Cruising to Antarctica and South America with many photos

[MicCanberra]

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 11:13 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

It's about a 3 hour ride to Torres del Paine and it involves crossing into Chile so we left at 08:00 . We did stop for a couple photos like these Rhea .

 

 

Those birds look very familiar, shows how the some continents sharE MUtual wildlife that have evolved slightly differently.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 1:53 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

We didn't have lunch on this trip and so we decided to take the plunge at the Dive In Grill . We like the fries and the sauce .

 

 

Of our 3 closeup encounters with penguins we ranked this one # 3 . With a Port side balcony were really looking forward to Glacier Alley and Ushuaia in the morning .

 

When on the Maasdam, I enjoyed some of the burger selections from the Dive in Grill but I stayed clear of the Bain-marie selections as they didn't look appetising.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 7:32 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

And after The Silver Cloud moved in , the Zaandam moved out 

 

 

 

 

A Gentoo was really moving fast

 

 

In fact it was flying 

 

 

Wonderful pics and a great one of the flying Penguin. All these photos and videos are bringing back so many memories from our trip in 2014.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 9:44 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

We didn't bring our winter jackets and with the wind , chill and a little rain we decided to head back toward the car 

 

 

we took a little detour toward the beach

 

 

a few other birds near there

 

 

Upland geese

 

 

 

a pit stop

 

 

This was affixed to the ladies room . It says that King penguins can dive almost 1000' (300 M) deep

 

 

Volunteer Point is a gold mine for the penguin viewing. Really enjoyed the trip to and from as well through the bogs when we did it. We even got to see a leopard seal patrolling the surf (one of our party even captured a successful hunt of a Gentoo on camera). An amazing place and your photos are marvellous.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 12:19 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Our guide told us that it was the most expensive real estate in Argentina . Over a million dollars a plot currently .

But yet people are dying to get into that place.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 1:37 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Thank you and we appreciate your encouragement . If it's any consolation we do have some more yet before we finish and switch gears . We just did a late booking on the Zuiderdam today for a June cruise with a number of new ports that we need to research .  😊 🙂

 

We have been to Lerwick,Shetlands,  Isafijordjur, Akureyi and Reykjavik in Iceland and Bergen in Norway. I can/will provide some info on what we did at these ports.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 11:00 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

We don't see many monuments to firefighters in our country

 

 

But they had several

 

I certainly appreciate all that firefighters do no matter where in the world they work. Well done Joe.

[MicCanberra]

17 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

We have not been to Iceland , Lerwick , or Invergordon , so any trips or things to see  and do or skip will be greatly appreciated .

 

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

We have been to Lerwick,Shetlands,  Isafijordjur, Akureyri and Reykjavik in Iceland and Bergen in Norway. I can/will provide some info on what we did at these ports.

We did this trip/cruises in September 2015, we managed to see the northern lights in the Arctic circle near Iceland 3 nights running so were very lucky.

 

In Bergen, we did our own thing, caught the Funicular up to Mt Floyen for terrific views, explored the Tower, Hall, a few museums and of course the shops/markets. Lots to see and do very handy to the ship (depending on where you dock).

 

In Lerwick,, we had a tour (organised by another CC member, van for 8 ) visited Sumburghhead, Scaloway, Tangwock, tingwell, Eshaness and Breawick . We also walked around Lerwick itself, which is interesting.

 

In Akureyri, we had a tour through Taxi 17 (Van for 8 people) and visited Godafoss, Skutustaoi, Lake Myvatn, Grjotagja, Namaskaro, Krafla and Viti. Beautiful scenery, waterfalls, etc.

 

In Isafjiordjur, we used BS tours for Dynjandi waterfalls, villages and scenic stop at Pingeyri - Hrafnseyri.

 

In Reykjavik, we used Iceland Horizon tours and went to Gullfoss and Faxafoss waterfalls, thingvellir national Park, Viking parliament and Geysers (the Golden circle) as well as the highlights of Reykjavik as well.

 

Iceland is not cheap either is Norway but then most of Scandinavia is expensive. TripAdvisor and google should help with some of the place names and such.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

 

We did this trip/cruises in September 2015, we managed to see the northern lights in the Arctic circle near Iceland 3 nights running so were very lucky.

 

In Bergen, we did our own thing, caught the Funicular up to Mt Floyen for terrific views, explored the Tower, Hall, a few museums and of course the shops/markets. Lots to see and do very handy to the ship (depending on where you dock).

 

In Lerwick,, we had a tour (organised by another CC member, van for 8 ) visited Sumburghhead, Scaloway, Tangwock, tingwell, Eshaness and Breawick . We also walked around Lerwick itself, which is interesting.

 

In Akureyri, we had a tour through Taxi 17 (Van for 8 people) and visited Godafoss, Skutustaoi, Lake Myvatn, Grjotagja, Namaskaro, Krafla and Viti. Beautiful scenery, waterfalls, etc.

 

In Isafjiordjur, we used BS tours for Dynjandi waterfalls, villages and scenic stop at Pingeyri - Hrafnseyri.

 

In Reykjavik, we used Iceland Horizon tours and went to Gullfoss and Faxafoss waterfalls, thingvellir national Park, Viking parliament and Geysers (the Golden circle) as well as the highlights of Reykjavik as well.

 

Iceland is not cheap either is Norway but then most of Scandinavia is expensive. TripAdvisor and google should help with some of the place names and such.

 

 

It all  sounds so nice . We really missed being with you guys on the cruise . That's part of the reason for taking this trip .  By the way they some nice cabins open and we have room on out tours for you and Rosie  .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

We were planning to go to the mall for some shopping and then have lunch but we saw some fast moving clouds that made us wait for a little .

