Ringing in the New Year
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2004
1
48
165
Trip End
Ongoing
Beagle Channel,
Chile
Sunday, January 2, 2005
It had been our intention from the onset of our travels to somehow reach Antarctica. The seventh continent was in fact what we had in mind when we entitled our travelogue "To Tierra del Fuego and Beyond", but we were still weeks and perhaps months away from Ushuaia, let alone the "beyond".
It was literally just a series of coincidences that resulted in this serendipitous opportunity. We had spent the week leading up to Christmas in Viņa del Mar, and just happened to spot British travellers Harry and Carol, who we had previously met in Cuzco, Peru. They just happened to have noticed an ad in a local paper for a Chilean Fjord and Antarctica cruise that was leaving in five days, and it just happened to be sailing from Valparaiso, a port city just ten minutes from where we were staying
01 Embarking on MV Marco Polo
. We spent the afternoon scouring the city for a travel agent who might know something about this last-minute deal of a lifetime, and only three hours later paid a mere $US 650 for a 13-day cruise worth more than $6,000!!Adrian and Tanja, who had almost reached Ushuaia, had been seriously researching the various Antarctica options for the past month, but were rather discouraged with the exorbitant price levels. We e-mailed them immediately, and within 48 hours they had boarded a flight from Ushuaia in order to join us on the cruise. Again, was it just a coincidence? We had first met Adrian and Tanja in Costa Rica where we both shipped our vans across the Darien Gap to Ecuador. Although we hadn't seen them again since, they have provided wonderful e-mail support to us since Mike's death, so it was especially meaningful to be with them at year's end.
Boarding the "MV Marco Polo"- a mid-sized ship with an ice-strengthened hull originally built for Arctic cruising - we quickly settled into our spacious "Deluxe Oceanview" stateroom, complete with queen-sized bed, modern bath and large window. The luncheon buffet that followed, brought us to the realisation that we would all be more than a few pounds overweight before disembarking in Ushuaia thirteen days hence
02 Farewell to Valparaiso
. With only 520 passengers and more than 300 crew on board, there would definitely be some pampering in store for us. Our enjoyment was tempered by the news reports just coming in of the terrible tragedy unfolding in the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean affected by the Tsunami of Dec 26th. Our hearts went out to all the victims of this devastating natural disaster, especially to our friends and colleagues in Sri Lanka where we had lived and worked for four years. A full day of cruising the South Pacific Ocean just off the Chilean coast provided time to relax in comfortable surroundings, unwind in bubbling hot tubs on the upper deck, enjoy a game or three of table tennis, catch up on some reading in the well-stocked library, scan the seas in an attempt to identify the numerous seabirds, and of course relish the fragrances and flavours of the seemingly endless gourmet meals.
The Marco Polo's huge fin stabilizers provided exceptional stability, and yet the 15 to 20 foot waves in the Pacific caused considerable discomfort, so it was a relief to make our way into the calmer waters of the Golfo de Ancud by nighttime. Next morning, the ship docked for a few hours in Puerto Montt, before setting out again, this time to pass through a scenic patchwork of blue-iced glaciers, islands, snow capped mountains, and icy waterfalls
03 Waking up to Amalia Glacier
. We were awakened early the next morning to the sounds of crushing ice - the ship was actually making it's way through "growlers" and "bergies"- small icebergs that had "calved" from Glacier Amalia, a stunning sight immediately in front of us. Our one main regret was that we had almost no sun, as cloudy, grey skies appear to be the dominant feature along the coast during most of the year. Nothing however could take away the spectacular beauty of the magnificent glacier."Ice is Nice - Glacial Geology" was an appropriate title for the first lecture provided that afternoon by one of the expedition team members. Fully qualified field guides - an ornithologist, entomologist, zoologist, ecologist, historian, and naturalist - all with previous Antarctic experience, provided interesting slide presentations on a daily basis. In addition, they were usually available throughout the day to answer questions or to help identify the abundant wildlife - there were sightings of over eighty species of birds and four species of whales during the trip!!
By the morning of December 31st, we had reached Punta Arenas, a very clean and organized port city on the Strait of Magellan. Many passengers had booked optional tours from this port, but we decided to leave the land exploration until we reach the area with our van...hopefully by sometime in February. By evening we were again cruising, this time following the path of Charles Darwin through the beautiful Beagle Passage with its stately landscape. Together with Adrian and Tanja, and with champagne glasses in hand, we rang in the New Year. It was with some trepidation that we rounded Cape Horn and headed out into the Drake Passage, as it has a well deserved reputation for very rough seas and high winds
04 Leading edge
. However, we were all eagerly anticipating our arrival on the most isolated continent - Antarctica!And the poems are still coming - this one is from friend Denise Labelle of Aylmer:
The passing days and months are eternal travellers in time.
The years that come and go are travellers too.
I too for years past have been stirred by the sight of
a solitary cloud drifting with the wind to ceaseless
thoughts of roaming.
Matsuo Basho, from the "Narrow Road of Oku"
