Days 5-8: An Adventure at Sea

Days 5 to 8:  Onboard the ms Veendam

We spent the first two days at sea sailing from Montevideo to the Falkland Islands. We did get out on deck in a spot sheltered from the wind our first day out, and actually got a little bit of a sunburn, but that was the last of the sun we’d see for a while. The weather gradually worsened, as the winds shifted to the SW. Despite our concerns about seasickness, particularly for Lloyd, who suffers in small boats, we both did fine with the weather. We did grab the  handrail regularly, though, particularly at first.

This Google image gives a sense of how far south we were.
You can see the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay,
the Falkland islands, and the northern tip of Antarctica.
We ended up in Santiago, Chile, on the west coast,
about even with the estuary.

We enjoyed our first 'formal dinner' on Wednesday evening, the first full day after leaving Montevideo. Our group got together for a cocktail party in the lounge on the top level of the ship, the Crowsnest. It was fun to get dressed up, enjoy a glass of champagne, and of course, the meal was perfect.

Fred and Noreen, from Florida

Carole, from Oklahoma, and Gerrie, from Illinois

Jeannie, from Oregon, and Sara, from Illinois

Lyndon and Karen, from California

Julia and Betsy, from California

Revell Carr, naval historian, from New Mexico, and Patricia, from California

Mary Ruth and Bill, from South Carolina
Bill looks great in his tux!

George and Carolyn, from Oregon

Jme and Lois, from Texas

Jim, from Ohio

Our tour leader, Teresa, from Chile, with Ruth, from Texas

Mary, from California

Lloyd and Jme, fellow revolutionaries

Fred and Lloyd demonstrate the tango!

(Missing from this photo collection are Betty and Donald Timberlake, sister and brother from Tennesee and Maine, respectively. I hope that I will find photos of them as I go through later shots.)

After dinner we went to see a stage show of Broadway hits with the female singers in beautiful gowns by Bob Mackie. I found the dry ice 'smoke' that they insisted on using every night bothered my allergies, so we only went to four shows but they were very good. Brett Cave was our favorite, 'ever, ever, ever"!

from the TV ship's tracker

The Captain appeared onstage before the stage show and gave us the bad news that we would be unlikely to be able to disembark at the Falklands. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the case, as by the third morning at sea, we found ourselves in a strong gale, high seas and high swells. The skies were overcast and the temperature had fallen to 8C/46F.

My memory of the Captain’s announcements is poor, but according to our close friends at Wikipedia, where I found the Beaufort scale, a strong gale has winds of 75–88 km/h  (47–54 mph), wave height of 7-10m (23-32 ft), and ‘High waves whose crests sometimes roll over. Dense foam is blown along wind direction. Large amounts of airborne spray may begin to reduce visibility.’ That’s a pretty good description. We were having an adventure!

The Captain did describe the effects of stabilizers in controlling the rolling motion of the ship. This is a link that explains it, if you are interested. http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5382939_cruise-ship-stabilizers-work.html

I guess Holland America practices 'reusing' paper.

This photo of a what I think is a black-billed albatross gives a sense of the sea.

We were, of course, very disappointed not to be able to disembark at the Falklands. The ship has to anchor out in the bay and passengers then take long tender rides to the dock.  The waves were just  too high to allow the tenders to be safely boarded and get us onto land. Disappointing, as this was to be our only chance to see the penguins. The main place to see them, at a later stop called Punta Arenas, no longer had penguins now, as there was a bad storm there the week before and they all left! Silly birds.

One of the 'towel critters' that greeted us each evening

The Captain sent us a letter of apology and arranged for a compimentary glass of champange at dinner that evening.

Our four days at sea became a time to really appreciate the value of Road Scholar tours, and our tour companions. Instead of reading or wandering, or losing money at the casino, we enjoyed two lectures each day, each 90 minutes long. Our resident scholar, Revell Carr, a marine historian, shared information and stories about early attempts at circumnavigation, southern explorations, whaling, and all things naval. Revell has written a couple of books and has one more in the works. He made his sessions very interesting and entertaining. We particularly loved the detail about the life of these early mariners and the troubles in which they often found themselves. Revell’s sense of humor and his sensitivity were much appreciated.

We also appreciated Revell's attempts to share photos and information about 'the things that were there, even though we didn't see them". Thanks to Revell for this photo. 

Magellanic Penquins

Connecting with Friends in Montevideo

Day 4: Montevideo, Uruguay

Our first night on board took us across the Rio de Plata, a huge estuary formed by the network of rivers that flow together into the sea at this point. The fresh water is filled with river silt, and is navigable by large ships only in the the deep channels. Our overnight trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo was 134 miles, which gives you a sense of the size of the estuary.

In 2009, Lloyd visited Uruguay on a hunting trip with a group of friends. Their local hosts were wonderful people, and we were fortunate to be able to arrange to meet with two of them while in Uruguay. Gaucho and Mario were up at 5:00 a.m. to drive three hours into the city from the town of Delores. The guys went for coffee while I joined the tour group for a bus tour of the city.

Our first stop was at the city center - the Plaza Indenpendencia, I think. This photo shows a remant of the wall that once surrounded the old part of the city. It is backed with cinderblocks to maintain its stability. This was the gate of the citadel.

The cosmopolitan streets of Montevideo

Like the Argentinians, the Uruguyans feel strongly about their national heros, and we saw many monuments to their achievements. The statue and mausoleum honoring Artigas, known as the liberator of Uruguay, was the focal point of the square.

