Circle South America with Slinkie and Grumpy

[jhannah]

Wow, wow, wow! What a wonderful adventure (even sans cabin heat.) The wildlife must be amazing to see.

 

Thanks for keeping us close by!

[Aussie Gal]

Grumpy,

 

Fantastic descriptions of your time down south. It is bringing back to me so many wonderful memories of our voyage there in January, 2006.

 

I am looking forward to reading more when you next post.

 

Jennie

[Blue Eyes]

I have been enjoying your wonderful journey. I bring up Google Earth and flip back and forth following your voyage. It is great to see even the small ice bergs in the water. Seems strange that you are going to Cumberland on the South Georgia Islands. My hubby and I were just there several weeks ago and I did not see any ice...oh, my bad...we were on Cumberland Island off the coast of south Georgia, our home...thanks again for the travelogue..

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Great to hear from you again - hate to tell you that the weather at home is around 80°. Of course we get to see the usual lizards, birds, and an occasional snake ... I'd rather be watching penguins. Made me think of that great documentary, "March of the Pengins."

Have safe travels.

Your very jealous Big Sis!

[PalmBeachMom]

Grumpy,

It is so fantastic to read your posts! Thank you for all your efforts. I am enjoying the cruise along with you. I am very familiar with that PRDM "shudder" but always thought it was the thrusters turning the ship sideways, so I learned something new today! Keep having fun.

[arzz]

Grumpy -- thank you so much for taking the time to share --- I am really having a spectacular time revisiting my favorite part of the world!

[Ides of March]

Grumpy:

 

Am really enjoying your blog, as is Grux, especially as you are now describing what we experienced in 06. I hope you made it ashore in South Georgia as hobnobbing up close and personal with the penguins and sea lions was a highlight of our cruise. I remember the mantra used by the pax ie "Grytviken is sh**-kicken"

 

I went back and reviewed my blog and we only got to 65 degrees 5 minutes and we were told that was darned good so at 12 minutes and change you were very lucky. Was that in Lemaire?

 

Who is your ice pilot? Captain Toomey? Our cruise was Captain Gundersons first to antarctica and he was a bit miffed when Toomey inferred that the GC was unfamiliar with bergs and the like. Interesting if they still sail together.

 

Cant wait for Rio.

 

Ides

[mariner]

Grumpy,

 

Glad to see you and S are back at sea.

 

Please give a donation in my name at the Ocean Bar and ring that bell in the O.B.

[Grumpy1]

February 1, 2008, Sea Day, Day 30, continued

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Prinsendam continued on a westerly course away from the planned visit to Hope Bay across the Bransfield Strait toward King George Island. At one point John mentioned that Prinsendam was only about twenty miles from the point where Explorer struck ice and sank last November. Not wishing to befall a similar fate, Captain Gundersen kept a sharp eye on the sea ahead and nimbly steered around the icebergs. He also knew that everyone wants to get close to the wildlife and brought the ship pretty close to a large bergie bit that was a resting place for eight seals, three penguins and one bird. They all seemed to be coexisting in harmony on their patch of ice and ignored that strange object with all of those funny creatures that was sliding by them. Prinsendam continued on and she sailed into the harbor of King George Island and John pointed out all of the research stations from several countries that are located there. Many of them are manned year around, others are only manned in the summer months. There was a small ship, probably a supply ship, in the harbor and small boats could be seen ferrying back and forth from the ship to one of the stations. Prinsendam didn’t get close enough to get an identification of the ship. The research stations range in size and complexity from one lone cargo container belonging to Ecuador to the very extensive, multi-building Polish installation.

-

After completing the harbor tour, Prinsendam headed back out to sea and turned north toward Elephant Island. The afternoon was spent watching more rafts of Adele penguins imitating porpoises, an occasional seal bobbing along and marveling at the size of some of the icebergs that were all around. Slinkie and Grumpy were at dinner as Elephant Island came into view, so they missed most of the commentary about the experiences of Shackleton’s crew when they were marooned there. It was also starting to get dark and some cloud cover was moving in so viewing was good but not spectacular. After dinner, Slinkie and Grumpy spent some time in the Crow’s Nest watching Elephant Island slowly disappear before retiring for the night. What could have been a very boring day of sailing around in the fog turned out to be one of the best days of the Antarctic Experience, thanks to the willingness of the captain to be flexible and change plans when necessary.The movie, “March of the Penguins” was shown in the lounge, but the first viewing was at 6:45 (too early) and the second was at 8:15 (dinner time) so Slinkie and Grumpy missed it.

