Final Thoughts On Cruising

We have finished our Holland America Zaandam South American Cruise.  This blog post represents a chance to reflect on our first cruising experience and our thoughts going forward.  It is also a chance to post some shipboard pictures that didn’t fit into previous posts.

We didn’t venture into the notion of cruising with high expectations.  We knew the South American choice was the correct one since we went to places not easy or possible to reach by car.  What we didn’t know was whether we could handle being with so many people and the inevitable waits in line-ups that were inevitable.  Here are our thoughts in no particular order of importance:

We are glad we chose a small ship.  The Zaandam only holds 1500 passengers and it was not sold out.  The waits were minimal whether it was going to dinner or ashore.  We always had a choice whether to dine alone or share tables (and conversations) with others.

One of Three Formal Dinner Nights

Our Favourite Wine Steward - Rose.

We Took Most Evening Meals in the Dining Room

We are glad we chose a cabin with a veranda.  Folks say you don’t spend much time in your room but actually, we did.  A window is a must but if you can have a veranda it makes the room so much larger.  To enjoy the passing sights from a comfortable deck lounger is a big advantage.  We experienced cold weather on this cruise but we still sat outside with a ship’s blanket and binoculars looking at the shore scenery or searching the ocean for other signs of life.

We Kept Two Bottles in Our Room for Pre Dinner Drinks

We are glad to have taken shore excursions.  In addition to learning about new things, it is also a chance to interact with folks from different countries and cultures.  Initially, we thought it would be wise to book excursions with companies not related to the ship.  Savings on costs in the neighbourhood of a third off are not uncommon.  The problems with private tours only surface when there is a problem.  In Punta Arenas, we booked an island penguin tour.  We weren’t able to go due to bad weather.  If it had been private we would have lost our monies.  When I lost my wallet, the ship’s tour company made the effort to retrieve it.  A private company would not have been able to get it back to me.

We are glad we paid for the ship’s internet package.  Regardless of how bad it is to be so dependent on the internet, it was enjoyable to sit down with my coffee each day and read the Vancouver Sun and keep up our travel blog for future reference and reminders.

We are glad we opted for the full laundry service – clean and freshly pressed clothes were a small but delightful travel luxury. Wearing our underwear inside out, for multiple days was never necessary.

We are glad the voyage took a full two weeks.  We think it gave us a better picture of shipboard life and what it would hold for us in future years.  The long days at sea between ports didn’t seem long at all.  The ship is a small city and there are lots of things to do.  We were able to exercise in the gym, go to movies in the theatre, lose our money in the casino, listen to music in the various bars, choose which venue to eat in, sit in the library to read or play games, and attend lectures and entertainment shows on the main stage.

Lots of Flowers & Art Throughout the Ship

Forward Deck Pool

Customer Service Always There To Help

Ledo Rear Deck Pool

We are simply glad we chose to go on a cruise.  We don’t think it is going to be a regular occurrence in the next few years but it will be in our less active future, certainly to go to places we are not likely to see by flying in for a destination visit.  The cruise to Alaska comes to mind.  There were folks on this cruise that were just short of 100 years old.  There were folks confined to wheelchairs.  Cruising is doable for those still keen to travel but lack the patience for self-guided travel or the mobility to do so on their own.  Sometimes it is good not to have to make any decisions except when and where to go for dinner.

The following are decorative towel pics created by our two excellent room attendants, Heri and Rio.

This One Creeped Me Out After a Night of Wine

Our Room - 6th floor - Port Side

Montevideo

Around 60 hours after leaving the Falkland Islands we tied up to the pier in Montevideo, Uruguay.  The trip was fairly smooth and we even got in some sunbathing on our deck on day two.

Arrived in Uruguay

Not too much to report on Montevideo.  The weather was dry but the winds were so strong we had to walk around holding our hats.