We were overwhelmed with information about the history of the countries we visited - wonderful stories but hard to remember all the details now.  We'll have to do some reading about these lively histories.

More views of the area around the square.

Lovely buildings with a European flavor

The opera house

We were also impressed with the many large sculptures in parks throughout the city. Several of these honored the gauchos who had settled the countryside with their families. They were very well done.

Detail of the previous sculpture

Another by the same artist at a second site.
They were so lifelike, you could almost hear the sounds of the struggle.

A vendor had set up a small display of mate (pronounced mah-tay) cups for sale. Some were covered as we had a few quick showers. Mate is a very popular drink in both Argentina and Uruguay. Yerba mate leaves are dried, chopped, and ground into a powdery mixture called yerba. The silver straw or bombilla acts as both a straw and a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. You could buy cups made from gourds, pottery, wood, etc. I found the taste unpleasant, but then, I don't like coffee or tea either!

Mate cups

Kapok tree

This beautiful tree is called the kapok tree. I included it because I remember my mother using the kapok fibres to stuff pillows and stuffed toys in the 50s and 60s. A nice memory.  

From the internet, of course.

I joined Lloyd, Gaucho, and Mario for lunch. They were starving, as our tour had, of course taken a little longer than anticipated. Gaucho and Mario took us into the covered area of the market across from the port for lunch. It was a fascinating area of bars and restaurants, most of which featured local barbecue. The kitchens were open to passersby, and the aromas of cooking meats were wonderful.

I get hungry just remembering the aromas!

BBQ served at our table, ready to eat.

 
We were served the local specialty drink – a ‘half and half’ – half white wine, and half champagne, which was wonderful, fresh salad and an array of sausages, chicken, ribs and a few interesting cuts of meat from parts of the animal that we were not too keen to try.

It was great for me to be able to meet these two charming men, and know that Lloyd loved the chance to have a longer visit. I appreciated the fact that they had studied English, enabling us to have a good conversation. After a brief walk through the outdoor stalls, we said a reluctant goodbye, and sent them on their long drive home.

We strolled up the street for a bit, enjoying the market and small shops before returning to the ship.

Desserts were fantastic everwhere we went.

A few shipmates here too.

The day was overcast but pleasantly warm.

The port of Montevideo was another busy one. As we pulled out of the harbour, I got a few nice shots of the city. Again, it was fascinating to watch the big cranes at work.

One story of the origin of the name, Montevideo, is that it was named
'scenic mountain' for the high bluff where the 18th century fortress
was built to guard against the Portuguese.

If you made it all the way to the end of this post, congratulations! Extra points if you're one of our kids! The next one will be shorter, I promise. (If you find a typo, it's because it was put there for you to find, honest.)

On Board the ms Veendam

Day 3: Boarding the ms Veendam

Traffic in Buenos Aires



We had a leisurely morning in Buenos Aires, and went for a short walk around several blocks adjacent to our hotel before boarding the bus which took us to the pier.

The port of Buenos Aires is a huge commercial shipping area and it was fascinating to watch the big cranes move the containers around.

This photo shows the Costa ship in the background. It seemed to attract more families, and, after Montevideo, we did not see it again, so it probably headed north to Rio. We were congratulating ourselves that we were on Holland America, and laughed later when we found out that both cruise lines are owned by Carnival!

We boarded the ship, and spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and getting to know our way around the ship.

A 'cutaway' view of the ms Veendam

The Veendam is one of Holland America’s smaller ships, with capacity for only 1200 guests.  We were on the lower promenade deck (Level 6), which made it easy to access the outdoors for photos.  Decks 4-12 were accessible to guests, and included a large two-level showroom, a smaller theatre, meeting rooms, numerous lounges (each of which provided different musical entertainment in the evening), a library, shops, a casino, spa and gym, a smallish pool and several hot tubs.

Food was available in one large restaurant, open all day, and several other options, as well as the formal two-level dining room. Our group was booked for the early seating at 5:45. As we had a number of tables, we had the opportunity to dine with all of the members of our group over the 12-day trip.

Our tables were located on the upper level.
Note the netting under the lighting. We wondered if it was there
 to catch any glass that broke in high seas.

The service throughout the trip was excellent, with almost 600 staff. We enjoyed the different animals, made of folded towels, that greeted us each night. The meals were very good, with little waiting in line at the Lido. The gourmet meals in the dining room were amazing, with four courses each night – two appetizers, an entree and a dessert. It was often hard to choose between the selections. Everything was excellent – prime rib, tenderloin, seafood, duck, great soups, both hot and cold (a favorite of mine was a cold pear soup!) – and the portions were ‘right-sized’, so that we felt satisfied without feeling ‘stuffed’.

Caroline and George, from Oregon, and Julia, from California

Barb and Lloyd with Betsy, from California

Evening meals provided great opportunities for extended conversations with our travel companions. Lots of interesting stories, and always laugher.

The Music and Dance of Santa Susana

I have posted the following short videos there for those of you who are interested:

• The Music of Santa Susana
• Santa Susana Tango
• Traditional Argentinian Dance
• Dance of ‘las boleadoras’

They all performed with such energy. It was fun to see them again. I was lucky to be seated close to the stage, and unlucky to be looking into the bright sunshine through an open door, but that's the joy of casual photography! I was not using a tripod, so hesitated to zoom in and out - thus the missing 'top of the head' when the performers moved to the front of the stage.

     The Music of Santa Susana

Santa Susana Tango

     Traditional Argentinian Dance

     Dance of ‘las boleadoras’