-

February 2, 2008, At Sea among the bergs, Day 31

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Groundhog Day! Grumpy saw his shadow, but isn’t sure what that portends for the future weather. Whether or not Punxatawny Phil saw his shadow has not yet been reported and Grumpy isn’t going to waste his internet minutes to Google it. The only significance that event has for Slinkie and Grumpy, living in Florida, is that the snowbirds might not migrate north as quickly if the forecast is for a long winter.

-

Prinsendam sailed east by northeast on a course toward Cumberland, South Georgia Island. There was a “mandatory” briefing for those wishing to participate in the “shore excursions” there. Three choices are being offered. The easy tour is a tender ride and an opportunity to step onto the dock and look around before returning to the ship. Slinkie chose that option.The second option is a one and one half hour visit to the museum and church. The third option is the museum, church and graveyard which will take two and one half to three hours. That option will go along paths that should pass by penguins and seals at fairly close range. This is Grumpy’s tour of choice. Although there were many species of flora and fauna introduced by man in the years when the island was a whaling station, the emphasis now is on not doing anything that will introduce any other species. No more than 300 people are allowed on the island at a time and each small group must stay together and not stray away from the designated group leader. It is unusual for a ship as large as Prinsendam to be allowed to visit, but her previous visits have been without incident. That, plus the fact that lecturer John Splettstoesser has lived on the island in the past, made it possible to get a landing permit.

-

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching mammoth icebergs float by, many of them as large or larger than Prinsendam. There were quite a few whale sightings, but most were at a distance where all that was seen was the water spout. A few were close enough to see the body of the whale as they surfaced, but Grumpy didn’t see any tail flukes like he has seen in Hawaii and Alaska. He thinks these whales need a little training in showmanship. By the end of the day, the icebergs were getting to be fewer and fewer and, officially, the Antarctic Experience has come to an end. It has been magnificent! If you haven’t been there and have an opportunity to go, don’t pass it up.

-

Grumpy had heard that the mother of Social Hostess, Lucy, is an avid reader of CruiseCritic, albeit an anonymous reader, and that Lucy was looking to meet Slinkie and Grumpy. Grumpy figures she wants to make sure he doesn’t write about anything that she doesn’t want mom to know about. Slinkie and Grumpy had met Lucy at a reception or two but she only knew them by their passenger manifest identities, not their CruiseCritic identities.

Tonight was another formal night. The ship was decorated in an Antarctic theme with hundreds of penguins around the dining rooms and the ocean bar. Grumpy was decked out in his “penguin suit” along with many of the gentlemen on the ship. The white chair covers were in place in the dining room and snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Grumpy noted that his table for eight was set as a table for nine. His waiter, Andy, said that an officer would be joining them. Now that is always good. Not only does it liven up the conversation… although table 112 always has some pretty lively conversations… but the officer signs the bar tab at the end of the meal. Well, the normal eight were seated when the guest officer was escorted to the table. Hey! That’s no officer, that’s a very lovely young lady that just sat down beside Slinkie. Thus Lucy met Slinkie and Grumpy. She plied them with wine throughout the evening and it was Grumpy’s pleasure to chat with her and get to know her. Lucy’s mom, you’ve raised a fine daughter. Don’t count on Grumpy to spill the beans about her wild escapades, though… what happens on Prinsendam stays on Prinsendam… sometimes.

-

February 3, 2008, At Sea, Day 32

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Looking out from their verandah when they awoke, all that Slinkie and Grumpy could see was a big ocean with no icebergs in sight. Grumpy was thinking that they had gotten far enough north to be clear of them. As usual when he starts thinking about matters on which he isn’t informed he reached a wrong conclusion. By the time they got to the Lido for breakfast, the big bergs were in sight again. There were announcements about the Super Bowl XLII party to be held in the Queens Lounge, but there was always the disclaimer that reception wasn’t assured. They were trying, but there were no guarantees that the game would be seen.

