but not to enter. No one else was around and the view was beautiful.

Can you imagine having this view in your back yard?

Frederico asked if we would like to go north of town. Not many tours go in that direction so we weren't sure if we wanted to use our precious time to visit someplace that wasn't that interesting. How thankful we were when Frederico convinced us to go. The mountains were probably some of the most beautiful I have ever seen!! He also stopped and he and the guys walked through a peat bog.

A glacier high up on the mountain.

Walking through the peat bogs.

Peat bog.

Squishy!

At one of the stops Federico pulled out his yerba mate cup and had some tea. He had also brought along some yerba mate tea bags and small cups so we could sample the tea. (This was our first experience seeing yerba mate on the trip...but certainly not the last!)

Federico was using a traditional mate cup.

By this time Federico seemed like an old friend and I was so happy that our day had played out as it had. Definitely one of the best tours on the cruise...and in all of our cruises! If you are interested in spending a day with Federico you can contact him at:  ananturismo@gmail.com or on Facebook at Anan Turismo. And even though we didn't get to meet Ruben, I am confident he would have given us a great tour as well. His contact info is: ruben-ushuaia@hotmail.com.

When we got back to town, Federico gave us a quick driving tour and then dropped us off at the port around 6:45 pm. Kent and Laurel walked to a nearby craft market so they could purchase a magnet (their souvenir at EVERY port) and Bob and I returned to the ship.

The four of us met at the Lido buffet for a late dinner and watched as the Zaandam pulled away from Ushuaia. The evening entertainment was "Planet Earth II in Concert", something we had seen before, but well worth seeing again. A series of videos from the Planet Earth series are shown on a big screen with the ship's musicians providing a live accompaniment. By the time we finished dinner, the show had already begun, but we found some seats in the back and enjoyed the last half.

It was still light when the show got over at 9:00 pm so we walked along the deck 3 taking in the view of the beautiful mountains. So incredible yet it was going to get even better!!

Many of these deck chairs were missing cushions when we did our Panama Canal cruise.
Now almost all of the chairs were without cushions and not very comfortable.

Pilot boat picking up the harbor pilot.

Punta Arenas

Wednesday, February 6

Weather:  56º F, Cloudy

This windblown city near Chile's southernmost tip sits on the Strait of Magellan. which itself is positioned squarely between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Too many travelers rush through Punta Arenas, treating it as a pit stop on their way to the stunningly beautiful landscapes of Torres del Paine National Park and other attractions in Patagonia, but there's plenty in this city and its environs to experience, too. From penguin spotting on Isla Magdalena and kayaking the Strait of Magellan to visiting area farms and then indulging in surf-and-turf specialties (here meaning fresh seafood and asado, or Chilean barbecue) at local restaurants, Punta Arenas is worth a stopover all its own.

The first look out the window was encouraging. The Zaandam had docked at 6 am in Punta Arenas and in the early morning light the seas looked calm. I was awake, but not ready to get up. Finally around 7 am I pulled myself out of bed and started to get ready for the day.

I was concerned about rough seas because our plan for the day was to take a speedboat to Magdalena Island to see penguins. The tour is one that often gets cancelled due to weather. We had breakfast in the Lido buffet and I found the fresh strawberries I had noticed someone eating the day before. Delicious!

The four of us left the ship around 8:30 am and as the EXC guide had mentioned in his talk, we walked across the bridge and found the free shuttle to take us to town. It was just about full so once we got on we didn't have long to wait until it left. The drive to town was about 20 minutes. On the way we saw the Costa Luminosa which was anchored near the center of town and tendering passengers ashore.

The shuttle dropped us off at the Plaza de Armas. Along one side of the square was a cathedral. At the center was a large bronze statue of Ferdinand Magellan who had come to Patagonia in the early 1500's. Below Magellan is an indigenous Patagonian whose low-hanging foot has been rubbed to a shine by travelers headed out to sea. Legend says that if you kiss the statue's foot it will bring you good luck and calm seas as you pass through the Drake Passage.

Statue of Magellan.

Ensuring our crossing of Drake's Passage goes smoothly (and it worked!)

A tourist office was also located in the square where we picked up a map and verified the directions to get to the Solo Expediciones office where we were to meet our tour.

Tourist Information center in the Plaza.

I had booked our tour independently and we were required to meet at their office. The info we received said the tour was for 10:30 am but as we checked in and paid we were told we needed to be there at 10 am. Since it was already a little past 9:30 we just waited in their office and used the free wifi. The cost of the tour was 63,000 CLP. We paid by credit card and the charge for the two of us was $192.76.

