Along with about 60 others, we board the Chilean vessel Australis Friday evening in time to sail about 8 p.m. Our cabin was perfect, on 1st deck with a huge window to give us a great view and hearing the slapping of the waves to lull us to sleep each night. We were mostly in inner passageways so it was pretty smooth sailing. Only one evening about 2 a.m. We were told it might get rougher when we were out in more open water. I did notice when I got up during the night there was a lot more wave slapping, but I went right back to sleep.
Our first launching onto the 4 zodiac boats was to go whale watching. Humpback whales were summering in this area before soon heading up the Pacific coast to Columbia for the winter. there was one mother with her cal and several others. I wasn't quick enough to get pictures when they would flash their flukes but there was a slideshow at the end of the trip that the crew would email to everyone that had great shots of all we'd seen. The crew was very explicit and careful in their instructions about how to get in and out of the boats and everyone boarded and disembarked safely. It reminded me of our rafting trip on the Colorado River a couple of years ago with Tom, Rosemary. Bev, Larry and Betty, although it was NEVER as rough as we experienced on that trip. I remember on that trip getting bounced to the floor of the zodiac and decided it was a good idea to STAY there and I did! We just had a rope to hang onto but it wasn´t rough riding around and soon I could let go and take photos.
We came pretty close to some whales and it seemed closer than when I´m working on the Dolphin Fleet in Provincetown on the Cape because we were so low in the water! One of the crew got some great shots of the tail flukes (like a fingerprint on a whale) and they were able to call out the name of the whale they´ve given to identify them. I was never quick enough with my camera to get a good shot.
There were dolphins swimming all around, various birds flying overhead and sea lions and fur seals swimming near shore. We were out for a couple of hours and then they took us back for the next group to come out. There were only 4 Zodiacs for the whole boat so we had to do two shifts. Always to greet us when we came back was hot chocolate and whiskey if we wanted it! The only time I tried the whiskey was our next day when we landed at Pia Glacier and walked around. At the end, they had shots of the whiskey in glacier ice!! I HAD to try that! I remember Shelley Gill, a children´s author from Homer, Alaska, who frequently works with whales, etc., calling it ¨Christ Ice" because it was 2000 years old! I thought it was hilarious! It certainly warmed our insides!
There is a whole section of the Beagle Channel where there are glaciers: I learned there are "hanging" ones that look suspended on a huge rock, "marine" glaciers that calve right into the sea - so you can really sense the whole thing is moving, and the ones in between, can´t remember the name, that end with a moraine of scraped rocks at the bottom before the water. We saw one, I think it was Garibaldi glacier, that had a central moraine, where two glaciers each push from the sides and you can see a gravel stripe in the middle where stone is pushed up. We were also told the glacier isn´t actually touching the rocks underneath but a layer of melted water flows under, probably from the friction of the glacier pushing! At Pia Glacier, we got off and walked up high for a view and then sat down right across from where pieces were calving - unfortunately didn´t get to see any gigantic icebergs break off but it was cool to sit there!
Back at the ship, we cruised through Glacier Alley - Romanche, French, Italian, Dutch glaciers with appropriate drinks and food being served as we passed (this ship is top drawer!!! :) like cheese and beer for the Dutch, champagne, wine, etc. It was fun!
People on the boat: first and foremost were the two German couples who were our tablemates for most of the meals. We had spotted these two tall, I thought they were Scandanavian when we saw them waiting at the Australis office in Punta Arenas, Chile, Germans from Munich - Jutta and Willy. She was an elementary teacher, now retired, and he was a businessman of some sort. He had been widowed when his daughter was 12 and he raised her and now has a granddaughter. She married him 3 years ago, her first marriage, and they enjoyed the granddaughter together!
The other couple was in their 30s, Sebastian, a lawyer, and Martina, a secretary from Bavaria. They joked a lot about how Bavarians think they are B. first and German second! And better than other Germans! Their language is even slightly different and sometimes not understandable to other Germans. They were married last September and seemed very tender with each other! It was cute to watch! The slideshow at the end showed them kissing on the beach and everyone sighed!!! Sebastian especially had excellent English and we had lots of discussions about the law in Germany and US (his job, criminal law, is VERY different than a lawyer in US. Not all this jury trial, two judges and one other person serve as judge/jury in most cases)., differences is what the government provides for people (free health care, retirement, education from6 mos. on, etc.) and their high taxes. He had a really funny quirky sense of humor. I told him after all the wine we drank (the waiters just kept refilling the glasses as we ate and talked, especially that first elegant dinner!) I felt I began to understand their German!!! We had buffet breakfasts and lunch that were amazing! especially the elegant desserts at the lunches! Then we would order at lunch for our served dinner - usually either fish or meat dish. Patricio was our wonderful waiter each time! We all had envelopes in our room at the end to leave one tip - suggested $15/day/person - to leave for everyone in a box at reception, so we did that! Service was wonderful! But there were only 63 or so passengers and 45 crew!! It wasn´t full this trip which was lucky for us!
Another entry later!
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