Someone currently on an Antarctic cruise is keeping a blog of the cruise on Cruise Critic. This is the URL:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/virtual/virtual.cfm?ID=29&page=4
Monday, January 28, 2008
CRUISE CRITIC ARTICLE ABOUT ANTARCTICA
This is an interesting article about travel to Antarctica.
http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/article.cfm?ID=90
http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/article.cfm?ID=90
Sunday, January 27, 2008
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
Day 1 - Depart U.S. Gateway/Overnight Flight
Day 2 - Arrive Santiago, Chile
Day 3 - Santiago
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Winery Tour"
- Evening at leisure - or -Optional "Santiago by Night Tour with dinner"
Day 4 - Santiago
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Portillo Tour with Lunch"
- Evening at leisure
Day 5 - Santiago/Flight to Punta Arenas, Chile/Embark Ship
- Optional "Punta Arenas City Tour" - or - Optional "Estancia Olga Teresa Tour" - or - Optional "Otway Sound Penguin ColonyTour"
Day 6 - Magellan Strait & Tucker Island, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Magellan Strait
- Weather permitting, the ship will make a close pass by Tucker Island, famous for its colony of Magellan Penguins, and into the Seno del Amirantazgo, known for its cormorants, southern dolphins, and sea lions.
Day 7 - Magellan Strait/Puerto Nataless, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Kirke Narrows or the Santa Maria Channel, depending on the tides
- Opportunity to stroll around the city
Day 8 - Puerto Natales/Torres Del Paine, Chile
- Morning at leisure in Puerto Natales with time to visit impressive Torres del Paine Natioal Park on your own
- Optional Torres Del Paine National Park Tour - or - Optional Puerto Natales and its Surroundings Tour - or - Optional Torres Del Paine Overfight Tour
- Depart Puerto Natales in the afternoon
- Scenic cruising of the Magellan Strait
Day 9 - Beagle Channel, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Beagle Channel to the southernmost part of Patagonia and the spectacular Chilean Fjords; weather permitting, the ship will make a close pass by one of the many glaciers.
Day 10 - Puerto Williams, Chile/Cape Horn
- Arrive Puerto Williams, one of the world's southernmost towns, in the morning
- Visit by PolarCirkel boat to Cape Horn (weather permitting) to explore this desolate yet poetic piece of land at the end of the world
Day 11 - Drake Passage, Chile
- Themed lectures by the onboard team of expedition leaders/naturalists on the continent's history and wildlife, safety, and guidelines for visitors to Antarctica as the ship crosses Drake Passage, which connects the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Days 12-17 -- Antarctica
- Arrive at the northernmost tip of the continent, the Antarctic Peninsula and Half Moon Island, on the afternoon of Day 12
- On the Antarctic Peninsula you'll experience the narrow, glacier-lined Lemaire Channel, considered one of the most beautiful passages in Antarctica and where humpback and killer whales, various penguins, and elephant seals are a common sight, and the breathtaking Neumayer Channel,, with its magnificent cliffs.
- Visit by PolarCirkel boat to
-- Half Moon Island, with its spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, whale spotting, and home to chinstrap penguins, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns
-- Whalers Bay on Deception Island, with its warm springs and black volcanic sand
-- Ukranian Vernadsky Base, with its abundant bird life
-- Neko Harbor off Errera Channel, home of gentoo penguins, Weddell & elephant seals
-- Almirante Brown in Paradise Harbor, named for its beauty, with spectacular ice cliffs and glaciers
-- Port Lockroy, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and ice shelves, and known for its gentoo penguins and blue-eyed cormorants
-- Petermann Island, home of the southernmost gentoo penguin colony
----- Weather, ice, and local conditions will determine the exact itinerary of your visit.
Day 18 - Antarctica/At Sea
- Lectures to sum up Antarctic topics
- Sailing time from Antarctica to Cape Horn is approximately 35 hours, a unique crossing that few ever have the chance to experience.
