Photos of Antartica , Patagonia and a South American cruise

[scubacruiserx2]

We are coming into the season for South America and Summer in  Antarctica . We were there Christmas Day in Usuaia ( almost ) and left Antartica on New Years Eve on the Zaandam . So for all who have been , are there , or are going this thread is for you from a Navy Veteran or Veteran's Day . And to the other Vet's   Happy Veteran's Day .

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[OlsSalt]

How nice to see the penguins in their dress uniforms for this special day.

Baked Alaska in the Officers Mess for them.  

 

But what looks like chinstraps, they just  might be in ANZAC veterans

We celebrate them all. 

[scubacruiserx2]

36 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

How nice to see the penguins in their dress uniforms for this special day.

Baked Alaska in the Officers Mess for them.  

 

But what looks like chinstraps, they just  might be in ANZAC veterans

We celebrate them all. 

 

 They certainly dress better than we did , but I was only enlisted .

Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, at 5:45 am^[1] for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 although, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division,

We used to wear poppies as kids but you don't see that much in the US anymore where we live .

[scubacruiserx2]

 Here's the inside of my dress blue wool jumper with the rate and rank patch on the sleeve . The Navy called us a Hospital Corpsman . President Obama referred to us as a " Corpseman " several times in a speech and at The Camp LeJeune Marine Base where I was stationed they called you  " Doc " , if they liked you . It was just as Vietnam was winding down and the Yom Kipper War heated up  .

 

 

We were preparing to deploy when it ended . But it seems like some things never change .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War

[scubacruiserx2]

A T-shirt , the cruise profile and an odd couple . Double click on the photos to enlarge .

 

 

 

 

And a midnight sunset

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Map doesn't show the Falkland Islands or Puerto Madryn

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[OlsSalt]

Wow, you get South Georgia too. Fantastic.

Sign me up!

 

[scubacruiserx2]

5 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Wow, you get South Georgia too. Fantastic.

Sign me up!

 

 

Sorry but we didn't make that one but Falkland and Puerto Madryn were excellent . 

[scubacruiserx2]

The first trip was mainly Chile in  November 2006 but we had a great group and made some friends for life . Not the best time to cruise as it is Spring .The NCL Dream . We boarded in Valpariso after flying over night on LAM . We also returned over night and our passports were conficated when we boarded and returned the night before the cruise ended .

 

 

Port of Valpariso boarding and return

 

 

 

A great farewell lunch here

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The Chilean fjords and a snowy glacier

 

 

 

 

A snow covered Volcano

 

 

 

Inside the first glacier

 

 

 

The photos are from film prints and are photos taken by a digital camera to share online . Douuble click photos to enlarge .

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We entered Glacier Alley before entering Ushaia , Argentina where we spent the night .

 

 

 

 

 

Ushaia - The end of the world and the beginning of everything says the writing on the wall

 

 

Up the ski slope in Ushuaia

 

 

And a King crab dinner

 

 

[Haljo1935]

10 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 They certainly dress better than we did , but I was only enlisted ...

From the child of Navy Vets with Navy Vet grandparents, thanks for this thread, the great tribute to Veterans everywhere and for your service. 

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

From the child of Navy Vets with Navy Vet grandparents, thanks for this thread, the great tribute to Veterans everywhere and for your service. 

 

 Thank you for sharing that and thank them , if you can for us . Were they career vets ? If so it had a lot of challanges for you with moving so much and absent family during deployment . My father did 6 years as a Radioman flying in PBY Boat Planes in the Pacific during WW II . 

 Well , it's time to finish # 1 of 3 trips .

 Sad to say that 2 bloggers that also have " Live " threads currently missed The Falkland Islands - Prime Penguin viewing today . November was not our best month to go but , but like the first date with my future wife of 45 years , we wanted more after our first encounter .

 

[ottahand7]

Thanks for sharing your photos.  We were just there in January and February this year.   I love all the sunlight you had.   We had very little sunlight from when we left Peru until we got to Puerto Madryn.   We will go back next time it is offered in the winter (GSA).   

[scubacruiserx2]

On our second day we walked around the city a little and did a cruise around bay in Ushuaia with our friends from the Isle of Mann that we met on Cruise Critic .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The last photo I took was with my first digital camera . It was an underwater SCUBA camera from Sealife and I sent a copy to them and they used it in their adds .

