Cruising to South America on the Zaandam : A pictorial review

[scubacruiserx2]

While at the park we climbed the mirador observation tower. While there , we were treated to this view of the cabanas and Lake Cucao.

 

 

 

 

On the way out of the park I spied this seed pod from the Chilean Rubarb plant.

 

 

 

 

 

It is quite a pest in some areas of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnera_tinctoria

 

 

In the description of our tour on the internet it lists a "picnic lunch" as part of the tour. It would be next on the agenda. When I hear the expression "picnic lunch" it conjures up a certain vision in my brain. That of sandwiches being eaten, while sitting on a blanket on the ground at the park , complete with ants running around. Our guide told us that that we would be stopping at a friend's house instead. It was cool and beginning to rain so it seemed like a good idea. The "picnic" was carefully and expertly prepared using home grown, ingredients. Salad , salsa , potatoes , homemade empanadas and desert comprised the picnic , now turned feast.

 

 

 

 

The potatoes were unlike any that I have seen or eaten before. It was if I had never tasted a potato before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potatoes_of_Chilo%C3%A9

 

There was a homemade drink made of apple and Chilean Rubarb that was delicious . There were several different types of empanadas. Some had homemade goat cheese that I really liked. I saw my wife's eyes light up when she found out that some contained razor clams - a taste that she had acquired on our previous trip to Chile. Feeling stuffed , it was time for desert .

 

 

 

We had been seated under a large covered porch and next to where I was seated stood this strange tree. I asked the guide what the tree was called and he said " Chilean pine". I found out later that it is also called Araucaria or "monkey puzzle tree".

 

 

 

 

Although I must admit that I'm puzzled why it is called this. Finally , I would like to thank my wife for allowing me to use her photos of the food.

[LilaC123]

Oh boy, what fabulous photos! My husband, sister and brother-in-law will be doing a South American cruise in the beginning of 2018, and now I can hardly wait!!!!

One question; you mentioned that your passport was taken away before the cruise? When did you get your passport back? I have never had to give my passport to anyone (although I do not travel as much as the rest of you all...:) ) Was nobody worried about the passports not being returned, or is this a fairly regular thing that a traveller experiences without concern? Please, ease my mind before I have to explain this to my sister!!!! :eek:

[RuthC]

Was nobody worried about the passports not being returned, or is this a fairly regular thing that a traveller experiences without concern?

Turning in your passport is not an uncommon occurrence, especially on the more exotic itineraries. The ship has to be cleared when it enters a new country, and often the authorities have to review all the passports as part of that clearance procedure. The authorities board, the Front Office presents the passports, they go through them all while we are still asleep or getting ready for the day, and the ship is cleared.

 

When you turn in the passport, you are given a receipt which you then exchange when it's time to get your passport back.

It's all an orderly process, and it's well publicized how the process will go.

 

If you want the Front Desk to provide a photocopy of the passport, they will do so. They will even return your passport if you need it for the day, but want it back when you return to the ship.

 

In some ports you're required to have your passport with you ashore, and there's an organized process to return the passports, then collect them again.

[scubacruiserx2]

Oh boy, what fabulous photos! My husband, sister and brother-in-law will be doing a South American cruise in the beginning of 2018, and now I can hardly wait!!!!

One question; you mentioned that your passport was taken away before the cruise? When did you get your passport back? I have never had to give my passport to anyone (although I do not travel as much as the rest of you all...:) ) Was nobody worried about the passports not being returned, or is this a fairly regular thing that a traveller experiences without concern? Please, ease my mind before I have to explain this to my sister!!!! :eek:

 

Thank you , and congratulations on your cruise .

 

Yes , we objected to giving our passport as we had already obtained the visas for Chile ( Do this at the airport before proceeding to immigration ) and Argentina before leaving the US . This may have changed since we went , so please check before going .

 

At the counter they insisted that we surrender them . When we asked " why" , they explained so they they wouldn't have to inconvenience us . I explained that taking my passport is a major inconvenience , and that I would gladly show it to any customs official 24 / 7 when needed . I further explaining that as a Firefighter / Paramedic in Miami , I was used to being awake for long hours all night . At that point we were told that we couldn't board the ship until we gave our passports up .

 

We did get them back 11 days later , I believe . Besides Santiago twice , we have only had to give ours up on our Baltic cruise this year for 2 days . We have been to Russia 5 times and cruised Europe 5 times and only had to do it this year , for the first time .

