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Trip Start Dec 02, 2010 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 28, 2010

  Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina
Thursday, December 16, 2010

As I have pointed out previously, we've had a slight change in plans en route. With the storm hitting Tierra del Fuego with unprecedented harshness, visiting Ushuaia and going around Cape Horn was out of the question.  We retreated into the Chilean fjords and tried to stay out of harms way.  The Captain, or Commandante as he likes to be called, tried to make up for the missed events by taking us through some fjords and past some glaciers that can only be seen from a vessel.  The roads on the Chilean side of Patagonia are rather scarce.  So much of nature’s beauty is hidden from the casual traveler’s eyes.  It takes a Captain with understanding and concern for his guests to go the extra mile or through the extra fjord in this case.  However, as soon as we got into wider waters, i.e., the Magellan Strait, the winds grabbed the Silver Whisper and tossed her about.  When we turned the corner to head north, the gale’s full force hit and locked many a soul into its cabin’s bathroom. 


Fortunately for me, I was totally unaffected, stomach-wise.  Granted, it was a bit difficult moving around and getting down the hallways without appearing to be three sheets to the wind.  But I think it might have been a combination of things at work. Making your lips meet the edge of the glass with the drink in it, was difficult.  Believe me, I tried hard until I got it right.  But that sea sickness business, I really don’t know what its all about.

Due to the storm, and with the missed cruise around Cape Horn and visit to Ushuaia, we had a little extra time on hand.  We actually were at sea for four days before entering Puerto Madryn.  Our Commandante keeps referring to it as Puerto Madrid.  I am sure the Welsh are not in the least amused.

This would be the perfect time to elaborate on the stock characters crowding a cruise ship, but I’ll have to restrain myself as somebody aboard the vessel (notice the correct wording!) has discovered my blog and is reading it.  He came up to me after one of the evening shows waving two pieces of paper and asking me whether this was mine.  At first I assumed he thought I had lost or left behind some papers in the theatre.  I took a closer look and realized it was my blog about the storm he had printed out.  Nothing like being put on the spot!  I did feel slightly embarrassed as I did not expect anybody but my friends to read my blog, but this fellow had obviously searched the Internet for the vessel’s name and had stumbled across the report.  He announced that he was going to hand it over to the Captain. 

After the first shock had subsided, I thought about the consequences this might have.  We (Timmy and I) stood a good chance to be asked to leave at the next port of call, or worse, we could be abandoned and marooned on one of the little uninhabited islands in the fjords.  Nothing of the sort happened and confusion reigned supreme when we returned to our respective cabins and found an invitation to the Commandante’s table for the next evening.  To keep the suspense at a minimum: we still don’t know why we’ve been invited to dine with the Captain.  He never mentioned a word about the blog.  But then that could have been a direct result of the couple who was also invited. 

Dare I say that money speaks and sometimes incessantly?  In this particular case it was more like diarrhea of the mouth.  I finally had to interrupt—I am sure they thought it quite rude, because they never acknowledged me again throughout the trip—and hand control of the conversation over to "il commandante" who gladly obliged and gave us a full account of how he became skipper and why.  Did I mention Somerset Maugham?

It could have been the perfect moment to point out the stock characters, but it’s a bit risky and it will have to wait until the storm blows over.

With weather steadily improving, we finally made it to Puerto Madryn where we all had great hopes of finally seeing some whales, particularly orca or southern right whales.  On December 16th, we were told that the whale season had ended on December 15th.  As if clocked, all whales had left the area and the orca’s wouldn’t be in until the elephant seals or sea lions gave birth.  Rather disappointing.  The closest I came to spotting an orca was an accidental sighting of a Commerson’s dolphin as I was standing on deck trying to capture one of the petrels on my camera.  They are very fast swimmers and shot across beneath the ship before I could even think of taking a picture or run to the other side.

Here are some of the things we did see:  armadillo (who’d of thunk?), guanaco (again), Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum—looks and sits like an oversized hare but walks like an antelope), a burrowing owl (reminded me of The Exorcist the way it turned its head) some sea lions and a few juvenile elephant seals.  Magellan penguins were the attraction at the last stop on Valdez Peninsula.  The chicks still had their fluffy feathers and had not been introduced to the sea yet.  Most of the burrows were quite a bit inland and if the nesting places hadn’t been marked by students and game wardens, it would have been very easy to trample some of the chicks to death.  These penguins have no fear of human beings and won’t move.  They don’t like you to get too close or they’ll defend their territory with a nasty flick of their hooked beak.  From the point of view of photography, however, it was absolutely great to get so close to the animals without really disturbing them.  But, and this is crucial, you also have to develop a resistance against the stench that permeates the colony.  All said and done, it was an interesting shore trip and I’ll just have to come back and do it all in my own time.  I did touch the foot of the bronze indio in Punta Arenas.  According to local legend, you return if you do that. 

One creature I did not mention yet: the snake digesting an elephant.  For those of you who read “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, you will immediately know what I am talking about.  The rest of you, I am afraid, are grown-ups.

There is a narrow isthmus connecting the Valdez Peninsula with the mainland.  In the northern gulf (Golfo Nuevo) there is a small island that resembles the drawing Saint-Exupéry made.  Knowing that he flew his postal planes in these parts of the world and across the Andes, it comes as no surprise that the locals claim that his inspiration came from that island.  And if it ain’t true, it certainly is a good story.

We returned to the ship just in time for our daily trivia quiz, which is turning into a fierce competition for prize points.  Though we know we’ll only get a key chain or a T-shirt at best, it is pride that is beginning to get in the way. 

And talking about entertainment: we got a new act on board.  She was supposed to join the crew in Ushuaia, but obviously couldn’t.  The acts that were supposed to disembark in Ushuaia, were captive on board. Even though the flutist (not flautists, because he is a James Galway student) and the pianist are not accustomed to play together, they put on an extra concert of classical music.  By his own confession, the flutist was literally under the weather due the constant and obstinate pitching and rolling of the vessel.  So “Bravo!!” from me.  It was a lovely concert and above and beyond duty, especially when considering the circumstances.

I did not mention yet, that December 16th was Timmy’s 20th birthday.  As he was the youngest guest aboard and his uncle did not miss any opportunity to mention the fact, several people began to scheme. 

It all began with a relatively harmless pre-dinner cocktail in some newly-acquired friends’ grand cabin.  They had been upgraded to an owner’s suite because their cabin had sprung a leak.  To be exact, the toilet had sprung a leak.  So remember, if you’re on a cruise, give your toilet a good kick and wait for things to happen.  Of course, this only works on cruises where not all cabins have been booked, otherwise you may have to share a cabin with a crewmember. Then again, looking around… oh, never mind.  

The cocktail was followed by an extraordinary meal (as always aboard the Silver Whisper) with the dining room staff and guests in the dining room singing “Happy Birthday”, and then a show.  Sally Jones, the new entertainer had been tipped off by our cruise director Susan Wood and Timmy was introduced to the twenties of his life sitting on stage, with a feather boa wrapped around him and “Happy Birthday” being purred to him in Marilyn Monroe style.

Of course, he was the talk of the ship after that.

I had absolutely nothing to do with it all, but I have it all on camera.

When Timmy got to his cabin after all the festivities, his seating section had been turned into a birthday shrine complete with cake, candles and a bottle of champagne by the butler and the cabin attendant.  Not a bad way to turn 20, methinks, and, yes, we are being spoiled rotten on this trip. 

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