Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica :: Day 1

Antarctica Day 1 :: We got to the Palmer Station around 9am and we picked up some of the American researchers who are studying in Antarctica. They stayed on board with us all day until we dropped them off in the evening. They gave a few presentations in the Showroom at Sea about their work at the Station and a few of their findings.

There are no words to describe the next three days that follow in Antarctica. I took close to two thousand photos and none of them come close to the beauty and majesty of The Frozen Continent. 

One thing I was very surprised to discover is the overwhelming amount of wildlife down there. It was impossible to look out at the sea and not see some kind of wildlife. Penguins, Seals, Birds, Whales... everywhere we looked we'd see something swimming in the waters or flying in the air. 

My classes, for the most part, were suspended and we spent the next three days dressed in boots, jackets, hats and gloves standing out in the cold with our cameras desperately trying not to miss anything. At times I would put my camera down and simply stare out at the scene before me. The solitude, quietness, serenity and beauty of Antarctica is was a challenge to capture in true form on camera. I will cease my words for now and let my photos do the rest of the talking:

Palmer Station Researchers, Antarctica

Palmer Station Researchers Embarking MS Prinsendam, Antarctica

View from Deck 7 Aft, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Penguin and Seals, Antarctica

Seals on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Seals, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

MS Prinsendam Traversing Ice, Antarctica

Seal on an Iceberg, Antarctica

Our ship actually bumped into this seal's iceberg, waking him up from a nap. He was dazed and confused and finally slipped into the water as we sailed past him.

Gentoo Penguin, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin Porpoising, Antarctica

Gentoo Penguin Underwater, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

You can see there was quite a lot of ice in the channel and we were lucky to be able to push through it and actually traverse the entire channel. Most ships have to turn around and go back out the same way they come in.

Whale Tail, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica

On our way back to the Palmer Station to disembark the researchers, I was out on deck and happened to see some whales and got this last photo of a Whale Tail reflecting the sunlight. This was the first time I have seen a whale's tail and couldn't have been happier. Perfect ending to a very special day.

Punta Arenas and Penguins!

Hello Friends! 

I am going to skip over a few port days in order to show you my Penguin and Antarctica Photos right away. This post is about Punta Arenas, the most southern city in Chile. It also happens to be the first port I was assigned to. HAL flew me down to here in April 2013 where I was awaiting to join the Veendam. Unfortunately, the ship couldn't come into port so I had to fly to Puerto Montt to embark. Anyway, needless to say, I have spent a number of days in this port and I wasn't even going to get off the ship. But I figured a walk would do me good... So I grabbed my camera and coat and boarded the tender. 

As I'm sitting in the tender it starts raining and I think to myself that I should have left the camera behind. So I stuff it in my coat and wander around the town, receiving odd looks from strangers because of my bulky jacket lol. 

I wandered down the boardwalk beside the sea and noticed there were a lot of black and white birds, PENGUINS??!! no. just Cormorants... But they did look a lot like penguins from far away.  I took a number of photos of them playing in the water and decided to walk back to the ship and take a nap. 

On the way back to the ship I ran into three of my fellow crew members and they asked me if I wanted to come with them to see the penguins. "YES!!" I immediately responded. So the four of us got in a cab and drove an hour away to a Nature Reserve. We got out of the car and were faced with the bitterest of wind chills. The walk was about half a kilometer to get to the beach where the penguins were swimming in the water. 

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins Drying Off :: Penta Arenas, Chile 

These penguins are called Magellanic Penguins, which is fitting, seeing as they are found in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan.

Penguin in a Log :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Some of the penguins even had their eggs here on the beach. In the photo below you can see a spotted egg which she is sitting on. I imagine the penguin in the photo above is also sitting on an egg in the log. 

Female Sitting on an Egg :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Kissing and Holding 'Hands' :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

I wasn't expecting to see penguins in this type of environment. I always thought penguins lived on icebergs and hardly ever came on land. But in fact they only hunt in the water, the rest of their lives are spent on land. Some of their burrows were quite far from the water and they have little pathways from their houses to the beach. 

 

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile 

 While they are walking through the taller foliage you'll see them keep peeking their heads up to see what's around them. Every few feet they will do this. Pop up and take a glance around, then keep going.

Peeking Out :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 We never saw a penguin by himself. They always walk in pairs or groups from their burrows to the beach.

Penguins Walking to the Beach :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguin Friends :: Punta Arenas, Chile

Penguins :: Punta Arenas, Chile

 Oh... and we also saw FLAMINGOS at the same time?!! I thought these were tropical birds and yet here they are, in the same nature reserve as the penguins. Go figure!

What started out as a pretty sad uneventful day in Punta Arenas turned out to be the best experience so far on the cruise... that is of course because we haven't been to Antarctica yet!! Stay tuned for those pics up next!!! 