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

7 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

Thanks for sharing your photos.  We were just there in January and February this year.   I love all the sunlight you had.   We had very little sunlight from when we left Peru until we got to Puerto Madryn.   We will go back next time it is offered in the winter (GSA).   

 

 You're welcome . And thank you for writting in . Our DIL is from Peru but we have never been there . We have only been to Chile , Argentina , and Columbia . Feel free to share photos if you would like but we are targeting mainly the South of South America/ Antartica as we are coming into their season , while waiting for our next cruise in May .

[scubacruiserx2]

 We were very busy at home as our daughter became a single mom . She wanted to become a nurse and she lived with us with our grandson , Tyler and her younger sister . Ty didn't know his father and he became like our 4th child and we stayed very active with him , more like parents and still are to this day even though he just turned 21 . Boy are we old ! 

  Our return to crusing South America was in 2013  Santiago to Buenos Aires this time with a planned visit to Patagonia after the cruise . It also had a stop in the Falkland Islands . We couldn't afford Anartica but we had a window cabin on the Zaandam this time so let's go .

[scubacruiserx2]

  Well our visit to the Falkland Islands was cancelled ( after full payment of course ) and Puerto Madryn added .

 To cut to the chase , we also returned to SA with Antartica and The Falkland Islands in 2018 /2019 over Christmas and New Years Eve . This was also on the Zaandam and we stayed 9 days in Patagonia before the cruise in a Neptune Suite . It made quite a difference . With the poor weather that the Zaandam has encountered and the miss of Stanley today , we will forgo our usual format and skip to photos The Falkland Islands - dedicated to the Grand South American Antarctica Voyage and all of those who have missed the Falklands and or Antarctica .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Once again double click to enlarge . En route we encountered a double snowbow , maybe a lucky sign ?

 

 

 

Aproaching land

 

 

 

Anybody for the beach ?

 

 

Lifeboats deployed

 

 

Nearing shore

 

 

 

Our guide and ride

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 We went with one other couple and another vehicle like the one pictured to Volunteer Point with Estancia Excursions . The first couple of miles were paved .

 

 

Then gravel

 

 

Followed by gravel and rocks

 

 

 

After an hour's ride we entered the Johnson's Harbour Farm for another hour's Bumpy ride of 12 miles over hilly turf to VP .

 

 

Farm Ahoy !

 

 

The car park

 

 

Next:The Penguins

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 And there they were . There was some uneven ground and small hills and holes which our guide called Jacka** holes . The burrows where the Magellanic penguin make their homes . Many people become so enraptured when taking photos that they trip or step in the holes harming the chicks , the parents or themselves . He gave us the strict rules that they remove people who harass , imped or cross the circle of rocks around their space . Several would head down to take the plunge at the ocean and you could walk with them . Look but don't touch . We headed for the Kings first , almost waist high tall . We could see the bulge under some but no visable eggs or chicks yet .

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to the rock circle

 

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Kings will be kings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by scubacruiserx2

[MicCanberra]

Great pics Joe. Whetting my appetite for next year's trip.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Great pics Joe. Whetting my appetite for next year's trip.

 

 Thank you Mic ( and Rosie ) . We hope that doing well and getting healthy . And also that your cruise goes well and that you have good weather and safe travels .

 Cruise Critic has seen fit to move my thread but hopefully it will help others and there will be more photos today  . We found some on Photobucket that haven't been seen yet , so it's almost like they are new . 

  Our last trip was to Hawaii and Yosemite where we saw tons of snow ( almost 2 meters deep ) . It was for our 45th celebration of marriage . If your guide tells you to drink the pure , clear , cold water - don't ! I did and got diarrhea so bad that I lost 45 pounds going to the toilet 10-12 times a day ! 2 doctors and no amount of Pepto or Imodium would stop it . I developed an different infection that caused my left pinky to swell up by 50% and so I went to a clinic where the doctor gave me some steroids which stopped the swelling and some antibiotics to help . Long story short , in 2 days both problems were fixed ! Thank God for medicine and health care people and my health is back to normal .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 The Kings were sitting on the eggs but the Gentoo were hatched

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by scubacruiserx2