-

It was a lazy sea day spent watching icebergs and whale spouts. Grumpy periodically checked to see if there was any satellite channels on the TV but through the day there was nary a trace of a signal. That part of the world is pretty far outside of the footprint for the broadcast satellites, so the lack of coverage is not surprising. Having been in a similar no-coverage area a thousand miles south of Hawaii on Super Bowl Sunday, 2005, Grumpy was ready to settle for the gridiron with little arrows and a written play-by-play from nfl.com.

-

At game time, table 112, along with most of the other tables in the dining room was empty. Most were gathered in the Queen’s Lounge for the Super Bowl Party, but Janet and Bob had arranged a Super Bowl party in their PH suite for their tablemates and another couple. With sandwiches, salads, fruit and cheese for starters, bags of popcorn and containers of “the good nuts” for snacks and lots of beverage choices, it was a fine party, indeed. The ship’s time is two hours ahead of Eastern Time, so kickoff was scheduled for 8:29p with pregame activities to start at 8:17p. The HM stopped by shortly after 8p and advised that the TV should be turned to channel 29. Wonder of wonders! Miracles were wrought or souls were sold, but whatever it took, the game was on! The announcer’s audio was greatly reduced but the field mike was loud so a lot of the commentary was missed. Well… in Grumpy’s view it wasn’t really missed. Football is a visual sport that doesn’t need a lot of commentary and the announcers usually don’t add much to the game. Since it was a feed that would normally be further processed before broadcast probably in another language and country, there were no commercials. The halftime show was broadcast, though. If there were any super good super bowl commercials, Slinkie and Grumpy will have to see them some other time. Too bad about the Pats perfect season hopes… now there will forever be arguments as to whether 15-1 is actually a better record than 14-0 or not. Grumpy had thought that the Pats would win, but felt that their being favored by 12 was ridiculous. Most of those attending the PH party were happy with the outcome of the game… except John… he had been making bets on the game and he was taking the Pats by 12 points.

-

By the time the game was over it was past midnight, ship time, and clock’s had to be set ahead another hour. It would be a short night before arrival at South Georgia Island. Prinsendam was already anchored near Grytviken when Slinkie and Grumpy pried open their eyelids and got ready to face the world. The world stared back through a blanket of snow! It’s summer time. What’s with this? It must be a byproduct of global warming or something. By the time they had finished breakfast, tender operations for the tours were underway. A light snow continued to fall for awhile but finally cleared about 11a. After that it was a beautiful, partly sunny day and hardly any wind. Each tour had three people that were assigned as shepherds to keep the group together. There was no narration other than “OK, let’s go this way to the museum. You have a half hour inside”, or similar comments.

-

Much of the area around the port is a museum of sorts. A lot of the old whale processing equipment is still there and some of the old whaling boats are beached there. There is some new construction going on, too. There were a lot of King Penguins around, but they weren’t doing much marching. This is the season when they molt and about all they do is stand beside a source of fresh water and wait for the new feathers to push out the old ones. Since they can’t go out a catch food during this process, they tend to be hungry and cranky. There were a few penguins close to the tender dock, but most of the penguins and the seals were along the beach and the path up to the graveyard where Shackleton is buried. Close to the path, and sometimes in the path, were a lot of fur seals that were quite active, moving around the area and going for swims. There were also a large number of elephant seals. Most of them were not very active, just lying around like big slugs, but there were three in one group that were arguing about something and getting a little testy with each other. Most likely three guys fighting over a babe… There were also some albatross flying around and quite a few smaller birds. There were plenty of photo opportunities and Grumpy remembered to take a few while walking around.

The internet signal in the cabin seems pretty good right now, so will try to get this posted. Prinsendam will be headed for Stanly, Falkland Islands in another couple of hours.

[2552phxcrzr]

Enjoying the cruise right along with you.

 

For anyone interested in Grytviken photos, you're welcome to check out my album at: (Grytviken photos start with #42).

[localady]

Thanks again for your wonderful narrative Grumpy, I feel as if we are right there with you!!

Continued safe travels!:D :D

[BuckeyeGal1956]

From their official web site, groundhog.org:

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008 Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weather eye toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

Guess we're stuck with the "snowbirds."

[wynkys]

h2so4,

 

What stunning photographs! Thank you for providing the link.

 

Wayne

[KathieKata]

Grumpy.........great reading as usual. I felt the mist hitting my face as you were posting!! :D

And sorry about those "SnowBirds" getting to stay in Naples for another 6 weeks!! But think about it ....What would the restaurants do without their business in the Winter months?? :)

Keep those great reviews coming.

