**Near-Live Blog of Zaandam Inca and South America Cruise 24 Sep - 3 Nov 2018**

[0bnxshs]

Day 32 (10/24)

 

Cruising Beagle Channel and Ushuaia, Argentina

 

This morning is another early morning as we have a long and inviting day ahead of us cruising Glacier Alley in the Beagle Channel and also get to enjoy a port call in 'fin del Mundo', the end of the World; Ushuaia, Argentina.  The weather is calm and overcast and a chilly 34f, but nice enough to stand outside occasionally to get photos of the 6 glaciers we'll be passing on the port side as we slowly head towards Ushuaia.  The glaciers are separated by lengths of land in between and the whole "alley" takes 2 to 3 hours to complete, depending on the ship's speed.

 

After a leisurely breakfast taken while quietly contemplating the beautiful scenery of Glacier Alley we have now have time to kill before our arrival.  An Argentine pilot and immigration officials are taken on board after dropping off the Chilean pilots who've guided us through much of the fjords of Patagonia and we continue on.  Sitting in the Lido Pool area, we can't help but overhear an ongoing conversation at the table next to ours regarding the internet and connectivity to it from the ship.

 

From what I could make out, the group was having a great deal of difficulty figuring out how to connect, what to connect and even when to connect to a network that may or may not provide the service they want.  There were discussions about who was connected where, why can't someone connect when someone else is using the connection and so forth.  But it's all fairly straight-foward and I'll try to explain in a quick summary here.

 

First, there is 1 and only 1 available network to guests aboard ship to make any use of: "Zaandam-Guest" is the name of Zaandam's WiFi network for passenger use (other ship's networks are similarly named as well.)  Any guest can connect to this network and must create a logon name and password to do so.  Multiple devices can be simultaneously connected to this network using the same logon.  This is done through the "Navigator" web application at "navigator.hollandamerica.com" on any browser and from here one can view the schedule for each day of the cruise, review and purchase EXC tours, review and make dining reservations, access a very few internet sites available free of charge and check your on board account charges.  It's quite handy for those who wish to carry a smartphone or tablet around the ship.  Doing this you are only using the ship's intranet and, except for the couple of complimentary sites available, not the internet.  You can't get to your personal email accounts or Facebook from here.

 However, the network is ship-wide and while there are some spots that have stronger signals than others on the ship, I've really not found dead zones where I'd be trying to connect to it anyways.

 

Internet access is only a few clicks away via the "Navigator" web application.  This you must pay for and the amount varies depending on the level of sevice and length of time you want.  Service is not limited to a number of minutes any longer (at least on Zaandam), only bandwidth, throughput and days.  Only 1 device is permitted to be connected at a time per plan purchased, so if both you and a partner wish to have access at the same time, you'll have to buy a plan for each (although there are ways around this, see my earlier entries), otherwise a single plan can be shared, just not simultaneously.  You can disconnect a device remotely so that you can connect the device you have with you if you forgot to do so earlier.

 

Now for the internet connectivity issues everyone seems to have.  HAL uses a VSAT system that connects to satellites in geo-synchronous orbit to provide service.  I believe there are areas around the world where this is augmented by ground stations providing a signal as well.  But mostly, internet service is satellite-based.  This means that one of the "golf balls" on top of the ship contains a "Very Small Aperture Terminal" dish that is mounted on an articulating platform that enables the dish to remain in contact with the satellite and, therefore, the internet.  The satellites sit roughly 23,500 miles above the equator.  This means that the signals from and then back to your device must travel some 47,000 miles just to get from a ground station to the VSAT dish on the ship, not counting the distance traveled in the staggering number of miles of cable the internet is carried over.  This means there is always going to be some lag, or delay, in the response time of the very best and fastest internet sites.  We can thank Einstein for this, or really, the speed of light.  Then, there are things on the ship itself that are above, or higher than, the "golf ball" which sometimes interfere with the signal between the satellite and on board dish; the mast and stacks are 2 of these things.  So if the vertical angle, or elevation, the dish must maintain to "see" the satellite is very small, these things will sometimes sit in the middle.  Then too, there are mountains and building that can do the same thing depending on the ship's location.  Then, there is weather that can interfere with signals; anyone with satellite TV service has probably seen "rain-fade" affect their favorite shows, the same can happen with this system.  The movement of the ship also causes the dish to "gimble" about sometimes crazily on its platform and cause momentary issues.  And lastly, satellites have what are called footprints that "paint" the ground with areas of signal; very few of these overlap much, sometimes the ship is in the center of that footprint where the signal is strong, sometimes it's at the edge where the signal is sketchy.  And there are areas where there is no footprint at all.