 

We we have entered the UK on both of our TA's , their immigration officer met us on on the ship at an assigned time during the day , and stamped our passports on the ship !! :) :D

 

Many people that we talked to in South America (and Russia ) are afraid of missing the ship without a passport , and so they feel obligated to use the ship's tour . We did use private tours , and surrendered our passports and everything was OK . In fact , our guides told us that they would call the ship if needed , or that they would take us to our next port - if they had to . ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

After our wonderful lunch the tour resumed with a visit to some churches. These churches were built by Jesuit missionaries and posses a unique style of wood construction indigenous to Chiloe. While mostly constructed by the Spanish , some of the latter construction was done by Bavarian Jesuits and resembles the Stave construction that we saw in Norway. It is mostly seen in function and not form. UNESCO declared 16 of these churches to be World Heritage Sites. The most famous Church , Castro , was closed when we visited and I found this picture of it on Wikipedia

 

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Iglesia_de_Castro.jpg

 

The first church that we visited was the Church of Conchi

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the interior

 

 

 

 

 

The next church was the Church of Nercon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interior of Nercon

 

 

 

 

 

If you look carefully at the columns you may notice that they are wooden boards pieced together to form a column. They were then faux painted to resemble marble.

[scubacruiserx2]

Our last stop on Chiloe was at some palafitos on a river. These ramshackle houses and sit on top of stilts , over the water.

 

 

 

Changing locations for a different shot I heard an English accented voice inquire " still taking photos "? At lunch the day before in Latitude 42 we had met a couple on holiday from Sheffield , England who were seated next to us. They had a rented car and were roaming Chile. By coincidence they had driven to Chiloe and crossed to the island from the mainland on a ferry.

" Well I guess we will see you in Chacabuco tomorrow was my reply", as we said our goodbyes .

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all Chiloe was a nice surprise and an enjoyable day. As we boarded the tender for the ship our mind was on dinner. We had made reservations for Pinnacle Grill and we were really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see , the tide was high and we didn't need the ramp to board the tender.

[scubacruiserx2]

This was a long cruise and we like some variety in our dining experience. The Pinnacle is Holland America's upscale restaurant and we love dining here. We are not fancy or snobbish people who critique dining experiences. We just enjoy good food and a relaxed pace when dining . I like spicy food so my for my starter I chose a Thai style soup. Very nice to my palate.

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted a Caesar salad and they prepare it as you like - at tableside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a main course I picked a version of Surf and Turf . The filet was cooked perfectly and the extra large shrimp were very good.

 

 

 

 

My wife likes lamb and said that it was cooked as requested and was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted a light desert of fruit and this is what I got !

 

 

 

 

But it was so good that I had to finish it all ! This was our first visit here - but it would not be our last . Arriving at our cabin we found our today ON LOCATION for our next stop - Chacabuco .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We had visited this port before and like most visitors we went to Coyhaique and Rio Simpson . We wanted something a little different so we chose a private tour to Lake Los Palos . This is an off road tour and the lake is known for it's pristine

condition and it's birds . The Day began cool , cloudy , rainy and windy. It was our last tender port.

 

 

 

 

 

After meeting our guide and driver we headed out to explore. We crossed many bridges

 

 

 

Rivers

 

 

 

And farms

 

 

 

 

 

Another river photo taken from a bridge near Puerto Aysen

 

 

 

 

 

Puerto Aysen was the main port and a city larger than Chacabuco . In the 1960s deforestation caused a silt to fill the harbor and forced a move of boat traffic to Chacabuco 10 miles away.

[scubacruiserx2]

While traveling the countryside we crossed many narrow suspension bridges. This is what it looked like from the backseat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After reaching the lake we were impressed with the solitude there. We didn't see any birds - but really enjoyed getting out in the country.

 

 

 

 

While riding back to the ship we noticed something strange across a field.

 

 

 

 

With the 300 mm telephoto I was able to take a close up of this odd couple

 

 

 

 

Photographic evidence that opposites attract !

 

 

 

We had a short tour and returned to the ship early. In the afternoon the weather improved.

 

 

 

 

Puerto Chacabuco

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Pulling away from Puerto Chacabuco we began to head West to the ocean

 

 

 

While cruising along the Aysen Fjord we came to this area where there had been a landslide in 2007.

 

 

The landslide had been the result of an earthquake . The landslide had caused 25-foot wave that killed 3 people and tossed boats into trees. The full story is found here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/earthquake-rocks-southern-chile/

 

 

Here is another photo from the other side of the island.

 

 

 

 

Sailing onward we enjoyed the scenery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly a voice on the PA alerted to a wildlife sighting (our first on ship). A couple of Sea Lions and some Cormorants

 

 

 

 

 

Resisting the urge to run forward with the crowd , we went aft and waited our turn for them to come into view. More Sea Lions and a channel marker.

