FauxNom

Yep, on the Cloud. This cruise was a Conrad Conbrink brain-child, with the most incredible event being a camp set up in the bush for an "overnight tenting experience." Hated to miss that one!

Welcome home! I'm sorry it hit you at all, but I guess home is the best place for it. Indeed, I and all my circle of friends were hit hard. It's not shocking, but so disappointing when you have to miss so many of the incredible events they produced for this cruise.

Getting old? It was in the letter we received and I believe it stands for acute gastroenteritis

I hate to tell tales, but there was a massive outbreak of gastroenteritis on the Cloud in late March, Walvis Bay to Port Elizabeth. We were not told of a precise diagnosis, though it did take you out for 1-3 days, and usually responded to antibiotics. Rumor was that AGE is rampant in Cape Town, where many about-to-embark passengers had spent time before coming on board in Walvis Bay.

What a great travel log! Thanks for doing all the work while I sit on my veranda getting sunburned. What an amazing turnaround in the weather!

PXL_20240304_173056082.TS.mp4 I very much enjoyed the hike to devils nose; felt like I was roaming the desolate moors in some British novel. It was an easy walk for about 95% of the way and those who couldn't manage it jumped on the land Rover to return. Peter Harrison (the Pied Piper of birding) encouraged people to head out to the cliff to see the albatrosses at eye level as they returned from their fishing expeditions. It was amazing--though not as amazing as the morning visit to the huge colony where I benefited from Peter's narrative on albatross behavior. He's a true asset. At devils nose, I think the birds got stressed by a lack of crowd control. The Apex birders group seems a bit more aggressive than typical expedition guests; many plant themselves in their preferred spot to take photos and the rest of the group has to clambor around. That makes for some chaos. The trail to get closer to the colony unfortunately was closed when I was halfway there; I can see the wisdom in that if some birds were stressed. One passenger broke her tibia on the morning walk, sadly. She's staying onboard and plans to have PXL_20240304_173056082.TS.mp4 surgery when she gets home to South Africa. I've seen several other falls on the muddy, uneven and steep trails we encountered that day. It's definitely an expedition! I'm a novice but will try to add a few images of that day. My video of parent feeding chick seems to be located weirdly. Sorry! PXL_20240304_173056082.TS.mp4

Amazing pics, as always. And those are some really crazy numbers - so many staying on for the crossing and so many newbies! I hope your good karma maintains its strength for the c2c; I'm getting pretty excited about joining you! Is Michael the EL? It will be good to see Matt again.

Thanks, all, for the reports on the poles. I nearly always take my collapsible trekking poles on expedition cruises - but now I won't when I cruise on the Endeavour. @southerngoose If you buy some decent poles I can't imagine they would be of lesser quality than the rental variety. In the PNW, people of a certain age use them for all kinds of local hikes, and they are great for travel.

Can someone who's recently sailed on the Cloud tell me if there are trekking poles (hiking sticks) to borrow? It's always hard to jam them into my small suitcase so I was a little encouraged when they were provided on the Endeavour last August. Maybe the Cloud has them too?

Thanks so much, Wes! Any clue about who will handle the Cape to Cape (Walvis Bay)? Michael was fantastic in the Arctic and I'd love to sail with him again.

There are definitely wet landings in the Arctic - at least on the two expedition cruises I've done there.

I did the Endeavour itinerary you mentioned last August and I am crazy about the ship. (The pool is covered with a temporary floor during meals so it's not weird at all to eat there. ) The restaurants are lovely and were uncrowded when I went; the ship was about half full. The main bar was much nicer than that on the Wind. Outdoor dining didn't happen when I cruised but I imagine they sometimes open up the grill if the weather is fine (ours wasn't). The Endeavour's definitely a cut above the Wind, which I also like a lot. The Endeavour itinerary was interesting enough to lure me in, despite having cruised on the Cloud from Kangerlussuaq to Canada a few years ago. There were some repeat stops, but it didn't matter. On both cruises the itinerary was a bit flexible by necessity; weather and seas can really impact getting to stop in every scheduled harbor. I thought the Pond Inlet cruise had more spectacular scenery and we saw more varied wildlife than on the Cloud (polar bears, walrus, narwhal, seals, whales, birds of all sorts). The Canadian Arctic is unforgettable!

True in that you don't need insulated boots. But you will need tall rubber boots for wet landings if you are on an expedition cruise that uses Zodiacs.

I had to improvise when I did this in January. I found an Indian travel agency that sells Silversea cruises and used their contact info. Nobody noticed the agency had nothing to do with my cruise.

And then there's the wine stuffed into the boots for the trip home 🙂