 

So, being in the very high numbered latitudes will usually cause more trouble with internet service than being in the tropical latitudes.  More atmosphere equals more interference.  Yes, there are newer systems that use satellites that are in constant motion around the earth (of course, they all are) because they are in "near-earth" orbits of 5,000 to 8,000 miles; they can provide faster and more reliable service but also require more satellites to maintain service as they are constantly moving over the horizon from the ship and the system then must seek another satellite to continue service, but that's not the system HAL uses.  So, next time you find the internet slow or not there, go see what the ship is doing, where it is, etc. before angrily blaming HAL.  I won't address the cost here as it's really an individual matter whether you think it's worth paying.  I also don't mean this as an apology for what some consider poor internet service, only as an explanation of the process.

 

Ushuaia!  The end of the World!  The place touts itself as being the southernmost city in the world, and for all I can tell, it is.  We arrive just before noon and the sun is shining, the winds are little and it's just around 43f.  We've both been here before so haven't planned any tours as the city is right at the end of the dock.  There are lots of other ships huddled around the single pier that juts out into the bay here.  Another National Geographic/Lindblad expeditions ship, the "Explorer" is here as is another passenger ship, the "Ventus Australis".  Otherwise, we are sitting with several fish factories disgorging frozen, processed cartons of fish that were being randomly opened and inspected and gorging on barrels of something like oil, miles of rope and pallets of fresh cartons.

 

Once we are quickly cleared, we hurry out the doorway to begin our walk to re-aquaint ourselves with this lovely, quaint town.  But it looks different to us; something is off.  8 years can do alot to both the physical town and our memories of it.  There don't seem to be any trees any longer (but there are, they're just not blooming or in leaf.)  There are lots of little kiosks of tour companies where there hadn't been before.  The cute "End of the World" sign is now surrounded by them.  Fewer dogs are about, but there's a beautiful Boxer stalking the kiosks.  There is a new row of white-haired, bronze heads on concrete stands with words in Spanish on plaques commemorating accomplishments of long and not-so-long ago, the white hair the result of uncounted birds perching on the heads.

 

There are fewer stores selling trinkets and souvenirs and more restaurants now along the main street facing the water.  Some of them display enormous crabs in undersized tanks or sides of pork being bbq'd.  Unfinished touristy areas now lay between the restaurants and the water.  Traffic seems non-stop and heavy with buses and dump trucks rumbling down the streets.  It's no longer just the quiet little city of respite for Antarctic travelers although they too still frequent it.  Just a bit disappointing.  We leave Ushuaia about 8 PM this evening.

 

So we don't stay long, me a bit longer than Roger, or buy anything.  Well, I actually end up purchasing a small gift for my DD.  We stay late after happy hour and talk with friends made from England made here on the ship.  Later I end up at the Lido on the Seaview Pool deck and am astonished at the full moon rising above the mountains to one side while on the other side, the setting sun and the lights of Ushuaia stand in opposition.  Below are some photos of it, not that they convey the amazement at such a lovely sight and opportunity.  Enjoy!

