Pole to Pole with Silversea - Puerto Williams to Puerto Williams

I will be leaving Cleveland for Santiago, Chile on February 19, 2024 and return from Oslo, Norway on June 28, 2024.  The Grand Pole to Pole is 8 cruises that can be one for the Grand Pole to Pole.  I get on the Silver Wind on February 22nd.  There will be new passengers getting on and off and there will be some Pole to Pole like me.  When I did Africa last year, that was one leg of a Pole to Pole, so I met some people that did it then and have contact with some for suggestions.  There were about 40 that did the whole thing then.

This is the route and I look forward to sharing pictures and posts.  😍

1/23/24
It's getting close!  They are picking up two suitcases today that they let me ship ahead.  Exciting and scary.  Hope they are on the ship when I get there on February 22nd!

2-20

Made it to Santiago!  My hotel on the right, Constanera Center on the left. The tallest building in South America. Heading out to the Hop On/Hop Off bus! 10 am temperature 61, going up to 85 today. 

I took the bus to Parque Metropolitano and took the cable car to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal.
Similar to Christ the Redeemer in Rio, they have a statue of the Immaculate Conception at the top of the hill.  There are other sculptures by Chilean artists.  Thanks to the app Merlin Bird ID I was able to identify the sound of Monk Parakeets.  I pet my first dog, a sweet 5 month old named ChaChu.  Then I took the Funicular back down.  Interesting houses and buildings and many large parks.  It is summer here so a caprese salad hit the spot.  

Monk parakeet

Cable car

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a tour of Valparaiso, Vin del Mar and lunch at a boutique winery from 8:30-5:30. Then dinner at 6:30 with the others doing the Grand Voyage. I will do pictures Thursday morning before the charter flight to Puerto Williams to get on the ship.

What a fabulous day yesterday.  We did a Tours by Locals with Alvaro.  I was originally going by myself, but through the Silversea passenger site I connected with Pat from the UK and we went together.  Much better with a new friend. 
Valparaiso was a thriving port city until the Panama Canal opened.  It is now a city Alvaro described as "I am who I am".  Still a port city, but not used as much. 
It has many colorful buildings and one theory is that they used leftover paint, likely from boats, to paint the houses.  There is a combination of graffiti and beautiful street art. 
There were many stray dogs.  Alvaro said the country has 1/2 million stray dogs.  The sweet boy pictured with me followed us for a while.  He had a bad limp, but Alvaro said they do spay/neuter the strays and do vaccinations on them. He did a tour once in Santiago with a woman from Bahrain on a rainy day and there was a small dog shivering.  She adopted it.  Hired a pet sitter in Santiago until it could travel to Bahrain.  Of course there were also cats.  
The population of Chile is rising, but the population of Valparaiso is falling.  There a homes hanging on the hills that look like they could fall off, but don't.  It is a very hilly city.  We took a funicular up, a very steep one.  It is how the locals get up and down some areas. There are 7 in operation today.
The bus drivers in Valparaiso do not get paid a salary.  They are paid by how many passengers they transport.  There are bus stops but they may pick passengers up anywhere.

The mountains are the Coastal range and part of the Andes. The Andes range goes through 7 countries.  One of the longest in the world.

After we drove to Vina del Mar which is close, but very different.  Alvaro described as more "Look at me".  It is a beach city.  A beautiful floral clock and a Moai statue from Easter Island. In the hazy photo high rises have been built on sand dunes.  It was been a problem. 

Alvaro arranged lunch for us at a boutique winery in Casablanca Valley.  It reminded me a lot of Temecula in California.  The winery, Villard, is family owned and it was a perfect afternoon.  It wasn't crowded.  The food was organic and delicious as well as the wine pairings that went with each small course.  We met a lovely young couple from Poland.  They are traveling for 2 months.  The 4 of us loved being visited by Brutus and Anntoo.  A Blue Heeler and Australian Cattle Dog.  I got lots of kisses from Anntoo.  The other gentleman in the picture with Alvaro was our driver.  A guide can not also drive here.

We were told there were 15 of us going on the entire grand voyage, but we only had 14 at dinner.  (last year they had about 44)  We were able to go to a very small restaurant, farm to table.  Many courses of local cuisine.  I will not bore you with all the food pictures but one of the desserts was a mushroom/chocolate popsicle.  Definitely have never had a mushroom popsicle.  Creamier like an ice cream bar.  The stick, not edible, is grapevine from the arbor behind the restaurant.  We could see into the small kitchen where they made an incredible amount of food.  We had entertainment with music and dance from Chile.  One from Easter Island, one from the north and one from the central area.  The cultural immersions are part of my favorite thing cruising with Silversea. 