[CruisinTexans]

Thanks for the great descriptions of your voyage. I've never really wanted to do South America and the Antartic until reading your posts. Probably because I knew the shopping wouldn't be too good. I'm going to have Handler read too and maybe he will get fired up about it. We're booked on the 2009 world, but guess you all will be in the Black Sea. Write about it too because that's one I would really like to do.

 

Hi to Slinkie, too.

 

Leslie

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi you two!!! Always a pleasure to read what you're up to. Tell Slinkie I'm sorry I've fallen short recently on my assigned job back home here (she'll know what I mean;) ). I'll try to do better, but I've been a little off my game:) .

 

You're in a good place out there on the high seas ... keep on enjoying and having fun!

[sail7seas]

Great posts, Grumpy, as always!!!

 

Anyone in jeans in the dining room. :D ;)

 

[Susie51]

I enjoy your writing style. Please keep posting and have a wonderful cruise.

[Grumpy1]

February 4, 2008, South Georgia, (continued)

-

All aboard and tenders stowed, Prinsendam sailed out of the harbor at Grytviken and headed northwest. About 10 miles up the coast she sailed into Stromness Bay. The bay split into two arms and there was an old whaling station on each arm. Prinsendam first sailed into the westerly arm. Standing on their veranda, Slinkie and Grumpy could hear very loud screaming, wailing and crying sounds drifting across the water. Looking over to the shoreline Grumpy could see fur seals… not just a few here and there, but thousands of them… all up and down the beaches. When that many of them start barking and bellowing in unison, it sounds like the soundtrack of a bad horror movie. There were also thousands of penguins in the water and on the shore. John and Frank were on the bridge and told of the history of the station over the ship’s PA and on the Navigation Channel on the TV. After doing a full Prinsendam Pirouette, as only Captain Gundersen can, so that all of the balcony dwellers had equal viewing opportunities, The Prinsendam moved over to the other arm of the bay. This bay is home to the whaling station where Shackelton and his men arrived after sailing from Elephant Island and walking across South Georgia Island. Abandoned since the mid ‘60s, Stromness Station is now inhabited by penguins, fur seals and elephant seals. Up on the bridge with good binoculars, John informed everyone that he was also seeing reindeer up by the graveyard. Grumpy did not see them through his binoculars.

-

Another full pirouette and Prinsendam sailed out of the bay with dusk approaching. Thousands of penguins and fur seals in the waters around the ship continued to entertain until Prinsendam was out of the bay and turning to the northwest again. The setting sun glinting off the snow capped peaks and the icebergs that dotted the horizon provided a beautiful finish to a fantastic day on and around South Georgia Island.

-

February 5, 2008, At Sea, Day 34

-

This sea day was spent admiring the icebergs that continue to dot the seascape, watching for the spouts and occasional fins of the whales, snapping pictures of rafts of penguins in the water… in other words, just enjoying being here in a part of the world that few people ever see. The day started out with fairly calm seas, but as Prinsendam headed westward the seas increased steadily. The theme for the evening was Mardi Gras and the dining room was decorated appropriately. The waiters and staff were decked out in colorful outfits in Mardi Gras colors. Some of the passengers had remembered to pack Purple, Green and Gold outfits and the dining room was quite festive. One eye mask (with a string that was too short to fit anyone’s head) and a colorful fuzzy necklace were provided for each pair of seats. The Arts & Crafts project of the day had been mask making, so there were some wild creations scattered here and there. One of the wildest was across the table from Grumpy. Grumpy isn’t sure if Gail just let her creative streak run wild or if she had been imbibing before class, but she sure came up with a doozy of a mask! She should have made the eyeholes a bit bigger though. She had to be led into the dining room by hubby Helmut because she couldn’t see much of anything. Gail and Helmut will be leaving in Buenos Aires. Their presence at table 112 will certainly be missed.