 

Morning in Glacier Alley:

 

 

Hollanda Glacier:

 

Ushuaia:

 

Ventus Australis and behind her National Geographic Explorer:

 

Fish factory cartons of frozen fish:

 

Pork being roasted:

 

Enormous crabs for less than $20:

 

End of the World sign:

 

A doggie bum?:

 

Boxer:

 

The pier:

 

Martial Mountain range:

 

Sunset (Ushuaia to the right of center):

 

Moonrise:

 

 

Panorama of the setting sun and rising moon:

 

 

[0bnxshs]

17 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Zaandam tendering off Puerto Montt, Chile on Saturday, 20 October 2018. Keep up the good work Rich! 

 

 

There I was!  Thanks, John. 

 

Sorry for the gap.... we spent yesterday outside of a satellite's footprint...... 

[kazu]

Great explanation on the ship's internet, Rich.  You could have been the officer who explained to me why it doesn't work sometimes 😉

 

It sounds like Ushuaia has changed a lot 😞 but you made the best of the day.  Lovely pics again 😄 

[0bnxshs]

Day 33 (10/25)

 

Cruising Cape Horn and Sea Day

 

Another early morning out on the decks awaits us this morning and I am awakened once again by EXC Guide Kevin's gentle voice being broadcast over the open decks as we near Hornos Island and Cape Horn.  Although not actually the southernmost point of South America, it is known as such and is the northern boundary of the Drake Passage (named for Sir William Drake) and helps to define the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet and struggle for dominance over each other.  Throw in the Antarctic Sea and, as many of us know, you can have a wild day making the passage to Antarctica.

 

One reason for the HAL obsession with Cape Horn, I believe, has to do with the man credited for finding, naming and rounding it first: Dutchman Willem Schouten, who named it for the city in the Netherlands where he and his brother were born, Hoorn.  The strait between a couple of the islands nearby he named Le Maire Strait after the Dutch explorer Isaac Le Maire.

 

Then too there is the monument to those who lost their lives attempting to sail around the horn over the last 400 years.  The count is numbered in the thousands.  A monument in the shape of an albatross was built on the island in 1992 in commemoration.  We are very lucky today, again, as the weather has decided to cooperate for our 2d visit here better than it had for our first, which was foggy but calm.  We arrive around 6:30 AM and approach as closely as Captain Smit dares, which is quite close but not as close as another vessel, seen yesterday in Ushuaia, wishes to approach,  They ask us to make way for them and are told we'll move along in about half an hour.  Not soon enough though as "Ventus Australis" simply slips around "Zaandam" and parks between us and the island so as to launch her zodiacs.  Captain Smit did not seem too happy about that later on during his noon report.

 

We have a soft swell moving us about but nearly clear skies and decent temperatures (given where and when we are) and still spend a splendid 90 or so minutes moving about the island to its south side.  After EXC Guide Kevin finishes reading a poem by Sara Vials that sits near the albatross monument, Captain Smit blows "Zaandam's" whistle once in a long, forlorn way tributing all those lost mariners.

 

"I am the albatross that awaits you
At the end of the world.
I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners
Who passed Cape Horn
From all the oceans of the world.
But they do not die
In the furious waves.
Today they sail on my wings
Toward eternity,
In the last crack
Of the Antarctic winds."

 

The whistle startles some in the closed Lido pool area but seems most fitting an end to our visit here.  We make a long, looping turn towards port and point the bow of our good ship to the north and back home for all of us as we have reached the southernmost point of our voyage.  One final, lingering blow of our whistle bids farewell to Cape Horn and the farthest reaches of our imaginations.

 

Back to the mundane world of our day at sea pushing towards Port Stanley, we again assess the things that make up our ordinary days.  Our toilet still sounds like a kicked mule when flushed but is as steady as one as well with no troubles over all this time.  Our sink basin seems fixed for good and we've hosted a parade of minor officers who've looked into it, and the drain of the tub too for some reason.  No more leaking.  CD Bruce once again hosts "Ask the Captain", this time with Captain Ane Jan Smit entertaining us with his version of the canned presentation on screen and answers all questions to the delight of passengers.  One thing I learned from this episode that I'd not heard before: if "Haagen Dazs" ice cream suddenly appears at the Lido Market there's a stiff in the freezer!  Who knew the staff kept the best for themselves?