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Before leaving Puerto Chacabuco we had to recover our tenders one last time so I took this small clip as they went past our window.

 

And here is one last view before we headed back into The Pacific Ocean

 

 

 

Because we were heading South , the days were getting longer . I took this sunset at 10:30 pm

 

 

 

After a bumpy night at sea we returned to the fjords for a day of cruising. The next morning was gray and dreary

 

 

 

We were sailing close to some mountains with waterfalls

 

 

 

It seemed like a good day to look for some color on a drab day and to scout a good place to take pictures of The Amalia Glacier that we would be seeing on the following day. I knew that I could find some perspective and color by going to the open pool

 

 

 

 

And I found a place that I liked for photos , aft deck 7.

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We were in the Canal Fallos in The Chilean Fjords and we wanted to find some other locations for photography.

 

 

 

A forward visit to the Crow's Nest yielded an interesting response. It seems as though some of the crows took the nesting literally. It was very territorial in the lounge chair area with some early birds occupying multiple chairs and using their medical equipment to mark their extended turf. It's not a good place for photography but seemed to be a great place for a scenic nap and the group dynamics were interesting.

 

 

 

 

The bow area was open and it was great to go outside and breathe some fresh air. The cool air was refreshing and we felt connected to our location.

 

 

 

 

There were some lovely children playing and they were really enjoying their vacation ! :) :D

 

[scubacruiserx2]

In 2007 , on our first cruise to South America , the weather in the fjords was good and in the glacier area it was yucky. In December the weather was crummy in the fjords and nice in the glacier area. Maybe it's a opposite micro climate. Here is some photos from December. When I started taking pictures on top and I was the only one there.

 

 

 

 

Not much later the crowd showed and the only good unobstructed place was the mini crow's nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

I moved to the bow for some closer shots. Here you can see where two rivers of ice almost meet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the people were shooting the glacier but I though that the walls looked nice also

 

 

 

 

 

We found a good place for an overview on the Verandah deck forward

 

 

 

 

 

We took this video clip from there.

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

After leaving the glacier we would be cruising the Canal Sarmiento. Returning to the main fjord the weather began to go downhill fast and color looked like black and white.

 

 

So when the going got tough - we went to the Pinnacle for lunch. Crab cakes for me

 

 

 

And a Kobe cheeseburger for my wife

 

 

 

Now that's how a burger should look and taste ,(next time for me , I thought).

 

 

And we had the place to ourselves !

 

 

 

For dessert we had a nap and dreamed of Torres del Paine

 

 

 

 

 

But - would the storm break ?

[scubacruiserx2]

After we awoke from our siesta on the Zaandam we went for a short walk under the life boats. We were entering a narrow passage and it looked as if you could touch the waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

It was a short lonely walk because it was very windy and cold.

 

 

 

 

 

The rain had turned to sleet. I have never seen sleet before but my wife said " This is it ".

 

 

 

I didn't like it and we retreated inside. By 7:30 pm the wind had grown to 50 knots from the West , across the bow. It didn't look good for the next morning's adventure. We ate , went to bed early and prayed . Room service was set for 5:30 am and the meeting for the shore excursion @ 6: 15.

[scubacruiserx2]

Punta Arenas is a jumping off point for some exciting adventures . Penguins , Torres del Paine and flights to Antarctica are some of the options available to cruise ship passengers. In 2007 on NCL we really wanted to fly to Antarctica but $1500 was more than we had paid for the cost of the cruise. It was also the only chance that we had to see penguins - so we saw penguins. In hindsight we wished that we would have chosen Antarctica. Because we had booked a private tour to see penguins at Punta Tombo in Puerto Madryn, we chose to see Torres Del Paine. The HAL tour included a chartered flight and a 2 hour bus ride to reach the park. To be honest with you - small planes scare me . Two of the guys that I had worked with were private pilots and been killed in 2 separate crashes while at the controls. The excitement of the tour - and the flight had caused broken sleep.

 

Breakfast was great and on time so we were off early . About 25 people boarded the bus that morning for the ride to the airport . It was still windy and rainy so not the best conditions for flying. I had hoped for a single large plane but we were divided into two groups flying on two separate planes. A roll call list was used for plane and seating assignments. We had hoped for the larger Twin Otter but we were chosen for the second flight on the smaller Cessna with our new friends Daniel and Sarah. Here is a photo of the larger Twin Otter.

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure why I was chosen to sit in the co - pilots seat but - I was. My wife thinks that it was because I was the tallest .

 

 

 

 

With no experienced co - pilot flying with us , I figured that I should take a crash course with the instruments and flying ( in case of emergency ). First question - " where are the parachutes " ?

