Cape Horn cruise Dec-2016

​

Cruise Buenos Aires - Cape Horn - Valparaiso, 6-20 December 2016

Aboard the Zaandam, of Holland America Line, 1,400 passengers and 600 crew.  There are 9 decks, with deck 5 being mostly office, formal dining room, casino etc, and decks 8 and 9 being informal dining room, bars, swimming pools etc.  Our bedroom (state room) is on the 7th deck, and has an 8ft bed, sofa, chairs, coffee table, bathroom, outdoor balcony, etc.  Susan and Iain's room is on the 3rd deck, very comfortable, but much smaller and with a non-opening porthole.  We calculated that since we has a swish room (trip of a lifetime!), they could have a much more economical room, and come up to ours at will, which works very well.  All the services, dining etc, were the same for everybody.  Even in a gale the ship didn't roll much, but I found that even the slightest movement would cause me to keel over if I was standing up, and thus  

panic.  

 

The food was very good, lots of choice, but after a week I really fancied some home cooking.  All the booze had to be paid extra for: $2 for a coke, $8 for a beer, $12 for a cocktail, $ 30+ for a bottle of wine ( with a $18 corkage charge if you brought your own).  Wifi was $55 for 100 minutes (and v.slow), various extras such as facials were $100-$300, shore excursions were $70-$500. This was ridiculous, and insulting, and the cause of much resentment.   Amber and Susan made extensive use of the gym and hot-room, Amber did a bridge course, and Iain did various Windows courses.  

 

The passengers were from the Americas and Europe, negligible nos of black people.  The average age was 70+ and the average weight was 100+kg.  The staff was mostly Filipino and Indonesian, and were completely delightful - I don't know whether this is a national characteristic or whether they send them all to charm school.  "Hello Mr McHamish, did you have a nice sleep?  Would you like me to get you anything from the kitchen?" etc.

​

On the Falklands Amber went for a wander about, and Susan and Iain met a nephew, his wife and lovely 5-year old twin daughters, and they all came on board for lunch.  He works as a social worker for the army, and they are here for 3 years.  The next stop was Punta Arenas, where ASI went into town (I had caught a heavy cold from Iain) and visited the cemetery, and actually found the interment stone for Iain's grandfather - big success.  

 

The next day we went down the Magellan channel, with lots of glaciers, then a day at Ushuaia, then in Beagle channel.  The thing is, for several days you are sailing in channels of various sorts, 2-8 miles wide, with islands, beautiful scenery, penguins and sea lions if you are lucky, on and on, it really is fantastic.  We rounded Cape Horn in beautiful weather, calm seas and sunshine.  Then up to Puerto Montt, and Valparaiso, where we disembarked.   

​

Took a tour through the town, very impressive and old-world, then on to Viña del Mar where we saw our old house on the seafront.  Much building has taken place, the road between us and the beach is now a dual carriageway, and they have removed the 3m Easter Island man from in front!  We went to the Museo Fonck, where the statue now stands, and they do mention that they moved if from in front of our house.  

 

Then up to Santiago where we looked at my old school, The Grange, whose grounds looked exactly as I remembered them.  It was there that I won the Junior Cup of Honour, and shook hands with the attendant president Ibañez, a great rival to Allende.  Then back to BA.