 

My friends I've made around the ship deserve special mention for all the hard work that goes into keeping guests, and bosses, happy,  Wahoo and Tofa have done a superb job of tidying our cabin daily, working around our odd schedule to do so.  Thanks, guys!  Meals at the Lido Market have been made so pleasant by Jim and Junel who have seen to all our needs and are both eager to retrieve Roger's coffee (with cream, not milk!) at dinner and are disappointed when he does it himself.  We have truly been well looked after by both of them.  Happy Hours have been made much happier with Elmer, our bar tender with the heavy-handed pour, Jayson, our dancing and singing bar steward and Lizel and Jocelyn, our lovely and gracious bar stewardesses?  Is it wrong to use that term now?  "Double Wild Turkey and 2 Wild Turkey and gingers coming!"  We wish Liz and Jocelyn farewell in Montevideo and on their journeys home.
 

Cape Horn:

 

Approaching Cape Horn, at center is the chapel and at far right you can see the Albatross Monument:

 

Here comes the Australis!:

 

Launching zodiacs:

 

Going about our day as we leave Cape Horn:

 

CD Bruce and Captain Ane Jan Smit:

 

Jocelyn and Junel:

 

Lizel with Rich:

Edited October 28, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[0bnxshs]

Somehow I've managed to lose track of the calendar!   We were at Cape Horn and then sailing towards Port Stanley on 10/25, not 10/24.  I'm not even going to try to find where I got lost as I'll likely get even more confused..... hope you enjoy!

 

Belay that!!!!!! I have no idea what I was thinking, except I seem to have lost my entry above from my computer, so I'm only locally confused..... geez! 😣

Edited October 28, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[kazu]

Love hearing about the poem and the lamenting horn as you approached the albatross, Rich.  I don't remember them doing that last time we sailed, but it was a long time ago and part of our travels around the Cape were not as smooth as yours. 😉

 

I'm glad you had good weather as relatively smooth seas.  Fabulous pictures and a great description of the day.  Thank you 🙂 

[0bnxshs]

20 minutes ago, kazu said:

Love hearing about the poem and the lamenting horn as you approached the albatross, Rich.  I don't remember them doing that last time we sailed, but it was a long time ago and part of our travels around the Cape were not as smooth as yours. 😉

 

I'm glad you had good weather as relatively smooth seas.  Fabulous pictures and a great description of the day.  Thank you 🙂 

 

Thanks Jacqui for the nice comments. They are appreciated.

 

I do need to correct the name of the man whom the Drake Passage is named for; that should read Francis Drake and not William Drake.  I think the Willem of Schouten fame got Tangled in my early morning thoughts.

[wrahn2002]

Rich,

 

Super job explaining the ship's internet. We are still following your adventure and enjoying the photos, some of which bring back good memories. Say HI to Roger.

 

Wes and Peggy

[0bnxshs]

1 hour ago, wrahn2002 said:

Rich,

 

Super job explaining the ship's internet. We are still following your adventure and enjoying the photos, some of which bring back good memories. Say HI to Roger.

 

Wes and Peggy

 

Will do, Wes.  Hi back at you both.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just got caught up.

 

Don't know what happened that I got so far behind in your reports and wonderful pictures.

[0bnxshs]

25 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Just got caught up.

 

Don't know what happened that I got so far behind in your reports and wonderful pictures.

 

That's ok KK, I had myself all turned around on the date and day too. I understand.

 

Thanks for reading and enjoying!

[erewhon]

Thanks for your reports, and your internet explanation.

Wonderful photo of the sunset and moonrise.

[Copper10-8]

Hi Rich; a bit of background on new expedition ship Ventus Australis, meaning "southern wind"

http://www.expeditioncruising.com/2017/07/new-expedition-cruise-ship-ventus.html

 

[0bnxshs]

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Hi Rich; a bit of background on new expedition ship Ventus Australis, meaning "southern wind"

http://www.expeditioncruising.com/2017/07/new-expedition-cruise-ship-ventus.html

 

 

Thanks for the background John. Francois last night at dinner confirmed Captain Smit's irritation with her captain over Cape Horn.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Waiting for another chapter.