 

 

 

 

 

The pilot was great and had a lot of flight time logged. Take off was smooth but it wasn't long before we disappeared in the clouds. The flying was mostly IFR (instrument flight rules) , in other words , flying using instruments only with no visual references .

 

 

 

About an hour later we landed with applauses for the pilot for a job well done. It was dry when we landed and the rest rooms were a welcome break. This is a photo of airport in Puerto Natales and our small Cessna on the other side of the jet.

 

 

 

 

The other plane landed after us and we all boarded our comfortable bus for a 2 hour ride.

 

 

 

The ride was going really good until we got caught in a local traffic jam. A cattle drive ! I like this picture that my wife took. Like mother , like daughter I say.

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Torres del Paine is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. It is the crown jewel in Chile's national park system. I lack the eloquence to adequately describe it so I'll let others define and describe it for us.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine_National_Park

 

As we entered the park we were soon confronted with wildlife. The sky was overcast and most of the photos were shot through the bus windows so the quality is lacking in some cases. But in an effort to show the park and all of it's attributes , we will post them .

 

Our first wildlife sighting was a pair of Condors

 

 

 

 

 

Next was a pair of Rheas with about 15 chicks. After all it was Spring in South America !

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up was a bird of prey. I think it was a Southern Caracara.

 

 

 

 

 

Our first stop in the park was at Sarmiento Lake. It was also our first sighting of the Paine Massif - obscured by clouds

 

 

 

Our stop lasted about 10 minutes. Most of our travel would be on dusty roads.

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After boarding our bus we resumed our tour. In about 15 minutes time we saw our first wild guacanos. They seemed to show no fear of the bus as we stopped next to this one

 

 

 

 

A little further along we encountered a group out for a run.

 

 

 

 

When we stopped - they stopped

 

 

 

Here is a video clip

 

 

 

 

About 30 minutes later we made a stop at Amarga (bitter) Lagoon

 

 

 

 

The weather seemed to be clearing as we drove closer to the Paine Massif. This is the hill is where my wife found the little singing bird.

 

 

 

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks so much for your excellent pictures and review!

Good luck with your tango lessons! :)

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks so much for your excellent pictures and review!

Good luck with your tango lessons! :)

 

You're welcome Bill , and thank you for writing in . :cool:

[scubacruiserx2]

After the stop at the second lake , our next 10 minute stop was at the Paine River where there is a cascade.

 

 

 

 

We were getting ever closer to the Paine Massif but you can't ignore the power and beauty of the cascades.

 

 

 

 

Here is another view of the cascade

 

 

 

 

 

The Paine River

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were shooting pictures my wife told me to look behind us where a guanaco had just gotten a drink . He then preceded to walk past us as if we were invisible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind had started to pick up and it continued to remain windy throughout the day.

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

As we continued to circle the Paine Massif the most prominent feature came into view - the Cuernos. The Cuernos del Paine are the " horns of Paine" which are the dark areas on top of the lighter mountains. The darker area is softer , sedimentary rock which is perched on top of the harder , lighter colored volcanic rock.

 

 

 

Another shot from the moving bus

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was the Ranger Station were our guide paid the $40 p.p. fee for park entrance. As my wife used rest rooms I took this picture of 2 backpackers walking.

 

 

 

 

When my wife came out of the rest rooms I knew that something was up. When she showed me this picture , many silly thoughts filled my head but in an effort to avoid "potty humor" , I'll let the readers supply their own lines.

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the bus we treated to more great views. :)

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

With all the sights that we had seen and all the exercise that my shutter button finger had gotten we had worked up quite an appetite . Fortunately our guide knew just the place to eat and soothe sore fingers . The restaurant is set on an island in the middle of Lake Pehoe. Seeing it only inhances the anticipation because it requires crossing on a long foot bridge to reach it.

 

 

 

 

The restaurant is part of the Hosteria Pehoe the park's oldest hotel

 

 

 

 

The view of the Paine Massif and Lake Pehoe is amazing !

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a good view and great company we settled down to some serious eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a fresh hearts of Palm salad

 

 

 

 

 

The small champagne flute in front of us on the table holds the potent Pisco Sour. A link here best describes it.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_Sour

 

On our first visit to Chile our guide showed as a good brand of pre- mixed Pisco Sour in the grocery store. If you shake it a frothy foam is created.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the Pisco and lunch so much that we forgot to take pictures !

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is my day to catch up on "Cruise Reports".

As usual -- wonderful reports and great pictures.

Yes -- a little humor with the "dish washing".

[aliaschief]

Have really enjoyed your postings as I have retraced many memories of our Valparaiso-Antarctic-Buenos Aires cruise three years ago.

 

Awesome job...thanks!