Windy - Many Ties For The Zaandam

Montevideo is a seaport located on the Atlantic Ocean, west of the mouth of the River Platte.  There are 1.4 million folks living there making it the largest city in Uruguay.  Uruguay only has 3.5 million people living in the entire country.  I still don’t understand how they beat Canada for the third (and last) Americas spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Waves Were Crashing Over Roadway

The area was first settled by the Portuguese but Montevideo has been held and developed by Spain, Brazil and even the British over time.  Many of the original European inhabitants emigrated from Spain’s Canary Islands.

We only had one day in the city before we departed for an overnight voyage to our final port call, Buenos Aires.  We had to be efficient so we left the boat and hopped on the Hop On bus for an overall city tour.  We returned to the ship for a quick break at noon and returned for an afternoon self-guided walking tour.  I wanted to visit the Andes Museum to pay my respects to the young rugby players that lost their lives in a plane crash in the Andes en route to a game in Chile in 1972.  I was playing rugby at the time and was a similar age to many of the victims.  Unfortunately, it was closed but I’m glad I went to show my respects just the same.

Andes Museum For 29 Rugby Players That Perished

I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

National Soccer Stadium

Half Sunken Ships Fill the Harbour

We visited the Museum of Uruguay History.  It had great artifacts but was completely lacking in English translations.  Still enjoyable but it could have been so much more.

National History Museum

We finished the day walking through the markets before reboarding the ship for a cruise up the river to Buenos Aires.

Mate Cups For Sipping With Metal Straw

Asado - BBQ Meat of All Kinds

Dancing In The Street

Uruguay - First Country to Legalize Cannabis

Theatre Turned Into Bookstore

Perfect City to Ride But Too Windy

The Mercado Was Lively

The Falklands

Downtown Port Stanley

We visited Great Britain yesterday.  We woke to blue skies, warm temperatures, and calm seas as we anchored off Port Stanley, located on East Falkland, one of the two main Falkland Islands.  A visitor is immediately struck by how much Port Stanley looks like a seaside English village.  The town has 4 pubs, 11 guesthouses, 3 restaurants, 1 fish & chip shop, and at least two red telephone booths.  Government house was built in 1845 and the Christ Church Cathedral represents the Anglican church.  There are very few roads but lots of Landrover 4x4xs.  People follow tracks of their own making when traveling about to and from their farms. 

Christ Church Anglican Cathedral

1887 Guesthouse

Ross Road River Front - Mainstreet

Speaking with locals and ship’s crew, apparently, we visited the Falklands in the best weather possible, better than some of them had ever seen.  Sun in the Falklands is a rarity.

Our goals for the Falklands visit were two-fold.  I was eager to find some locals to hear how they liked living on the Islands, and their perspective on the invasion in 1982 by Argentina, and the subsequent liberation by Margret Thatcher’s British Forces.  Deborah was there to see the Penguins.

The Falkland’s or Malvinas were first discovered by the Dutch in the 1500s but have been settled periodically by the French, British, Spanish, and Argentineans throughout history.  In 1982 the contentious issue of ownership came to a head when Argentina invaded the islands.  Seventy-four days later the British Liberation navel force retook possession of the islands.

Argentina and Great Britain are still at odds today. Argentina still includes the Islands on their territorial maps.  There are no direct flights to the Islands from Argentina and Argentina reluctantly allows only two flights to cross Argentine air space from Chile each week.  The people of the Falklands voted 99.8% to remain a British protectorate in a recent plebiscite.  There are 1500 UK troops permanently stationed on the Islands.

Unemployment on the Falklands is near zero.  Tourism, sheep-wool farming, and fishing keep the 3000 locals thriving.  Young people can access free flights and university tuition at UK schools upon graduation.  Many return to make their homes on the Islands.

