Circumnavigation South America Mariner Jan 6

[2old4this]

Jack, I agree with you that there seem to be more chatting on the boards than in person. The announcement was made in the Passages. I did speak to one person to ask why she did not attend and she stated that she simply did not see it in the Passages. It was not in bold print, if I remember correctly, so it did not catch your eye. It just sorted of blended in with other activities.

 

Another reason why poor attendance could be that there are so many activities going on, especially if it is competing with a lecture.

 

And the CC chatting on the Internet is by a very few cruisers. Count the names and you see a hard core group of very few commenting about all sorts of things. My guess is there may be only 10% of the active CC users ever commenting no matter the subject. Cut this down further to a CC meeting on a very busy ship and you can end up with 4 or so CCers in attendance. If my analysis is true, then putting time and effort into a CC gathering work-up is a waste of time. The small print in the announcement and the CC meeting scheduled in the middle of lectures contributed heavily to the failure of your latest gathering. Jack Morris

[Travelcat2]

We are also taking a quickie cruise in November and hope to see Elvis. Which one are you doing?

 

I missed your post:-) We will be on the Navigator November 8th for a Western Caribbean cruise. The Caribbean is our least favorite place - way too touristy -- but we enjoyed our one cruise to this area. When will you be cruising in November? We're only doing two short cruises this year as we have things to take care of at home. Hope to make up for it next year:D

 

2old4this: Agree with you completely. It is rare when you get a large group of CC'ers on Regent. Sometimes it has to do with the time. On our last cruise it was set up for 7:00 p.m. on the first night in the Observation Lounge. We did not attend because of dining reservations but heard that the lounge was very dark and almost completely full of guests (not CC'ers). Our upcoming cruise is extremely port intensive. The 2nd day we don't arrive in port until afternoon so we've scheduled the Meet & Greet for 11:00 a.m. If nothing else, it will be light so we can see each other:-)

[RachelG]

I did not see the announcement for the CC get together in Passages either on our recent cruise. So I missed it. Learned about it later. Went back and looked at passages--it was there, but not in print that would make me notice it particularly. I guess I need to read more thoroughly.

[s2000drvr]

Day 28 Enroute to Punta Arenas

 

Today was a typical, glacier viewing day! Got up and started on our walk on Deck 12. We were so excited to be able to be outside with no wind, no rain. Thirty minutes into the walk we noticed that there were security officers milling around with Caution tape. We are looking all around trying to figure it all out. We were told to clear the deck as a medvac was going to take place. Seems that a passenger was going to be air-lifted out and sent onto to Punta Arenas.

 

We were sorry that a passenger was taken ill, but glad that they had the ability to get him to a hospital in the middle of these fjords.

 

Breakfast is now on the light side, cereal, fruit salad, coffee. Not liking this, but paying the price for the calorie laden breakfasts that we had.

 

Forgot to mention that yesterday afternoon we were treated to a Galley Tour with the Executive Chef. It is amazing that they can produce 3,000 plates of food a day with 81 workers. It must be like clock work down there. Love all the stainless, so clean. The chef is going to prepare a special meal for a few of us in a few days!

 

At 10a, gold and above Seven Seas Society members were allowed to go onto deck 7 for a memorable photo taking opportunity to see the glacier. There was hot chocolate, mulled wine, and treats available. The view was fantastic. There was a large hunk of glacial ice on display where you could have your picture taken. The iceberg was crystal clear due to the lack of air in the ice as the air is forced out by the pressure. This was such a special event!

 

After lunch we had our chocolate martini and watched the scenery. Today there was more rock on the mountains, less greenery, less waterfalls. Still it was amazing to see. However, we now have had our fulfillment of glaciers! We will be so glad to see Punta Arenas.

 

Tonight we dined in CR and had a fantastic meal of salmon. We will skip the show tonight and try to get caught up on some sleep. Last night we were rocking a way. Forgot to mention that the sunset is very late here. Makes our days very long and enjoyable.