More and more people came and around 10:00 they lead us down the street to where a large coach bus was parked next to the plaza. The drive to the dock where we were to board the boat took around a half hour and on the way we passed by the Zaandam. When we arrived at the dock, no boat was to be seen. We sat on the bus for a long time and then stood outside waiting even longer before two boats showed up...a smaller one and a larger boat.

We were on the larger boat on the right.

First we had to wait for everyone to get off the boats and turn in their life jackets and then the same life jackets were redistributed to us. Some people crowded ahead and grabbed the life jackets from those disembarking and got in line and they were put on the smaller boat. Those of us that followed the directions were sent to the larger boat once we had our life jackets.

I estimated about 45 people were on our boat, but that was too many to be comfortable. The semicircular seats would have been fine for 5 people, but it was necessary to squeeze 6 people into each seat. By the time Bob and I got on there were no seats where we could sit together. I wasn't very popular, but I sat in a group of 5 people and poor Bob ended up standing for the long and rough ride to the island.

So crowded...so stuffy...so rough.

After paying nearly $100 for the tour he didn't even get a seat. :(

I checked my watch when we boarded and it was 11:49 am...almost 2 hours since we had left town. The boat ride to Magdalena Island was advertised to be 45 minutes but it took over an hour...an hour that was very rough and very uncomfortable for me and even worse for Bob.

Once we were on the island we had an hour to spend with the penguins...and there were many! The path we walked lead down along the beach, up to the lighthouse and then back down to the dock. A little longer time would have been nice, but the hour did give us time to take many photos...we just couldn't dawdle and enjoy our time on the island.

We started the loop along the shore and headed up the hill to the lighthouse.

A couple of baby chicks still sporting their downy feathers.

Lots of birds on the island besides penguins.

View from the top of the hill looking down towards our boat.

When we re-boarded the boat, everyone grabbed their same seats (most had left backpacks and stuff on the boat). I needed to use the restroom and waited for quite some time at the door of the women's bathroom at the back of the boat until another passenger finally told me it was out of order. (I used the men's instead.) One of the crew was serving small cups of hot chocolate or instant coffee and some packaged cookies, but I was afraid to take any for fear of spilling it on myself on the rough ride. The inside of the boat was hot and stuffy so Bob (who still didn't get a seat) and I stayed outside on the back of the boat. I found a small metal box to sit on and we remained there for the ride back to the dock. Several other passengers joined us including a father with a young son who was very sea sick.

Hold on Bob!

With the boat going so fast it was necessary to hang on to keep from falling. The wind had picked up and the waves were so large that they were splashing over the side of the boat. Bob got pretty damp from the spray. The fresh air did feel good however and we got to see a dolphin swim alongside the boat for awhile.

The boat made a brief stop at Marta Island where there was a colony of sea lions. The boat didn't dock and anyone who wanted a photo had to come outside and stand on a narrow walkway on the side of the boat. One man tripped and nearly fell into the water as the boat was bobbing around in the waves. It was hard to get photos in focus with the movement of the boat, but I wedged myself into the corner of the back of the boat and was able to stay steady enough to get a few.

Birds on top, sea lions below.

Close up of the above photo...the male sea lion and his harem.

It was around 3:45 when our boat returned to the dock and we boarded the bus back to town. There were quite a few of us from the Zaandam so the driver dropped us off right at the ship. I loved seeing the penguins, but would consider taking the ferry instead of the speedboat if I ever did the tour again. I talked to some other cruisers who had done the ferry tour and they seemed happy with how it went and it was much smoother than what we experienced.

It had been a long time since breakfast so when we got back on the ship, we grabbed some nachos from the Dive-In at the mid-ship pool. After that I took a quick nap. When I got up I went out onto the lower promenade deck to take some photos of the area around the port and found Bob napping in one of the lounge chairs!

Dinner was at the buffet around 7 pm and we got done just in time to get to the evening show, Rock Legends, a production show with the Zaandam singers and dancers. There were no seats left in our usual spot in the balcony of the theater but we found seats on the lower level close to the stage.

We perused the gifts shops after the show and then Bob and I went up to the buffet to get something to drink. I walked outside by the pool to photograph the sunset...or what little there was of it. On our way back through the buffet we ran into one of the Cruise Critic couples and chatted a bit. I have enjoyed getting to know some of the people from the message boards and others that we have met as well.

The sun is setting and the cows are bedded down for the night.