Since observing Penguins was the first priority we signed up for one of the ship’s official tours to see the Rock Hopper Penguins on Lisa Murrell’s farm.  We had a smooth tender ride into the inner harbour and our shuttle bus met us at the dock.  We were driven out of town a few miles (remember we are in the UK) to Lisa’s farm.  We were reloaded into 4X4’s for the half hour journey to see the penguins.  There was no road.  Four vehicles set out across the peat bogs and sheep pastures for a bone-jarring 40-minute ride to the ocean edge and the Rock Hopper Penguins.  There are various penguin varieties on the Island but these little Hoppers must be the cutest.  They may be slick acrobats in the water but these little guys waddle along until met with an obstacle whereupon they two-foot jump to clear the obstacle.

Caravan Across the Sheep Pastures

70 Miles of Fences on Lisa's "Small" Farm

The Rockhopper!

This Pair Was Taking Care of Two Eggs

Deborah's Goal Accomplished!

The Penguins’ mate for life and we were fortunate to see many of the mating pairs’ eggs that they take turns tending.  Each partner makes the slow journey to the see twice a day to feed on krill before climbing the cliffs to rejoin their partner.

On the journey out to the cliffs, Bruce was our 4X4 driver.  Bruce has spent all his 78 years on the Island.  When he described locations on the island he referred to so-and-so’s farm or house.  I asked him why he chose to live there (diplomatically of course but essentially, why would you choose to live on this treeless, windswept, cold, island in the middle of nowhere).  Bruce looked at me as if to say “what a stupid question” but kindly replied, “because its home”.  I asked him about his memories of the invasion.  He said that it caught everyone by surprise.  They went to bed one night and the next morning there was an Argentinean flag flying over the town.  After the shock wore off he said he felt personally humiliated.  He was confined to his farm and the townies to the recreation hall.  He didn’t suppress the fact he is still bitter.  I asked him about local casualties and he said he had a friend that was killed.  A British shell killed her.  BBC Radio had instructed folks to shelter in dugouts until the invasion bombardment had stopped.  She left the dugout when the shelling stopped but there was a single late coming shell that exploded over her roof and killed her with shrapnel. There were over 250 British soldiers and nearly 650 Argentineans killed in the conflict.

The Telegram Received by the Town's Leaders from the UK in typical British fashion:  "We have apparently reliable evidence that an Argentine task force could be assembling off Stanley at dawn tomorrow.  You will wish to make your dispositions accordingly."

On the return trip, I had a chance to quiz Lisa, owner of the farm.  Lisa is sixth generation Falklander.  Her paternal lineage extends back to the 1840s when her ancestor came here when Britain was trying to populate the island.  Her other ancestor was a cabin boy who was washed ashore in a shipwreck.  Lisa calls herself a pioneer of small farming.  Her sheep spread only numbers 10,000 acres.  Her parents bought the small farm when the government subdivided all the 100,000-acre farms in 1980.  Poor wool prices and the advent of tourism led her to the penguin tourism business she enjoys today.  The penguins had always been there but were taken for granted. 

Lisa - Sixth Generation on the Falklands - Her 8 grandchildren will represent the 8th.

Lisa remembers the war as a 14-year-old girl.  She just remembers being shocked and being isolated on the farm.  She remembers being joyful when they heard about the liberation task force leaving Britain.  Her farm is still littered by some of the 30,000 land mines left by the Argentines.  Today contract workers from Zimbabwe still come every summer season to find and deactivate the mines.  Some areas are strictly off-limits to humans but the sheep and penguins are able to walk freely through the minefields.

The Falklands feel very British.  There is Falkland Pound currency pegged at the UK pound. We dropped into the local pub and bought a pint.  Beer costs about $11 Canadian a bottle so it is a very expensive place on the Keys Economic Indicator Scale.

Bought a Pint at the Globe Tavern

At the end of the day, we tendered back to the ship just before a cold fog bank rolled in from the sea and obscured our vision of the retreating Island as we set forth to Montevideo, Uruguay.  (At the exact time both Bruce & Lisa predicted).