FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 14 – At Sea
March 18, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 14 – At Sea
The ABC’s of Islands
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 45 – Friday, March 15 – At Sea – thick clouds, rain & wind – high 55
Grytviken, South Georgia Whaling Ovens
- B – wakeup 5:00 first, then 7:00
- A – fall back asleep
- 8:45 – hot cappuccino (or extra spicy as Kim called it)
- 10:00 – School: History – Tristan Da Cunha – most remote inhabited island in the world – next inhabited island or land is farther than any place else on earth – no airport
- 12:30 – lunch – pasta bar w/fresh pasta – garlic, olive oil, onions, tomato sauce, fresh basil, chili flakes, meat sauce – cooked to order
- B – 2:00 – seas get very rough again – barf bags are back out on handrails
- 3:00 – in room movie – the Intouchables – French subtitled English – VG
- 6:45 – happy hour w/Alfredo
- 8:00 – dinner – table of 7 – 3 Brits & 2 expedition team members
- 9:45 – Liars Club – panel of 4 expedition team members are given a word – they each give the definition & brief story of how it came about – contest w/teams of 4 passengers to guess who is lying and which one is telling the truth
- C – our team tied for 1st! – AAA rating & great FUN!
Seal Pups on Tussock Grass in Godthul
FF – (FUN-fact) – The population of Tristan Da Cunha is 264. There are currently 80 families (with 8 last names) that all descended from 15 ancestors (8 men and 7 women) arriving from 1816 to 1908.
More FF – They lived without electricity or running water until the 1940’s. Then in 1961 the volcano on the island erupted and they were removed, taken to England and dumped into the middle of the 20th century for two years, before the UK deemed the island safe and allowed them to return.
Molting Gentoos
FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 13 – At Sea
March 17, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 13 – At Sea
The ABC’s of Islands
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 44 – Thursday, March 14 – At Sea – sunny w/sporadic wispy clouds – calm seas – high 49
- A – 8:15 – wake up to full sun
- 8:30 to 10:15 – breakfast w/Brits – more great conversation (this time health care)
Blonde Seal Pup
- A – 11:30 – wine tasting – reds
#1 – Pinot Noir – Napa Valley – Estancia 2007
#2 – Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley – Irony 2010
#3 – Tempranillo/Granache – Rioja, Spain – Pujanza Norte 2006
#4 – Champagne – Monopole
- A – Mike opens champagne bottle w/kitchen knife – turns bottle upside down, slowly brings it back up –@ 45 degree angle, uses dull side of knife edge, slides up the bottle & hits under the glass lip – creates smooth clean cut – (cork pops off still in the neck of bottle) – only works on French champagne bottles – definitely want to try this at home!
King Penguin Chick
- 12:30 – Greek themed lunch
- 2:00 – room R & R
- 6:45 – Pre-cap & briefing for Tristan da Cunha – recap by expedition team what we saw
- A – ice sheet we saw yesterday was B-15 F
- C – B-15 is the world’s largest recorded iceberg
- 8:15 – dinner w/Ron & Phyllis from Tarzana, CA
- 9:30 – more Alfredo on piano
- B – move clock ahead – lose another hour
FF – (FUN-fact) – The ice shelf B-15 F was a part of B-15 that broke off the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in March, 2000. At that time it was 183 miles long and 23 miles wide and larger than Jamaica. It broke into smaller pieces later that year and in 2002, 2003, & 2005.
More FF – B-15 F is currently 19 miles long by 4 miles wide.
More FF – 93% of the world’s mass of icebergs are found surrounding the Antarctic.
FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 12 – At Sea
March 16, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 12 – At Sea
The ABC’s of Islands
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Chains Used to Haul Whales at Whaling Stations
Trip Day 43 – Wednesday, March 13 – At Sea – thick clouds w/tiny specks of blue sky – calm sea – high 35
- 8:30 – wake up
- A – slept great!
- 9:00 – typical breakfast
- 10:15 – huge iceberg on port side – go outside deck 6 for viewing
- B – sunshine would have been great for seeing color variations
- A – approx half mile long by 175 ft high
- A – massive ice sheet starboard side – as big as an island – 10 miles long!
