Category: Overseas Travel

Life onboard the MS Zaandam

After we booked the cruise and had paid in full for it, I finally got around to looking up reviews for the boat. I wasn’t expecting anything horrible as we had enjoyed the cruise on MS Zuiderdam so much. To my shock, there were reviews like this and this and this. What the hell had I done? So I was very worried that this was going to be a costly mistake and then some.

But it turned out that the complaints made in the review I found here were nothing like the ship we found or our experience of it. The MS Zaandam is a beautiful little ship, very tastefully decorated and with a better layout than the Zuiderdam. Continue reading “Life onboard the MS Zaandam”

Iguazu Falls

These falls are famous, and if you’ve ever seen a wildlife documentary about South America, you’ll have seen stunning footage – most likely taken from the smaller but less spoiled Brazilian side. And most likely taken a long time ago, or in carefully selected spots, because what you hardly ever see in footage or photos is just how filthy the water is, from top soil being washed away from denuded rainforest, or how degraded the forest close to the falls is. (It’s clearly all secondary forest, and that together with the constant presence of humans at least at this time of year, explained the absence of monkeys.)

But bearing all that in mind, Iguazu Falls is a mind-blowing place. Not as mind-blowing as Antarctica, but still one of the wonders of the world. To get there from Buenos Aires, one has to fly, and the flight we took was unpleasant because of shitty passengers, a pretty nasty ‘snack’, and turbulence. (The return trip was worse because we were put in a row without air vents, and that, combined with the turbulence in which we were in a holding pattern for far too long, made me vomit from travelsickness for the first time since I was ten. Not fun for me or those around me 🙂 )

The other complication as I mentioned elsewhere was that I had a badly sprained ankle (torn ligaments and all), so even though there are some lovely flat walks and we were there for three days, I only saw the scenery close up on the third day. Consequently, Doug took almost all the photos you’ll see below. I didn’t mind because walking in 34° heat with 99% humidity isn’t really my thing anyway, and this was the view from our balcony (the one with the self-locking door, ask me how I know!) Continue reading “Iguazu Falls”

Birds which are not penguins

Most of the birds (which were not penguins) we photographed, we could identify. Some we could not. These are the ones we could, and the photos of which don’t suck too much 🙂 Sorry about the out of focus on a couple of the tightly cropped pictures. If you don’t agree with the identifications, please let me know! Continue reading “Birds which are not penguins”

Glacier Alley – what Doug did on his birthday

‘Glacier Alley’ is the nick name for an area of the Cockburn and Beagle Channels which run the Chilean Fjords towards Ushuaia, where we docked for the afternoon. But in the morning of Doug’s 65th birthday, we cruised through this. The reason for the nickname is pretty obvious. It was overcast, which in some ways was the perfect light for this kind of thing. Some of the glaciers have names. Who cares 🙂 Ice, rock, ocean, it’s all good. (But if you want a slightly more detailed travelogue, this post offers more.) Continue reading “Glacier Alley – what Doug did on his birthday”

Antarctica – Day 4, January 2

Advised Schedule:

  • 6-10am Hope Bay/Antarctic Sound

When I looked out the window about 6.30 am, the visibility was nil, the wind was blowing a gale, and it was raining. So I went back to bed. By the time I got up again, the captain had abandoned the attempt to enter Hope Bay on account of the dangerous conditions (the wind was blowing the ship sideways), and was headed to Elephant Island, where he hoped we could see the Shackleton memorial. Unfortunately the weather was shit there too.

But, all was not lost because this was the day of the whales! And what we lost in scenery, we more than made up for in cetaceans, so in fact, it was yet another wonderful, if bloody cold, day in Antarctica. Continue reading “Antarctica – Day 4, January 2”

Antarctica – Day 3, January 1

Advised schedule:

  • 7 – 8am Deception Island/Bransfield Strait
  • 10.45am McFarlen Strait
  • 2pm Maxwell Bay
  • 4.45pm Admiralty Bay

Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, and though it’s a safe harbour and home to a huge colony of chinstrap penguins, it’s also grim and creepy (especially on a gloomy day). We had indifferent weather the whole day (justifying again, if necessary, the captain’s decision to come down early). Still, dramatic scenery, and a reminder that Antarctica is a continent of many different landscapes and influences. Continue reading “Antarctica – Day 3, January 1”

Antarctica – Day 2, 31 December

Advised schedule for Day 2

  • 7am Palmer Station
  • 10am Le Maire Channel

We were supposed to return to Palmer station to drop off the manager whom we’d picked up in the morning, but because there had been a risk of Palmer being iced in, an alternative plan had been set in place, bringing the manager’s replacement with us from Santiago. So that morning the two had swapped over, and the existing manager, due for leave, simply continued with us the rest of the trip. That allowed us to spend more time in the Gerlache Strait, visiting Paradise Harbour (only just ice free enough for the Zaandam to enter) to see penguins, and visit Cuverville and Enterprise islands. Continue reading “Antarctica – Day 2, 31 December”