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| Lori has a cold! |
Falklands Disappointment…..Friday January 16, 2015
After 2 sea days to get from Montevideo to Stanley in the Falkland Islands…..we were anxious to get off the ship and go on our tour to see the penguins. After a day and a night of bad seas (lots of seasick people) we were still hopeful that we could tender off to the town. But a little while after we had anchored the captain came on the loudspeaker to say that the seas were too rough and we would not be able to get off.
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| So near yet so far...there is a cache right there! |
In some ports the ship can go right up to the dock and we can get off on a gangplank but in other ports the bay is too shallow for large ships to get in and so they have to tender or use smaller boats to get off the ship to get closer to a dock that we can get on to to get to land. But the waves were still quite choppy and the ride from the ship to the land on the tender would have been 20 to 25 minutes. We didn’t think the waves were too bad until they came on the loudspeaker again to say that we would be anchored outside the harbour for a few hours as there was a medical emergency. They sent a boat out from Stanley and we watched from our balcony….the little boat took a long time to get even close to our ship because of the rough seas. I guess that is why the captain is making the decisions on this trip and not the passengers!!!
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| waves from our balcony |
Anyway now we are on our way to the Antarctic!!!! It will be a total now of 9 days before we are back on land. We keep very busy going to the trivia games (we are going to 2 to 3 games a day with different people), going to the gym, reading, meeting people, going to the entertainment in the evening (musicians, dancers, comedian, magic) all very good.
There are lectures about the Falklands before we arrived there, and now at least 2 lectures a day about different aspects of the Antarctic by a team of experts that have worked at various stations there. We have heard about the penguins, the stations, some of the scientific projects that are going on there, the geology, the Antarctic treaty and how it is the most amicable treaty in the world.
So with the money that we saved from the tour we didn’t go on and because we were going to use wifi in Stanley to send out the blogs….we broke down and got internet on the ship. I am going to add the email that Lori sent her friends and family. The pictures are really slow to load so......
Hi everyone,
I'm writing this note, probably before any of you are up, from just off the shore of Stanley in the Falkland Islands. There will be no shore tour for us today. So we have paid the piper for internet connections to let you all know we are okay.....if we didn't send this, it would (will) be ten days at sea before we get to another port.
Pam is updating the blog, so you can check it out for photos and our shenanigans in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Our hikes in Brazil and at the falls seem like a long time ago!
The time on the ship has been wonderful. We've met people from all over the world, and it seems that everyone on this voyage is up for adventure, just as we are. (Erin...there are 4 (FOUR!) children onboard; the kids' programmer has it pretty good on this voyage!)
There is a team of three Antarctic scientist specialists on board, and lectures are offered twice per day. They are very interesting and technical, but we are enjoying them. I did not know that there was so much to know about ICE!
Food has been good, and we have been using the gym. Amazing but true! Trivia....we won one night (with our worst score, even) when the venue was mis-identified on the programme, but hey, a win is a win!! Mostly we are close, but not quite so smart....our team consists of a couple from Nashville and a couple from the eastern seaboard....just can't remember where.
The library here is wonderful and lots of people use it. This ship is smaller than most, and we like the size of it. No lineups for anything, and a very comfortable feeling.
We left Montevideo in the rain, but the sailing has been smooth. It was two full days and nights to get to here in the Falklands. Last night was nice and "rolling," although it did not feel like it was high seas at all. We were somewhat disappointed when (after we were all ready in our winter clothes) they made the announcement a short time ago that we would not be able to tender due to high seas and winds, both of which were predicted to increase throughout the day. We weren't sure if this was "lazy" or warranted, but one step out onto our verandah, and we knew!! So we just sat and counted our blessings, and both reiterated how lucky we were to be here at all. Both of us have "seen the penguins" elsewhere and there are some more opportunities in other places later on the itinerary. A sad face at not being able to get a cache here, but that's small potatoes...AND we will get a refund for the tour! (More casino time!)
The wind is so strong that one of our two anchors will not hold the ship. The captain (a very cool and personable, "out there" guy) came on and said we would not be leaving right away as hoped, since there was a medical emergency on board and it was beyond the realm of treatment here. A medical evacuation team was on its way. Pam and I stood on the verandah for quite awhile watching it.....and it was even clearer why we weren't going in! The boat was just being thrashed about like a toy. And that is on the protected side of the ship! It has taken well over an hour to connect, and they have just set off. Imagine getting this close to Antarctica and having to leave. Ouch. Another couple had to leave while in Buenos Aires as well, before we initially set sail.
It's been really fun just people watching here, too! We have met quite a few BC people (Vancouver, Tsawwassen, Cranbrook, Kamloops). There is a man travelling with his stuffed bunny that he has introduced to everyone and takes everywhere, including meals. Lots of nerdy people like us, but so far we have not connected with the super-nerdy geocaching type!!
I have had a head cold for a few days, but on the mend now....just as Pam is starting!
We have been given instructions to NOT go out on the deck, to put away all loose items in our cabins, and to make sure we have proper footwear on at all times. The stormy weather is picking up, and the captain has assured us we are in for an EXCITING ride down to Antarctica.
I don't know if we should cheer or cry!!!
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