At 5:00 I was in the Sky Lounge. Yes, a.m.
Mickey was going to start his talk around six but we were arriving early
to the vicinity of Cape Horn. The
Chilean Island is indeed the farthest point south of the South American
Continent. There are a few outcroppings
of rocks, mountain tops of the Andes, a little further but for the sake of
argument and trivia the answer is Cape Horn or the Island of Hornos.
The Sky Lounge has blue glass. On a sunny day it makes for a bright view.
Pre-dawn, not so much!
He got here early for a primo spot and then slept through it all!
His yawning friend made it to the end when we all went to seek breakfast,
but I am sure some went back to bed.
The tips of the Andes, the world's longest mountain chain.
The rocks of Deception Island. Named for obvious reasons. Are we there yet - yes - no- maybe so!
First views of Cape Horn.
The albatross is the open space in the middle of the polished metal sculpture. The poem reads:
Albatross Memorial at Cape Horn
There
is a poem by Sara Vial that goes with the memorial
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 did not die
In the furious waves.
Today they sail on my wings
Toward eternity,
In the last crack
Of the Antarctic winds.
By José Balcells, escultor chileno - Photo taken by Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Drake was joined in the search for an alternative by a
little know explored from Holland by the name of Francisco de Hoces. In early 1616 they succeeded in going around
the Horn for the first time. The island
is named after a ship, The Horn, which never made it but caught fire in
Ushuaia while restocking supplies. The
ship was named for the city in the Netherlands.
Those men joined the companion vessel and continued on. It took almost 200 more years before anyone
ventured further south to discover Antarctica and so many more before the South
Pole was achieved. The book the
Loneliest Continent has been greatly recommended but is apparently out of
print. If you have a copy, I would love
to read it. The adventurers who trekked
across the ‘frozen wasteland’ are fascinating to me. Stories of pride, success, and devastating
disappoint abound.
The churning seas of Drake's Passage.
In days of old ‘Rounding the Horn’ meant going from Atlantic
to Pacific. In the modern cruise ship
era it means circumnavigating the island.
I did that on my previous visit so check that off the list! That was the plan for today but high winds,
sufficient to close the outer decks, choppy seas with 20 foot swells, and rain
are preventing that. Safety first. We were not scheduled to cross into the Pacific
but due to the storm and the Captain’s desire to outwit it, we did, indeed sail
west to go behind it and I have therefore ‘Rounded the Horn’ in both meanings
of the phrase. Thank you storm front
from Australia!
The ship was ‘parked’ in the bay beside the Lighthouse at
the End of the World for more than an hour.
First port side, our cabin, got and excellent view. He then turned starboard side so everyone had
plenty of time to see it and the Albatross Monument. I was watching from the Sky Lounge and then
the aft deck on 14 which is an open dining area. The best view was when the sun started to
peek through and I could get a view pictures from my balcony. Imagine drinking Amaretto Chai Latte while in
the comfort of your lounge chair, on your private balcony, and enjoying a
stunning view that few have ever seen!
The End of the World Lighthouse is on the left and the Albatross Monument to the right.
From our balcony - no blue glass just grey mist.
The fun lasted about two and a half hours and then rough
sailing started that only became rougher.
I heard that my friend, Fred, had fallen on the stairs this morning when
a gust of wind caught him as he was trying to go to Mickey’s talk. They didn’t close the decks until later. They also didn’t close the pools until later
in the day! People actually were in them
as the water sloshed back and forth and washed not only over the sides but with
enough force to spray higher than my head as I walked past. At one point I got thoroughly soaked so
haven’t walked on Deck 12 again!
In the afternoon our team was in 1st place for
Progressive Trivia. Let’s see how long
that lasts! Because it is a team
activity there is a lot of give and take.
Sometimes you are sure of an answer but someone else is equally sure of
a different one. Definitely takes some
compromise. I did win the Broadway
Trivia but I will admit part of it was luck!
There are a lot of newer musicals that I have not seen yet.
The matinee today was a juggler who had a comedic slant to
his act. It was very entertaining.
The two people we have dinner with were eating in Murano,
a specialty restaurant, so we planned to eat at the buffet tonight. Linda was feeling a little sea sick so it was
just Fred and I. It is easy to visit
with him and dinner is fine upstairs. It
is just do it yourself. Fred’s finger of
salute is wrapped in a bulky white gauze.
He sliced it as he tried to grab the rail when he fell. He also banged up his hip and is limping
slightly. The Medical Office wasn’t even
open yet when he went down this morning but a cleaning man called and they came
pretty quickly. After dinner, I went
with him to Guest Services. He wanted to
speak to the Safety Officer to find out why the door was open at one end of the
deck to let him go out. But at the other
end they were closed. If it had been
open he would not have fallen. When it
was closed he tried to go down the outside stairs to a lower deck and that is
when he slipped when a gust of wind caught him and pushed him down the
steps. He has an appointment to speak
with them at nine in the morning.
Anna has caught the ship cold and was going to have soup and
go to bed after the early show. She did
say it was very good, so after dinner, I went to the late one. I had seen the pianist – comic, John
Bressler, before on a different cruise.
He is okay but very loud. Kind of
funny. The seven piece ship band is very
good.
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