[purpleally]

I missed your post:-) We will be on the Navigator November 8th for a Western Caribbean cruise. The Caribbean is our least favorite place - way too touristy -- but we enjoyed our one cruise to this area. When will you be cruising in November? We're only doing two short cruises this year as we have things to take care of at home. Hope to make up for it next year:D

 

quote]

 

we'll see you there!

[purpleally]

Travelcat2--hope to have chocolate martinis with Elvis on Nov 8th or any of the seven days following!

[s2000drvr]

Day 29 Punta Arenas, Chile 3Feb12

 

Wow! We almost got blinded by that bright light that hit us as we opened the curtains this morning! Could that be the sun?!! What a beautiful sight that was.

 

Off to La Veranda for a quick low cal breakfast. I am so not liking this. In fact, we booked an appointment with Janus for a fitness assessment. I can only imagine what he is going to suggest. Probably to jump in the ocean and swim along side the ship the rest of the way home!

 

We had an early excursion to the Otway Sound and Penguin Reserve. We were thrilled with the weather, a bit windy, probably in the mid 50's, but with the sunshine on us we were going to be warm. We got on the coach and soon were on our way. Started out on the Pan American Highway, then the dirt roads appeared and we road on them for quite a while. It was not bad at all. We stopped several times to observe sheep (really wooly booly sheep, their wool was so thick), condors, jack rabbit, rhea (an ostrich like bird that blended right into the environment).

 

We finally reached the reserve. First you trek along a dirt path and then there is a wooden boardwalk. I do not think it was a mile as we did it under 15 minutes, and this is with stopping along the way to check out the penguins as they were checking us out. These are the Magellanic penguins. They are not too tall, about 18 inches. We saw them peaking out of their burrows. At the end of the boardwalk, is this area where you can step up on the platform and look at the penguins in the ocean swimming around or some were just standing in lines. We could not stop taking their pictures! They did not seem to be afraid of us at all.

 

After an hour and 20 minutes at the reserve, we all headed back to port. At the entrance/exit to the reserve the bus driver had to come to a stop while four police or guards questioned our bus driver for a short time. The driver had to show him the fire extinguisher that was on the bus, and one of the guards, took a picture of it. It might have been some sort of bus inspection for safety, not sure.

 

Had a quick lunch in CR, then headed onto the shuttle to take us into town. It was a 10 minute ride. The town is nice and neat, not many dogs here. In the plaza are little shops all set up with trinkets, etc. We did find a few things of interest, but any alpaca was more expensive than the previous ports. The homes here seemed nice, not like in Peru.

 

The Captain came on and informed us that we will be going around Cape Horn tomorrow night around 6p give or take. He said the seas were 5 meters and the winds were blowing. I will be happy when that is over with and we are headed in the Atlantic.

 

Dinner was in Prime 7. I had the lamb chops and Rich had the pork chop. The dinners were very good. I was informed today that there had been a mixup in the wine that they bought a few ports ago. It was not the chardonnay but a pinot noir that they bought instead. I tried a few of the other chardonnays but cannot find one with heavy oak with a butter finish. So I will try the St. Francis or the Rutherford.

 

The sun is just about setting now at 9p. Today marks that we have been on the ship for 4 weeks. It has been going by very slowly as Rich and I are trying to savor every minute.

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2--hope to have chocolate martinis with Elvis on Nov 8th or any of the seven days following!

 

That is really exciting. We'll have to toast with our chocolate martinis that Elvis will make for us:-) Are you on the Roll Call for this cruise?

[shuguley]

Just read that there is civil unrest and increased murders in the city of Salvador in the state of Bahia. According to Aljazeera, there have been fifty reported murders there since Wednesday following a labor strike. Federal troops have been sent in to help restore order.

 

If I am not mistaken, the Mariner is scheduled to be in that port on February 27th. My wife and I will board in Rio on February 25th.

 

Just wondering if there have been any announcements or information issued by Regent to on board passengers regarding this situation?

[2old4this]

Day 29 Punta Arenas, Chile 3Feb12

 

Wow! We almost got blinded by that bright light that hit us as we opened the curtains this morning! Could that be the sun?!! What a beautiful sight that was.