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you for writing and sharing your adventure. We are looking forward to our upcoming S.America cruise even more!

Does the Zandaam have self-service laundry?

Thank you again.

[0bnxshs]

54 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Thank you for writing and sharing your adventure. We are looking forward to our upcoming S.America cruise even more!

Does the Zandaam have self-service laundry?

Thank you again.

 

I've not come across any in my walks and the deck plans on board do not show any.  I believe they are now gone for good.

[TiogaCruiser]

51 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

I've not come across any in my walks and the deck plans on board do not show any.  I believe they are now gone for good.

There was 1 left in March aft Lower Promenade. Someone confirmed it had become a cabin in the April dry dock.

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Thank you for writing and sharing your adventure. We are looking forward to our upcoming S.America cruise even more!

Does the Zandaam have self-service laundry?

Thank you again.

Oops. Failed double quote.

[0bnxshs]

Day 34 (10/26)

 

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

 

Another overcast day greeted us as we started to cozy up to the Falkland Islands and the entrance to Port William which is the closest one can get to Port Stanley on a ship as large as ours.  However, the winds were light and the temperatures were in the upper 30s fahrenheit and the seas once again cooperated with our anchoring and tendering into shore.  We were there a bit early, somewhat prior to 8 AM and had a longer day scheduled than last time we were here in 2011.  All aboard is at 4:30 PM.

We had a private tour here that I had planned some months ago with Anthony Smith who runs "Discovery Falklands" and has excellent reviews in the top travel guides available.  We planned a Falklands Battlefield tour and Tony is one of the best guides for this as he has guided a number of film crews documenting the 1982 Falklands War as well as many who of those who fought here from both sides.  He's a native Islander and was living on West Falkland during the war.  We had room for 1 more participant for our tour besides Roger and I and that was filled by a pleasant and interesting woman named Judy from one of the roll calls.  Tony had a 4x4 pickup truck that seated the 3 of us, plus him, perfectly for our 4 hour tour.

 

When we realized that we'd be starting the tendering operation early, we 3 gathered together in the atrium on deck 3 and awaited the announcement that we'd been cleared.  It came soon enough and we quickly headed to "A" deck and the tender boarding area.  We were greeted there by a couple of old curmudgeons as we exited the elevator who brusquely told us to turn around and leave as the ship was not allowing passengers without EXC tours to depart yet, which is quite normal.  We had received cards the day before telling us, as 4 and 5 star Mariners, that we did not have to collect a tender tickets in order to board a tender but nowhere does the card say we can just get on the first tender or any old tender we please.  We just wanted to be there when they did find room on a tender to get over as soon as we could.  Tony planned to be dockside at 9 AM and we wanted to try and be there for him.  As it turned out, the first EXC tour to be dispatched wasn't completely ready to go yet and we were able to board the first tender with guests to head over.  The curmudgeons had boarded our elevator and left though and didn't make it.  GRM Andreea was there and was quite pleasantly urging us to board so I don't know what the problem for the curmudgeons was, except they probably tried to argue HALs policy with her.

 

The ride over was smooth and even warm, to the extent that the zippered-up doors provided respite from the chilly air of the waters.  We were greeted dockside by seals on the dock waving at us with their flippers (or scratching at something) and a group of tour guides with various signs for various excursions who were all chatting with one another as everyone here knows everyone else.  There are just over 3000 residents of the Islands and knowing everyone isn't too hard as there are only a few places for any of them to gather.  We've beaten Tony to the dock as we are about 20 minutes early and so Roger has time to go look for a coveted flag the size of a patch that he's been after for 8 years.  No one sells one online as there isn't a clamor for them so he's hoping to find one in a shop here.  He returns triumphantly to display his prize, a slightly undersized version of the Falkland Islands flag from the size he's collected over the years, something that he says doesn't bother him a bit, except that he explains to everyone he tells about it that it is a little smaller than the others he has.