2/23

Before taking a bus to the charter flight to fly to Puerto Williams to get on the Silver Wind, I went to the Sky Costanera, the tallest building.  It was very cloudy, but still a nice view.

We took Antarctica Airlines from Santiago to Puerto Williams, with a stop in Punta Arenas for gas.  (that is where my luggage spent about a month)  

We arrived in Puerto Williams.  Not a big place, but pretty.  All my luggage made it, so I am happy.  I met my butler, Ruth, and my suite attendant, Farth, who will both be with me the entire voyage!

This is leg one and our expedition staff for leg one.  Today I attended two bird presentations and watched a cartography presentation in my cabin.  Not too many birds and I have not gotten out my big camera, but was able to photograph this gray headed albatross.  You can never see an albatross in a zoo so always exciting.  We are in the Drake Passage today and tomorrow.  Taking a little different route to avoid bad conditions. We have had 3 meter waves, but not too bad.  The Drake Passage can have some of the roughest seas in the world.  The Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans meet.  With different water temperatures and very deep. 

2/24

We are making good timing through the Drake Passage. I started yesterday with a stretch class and this morning with yoga. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one tipping when the waves rocked. This morning we will have a bio security talk and then anything not new that we might take ashore tomorrow will be vacuumed. This morning’s talks are on seals and Shackleton’s Endurance saga and that talk will continue when we hope to be sailing by Elephant Island. We won’t be able to get out on zodiacs because it’s too rough. We also hope to see whales today. More talks this afternoon on penguins and water. I have so many favorite parts of doing a trip like this, but the talks is one of them. 

What an afternoon!  We saw many of my favorite bird here, the Cape Petrel. Looks like a piece of art with it's white and black.

Then we had an incredible sighting!  They estimate about 100 Fin Whales.  Fin whales are the second largest whales.  They can be 59-65 feet long and weigh up to 928 lbs.  I did not get a photo, but at one point some of us got to see one pass under water right in front of the ship.  It's shadow there in the water was absolutely amazing.  

 

We also saw some black browed albatross

We saw a storm petrel and chinstrap penguins flying in the water.

We went pretty close to Elephant Island.  It was quite windy! Saw some icebergs!

2/25

We have arrived on the Antarctic Peninsula, attached to the huge Antarctic, so have set foot on the continent.  I met Trish and am going to be doing zodiac things with her most of the time.  She is a delightful woman from Bath, UK.

This morning we are at Brown Bluff.  You will see from the photos why it is Brown Bluff.  There were many Gentoo penguins and a couple Fur seals.  One scavenger bird, the Snowy Sheathbill was checking out a dead penguin carcass (no carcass photo).  The weather is warmer here than in Cleveland today. Four of us, Trish, Bob and Debra are meeting for lunch by the pool.  This morning one kayak group went.  One of the days I hope to kayak.

  

We were the first groups out on the zodiac this morning and after we met in the lounge with a gorgeous view.  I came back and Farth was cleaning my windows for the fabulous views.

  

  

This afternoon we took a zodiac cruise around Hope Bay. We saw all 3 penguins in this part of Antarctica.  Gentoo, Adelie, Chinstrap. We also saw a Leopard seal.  Beautiful icebergs.

First photo is how they bring the zodiacs to the water.

  

We rode by the Argentine research station. There are 70 stations in Antarctica, 45 are year round.  4500 people in the summer and 1200 in the winter from 55 countries

We saw another ship today.  The Oceania Marina.  Huge!  Which means that no one could get off the ship.  Just a sail by. My ship is Silver Wind at the top and below is the Marina.  We have 224 passengers. Can only take 100 off at a time when we are here.  The kayak groups are 12 so we take out two different groups with the smaller number.

2/26

Last night Pat gave me a photo of me in the zodiac.  I'm on the right with the gray hat.  

From my balcony I saw a satisfied Leopard seal.  When Pat was on her zodiac cruise they saw a seal eat a penguin, twice!  It shook and stripped the penguin.  I saw pieces of the skin floating in the water.  Gross!  But beautiful icebergs!

I started my day on the treadmill, a beautiful view.  My walk didn't last long because I saw a whale.  Staff said it was a humpback from my photo.