-

February 6, 2008, At Sea, Day 35

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Happy Waitangi Day to all of the CruiseCritic Kiwis

-

Grumpy, usually being a “glass half full” type of guy, observes that half of this fantastic voyage still lies ahead and tries to ignore the fact that it is now half over. Although Slinkie is looking forward to the prospect of warmer weather and better shopping ahead, Grumpy has the feeling that nothing that lies ahead can top the sheer beauty and majesty of the Antarctic that has now been left behind. The only remaining cold weather port is Stanley, in the Falklands. Although preparations are being made for the Prinsendam’s stop there, Thom and Frank are warning that it may not be possible to anchor and launch tenders. Sea conditions have gotten steadily worse as Prinsendam sails westward. Winds are gale force and seas are 12 to 19 feet… rated “very rough” on the Nav Channel. Everyone knows that Captain Gundersen will give it his best shot but, knowing that Rotterdam missed the port two days ago, the passengers are being prepared for the possibility that Stanley will be passed by. There hasn’t been a lot to view except high waves and overcast skies. Icebergs are pretty much left behind. The Prinsendam is being shadowed by quite a few albatross, and there are several passengers that are outside trying to get that “one in a million” perfect picture of those majestic birds.

-

The rocking and rolling that Slinkie and Grumpy enjoy for a good night’s sleep has progressed to pitching and tossing with a few violent slams. This is the only time that Grumpy has had to latch the sliding door on the closet. It wouldn’t stay open or closed. There are a few passengers that are feeling the effects of the motion, but Slinkie and Grumpy are not among them. The wind is coming from the port side, so their starboard cabin is sheltered from the wind and spray. The PH, being port side, was getting so much wind and water coming in around the verandah doors that the crew sealed them with duct tape.

-

February 7, 2008, Falkland Islands, Day 36

-

Conditions were improving somewhat as Slinkie and Grumpy arose from a night of fitful sleep. The seas were not quite so rough as there was some sheltering effect from the islands. Stanley lies on the south shore of a fairly small harbor. There is a connecting waterway to the larger harbor to the north. That harbor opens to the ocean to the east. Prinsendam is too large to go into the inner harbor, so Captain Gundersen found a convenient place to anchor that was as close to the connecting channel as he could get. Winds were still in the 30 knot range, but were out of the southwest which kept the full force of the wind from whipping up the waves. By keeping the tender portal on the leeward or downwind side of the ship, it was possible to launch and operate the tenders. Shore excursions operated as scheduled, but there was an offer of refund for anyone that felt that they might not be able to handle getting on and off of the tenders.

-

Slinkie and Grumpy had chosen to take the excursion to Sparrow Cove, transfer to 4x4 vehicles and go to see the penguins. The tenders normally go through the channel, across the inner harbor and dock at the public pier. For this excursion, a tender was dedicated to transporting this excursion, in two groups, directly from the ship to a private dock in Sparrow Cove. From there, a caravan of Land Rovers bounced and careened across the muddy and rock strewn landscape to the penguin nesting site. Along the way there were quite a few sheep and various species of birds that could be observed. The 4x4’s dropped off the first group on a high and very windy hill and promised to return in an hour.

-

There were ropes laid out along the ground that served as a marker of how far away from the penguins people are supposed to stay. The penguins aren’t very good at following instructions though, and quite a few of them wandered into the people zone to observe their visitors at close range. Of course, everywhere one walked, there was “evidence” of the passing of sheep, penguins and upland geese. It was an odiferous and messy trek from the point where they left the 4x4’s to the “tea hut” where they would be picked up an hour later.

-

Earlier in the cruise, passengers were given hooded parkas that were the official color of the 2008 Grand Voyages. Grumpy doesn’t know who decided that pale purple was to be the color of choice, but it is and that is the color of the parkas. There were no women’s sizes, so those women that requested a size based on women’s sizes found that they had a parka big enough for two. There weren’t enough smaller sizes to go around, but quite a few passengers had come from cold climates and had cold weather gear with them. Some were able to swap with other passengers, others gave their parkas to crew members and made do with what they had brought with them. There are enough that are wearing their parkas, though, that The March of the Prinsendam Pale Purple Penguins waddling across the countryside was a common sighting. With the winds whipping and temperatures only a few degrees above freezing, this excursion had a good percentage of hooded pale purple penguins wandering among the more formal Gentoo penguins that seemed as curious about this new species among them as the pale purples were about the Gentoos. The Upland Geese kept their distance but were close enough to get some good pictures.