- 12:30 – typical lunch
- 2:30 – room R & R
- A – more blue skies as day progresses
- C – 7:30 – Venetian Dinner – themed masked party – (what are the chances I would get to wear my mask I got for my birthday)
- A – invited to sit w/Kate (expedition team member from Australia)
- C – Milly Johnson (cabaret show on Monday) is attending!
- 9:45 – after dinner song & music w/Alfredo
FF – (FUN-fact) – Glaciers “flow” or “creep” outward under their own weight like a viscous fluid. When the edge advances into the ocean the pieces that break off (calved) are what we call icebergs. Between 10,000 to 15,000 icebergs are calved each year.
More FF – Seven-eighths of the iceberg’s mass is below the water.
More FF – Floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent of Antarctica.
Milly & Me
FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 11 – At Sea
March 15, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 11 – At Sea
The ABC’s of Islands
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Shackleton’s Grave in Grytviken
Trip Day 42 – Tuesday, March 12 – At Sea – high 35
- B – 6:35 wake up over PA
- A – ship is leaving
- B – rock & roll starts – barf bags on hand rails throughout ship
- 8:00 – cappuccino & toast w/bp & j
- 10 to 15 ft waves – several times plates & glass ware end up crashing on floor
- A – no sea sickness
- like dancing down the halls w/o music
- 12:00 – typical lunch
- 1:30 – movie in room
- 4:00 – tea & team trivia
- 5:00 – School: Amazing Oceans – deepest place in the sea – cold water coral reefs – giant squids – fishermen’s tales
- 6:15 – happy hour
- A –7:00 – pass biggest ice berg we’ve seen
- C – 2 expedition team members join us for happy hour
- 8:30 – dinner
- 10:00 – BBC documentary on Frank Hurley in theater – Shackleton’s photographer
- A – popcorn
- B – move clock ahead – lose another hour
Whaling Station in Grytviken
FF – (FUN-fact) – Expedition ships are much smaller than other cruise ships with the Silver Explorer having only 66 cabins.
More FF – You spend a lot of time getting dressed and undressed for the expeditions. I wore silk long underwear, turtleneck, light sweater and parka with waterproof pants over ski pants, two pairs of wool socks, rubber boots, hat and gloves to stay toasty warm.
Grytviken Museum
FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 10 – South Georgia
March 14, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, South Africa – Silversea Cruise – Day 10 – South Georgia
The ABC’s of Islands
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Gold Harbor, South Georgia
Day 41 –Monday, March 11 – South Georgia Islands – Parked in Bay of Isles – stormy, snowing – high 33
- B – 7:30 – wakeup call over PA
- B – big storm coming in – all expeditions cancelled
- A – parked in the Bay of Isles – best harbor to weather the storm
- 8:00 – typical morning routine
- 11:30 – wine tasting
#1 – Sauvignon Blanc – Loire Valley, France – 2011 La Petite Perrier
#2 – Sauvignon Blanc – Valley de Bio-Bio, Chile – 2011 Eco
#3 – Sauvignon Blanc – Napa Valley, CA – Lail Vineyards
#4 – Champagne – Monopole Heidsich
- 12:30 – lunch – typical buffet
- 2:00 – School: Shackleton history – where the money came from to finance 4 expeditions – how he selected his unusual & effective team – reputation for ensuring the survival of his crew @ the expense of his own ambitions
- 3:00 – room R & R
- 5:00 – School: Whaling in the Southern Ocean – history of South Georgia operations
- 6:45 – final recap of South Georgia
- 7:30 – happy hour w/Alfredo
- 8:00 – dinner w/Daniil expedition asst team leader
- 9:30 – get front row seats in panorama lounge for Cabaret show (have only had Alfredo until now)
Gold Harbor
- 10:00 – Milly Johnson’s final show
- C – first ever for me on a ship – Drag Queen show! AAA rating!
- A –4 songs complete w/different costumes
- A – great FUN!
- 12:00 – close the bar & go night night
FF – (FUN-fact) – Penguins seek the highest ground because they get the first sun in morning and the last sun at night.
More FF – Milly Johnson is Fred the Maître’D who had a 25 year career working both solo and with groups as a drag queen. This was his first and last appearance on the Silversea Explorer. He is being promoted and will be changing jobs.
Godthul Iceberg