HENRY NOWICKI
29 JANUARY 2002
HENRY NOWICKI
29 JANUARY 2002
The Ryndam, is the first Holland America Line vessel to voyage to Antarctica since the Rotterdam figuratively broke the ice in successfully visiting the Antarctic two years earlier in its round the world trip.
The Ryndam has received good reviews and its 21-day itinerary to the Antarctic Peninsula proved irresistible so it was off to explore the extreme southland the easy way.
It took two years of planning and arranging approval for such a large ship to visit the Southern Ocean and the Ryndam probably set the record for the most visitors to Antarctica at a single time. The Antarctic Treaty, now signed by about 44 nations, in effect restricts entry into the area without governmental approval.
Ten days before the voyage, Argentina's president resigned and riots in the streets in Buenos Aires did not bode well for the ship's visit to the nation's capital.
Looming problems notwithstanding, the flight from Miami to Rio de Janeiro was excellent and a few days were spent enjoying Copacabana, Corcovado and the Samba. Rio has to be my favorite port from every aspect.
Fri 4 Jan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Embarkation in the early afternoon permitted exploration of the ship with still time to enjoy some of Rio's many fine attractions. Fortunately, the ship stayed overnight in port so another evening in the exciting city was possible.
Sat 5 Jan Rio de Janeiro departure 1730. Leaving Rio is as interesting as arriving at this unusual port setting. The granitic knobs, such as Sugar Loaf, seem to be replicated along the shoreline and this is only true of this part of the coast. I visited Brazil three times last year and I never seem to have enough.
Sun 6 Jan at Sea. There are always more activities onboard than there is time for them so a selection has to be made but that still involves conflicts. So many good lectures, so many meals or should I say food encounters and so little time for exercise and naps. But one has to make the best of it and carry on through the day.
Mon 7 Jan Montevideo, Uruguay 0800-1800. The very European city of Montevideo looks as if it had been frozen in its development about thirty or more years ago. It is pleasant with a sort of old world charm for the most part. I enjoyed walking along the waterfront and into the downtown sections with some visiting of the local attractions such as the Gaucho Museum.
Wed 8 Jan Buenos Aires, Argentina arrival 1900. This huge city contains all the elements of a great city. The turmoil that unseated a string of presidents in a relatively few days had eased but the banks were still closed while the ship was in port and the new devalued currency was not yet available so everyone used dollars for most purchases. The ship stayed overnight which fortunately permitted a visit to the late evening Platforma tango show which was outstanding.
Thur 9 Jan. Buenos Aires departure at 1600 was a quiet affair. The Rio de la Plata is a dark brown body of shallow water and the exit from the port is along a marked channel that is in excess of 115 miles.
Fri/Sat 10-11 Jan at Sea. Two days between ports was just about right as some serious enjoyment of the ship and its facilities had to be pursued. I found the pools to be largely empty so I did spend some time in the water. The Antarctic team of three very experienced polar veterans kept a steady stream of information coming our way and it was all very enjoyable. Incidentally, we invited all of them to dine with us and they dutifully did so thus multiplying their contribution to our involvement with these polar topics. As they explained, like it or not, we will all be Antarctic experts when we get back home.
Sun 12 Jan Stanley, Falkland Islands 0700-1300. Tenders were used to ferry the passengers from the ship to the small port of Stanley, the capital of the British Dependency of the United Kingdom. The islands had been the scene of a short British-Argentinian war and fenced off minefields still remind one of the incident. Why the islands could not have been divided in half with the western large island going to Argentina and the eastern large island going to the UK and thus avoiding a fruitless war is something I cannot understand. Local inhabitants say the British pretty much ignored the islands before the war and are now ignoring it after the fracas. Argentinians still think they will eventually get it under their control. In any event, life is very quiet there now and a visit by a large vessel is still a huge load for the limited facilities of the place. I went out to nearby Gypsy Cove to see if I couldn't spot some King Penguins; however, only a relatively few Magellanic Penguins were to be seen.
Mon 14 Jan. The Drake Passage southern crossing was a bit rough with Force 11 winds of up to 55mph and 30-foot seas experienced towards the end of the crossing.
Elephant Island, one of the most northerly of the Antarctic islands, was approached at 2230 (sunset 2123) altlhough there was still light to present a very dramatic scene with broken overcast skies and a forbidding shoreline. The accounts of Shackleton's unfortunate adventures on the island had been thoroughly discussed by our Antarctic team and the island seemed to be the perfect place for a marooned party.
Tue 15 Jan. With the extra time it took to transit Drake Passage, the ship altered course missing Paulet Island and made straight for Hope Bay, the northeasternmost point on the Antarctic continent, and Esperanza Station At 1500, this Argentinian research station was approached and its buildings along with a large penguin colony were easily observed. The penguins swimming in front of the ship were one of the most pleasant sights. The wildlife observations, incidentally, were few and far between. I saw one whale, two orca, a few sea lions on the ice, a lot of penguins and various seabirds and that was about it. We had been exhorted to watch for this and that but little wildlife was in evidence. It did not lessen the experience but more sightings would certainly have enhanced it.
