AMELIA GLACIER CANAL SARMIENTO CRUISING

Day 5-Friday, Dec. 19th 8:10 A

AMALIA GLACIER CANAL SARMIENTO CRUISING

8:10 AM Low cloud. Very slowly, with glass smooth water, we are sailing by the Amalia Glacier. A beautiful sight and everyone is so silent and in awe. All you can hear in the hum of the speaker as the very knowledgeable guide tells us about the glacier. I'm not sure I can remember it all, and I may be wrong of some of these things, as we did see lots of glaciers and ice, but I'll try to get it right for you.

The glaciers melt and slowly make their way to the sea ( tidal water,) called gradient glaciers. Only tide water glaciers are closest to the equator. Ice in the water if melted is fresh water. Growlers is the ice just above the water line. Earthquakes also make the glaciers move, and earthquakes are frequent here.

Large cravasses appear as it melts away. A woman sitting beside me, tells me that six years ago this glacier was much, much bigger. The rock you see, was once all covered with glacier and makes hard material called "maurain"..is what it sounded like our guide said, but not sure if its spelled correctly.
All these ice caps, where once joined together.

Pieces of ice in the water as we get closer. Small pieces of floating ice can sometimes be a big surprise as the chunks are very large and very dense, and can cause damage, however the ship can tell the thickness and easily manouvers around the big ones.


We leave the glaciers behind and everyone moves inside for breakfast or to relax. There is a trivia game, more exploration talks, fitness class (nix that one), line dancing classes, christmas crafts and just about everything else you can think of! We had great entertainment last night. Peter Fernandez, a singer extraordinaire, with a Latin Flair. Very Good!

I've decided to take a few pictures around the ship to show you, and then go to the computer class.

Work never stops around the ship for the crew. Here they are cleaning and scrubbing the outside swimming pool.

Another pretty Christmas tree.

Beautiful flowers on the table in the Queen's Dining Room, where Aline, a friend I met, and I have afternoon tea.

Hungry anyone???

Well, that's my blog for today, tomorrow Straits of Magellan!

Day 3 and 4 of South America and Antarctica

Day 3 and 4 Dec. 19 and 19/08

DARWIN CHANNEL, CHILEAN FJORDS

We leave behind Puerto Montt, Chile and begin our journey down the Darwin Channel and Chilean Fjords for two days of cruising before our next port.
Beautiful isn't it!

We are now cruising into the Darwin Channel and through the fjords. Beautiful scenery very close on each side as we cruised by, running from one side of the ship to the other to capture every incredible bits of beauty. The breathtaking Chilean fjords, fed by glacier ice from the ice fields in the central highland valley , are laced with active tidewater glaciers. The powerful "show", however are evidence that the ice is melting at an alarming rapid rate. Just a little more thn a century ago, when naturalist Darwin saw the narrow Chilean passages, he reported far more ice. Warming cycles are natural, but there is now evidence that human acitivity has accelerated the process.

The weather forecast was to be bad weather, but instead, it's beautiful and warm. There are whales here, lots of birds and dolphins, although I haven't been lucky to see one. Many birds, called Cormorants and Imperials. There is a very ugly bird called a Petrol, that is like a vulture. If I can remember the story right, if Darwin's men where causing problems, and we're to be punished by death, they would rather have something heavy attached to them before being throw overboard , because the Petrol's would just pick you to bones. They would follow those old ships waiting for something to eat on! I wish, I had copied down more interesting tidbits as our commentator spoke, but can't snap pictures and write at the same time.

Look at that very calm sea, beautiful blue sky. The long, fjord-studded archipelago is one of the planet's most inacessible, pristine and stunning places. The ship does not dock in the region, it's beauty is certainly a big highlight of this cruise.

Every twist and turn the ship makes as we travel the Darwin Channel is beauty upon beauty! This is also the tailbone of the Andes range.

I mean.....just look at that!!! Incredible!! We have an incredible speaker, Chris Fisher, who speaks on the loud speaker on the deck to point out different places .

Mostly uninhabited except for very few salmon harvesters. Puma is the main predator here and opossum. Too cold here for cougars or bears or deer.
Many of these islands remain unnamed, so I picked one and it's now called "Linda Island" I forget which one now!