Day 19 - Ushuaia, Argentina/Disembark
- In the morning arrive Ushuaia, a lively and international city and the southernmost city in the world
- Optional Ushuaia National Park tour
- Depart Ushuaia
- Arrive Buenos Aires
Day 20 - Buenos Aires
- City Tour of Buenos Aires
- Evening at leisure - or - Optional "Evening Tango Show & Dinner"
Day 21 - Buenos Aires
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Estancia Tour with lunch"
- Dinner on own
Day 22 - Buenos Aires/Overnight Fight
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Tigre Delta Tour including lunch"
- Depart Buenos Aires
- Day 23 - Return to U.S.
Day 2 - Arrive Santiago, Chile
Day 3 - Santiago
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Winery Tour"
- Evening at leisure - or -Optional "Santiago by Night Tour with dinner"
Day 4 - Santiago
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Portillo Tour with Lunch"
- Evening at leisure
Day 5 - Santiago/Flight to Punta Arenas, Chile/Embark Ship
- Optional "Punta Arenas City Tour" - or - Optional "Estancia Olga Teresa Tour" - or - Optional "Otway Sound Penguin ColonyTour"
Day 6 - Magellan Strait & Tucker Island, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Magellan Strait
- Weather permitting, the ship will make a close pass by Tucker Island, famous for its colony of Magellan Penguins, and into the Seno del Amirantazgo, known for its cormorants, southern dolphins, and sea lions.
Day 7 - Magellan Strait/Puerto Nataless, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Kirke Narrows or the Santa Maria Channel, depending on the tides
- Opportunity to stroll around the city
Day 8 - Puerto Natales/Torres Del Paine, Chile
- Morning at leisure in Puerto Natales with time to visit impressive Torres del Paine Natioal Park on your own
- Optional Torres Del Paine National Park Tour - or - Optional Puerto Natales and its Surroundings Tour - or - Optional Torres Del Paine Overfight Tour
- Depart Puerto Natales in the afternoon
- Scenic cruising of the Magellan Strait
Day 9 - Beagle Channel, Chile
- Scenic cruising the Beagle Channel to the southernmost part of Patagonia and the spectacular Chilean Fjords; weather permitting, the ship will make a close pass by one of the many glaciers.
Day 10 - Puerto Williams, Chile/Cape Horn
- Arrive Puerto Williams, one of the world's southernmost towns, in the morning
- Visit by PolarCirkel boat to Cape Horn (weather permitting) to explore this desolate yet poetic piece of land at the end of the world
Day 11 - Drake Passage, Chile
- Themed lectures by the onboard team of expedition leaders/naturalists on the continent's history and wildlife, safety, and guidelines for visitors to Antarctica as the ship crosses Drake Passage, which connects the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Days 12-17 -- Antarctica
- Arrive at the northernmost tip of the continent, the Antarctic Peninsula and Half Moon Island, on the afternoon of Day 12
- On the Antarctic Peninsula you'll experience the narrow, glacier-lined Lemaire Channel, considered one of the most beautiful passages in Antarctica and where humpback and killer whales, various penguins, and elephant seals are a common sight, and the breathtaking Neumayer Channel,, with its magnificent cliffs.
- Visit by PolarCirkel boat to
-- Half Moon Island, with its spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, whale spotting, and home to chinstrap penguins, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns
-- Whalers Bay on Deception Island, with its warm springs and black volcanic sand
-- Ukranian Vernadsky Base, with its abundant bird life
-- Neko Harbor off Errera Channel, home of gentoo penguins, Weddell & elephant seals
-- Almirante Brown in Paradise Harbor, named for its beauty, with spectacular ice cliffs and glaciers
-- Port Lockroy, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and ice shelves, and known for its gentoo penguins and blue-eyed cormorants
-- Petermann Island, home of the southernmost gentoo penguin colony
----- Weather, ice, and local conditions will determine the exact itinerary of your visit.
Day 18 - Antarctica/At Sea
- Lectures to sum up Antarctic topics
- Sailing time from Antarctica to Cape Horn is approximately 35 hours, a unique crossing that few ever have the chance to experience.