Wed 16 Jan. The previous night was spent transiting Bransfield Strait, bypassing Deception Island, and arriving at Neumayer Channel at 0800. The scenically attractive Lemaire Channel was negotiated about half its length before ice required the ship turn around and retrace its path at about 1330. This was the southernmost point of the trip which was about 90 miles to the Arctic Circle and almost 1500 miles to the South Pole. Paradise Harbor was entered about 1830 and the rest of the evening and all through the night the ship loitered near Anvers Island and Palmer Station.
Thur 17 Jan. The morning saw us off Palmer Station at 0800. This is a US research station at the curious geographic coordinates of 64 south and 64 west. A team of five station personnel came aboard to give a fascinating account of the polar research, mostly biologic, being conducted in the area.
Time did not permit visiting Petermann Island but the selection of routes and places visited was very fine under the circumstances.
Fri 18 Jan. The Drake Passage northern crossing was relatively easy although there was trouble brewing to the west. Two days later the winds whipped up to 100mph and seas to 50 feet!
Cape Horn was approached at 1930 (sunset 2200) and a slow cruise-by was ordered. The gentlemen in their formal attire looked like penguins at the rail and some of the best pictures of the cruise had them with Cape Horn in the background.
Sat 19 Jan Ushuaia, Argentina 0700-1300. This is billed as the southernmost city in the world; however, when and if Puerto Williams, which lies just southeast of Ushuaia on the Chilean side of the Beagle Channel, grows into a city then that title might change hands. Ushuaia is an Argentinian naval base and a duty-free port with its principal activities dealing with wool, forestry products, fishing and tourism.
Leaving Ushuaia in the early afternoon westward along the Beagle Channel one soon encounters a half dozen glaciers after passing the Argentinian/Chilean border on the northern side of the Brazo del Noroeste. The rest of the day is spent transitting the many canals between islands as the ship makes its way northward to Punta Arenas.
In the evening the ship presented a version of the musical revue Copacabana which was delightful. Incidentally, the cruise director Lynda Konarski did an excellent job and her training as a stand up comedienne kept her in good stead during the three week program.
Sun 20 Jan Punta Arenas, Chile 0700-1900. Currently, Chile's most southernmost city, Punta Arenas is located on the Strait of Magellan about half-way along its length. It deals with wool, fish and petroleum primarily and its tourism has been growing largely due to its proximity to the spectacular Towers of Paine (Torres del Paine) National Park. I took a taxi around the city and up past the duty-free zone to the north to take a few pictures as it was a lovely day in the southland. The ship was moored close to the center of town and one could easily walk to the main central square and its attractions.
Mon 21 Jan Cruising the Chilean fiords. Except for the vegetation, this coastal area of islands, fiords, waterfalls and glaciers is much like Alaska and indeed the climatological conditions are very similar. Heavy snow from the moisture-laden onshore winds keep the snowfields and their glaciers well fed and vigorous. Leaving Punta Arenas first southward then westward through the Strait of Magellan and finally turning northward through a series of channels up to Amalia Glacier, the ship arrives at the same latitude as the Towers of Paine which itself is only some 30 miles to the east but over a mountainous continental divide. The approaches to the glacier were strewn with brash ice and growlers but not too much of an impediment in getting close to the attractive glacier face. After departing the scene in the afternoon, the ship negotiated a series of channels between rather high cliffs and peaks and finally exited into the Pacific proper via Trinidad Gulf. The night was spent heading due north along the Chilean coast.
Tue 22 Jan Cruising Darwin Channel. The ship leaves the open Pacific, heads eastward through Canal Darwin (Darwin Channel) and eventually turns northward in the inside passage to Puerto Montt. The entire day is pleasantly spent looking at islands and headlands of the continent.
Wed 23 Jan Puerto Montt, Chile 0900-1800. The port, which depends heavily on fishing and forestry, is a busy and growing city that has a large number of visitors passing through it enroute to the nearby lakes, mountains and islands. I had been there at least four times before so I limited myself to a taxi ride around the city to look for photo opportunities. Some long walks helped my disposition.
One of the stage production numbers, entitled Romance on Broadway, was offered in the evening and was very enjoyable as were all of the larger stage shows.
Thur 24 Jan at Sea. Tonight was the farewell variety show which featured three of the headliners and was excellent. For my part, I could have stayed aboard for another 21 days but that was not to be.
Fri 25 Jan Valparaiso, Chile arrival 0800. The ship was at the downtown pier very early and I was off by 0930 which permitted rental of a car and an early start to explore the Vina del Mar/Santiago area for a few days but that is another story.
The cruise was splendid from my point of view. Weather was key and we had good days when we needed them. A little overcast and rough waters in parts of the Drake Passage were to be expected but they were not out of the ordinary and caused a minimum of discomfiture. All in all, it was a most enjoyable voyage.
Voyage Log (nautical miles):
Rio de Janeiro/Montevideo 1,027
Montevideo/Buenos Aires 149
Buenos Aires/Stanley 1,140
Stanley/Elephant Island 573
Elephant Island/Hope Bay 202
Hope Bay/Lemaire Channel 223
Lemaire Channel/Anvers Island 46
Anvers Island/Cape Horn 554
Cape Horn/Ushuaia 133
Ushuaia/Punta Arenas 268
Punta Arenas/Puerto Montt 1,109
Puerto Montt/Valparaiso 636
Total = 6,060 nm or 6,969 sm
General Cruise Information.
World Port Directory.
Cruise/Travel Accounts by the Author.
Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved.
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