 

Off to La Veranda for a quick low cal breakfast. I am so not liking this. In fact, we booked an appointment with Janus for a fitness assessment. I can only imagine what he is going to suggest. Probably to jump in the ocean and swim along side the ship the rest of the way home!

 

We had an early excursion to the Otway Sound and Penguin Reserve. We were thrilled with the weather, a bit windy, probably in the mid 50's, but with the sunshine on us we were going to be warm. We got on the coach and soon were on our way. Started out on the Pan American Highway, then the dirt roads appeared and we road on them for quite a while. It was not bad at all. We stopped several times to observe sheep (really wooly booly sheep, their wool was so thick), condors, jack rabbit, rhea (an ostrich like bird that blended right into the environment).

 

We finally reached the reserve. First you trek along a dirt path and then there is a wooden boardwalk. I do not think it was a mile as we did it under 15 minutes, and this is with stopping along the way to check out the penguins as they were checking us out. These are the Magellanic penguins. They are not too tall, about 18 inches. We saw them peaking out of their burrows. At the end of the boardwalk, is this area where you can step up on the platform and look at the penguins in the ocean swimming around or some were just standing in lines. We could not stop taking their pictures! They did not seem to be afraid of us at all.

 

After an hour and 20 minutes at the reserve, we all headed back to port. At the entrance/exit to the reserve the bus driver had to come to a stop while four police or guards questioned our bus driver for a short time. The driver had to show him the fire extinguisher that was on the bus, and one of the guards, took a picture of it. It might have been some sort of bus inspection for safety, not sure.

 

Had a quick lunch in CR, then headed onto the shuttle to take us into town. It was a 10 minute ride. The town is nice and neat, not many dogs here. In the plaza are little shops all set up with trinkets, etc. We did find a few things of interest, but any alpaca was more expensive than the previous ports. The homes here seemed nice, not like in Peru.

 

The Captain came on and informed us that we will be going around Cape Horn tomorrow night around 6p give or take. He said the seas were 5 meters and the winds were blowing. I will be happy when that is over with and we are headed in the Atlantic.

 

Dinner was in Prime 7. I had the lamb chops and Rich had the pork chop. The dinners were very good. I was informed today that there had been a mixup in the wine that they bought a few ports ago. It was not the chardonnay but a pinot noir that they bought instead. I tried a few of the other chardonnays but cannot find one with heavy oak with a butter finish. So I will try the St. Francis or the Rutherford.

 

The sun is just about setting now at 9p. Today marks that we have been on the ship for 4 weeks. It has been going by very slowly as Rich and I are trying to savor every minute.

 

I'm sure everyone reading your report finds it delightful. I do! You give it a personal touch like one friend writing to another. Many thanks! It would be nice if you can add some pictures.

 

I'm surprised you were not excited about the trip around the horn. History books make much of it and that ride might have been a high point in your travel given the busy water, the gray sky, and the passage way which so many ships found difficult to handle.

 

I hope the switch in your wines proved to be favorable. Always a delight to discover a fine wine by accident. Jack Morris

[Hambagahle]

when we went round Cape Horn our Captain (alfredo Romeo) told us in advance that the wind was blowing 160km/hr and it was very very rough and that we might not leave the channel t go round the Horn. Happily the winds dropped somewhat and the seas calmed, somewhat and we bounced around it. There were about 300 people in the Observation Lounge that night along with Capt. Romeo. It was an amazing experience. We went out on deck and got blown about. In fact the photo in my "signature" was taken at that very moment. (Ken with Calva in hand!).

 

I hope you have a time like we did. I don't think it would be any fun to round it without at least some rocking and rolling. But not too much...

[s2000drvr]

Just read that there is civil unrest and increased murders in the city of Salvador in the state of Bahia. According to Aljazeera, there have been fifty reported murders there since Wednesday following a labor strike. Federal troops have been sent in to help restore order.

 

If I am not mistaken, the Mariner is scheduled to be in that port on February 27th. My wife and I will board in Rio on February 25th.