Not sure what this was on the shore, maybe a marker or one of the salmon harvesters.

I think that might have been sea lions laying on that rock, but my camera wouldn't zoom any closer, and my binoculars where in our cabin! Somebody told me later it was sea lions.

Getting darker now, however, it sure stay light for a very long time!

Now coming into the Amalia Glacier Canal for a day of cruising. But first Breakfast in the Lido.

Note: To make it much easier to add photo's, which have to be adjusted and fixed and moved and it's frustrating as all get out, I'm going to end this blog here and make a new page for the Fjords. I have company coming any minute anyway...stay tuned, I'll get it done today.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Day 3, Wednesday, Dec. 17/08

They change the mats in the elevator with the day of the week, so we tourist, know what day it is. The days quickly roll into each other quickly!

PUERTO MOTT, CHILE

Snow covered mountain is called Mt. Osormo. The Fujiyama of South America

How beautiful can scenery get??? Puerto Montt marks the official end of the beautiful Lake District of Southern Chile. It is a city amidst snow-covered volcanoes, lush jungle ferns, hot springs, forested hills and narrow fjords. It has been known for years as "the end of the line", whether travelling by railway, dirt road or highway. For the most part, it remains so to the present day.

The region was heavily settled by German immigrants beginning in the mid 19Th century. The area is famous for delicious sausages, cakes and pastries. With a current population of 130,00, Puerto Montt is well known as a fishing enter.

We are Tendered to shore(in life boats) as the ship couldn't dock there at port. The center of town was a mile away, but we where told that a very nice vender's market was a short distance away to the left of the port. (Besides, the store's in town don't open until 10 am.) So we set off walking, wearing far too much clothing and it was VERY HOT!! The area left much to be desired and we really we're not too comfortable walking there.

A pretty place, with lovely scenic views.

Walking some pretty shabby looking street, hunting for vendor's market.

A store window we looked into. Must be Gaucho's around here!

Tom never fails to flirt with the ladies! I bought a beautiful alpaca, carmel coloured cape here, for $20.00 American, that I love and it's so toasty warm for those cool places on the ship and the climate we are about to visit.

It's HOT, and Tom's leg is beginning to hurt, so we decide we better return to the ship.

Our home waiting for us!

This was a better idea! Tom choose the hot tub, and I did hot tub and pool.....lovely!!!

Tom isn't sure how to work the new camera, so I waited and waited and waited for him to click it!

Puerto Montt from the rail of the Amsterdam as we prepare to sail away

Goodbye...Farewell......

The rest of the day was spent, reading, sitting on the deck in deckchairs and t hen of course eating another delicious meal. We went to see who was to entertain us tonight, and it was a, so-called comic. I didn't laugh at any of his jokes, just wished we could have left. I think most people felt the same way!!! The rest of the trip, we had fantastic entertainment!!

Some interesting tidbits of information: This is the area where the 11Th show of The Amazing Race was held in this area, right down to Ushuaia

The casino is not allowed to open at all while we are in Chilean waters! Chilean Customs regulations.

More sea days tomorrow, so get set for some beautiful scenery from the Straits of Magellan.

TWO DAYS AT SEA

DAY TWO....AT SEA ON CONTINUED TRIP...

We don't really see much the first two days at sea, just serene sea's and exploring the ship, so I'm just going to show you the pictures on my camera until we get to the next port.

The was a beautiful clock that ran right up the middle of the ship, and was run by cogs and wheels. Absolutely breathtaking! So much detail. Once in awhile, but not always, it would chime and all the wheels would move and was really interesting to see.

Just some picture's around the ship. The first sea day is a day to rest up after our long trip. We wandered the ship, picked out some good reading material from the Library, and watched some people in the pool, but wandering through on my second day, (I think Tom was reading in the Library), I sat at the pool on a lounge chair and had the most wonderful sleep! Just what I needed!! Energized again, I discovered the Techspert (Computer Lab), where you could learn how to make web pages and movies. I'll attempt to make one after I get my blog finished with the trip...if I can remember how!! Then I met Aline, a nice lady from Ontario, and we went for afternoon tea. What a life!!

Tomorrow, I'll skip to Day three, Dec. 17th, when we reach Puerto Montt, Chile and the beautiful scenery begins.

Bye for now!