St. Lucia

After Antigua we sailed to the beautiful island of St. Lucia. Once my morning classes were finished Lisa and her parents and I took a taxi across the island to Marigot Bay. On the way we stopped at a look-out point and took some photos of the harbour and our elegant MS Prinsendam

It took us about thirty minutes to drive to Marigot Bay and we stopped once again above the bay to take a few pics looking down at it. We then got in a little ferry and crossed the harbour and had lunch on the other side of the palm trees. Service in the restaurant was on 'island time' and we had to rush to make it back to the ship on time. But the weather was perfect, the scenery was picturesque and the company couldn't have been better.  

Waiting for our food!! 

I have so many pictures from this day, but I think these are some of the best ones :) Enjoy! Now I have to set up for class. 

Antigua

First stop that I got off after Half Moon Cay was Antigua. I had never been here before and I was anxious to see another Caribbean island. When we walked off the gangway we saw a local band playing steel drums for us. Really set the tone and made us feel like we were in the tropics! 

Once we got outside the terminal we wandered around the streets until we found the church, which was rundown but the statues outside of the gate to the church were preserved and I got this photo of John the Baptist. I think I remember Lisa telling me these statues were important or interesting because they were looted from another ship once upon a time.. but I may be wrong ... I'll have to ask her again :) 

Next we walked through the market place, which was basically just the main street with vendors set up on either side. I found a really cute sign that said "Credit Makes Enemies" Thought that was a good motto to live by :) Lisa and I bought fresh Bananas and an Avocado, which were both AMAZING. Walking past the PUBLIC MEAT MARKET was a little bit stinky lol and I was aghast to see a man with his bare hands in a tub full of fish bits stirring it around... it was gross I didn't take a picture of it lol. I did take this pic of the scales and some dead fishies below.  

After the Market we walked back to the ship and looked at all the little fishing boats and nets that they were using. 

And of course Lisa had to take a pic with the pirate :P 

Ok, Goodnight for now, I'm going to go to Lima Peru now and try not to get mugged, haha Finger's Crossed! 

Half Moon Cay

The Holiday Cruise started off with a stop at Holland America Line's own private island in the Bahamas. I had not been there yet and couldn't wait to get off the ship. The water is even bluer than I imagined and the beach was filled with the most gorgeous white sand.  I did bring my camera and I took a few photos, but I must say most of my time on the island was spent swimming and enjoying my friend's company.  ;)    

A very rare photo of myself... !

Needless to say this is definitely a paradise island. I think "The Bachelor" should film a show here!! hahaha I'd say it's romantic enough. 

Panama Canal Transit

Good Afternoon Friends! 

I know it's been a while since I've updated my blog of travels, but I'm going to do my best this time to keep things updated. The good news is that the internet on the ship is considerably faster than it used to be so hopefully this will not be as much of a challenge as it was before...

This contract I'm off on a Grand Voyage around South America and Antarctica! Our first stop was Costa Rica and I was excited to get off the ship except there was a little bit of a delay for crew immigration and I decided it was a better use of time to have a gym/spa day than to wait around trying to get off. So the first pictures I have from this trip is from Crossing the Panama Canal! I have already transited the canal from Pacific to Atlantic Ocean on the Veendam (1st Contract) and this time I get to go through the locks from the other direction. This time crossing the canal is really special because it is the 100th anniversary from when the locks were built in 1914. 

I took photos all day long and I'll start with my favourite photo from the day. Lisa and I, and the rest of the entertainment team, were at the back pool socializing and taking pics as we went through the last locks. The sun was setting behind us and the Frigate birds were swooping and diving and flying all around us. I managed to snap this picture of a female Frigate bird with the sun in the background. One of those times when photographic magic happens :)  

Early in the morning I held a Techspert Time on the back deck to help guests take photos while we were going through the locks. I took this pic of the container ship behind us being lined up to go in to the lock. You can see the doors opening and the tugboats pushing it into place. 

These little train-cars, called mules (because back in the day it was actual donkey-mules doing the pulling), keep the ship in place while the water fills or empties out of the lock. You can see the cable from the mule to our ship. The driver of the mule was really friendly and waved at me when he saw I was taking a photo.

Going through the last locks the Cruise Ship, Azamara Quest, was beside us and I managed to get this picture showing how the mules are hooked up. 

The Show Host, Matt, took a time capture with his camera from the bridge of our ship. He set up his camera to take a picture every minute or so and then put them all together really fast so it looks like a movie. He showed it to me yesterday and I'll get a copy from him, basically our entire day of transiting the canal down to 3 mins or so!! it looks so unbelievably cool I am really hoping to be able to post it on here. The perspective of us rising and falling in the locks is really captured when you watch a sped up version of our transit.


Ok, I'll start working on the next batch of images! (obviously I have a million and one from this post alone, but I can't share them all unfortunately) Ciao!!