-

After snapping all of the critter pics that he wanted, Slinkie and Grumpy wandered over to the tea hut/souvenir stand to warm up and wait for the return of the 4x4’s. Grumpy looked around at the various maps and charts on the walls and was particularly interested in two of them. The first was a map of the Falklands that showed the approximate location and history of more than a hundred shipwrecks. It’s a wonder that there are any navigable waters, what with all of the wrecks lying around. The second chart showed the areas where there are still landmines and unexploded ordinance. Grumpy knew that their guide had mentioned that the waterfront along the nesting area was off limits for visitors. Looking at the map, the reason was obvious. The beach and many nearby areas were marked as danger zones. Hmmmm, are they absolutely sure there isn’t anything outside the borders of the marked areas? Looking down at his shoes after trekking through penguin poo, Grumpy figured it might take a blast of some sort to clean that stuff off, but a landmine might be a bit much.

-

The Land Rover caravan appeared over the ridge and deposited the second batch of pale purple penguins before picking up the first group at the tea hut for the bouncy ride back to the tender dock. It was starting to rain or sleet and the wind was picking up as the tender arrived and it took some effort to get the tender alongside the dock. Once secured everyone piled aboard and after getting pushed by the wind into the shallows a couple of times, the tender got underway for the return to the ship. The ride back was a lot rougher than it was coming across, with waves breaking above the bow. Grumpy hopes the bilge pumps work well as there was a lot of water coming in around the windows and down around the lift mechanisms that protrude through the top shell. Considering what was being tracked in, the tender needs a good washout, anyway.

-

It was after 1:00p by the time Slinkie and Grumpy got back to Prinsendam and had lunch in the Lido. Grumpy thought there was still time to take the tender to town, but Slinkie seemed to think the timetable might be tight and there was no way she wanted to be stranded in Stanley with Buenos Aires just two more days away. Grumpy had the last word though… He said “Yes dear, you’re right”.

-

All passengers accounted for and tenders stowed without incident, Prinsendam heaved anchor and sailed east out of the harbor and swung north for the two and one half day run to Buenos Aires. Checking the GPS Grumpy noted that the Captain was whipping the ponies pretty good and making better than 20 knots. The shipping lanes coming in to Buenos Aires are very busy and if you miss your appointment with the pilot you may wait a couple of hours for another one. Grumpy knows Captain Gundersen won’t let that happen baring a major catastrophe.

-

The dining room theme was Chinese, in honor of the Chinese New Year. Being the year of the rat, there was an ice carving of one big rat outside the dining room doors. There were Chinese hats with the pigtail in the back sitting on the chairs in the dining room. Size 6 (too small) for the ladies and size 8 (too large) for the men. Grumpy did see a few people around the ship wearing ones that appeared to fit, so there may have been boxes of other sizes that were distributed at the early dinner or in other parts of the dining room. Gail, the creative one, gathered the hats from table 112 after dinner. She has plans to host a Chinese dinner back in Vancouver and figures the hats will come in handy then.

-

The seas appeared a little rough, but the Prinsendam rode very smooth through the night. Slinkie and Grumpy enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

-

February 8, 2008, At Sea, Day 37

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Another lazy sea day. The major activity was the second CruiseCritic get together, arranged by members Bobnsandi, at 11:00a in the Crow’s Nest. It was well attended and Sandi had a slide show of a few of the thousands of pictures that she and Bob have taken so far. After consulting with Sandi, Grumpy decided that Hostess Lucy should be an honorary CC member and invited her to stop by if her other duties would permit. She was able to stop by briefly but then had to leave to perform official Hostess duties… At least that’s her excuse… Grumpy figures she saw all of the champagne and mimosas being consumed and thought she’d better leave before getting stuck with the tab.

-

Frits Gehner stopped by to make sure the rowdy CC’ers were somewhat behaving themselves. That man is everywhere on the ship! He seems to be always out and about, always smiling, stopping to talk to people and kidding with passengers and crew members. He either has everything under control or he delegates well as he seems to spend far less time sequestered in his office than a few other Hotel Managers Grumpy has observed. Grumpy has also noted that there are far fewer people standing in line at the front desk complaining about their perceived problems than on other cruises. Grumpy suspects that the management style of the HM leads to a higher level of satisfaction among passengers. Sure, there are a few problems, but there seem to be fewer that are openly dissatisfied with their resolution than there have been on other cruises.