 

Just wondering if there have been any announcements or information issued by Regent to on board passengers regarding this situation?

 

We have not been made aware of the unrest in Salvador. This is the first we have heard about it. I will ask around and post back.

[s2000drvr]

I'm sure everyone reading your report finds it delightful. I do! You give it a personal touch like one friend writing to another. Many thanks! It would be nice if you can add some pictures.

 

I'm surprised you were not excited about the trip around the horn. History books make much of it and that ride might have been a high point in your travel given the busy water, the gray sky, and the passage way which so many ships found difficult to handle.

 

I hope the switch in your wines proved to be favorable. Always a delight to discover a fine wine by accident. Jack Morris

 

I was very excited to go around Cape Horn! However, I am not a good sailor and I wanted to experience the sailing in an upright position and not a prone position! I am writing my experience today in the blog and will post it shortly!

 

Have been trying other wines and found St. Francis to be good. I agree that finding another fine wine by accident is a great discovery!! Will keep on trying them!

[s2000drvr]

Day 30 Cruising Cape Horn Feb 4, 2012

 

Today began like a lot of the other days with cloudy skies, rain. Had a quick breakfast again in CR.

 

Terry Breen was giving a commentary about the glaciers we would be seeing. We were in the Avenue of the Glaciers. The weather was so unpredictable today. We had sun, snow, sleet, rain in a matter of an hour. But we got to see the glaciers and they were just beautiful. We experienced the sun hitting one glacier which was breathtaking. Terry has a wonderful speaking voice and she could talk for hours and I would be so captivated by her talks. She spoke of the birds that were flying and soaring around. They were albatrosses. Terry's speech had now ended this part of the Avenue of the Glaciers.

 

Next on our agenda was to head to the Theater for the cooking demo. Executive Sous Chef Florian Tichy and his assistants made two types of curry dishes. One was from Malay and the other was an Indian curry. Both were different. One had potatoes and peas, while the other did not. I have made both types at home and enjoy them, but these recipes had different twists. I have not used bay leafs in my curry, but am anxious to try that. Also, I have never added butter to enhance the flavor. Now if I could only borrow a very small space in the kitchen here!!

 

Lunch was again a chicken salad in CR. It was sweet and sour and excellent, of course!

 

We decided to grab our books and camera and head up to the Observation Room and get a good seat for our viewing of the Rounding of Cape Horn. The seas were relatively calm with only gently rolling. We had a nice relaxing time with our chocolate martinis and peanuts. Before long the area was filling up with people even though we had 2 hours to go before we rounded The Horn. As we approached the Horn, we looked up and saw a beautiful, brightly colored rainbow, and another right behind it! First time we saw a double rainbow! Rich captured this and hope the picture is true to what we saw.

 

At this time the seas were picking up a bit, but the wind hit 90 mph and we were listing. I thought to myself, to keep calm, not going to let the seas ruin my experience. As we were getting closer to The Horn, we were a rocking and a rolling, handrails were a must. That is when my head decided this was enough and if I did not lie down quickly, I would soon be sorry. I got to our room as fast as I could, and watched and listened to Terry as she described what was happening. When we got to the exact rounding of The Horn, there was a moment of silence as we honored all the fallen sailors who did not make it. The Captain blew the ship's horn in memory of those sailors. By this time, we were so rocking, but I did fine in the prone position. The skies turned to some blue and the sun did come out. This was only for a short time and the skies quickly covered up. The nasty weather was upon us again, but not for long.

 

Before we rounded the Horn, we did see a sunken ship. There was no mention of this, but I will ask Terry if she knows the history of it.

 

The Captain did make contact with the Lighthouse keeper who is stationed at The Horn for a one year period. He is married and has two children, ages 6 and 13. And they have a pup named Goofy. The wife home schools the children. I cannot imagine living in such a remote area. Stocking the kitchen has to be one hard task. I know I would forget the cinnamon.

