Days 269 – 270: Antarctic Cruise Days 5 & 6 – Cruising the Chilean Fiords
While the next two days were “at sea” days – meaning we didn’t stop on land – our route actually had us hugging the coast as we sailed through the fiords of Southern Chile. The scenery was breathing, and since we were close to land, the ship didn’t pitch up and down like it did our first day at sea (so no seasickness – yay!). Our cruise director kept us pretty busy with educational talks by the 20-odd naturalists on the Expedition Team and performances by the guest entertainers and staff, although we also had plenty of time to catch up on the blog and even hit the gym! (After our Africa trip, we know the dangers of endless buffets – we need to fit into our clothes at the end of this cruise!)
It’s two days before Christmas, and the ship has been decked out with gingerbread houses, trees and chocolate! Squeeee!!!!
Pancakes for breakfast, with REAL maple syrup
Igor braves the cool, windy weather on the front deck to join the naturalist team looking for wildlife. He sees lots of seabirds, including a huge albatross
After a couple hours of staring at an empty ocean, the naturalists and other guests get a bit bored, and start chatting. As a result, Igor is the only one on deck still scanning the horizon when he thinks he sees a whale spout…sure enough, when he raises his zoom lens he sees a POD of killer whales! “Uh, guys…I think there are some whales over there…” All the scientists immediately whip their heads around and lean over the railing looking for the orcas – even though they radio the captain to STOP THE SHIP, we are unfortunately already past them. Igor was the ONLY one to get a picture of whales that day!
Cruising through the Chilean fiords – since our cabin is on the port side of the ship, we always have a view of the shore when we are near land
Sitting down for another decadent dinner, Lindsay spots a familiar bottle of wine in the sommelier’s hand! In fact, she has to give mad props to her former colleagues on the Banfi/Excelsior National Accounts Team – both the Italian and Chilean sides of the portfolio are well represented – cheers!
Day 2 on our journey through the Chilean fiords, we start to see snow-capped mountains
Lindsay goes up on deck to admire the stunning, Patagonia scenery
Igor (in his hippie-pants!) in front of the Bruja Glacier – our first glacier of the trip!
Dramatically stormy clouds and spooky mist add atmosphere to the already stunning scenic cruising
The Wreck of the Leonora in the Smyth Channel
After two days of scenic cruise through the unpopulated lands of the Chilean fiords, we finally see some signs of civilization during the “golden hour”
The ships entertainment staff put together an impromptu Christmas Eve show, where each performer belts out their favorite carol while waiting for “Santa” to arrive, and gulping down real glasses of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne in between numbers
Unfortunately, we *just missed* the sunset by the time we went up to the Observation Bar after the show
Clouds rolling in on Christmas Eve night as we sail toward the tip of South America
Early presents! Every night our cabin stewardess, Kasandra, leaves us a wee gift (fancy soap, a booklet on Antarctic wildlife, etc.), but today our haul is extra special! A glass wine stopper and a plate of chocolate treats! FYI – those cookies were in Lindsay belly before the lights went out