-

Frank Buckingham did his usual superb job of informing everyone about the things to do and see in Buenos Aires. H Stern Jewelers will provide the shuttle, as is the custom in the major South American ports. Fortunately, the shuttle goes to their store in the heart of the city rather than to some out of the way location. Although Slinkie and Grumpy have a pretty full schedule of tours for the two days, there will still be some time for shopping. After a couple of weeks with hardly a store to be seen, there’s a lot of pent up shopping energy that’s ready to explode. Grumpy hopes his wallet can stand the shock waves…

The dining room was cleansed of the Chinese decorations and redone in an Argentinean theme for the formal night. Hostess Lucy and her unlimited wine budget joined table 112 once again. Honest, Lucy, your tablemates would still love you without the wine… they just love you more with the wine. And since she’s buying… a toast to honorary CC member Lucy. May your career with Holland America be long, enjoyable and rewarding.

-

February 9, 2008, At Sea, Day 38

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The seas were a bit rougher through the night, but the Prinsendam just gently rocked Slinkie and Grumpy to sleep. It was twenty ‘til nine when Grumpy finally pried open the eyelids and decided that it was time to get up. There were few “must do” items on the schedule, so Grumpy decided it was time to get back to the keyboard and bring his adventures up to date. Taking a break for lunch, Grumpy chatted with Marion (HalCruisers on CC) and was sad to hear that she and George have decided to leave the ship in Buenos Aires on the advice of the ship’s doctor. She was upbeat, though, and felt that they had seen the best parts of the cruise. They had seen Brazil and the Amazon on the 2005 world cruise, so they won’t miss too much that would be new to them. Grumpy and Slinkie will miss them and hope all is well with them. Grumpy will be anxious to hear from them upon their arrival home. Grumpy has heard that there are a few others that are leaving in Buenos Aires for medical reasons. Half of the table 112 gang is leaving the cruise there as scheduled. John and Nancy and Gail and Helmut will be missed. They have been fun couples to be around…

-

Well, there’s only one cure for the blues… ya gotta go shopping! Coincidentally, the ship shop was holding their half price topaz jewelry sale… and guess who likes topaz in its myriad colors. Slinkie found some pieces in arctic ice that caught her eye and they have now been added to her collection. You knew it had to happen sooner or later, didn’t you? Now the question… Is she just getting tuned up for Brazil? Future episodes should provide the answer.

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Glad you're making it safely back to civilization. I keep thinking of the horrors of last year's cruise, and I imagine once or twice when you were bouncing around in high seas that you did, too!

Save enough to buy gas on the way home - oh, yeah, I'll fill it up, just in case!

Lynn

[Ides of March]

For finally posting. Its taken some getting used to to your new style of less frequent but more intense postings but it has impacted on my marital relationship.

 

The Grux loves nothing more than reading printouts of your missives before the fire (notwithstanding that she is far more computer literate than me, a habit we developed in 05 when we followed you around the world when I had serious misgivings about doing the same in 06. Best thing I ever did thanks in no small measure to you.)

 

But now she says "I miss my Grumpy" like its my fault. (I think she prefers your blog to sex.)

 

I know how stessful and demanding keeping a blog going is but when I read mine, I can relive each day and that is priceless.

 

So keep posting at your own pace, my good friend and let us be with you in our imaginations. What a ride.

[arzz]

Thank you so much Grumpy for checking in with us. I, too, am sorry that you are leaving Antarctica as I have truly enjoyed re-living that part of the world -- and from your descriptions I am really sorry that we did not get to go to South Georgia Island as you did this year! -- I guess, though, that just creates the need for us to go again:D!

 

Do enjoy Buenos Aires and keep posting -- will you get to Iguazu? (Not quite as good as Antarctica, but definitely up there in the extremely special range of things to see)

[2552phxcrzr]

I believe these are the two stations Grumpy and Slinkie viewed from the ship. If you'd like to see photos, http://eenusa.smugmug.com/gallery/2909409_buVfP#P-1-20 -- Leith Harbour starts with #156 ... should be on the last page or two, depending on your screen size.

[bobnsandi]

Just a note from bobnsandi and all the rest. Antarctica was absolutely amazing, we had a great time. South Georgia and Falklands were remarkable, too. We were very lucky to get on South Georgia, and it was very special.

 

We are all doing well, in spite of masses of food, great service, and other burdens to bear -) -) while traveling on the wonderful Prinsendam.

[josephone]

Thanks for the great pictures to support Grumpy's terrific narrative.

 

The one comment that I would make is that the whaling stations are really part of our history. I know they make us sad, but it was an important part of the time.

 

Josephone