 

The rest of the trip finally smoothed out. After a short nap, I was feeling almost like new, so off to CR we went. I had chosen a table that was in the center of the dining room, but near the walkway that the waiters go up and down. I felt I would feel hardly any movement there. Before long, one of the head waiters came over and apologized for our table. He wanted to move us to a two top near the windows! I quickly assured him we loved where we were and that we did not want to move. Before long another head waiter dropped by making sure everything was okay. I cannot say enough about the staff here on Regent!! We are being so pampered and what amazes me, is how do they know our names?

 

Tomorrow we will be in Ushuai, Argentina.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Here's one story about the unrest in Salvador. Very sad:

 

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/03/4237273/police-strike-hits-brazilian-city.html

[Hambagahle]

s2000dryr -

So sorry you had to round the Horn in a horizontal position! But at least you had Terry's commentary to keep you company. Hope you are feeling better now!!

 

For Jack Morris - re the CC get together and poor attendance, and participation in these forums: Have you thought about the fact that, while we know each other "virtually" and with aliases, none - or few - of us actually can put a face to a name. So maybe this accounts for the fact that while we chat constantly on CC many don't attend a get-together?

 

It also makes a difference if someone keeps a list of CCers who will be on board and then can persuade the CD to actually send out invitations to a "do"... or at least, I think so. In 2010 I had 55 CCers on my roll call list, handed it to the CD and she sent written invitations. Result? About 50 showed up for the reception!!

[s2000drvr]

Here are some links to our recent and past photos:

 

Main link is: http://photobucket.com/Circumnavigation

 

Other links: http://photobucket.com/RoundingCapeHorn

 

http://photobucket.com/PuntaArenas

 

Hope you all enjoy the pictures. I must say that this trip has been beyond our expectations. The topography, history makes us want to do this sailing again.

[2old4this]

Here are some links to our recent and past photos:

 

Main link is: http://photobucket.com/Circumnavigation

 

Other links: http://photobucket.com/RoundingCapeHorn

 

http://photobucket.com/PuntaArenas

 

Hope you all enjoy the pictures. I must say that this trip has been beyond our expectations. The topography, history makes us want to do this sailing again.

 

I VIEWED AND ENJOYED THE WORKS. THANKS! Jack Morris

[OrpingtonT]

May I add my appreciation, too. Thanks.

[mariners]

I, too, am enjoying all of your postings. Thanks for taking us along.

[RachelG]

I read George your account of rounding cape horn. He is so jealous. Wish we were there. Pics are great

[s2000drvr]

Day 31 Ushuaia, Argentina Feb 5, 2012

 

We are docked along side freighters today in this port of Ushuaia. Cloudy, windy, rain at times, then the weather starts all over again. I must say it is extremely windy in the port area.

 

After having our champagne Sunday breakfast, we decided to walk into town which is about a 5 to 10 minute walk from where we are docked. This area is quite pretty with the snow capped mountains in the background and houses built into the side of the mountains.

 

Being that it is Sunday, a lot of the stores were closed, but the souvenir shops were open. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs around that looked enticing. One restaurant we walked by had an inside pit with wood burning and they were cooking racks of meat that stood like a teepee around the fire. We saw chickens, pork and lamb being roasted.

 

There are many stores that sell stones that have been mined from this area: amethyst, onyx and a pink stone that I forgot the name of already. We just strolled around for a while, ducking into the various stores when the rain got too heavy. There was no need for an umbrella as it would just send you soaring into the ocean.

 

We decided not to do a tour today, but to just do our own thing. I like mixing in with the locals and talking with them. There were not many people around, again it being Sunday, and also, the traffic was very light. I cannot imagine what the winter is like here. If it is this cold now, probably in the low 40's, what does it get down to in the middle of winter?

 

This area is noted for their skiing and people from Europe frequent the area. I believe we saw two or three hotels high up on the mountain side.

 

Tonight there were 9 of us that dined in CR. Michael had asked the chef to prepare duck with some Chinese sides. First we had hot and sour soup. It was a bit spicy/hot, but it certainly warmed us up. This was the first time CR was very cold, so the soup was welcome. Next came delicious stir fried vegetables with some bean sprouts. The main course was duck which was served with fried rice and spare ribs. Dessert was from the menu.