Day 19 - Ushuaia, Argentina/Disembark
- In the morning arrive Ushuaia, a lively and international city and the southernmost city in the world
- Optional Ushuaia National Park tour
- Depart Ushuaia
- Arrive Buenos Aires
Day 20 - Buenos Aires
- City Tour of Buenos Aires
- Evening at leisure - or - Optional "Evening Tango Show & Dinner"
Day 21 - Buenos Aires
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Estancia Tour with lunch"
- Dinner on own
Day 22 - Buenos Aires/Overnight Fight
- Day at leisure - or - Optional "Tigre Delta Tour including lunch"
- Depart Buenos Aires
- Day 23 - Return to U.S.
ORLIN & BARBARA STANSFIELD
Orlin "Stan" Stansfield was my teacher who helped me set up this blog and get it started. We spent the weekend of Jan 26, 27,2008 as Stan & Barbara's guests in Oak Ridge, TN for this purpose. Stan said he was learning also. Stan & Barbara are long-time friends. Stan was our best man when we were married in 1964. Stan and I have been friends since I started at then Oregon State College in 1955 (52 years ago).
CAN'T POST EXTENSIVELY TO BLOG ENROUTE
Wireless will not be available for use with our laptop computer during our trip. Internet cafes will be very expensive. So we will not be able to make extensive postings to this blog en route. We may be able to make some occasional short postings. We will prepare texts of postings off-line and post them upon returning home to Lynchburg. And, as time permits, we may later add photos to them.
ROUTINGS
We fly from Washington Dulles to Atlanta, then to Santiago. There we join our tour group. After a few days we fly to Punta Arena, Chile. We cruise in Tierra del Fuego, then to and alongside the Antarctic Peninsula, then back to Tierra del Fuego. We fly from Ushuaia, Argentina to Buenos Aires. After a few days in Buenos Aires, we leave our tour group and fly to Atlanta and then Washington Dulles.
VIRTUAL ANTARCTIC CRUISE
See
http://www.cruisenorway.com/antarctica/antarcticaMXP8a.html
(All you need do is click on this hyperlink.)
This is the cruise we will make except that it is reversed (Buenos Aires to Santiago instead of Santiago to Bueons Aires). (The virtual cruise is reversed. The map in the next blog is not reversed.)
We watched this virtual cruise on a system using high-speed DSL. It was fairly short to watch. I'm told that if you are on a dialup connection, it may take half an hour to download.
The ship in this virtual cruise is our ship, the MS Nordnorge, registered in Norway. It will be carrying about 350 passengers, which is its limit for Antarctic cruises, but its maximum capacity is 464 passengers. It was built circa 1997. It is well equipped for Antarctic cruising and has powerful side thrusters. Displacement: 11,386 tons. Length: 404 feet. Width: 64 feet. Speed: 18 knots.
http://www.cruisenorway.com/antarctica/antarcticaMXP8a.html
(All you need do is click on this hyperlink.)
This is the cruise we will make except that it is reversed (Buenos Aires to Santiago instead of Santiago to Bueons Aires). (The virtual cruise is reversed. The map in the next blog is not reversed.)
We watched this virtual cruise on a system using high-speed DSL. It was fairly short to watch. I'm told that if you are on a dialup connection, it may take half an hour to download.
The ship in this virtual cruise is our ship, the MS Nordnorge, registered in Norway. It will be carrying about 350 passengers, which is its limit for Antarctic cruises, but its maximum capacity is 464 passengers. It was built circa 1997. It is well equipped for Antarctic cruising and has powerful side thrusters. Displacement: 11,386 tons. Length: 404 feet. Width: 64 feet. Speed: 18 knots.
HELEN & BERNIE
We are a retired couple of Lynchburg, VA, USA. We have a daughter Ann Marie Davis in Los Angeles: and a son Eric, daughter-in-law Kim, and a baby grandson Jackson Davis in Madison , WI. Helen, a retired school teacher, is very active in the DAR and does some substitute teaching. Bernie, a retired engineer, is mainly engaged in exercise (jogging, walking, hiking, biking, fitness center) and writing poems. (See hvdbed.blogspot.com.)
This story is about a cruise trip from Feb. 4 to Feb 27, 2008 which involves Santiago, Tierra del Fuego, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Buenos Aires.
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