 

Tony arrives on time and we have to walk a short way to his vehicle parked up along another street.  There's no real traffic problem here, just a parking problem.  But we are soon in his warm vehicle and off to our first stop.  We drive through Stanley as we leave and Tony points out the newest homes on the outside of Stanley.  Housing has been a problem here for some but is getting better.  It looks much like we last saw it 8 years ago except for the newest homes and the addition of public (read: tourist) bathrooms that have been put in at strategic spots.  Tony mentions that he'd pushed for these for a number of years before it was agreed they needed to be put in; much to our actual relief after a couple of hours of bouncing along road and track on our tour.

 

I won't go into the things we heard and saw much regarding the battlefields and order of battle that took place in 1982.  We only had time to visit the areas of the war that took place very near the end of it around Stanley.  We visited some of the actual sites of conflict, some of the memorials to both sides, and were left with the impression that it must have been a very difficult place with all the barren hills covered with rocks left over from glaciers long melted.  Just walking around the rocks was difficult and we are here in springtime; the battles were fought in the late fall and winter in rain and cold and wind.

I did happily note that the several live minefields we saw 8 years ago around Stanley have been cleared.  It's been a long work and, while they still aren't all cleared, most of them nearest populated areas are gone.  I also found a few spent rounds of ammunition that gave me chills.  We were taken to other monuments erected to those who fought in the World Wars of the 20th century, tributing the sacrifice of locals.  Overall, it was an interesting first hand account of the war that, while fought some 36 years ago, is still freshly in the minds of many of the current residents, some of whom acted as guides through the peat and rock fields for British forces.

 

We went to a local tavern for a draft of a locally produced beer afterwards and met our happy hour friends there.  We had found early on that our smart phones that have worked freely for texting loved ones back home didn't even get a signal here.  Small wonder really but we were disappointed at not being able to say hi.  We had heard earlier that no tours were planned to Volunteer Point as it was a bit early for the penguins and the way was far to soggy to support vehicles anyhow.  Our arrival coincided with the arrival of nice weather, they said.  It was still in the 40s farhenheit and the wind was picking up some while the clouds continued to deny the sun a proper appearance.  Tours that went to several other, more easily traveled to penguin sites were filled with penguins though, so everyone who went was happy.

 

All were back aboard on time and Zaandam wished the Islanders a farewell with her whistle and we were off.  Adagio was on my agenda for the evening and reading was on Roger's.  The show tonight on the mainstage was "Dance" and we did at both 8 PM and 10 PM in our cabin.  2 sea days of traveling will have us in Montevideo on the 29th of October and nearer the end of our cruise.

 

Welcome!:

 

The sea lions weren't waving when we left:

 

Wonder if we're in an British territory?:

 

The difficulties of the terrain included rocks and peat:

 

Monument to those who liberated the Islands:

 

Anthony Smith and "Discovery Falklands":

 

A battle marker:

 

The remains of a shipwreck from the late 1800s that was damaged 'rounding the horn but made it this far:

 

A view of Stanley and Zaadam in Port Williams beyond:

 

Inside the tavern where we had our local beer:

[Vict0riann]

I’m reliving our cruise on Zaandam through your thread , Rich.  Thank you very much.  

 

How many times have you done this cruise? It sounds like you have explored all the ports in the past, and are just taking it easy this time.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very much enjoyed reading about your tour on the Falkland Islands.

 

Great pictures.

[0bnxshs]

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I’m reliving our cruise on Zaandam through your thread , Rich.  Thank you very much.  

 

How many times have you done this cruise? It sounds like you have explored all the ports in the past, and are just taking it easy this time.  

 

We been to most of these ports once before, 8 years ago. With the expense of the Machu Picchu excursion we've limited expenses at other ports and gone about on foot.

[0bnxshs]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Very much enjoyed reading about your tour on the Falkland Islands.

 

Great pictures.

 

Thanks KK, I'm happy you're still enjoying the blog.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your interesting report of your visit to the Falklands.