 

Michael then appointed me to choose the next special dinner. I am thinking Indonesian but if any of you CC have some ideas, please let me know! I am sure many of you have done special requests!

 

The main event of the evening was the Super Bowl Party! As we entered on the left side of the theater (Patriots), we had the opportunity to graze several types of munchies. The theater was decorated for the special event with balloons, and an ice carving! What a turnout there was! We had a great time but it could have been better with a win.

 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day sailing to the Falkland Islands!! Home of the King Penguins!

[2old4this]

Day 31 Ushuaia, Argentina Feb 5, 2012

 

We are docked along side freighters today in this port of Ushuaia. Cloudy, windy, rain at times, then the weather starts all over again. I must say it is extremely windy in the port area.

 

After having our champagne Sunday breakfast, we decided to walk into town which is about a 5 to 10 minute walk from where we are docked. This area is quite pretty with the snow capped mountains in the background and houses built into the side of the mountains.

 

Being that it is Sunday, a lot of the stores were closed, but the souvenir shops were open. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs around that looked enticing. One restaurant we walked by had an inside pit with wood burning and they were cooking racks of meat that stood like a teepee around the fire. We saw chickens, pork and lamb being roasted.

 

There are many stores that sell stones that have been mined from this area: amethyst, onyx and a pink stone that I forgot the name of already. We just strolled around for a while, ducking into the various stores when the rain got too heavy. There was no need for an umbrella as it would just send you soaring into the ocean.

 

We decided not to do a tour today, but to just do our own thing. I like mixing in with the locals and talking with them. There were not many people around, again it being Sunday, and also, the traffic was very light. I cannot imagine what the winter is like here. If it is this cold now, probably in the low 40's, what does it get down to in the middle of winter?

 

This area is noted for their skiing and people from Europe frequent the area. I believe we saw two or three hotels high up on the mountain side.

 

Tonight there were 9 of us that dined in CR. Michael had asked the chef to prepare duck with some Chinese sides. First we had hot and sour soup. It was a bit spicy/hot, but it certainly warmed us up. This was the first time CR was very cold, so the soup was welcome. Next came delicious stir fried vegetables with some bean sprouts. The main course was duck which was served with fried rice and spare ribs. Dessert was from the menu.

 

Michael then appointed me to choose the next special dinner. I am thinking Indonesian but if any of you CC have some ideas, please let me know! I am sure many of you have done special requests!

 

The main event of the evening was the Super Bowl Party! As we entered on the left side of the theater (Patriots), we had the opportunity to graze several types of munchies. The theater was decorated for the special event with balloons, and an ice carving! What a turnout there was! We had a great time but it could have been better with a win.

 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day sailing to the Falkland Islands!! Home of the King Penguins!

 

Everyone wants to visit the Falklands. Not sure just why! We will see why (or why not) from your pictures. Please shoot freely everything in sight. I may never get there so I'd like to imagine what it must be like to live there day in and day out. Ships only stop there for a single day. Maybe there is not enough to do beyond a day's exploration to keep passengers interested. Very anxious to see your photos. Jack Morris

[RachelG]

Couple of ideas for the special dinner: Filipino, if you like Filipino food at all. The waiters will be in 7th heaven that you ordered it, and they will hover the entire time you are eating.

 

Or Indian curry. They do offer this on the regular menu, but you can special order an entire Indian meal with curry as well as other stuff. It is outstanding.

[Hambagahle]

A couple of times we have had a special Indian meal. Absolutely great! OK - not "Rasoï" type Indian but really good! Why not ask for that as well...

 

Falklands - IF you can go, to San Carlos Bay, it is very very moving. Beautiful scenery in the background. Quiet cemetary with many (not nearly all) of the British dead in the war. Not to be missed. Of course the penguins are also wonderful and also not to be missed! AND just maybe you will run into Prince William who is currently stationed at the base in the Falklands.