 

 

 

 

Here's the mall that we went to Galerias Pacifico

 

 

 

 

They have some interesting paintings on the ceilings and a great Christmas tree

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

It all  sounds so nice . We really missed being with you guys on the cruise . That's part of the reason for taking this trip .  By the way they some nice cabins open and we have room on out tours for you and Rosie  .

Would be nice but we are currently booked up with other little local trips and cruises that do not affect grandchild minding (for Rosie) and work for myself too much.

[scubacruiserx2]

13 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Would be nice but we are currently booked up with other little local trips and cruises that do not affect grandchild minding (for Rosie) and work for myself too much.

 

It's fun time for the grandparents at that age and we're sorry that you can't make this one . Ours have grown a lot and are self sufficient enough that they would rather stay home .  We considered just a visit to Iceland with a drive around but for the same price we booked the 2 cruises both in corner suites .

 

 

This one has more room inside and a smaller , half-covered balcony 

 

 

The other has a larger full covered balcony , just the thing for those hot summer days in Iceland .

 

 

The photos are from half facts

[scubacruiserx2]

 

The concierge on the Zaandam recommended this place

 

 

We were pleased to see that they flew both British and an American flag

 

 

They had good provolone 

 

 

and grilled vegetables

 

 

The steak was also good but we ate it before we had time to take a  photo

Another view of PG and a collage

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[MicCanberra]

Yeah, our granddaughter is 3 later this month, we are really enjoying time with her and in another year or so and she will be at pre-school, so we will have more freedom to travel again.

[scubacruiserx2]

15 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Yeah, our granddaughter is 3 later this month, we are really enjoying time with her and in another year or so and she will be at pre-school, so we will have more freedom to travel again.

 

15 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Yeah, our granddaughter is 3 later this month, we are really enjoying time with her and in another year or so and she will be at pre-school, so we will have more freedom to travel again.

 

Wow , she's growing so fast ! That's a fun age and we were able to take our oldest grandson on a cruise at 3 . And thirteen years ago Pat still had dark hair . Now he's as tall as I am and in high school .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

From our eye in the sky perch we could see the green life jackets on the Promenade deck preparing the next cruise for the safety drill

 

 

The Costa Favolosa was out the port before the Zaandam

 

 

 

Away she goes

 

 

on her next adventure in Antarctica 

 

 

We saw some great photography on Netflix this morning . It is called Our Planet Episode #2 : Frozen Worlds . The first half was Antarctica and showed whales , killer whales and penguins .

[MicCanberra]

There are some great shows that serve to bring back the memories but I feel no camera can actually bring out the full array of colours - the whites, blues, greens etc of Antarctica.

[scubacruiserx2]

14 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

There are some great shows that serve to bring back the memories but I feel no camera can actually bring out the full array of colours - the whites, blues, greens etc of Antarctica.

 

So very true , the human eye is a masterpiece of design and engineering that man can't create or duplicate .

[scubacruiserx2]

The Aerolineas lounge was quite comfortable early in the morning . We had a number of Pesos left over so we bought a new backpack to replace our old brown one .

 

 

After being called for the plane we had to stop at a table and open up all of our carry on luggage and remove all of the electric devices and turn them on before boarding . We had packed them a certain way and trying to repack them so that every thing fit was a real pain .

 

 

 

Fortunately there were only 8 people in business class

 

 

 

Lunch is served

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Flying over Miami we can see cruise ships in the Port of Miami , South Beach and the triangular shaped Fisher Island . You can also see the water treatment plant at Virginia Key .

 

 

 

 As of 2015, Fisher Island had the highest per capita income^[3] of any place in the United States. The CDP had only 218 households and a total population of 467. From Wikipedia

 

 

 

Access to the island is on a ferry boat 

 

 

Oprah , Boris Becker , Mel Brooks , and Ann Bancroft have owned property here . It cost $250,000 initially and $ 22,000 a year for the ferry and other amenities .

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/fisher-island-miami-florida-tour-richest-zip-code-2018-1

 

The island has the last fire station that I worked at before I retired .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

As the ships leave Government Cut to the Atlantic Ocean you can see Fisher Island on the right and South Beach on the left 

 

 

Looking back at the downtown area with Fisher Island on the left and South Beach on the right .

 

 

South Beach adds a lot of color to the beach like this art deco crankshaft

 

 

and art deco life guard towers

 

 

Solar powered tower

 

 

Walking along Government Cut 

 

 

I got a free model shot with the Fisher Island condos behind them

 

 

South Beach 

 

 

A couple of sail outs

 

 

Here comes the Sun

 

 

Dinner spot with my wife and a friend from Denver

 

[MicCanberra]

Looks a nice airline meal. Some wonderful shots and memories for yourself as well with the island.

[scubacruiserx2]

14 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Looks a nice airline meal. Some wonderful shots and memories for yourself as well with the island.

 

It was and the flight was quite with few people in first class . Overall it was a great trip and we're glad that we took it .

[cat shepard]

I am so glad the two of you took this trip & shared it with me.  Thank you again for doing this. And you owe yourselves a photo book of this trip!

[scubacruiserx2]

 

The Port of Miami and downtown 

 

 

The City of Miami and I-95 . It runs 1900 miles from Miami to Maine .

 

 

Marlins park was built on the former Orange Bowl stadium site . The Orange Bowl was where the University of Miami Hurricanes and Miami Dolphins played . It was around for 70 years before being demolished in 2008 .

 

 

I really felt like we were back home when I saw a rescue truck of my former employer outside of our window . The return drive home took 4 hours , twice as much time as the original trip from home to MIA .