And the night ended as many others during the cruise...Bob got a couple of DVD's from guest services and I worked on my blog notes. Oh...and as usual...one of the DVD's didn't work. 😒

Brujo Glacier...and then the Strait of Magellan

Tuesday, February 5

A sea day...but also an early day to be out of bed. The When & Where indicated that we would be sailing by the Brujo Glacier and commentary would begin at 7 am. We flipped on the TV when we got up and by tuning into the channel showing the front view of the ship we could hear when Kevin, one of the expedition guides, began talking. That was our cue to head up to the bow.

The sun was just coming up over the mountains and when the ship turned towards the glacier we were looking directly into the sun. It made for lots of squinting and lousy photos. It was hard to even look at the glacier without being blinded. Just as the captain started to turn the ship to leave, the sun finally ducked under a cloud.

So hard to see the glacier when we were looking directly into the sun.

In the opposite direction the mountains were highlighted by the rising sun.

Brujo Glacier...and the sun finally ducks behind a cloud.

A close up of the waterfall in the previous photo.

Once the ship pulled away from the glacier, I went back to the cabin and did my daily chore...backing up the photos from the previous day. I mistakenly thought that the port talk on Punta Arenas was at 10:00 am so went to the theater by 9:30 to get a good seat. Turned out that the talk was at 10:30 but getting there super early wasn't a bad idea. By the time it started, the theater was standing room only with many people sitting on the steps in the balcony.

Tip:  We learned it was necessary to get to the theater early for most scheduled events...port talks, lectures by the expedition guides and the evening entertainment. To pass the time we played games on our phones. Bob and I discovered a game called Wordscapes that is similar to the game Boggle...fun and somewhat addicting! Sometimes I would also take my iPad and update the notes for this blog. It was so nice to have most of it written BEFORE I was dead tired and wanting to go to sleep. Laurel had just gotten a new Kindle for Christmas and actually read quite a bit while she was waiting. And as a low-tech alternative we would pick up the puzzle sheets from guest services and do a crossword or Sudoku.

A map of the highlights in Punta Arenas

We kept our seats and stayed in the theater for the next talk by expedition leader, Scott, on whales. He was still speaking when the captain gave his noon update. Instead of stopping so everyone could hear what the captain was saying over the speaker, Scott just continued talking. We could only hear bits and pieces of the captain's announcement but did understand him to say that we would be heading out into rough open water from 1:30 pm until the evening when we would enter the Strait of Magellan.

I left the whales talk a little early so I could hear the organ in the atrium at 12:15. In the 23 days we were on the Zaandam last April, we never once took time to hear it play. It sounds a bit like an old time music box. When the music starts, the many of the figures on the organ begin to dance or play an instrument. The whale lecture still hadn't finished so after listening to the organ, I went directly to the buffet to beat the crowds. I grabbed a table for four and just waited until the others arrived before picking up any food.

The top of the organ on deck 4 by guest services.

The bottom of the organ in the atrium on deck 3.

Skies were cloudy and by the time we finished eating, visibility had dropped to almost nothing and it was raining. So different than the blue skies we had experienced most every day until now.

At 2:00 pm we went to Tamara's lecture on the heroic explorers to Antarctica. I was familiar with Shackleton's story but we also heard about some of the other expeditions from the same time period. The fact that I stayed awake in a semi-dark room right after eating is a testament to how interesting the talk was!

But...when the lecture was over we all headed back to the cabin for our siestas. As the captain had predicted, we had entered open waters and the seas were quite rough. After dealing with motion sickness last week, Bob was proactive and took some meclazine. The seas were so rough that waves were washing over our window. And even though we are on deck 1, our window is still quite a distance from the surface of the water so you know the waves were high!

I slept longer than I intended and then had to hustle to get ready for dinner. It was our second gala night which we noticed produced a very wide range of attire. I'm convinced some people just forgot that it was gala night based on their clothing. Many of the men (including Bob and Kent) wore just a dress shirt...some with ties and some without. A few guys had sports coats and even fewer were dressed in suits.

Cleaned up for gala night!

No menu had been posted on the Navigator app. (We usually looked at the menu ahead and knew what we wanted to order by the time we got to the dining room.) I had shrimp cocktail for my appetizer and sole with lime rice for the main course. Dessert followed the lime theme...lime coconut souffle. The other three had filet mignon.

I had to run outside after dinner to get a photo of this rainbow!

The show in the main theater was a rerun of two of the past entertainers...Martin Beaumont, the comedian, and Andrea Amat, the flute player. Comedians aren't usually my first choice for entertainment, but this guy was pretty funny and didn't resort to foul language or off color jokes to get laughs.

The meclazine that we took during the afternoon was starting to make us sleepy so Bob and I called it a night right after the show ended. From my maps.me app I could see we were entering the narrower portion of the Strait of Magellan. The seas had calmed and we were on our way to Punta Arenas.