Two zodiacs got out this morning but the rest were cancelled because of the swell.  Instead we cruised Cierva Cove and it was spectacular!  The ice was gorgeous!  The captain said he wanted to kiss and iceberg, he did not, but close.  High up on a hill was a colony of Chinstrap penguins near another Argentine research station.  There were Skuas flying. 

Then we had humpbacks!  I missed most of the show the one put on, but did catch the end.  The big splash is the end of a spectacular breach that I saw but only caught the splash.  

This afternoon I was supposed to kayak at Palaver Point, but it was too rough.  The hikers didn't get to do the hike because there were too many fur seals in the way.  We all took a zodiac cruise.  

There was a large colony of Chinstrap penguins.  A lot of fur seals and 2 Weddell seals.  The penguins make penguin highways.  The Antarctic shag looks a little like the penguins.

 

You can really see the size of the glacier with the zodiacs in front of it and our ship.

We saw another humpback but for some reason I was having trouble focusing my camera on the zodiac.

Some evenings the staff may invite some passengers to dinner.  Tonight I ate with Duncan, the guest relations manager.  Cheryl and Zane are on the Pole to Pole and Elspeth and Ian were on last year's Pole to Pole and staying on this one until London. 

Action on the penguin highway.

I love when the penguins jump in the water!

There is a free app called CruiseMapper and if you type in Silver Wind it will show you exactly where I am.  Along with the other ships in the area.  

2/2/8

Yesterday morning we were at Portal Point in the morning and Enterprise Island in the afternoon.  It was a "whale" of a day!  

I opened my curtains to this!  

After having breakfast with the whales we did a landing.  Most of you know I came to Antarctica two years ago.  Today was the most beautiful place I've been.  Portal Point was absolutely gorgeous and we didn't even have sun.  The photos do not show the true beauty.

In the first photo there is a whale over my shoulder.  The bird is a skua, the group of birds are kelp gulls and the sea lions are fur seals.

I then took a few laps around the deck.

Then I became a cheerleader for those doing the polar plunge.  I did not do the polar plunge!  This couple from the UK got engaged on this trip.

At Enterprise Island it was raining but I still was able to kayak.  Luckily I was paired with a gentleman who was very experienced and we stayed on course.  Actually born in Ohio and now living in the UK with his wife who plunged but did not kayak..My kayak lesson this past summer was helpful!

We saw two whales.  Fur seals that got a little two close.  The zodiacs and kayakers were served drinks and bakery while we were out this afternoon.  We saw the wreck of a whaling water boat and the wreck of the Governoren that was from Norway.  A large sailboat was tied up there for the night.

  

This morning we had a zodiac tour of Paradise Bay.  The forecast for this morning was bad, but we actually ended up with a decent morning.  Some rain, but calm sea conditions.  More humpbacks!  Gentoo penguins.  Some young that can not go in the water yet and they are filthy with guano.

 

  

Another research station.  This one we could see the workers walking around.

The scenery was beautiful.  A few colonies of Antarctic shags.

On our way from Paradise Bay to Neko Harbour we passed fabulous ice and porpoising penguins. Also, another research station.

We also went through brash ice this morning and afternoon.  I think the zodiac drivers like running through it!  Sounds amazing.

This afternoon we had a landing at Neko Harbor.  Lots of Gentoo penguins.  A penguin highway.  A molting penguin, looked so sad.  I guess they don't eat when the molt. 

We didn't have a big glacier calving, but we did have a little avalanche.

Then we were getting ready to have a little cruise around the ice...but... a Leopard seal came to play!

Then we did take our tour around the ice.

Every zodiac has this GPS so the ship knows where all the zodiacs are.

2/29

Our last day in Antarctica.  Many of us went up on deck at 5 am to watch us travel through the Lemaire Channel to Petermann Island.  It is only 2000 ft wide and 6.8 miles long.  Well...some weather rolled in and we didn't make that trip until 10:30 am.  We had two talks and then we went.  Because of clouds we couldn't totally appreciate the cliffs, but still cool.  

For lunch they had a seafood buffet with these cute penguin decorations. While we were eating lunch a whale came close.

After lunch the zodiacs were lowered to the water and we were able to do a wet landing on Petermann Island.  A totally different landscape.  With the coloring of the guano and the snow it looked like a desert.  There were many vocal Gentoo penguins.  There were also a few Adelie penguins.  The Gentoo have the orange beaks.

When I got back to the ship I went and used the treadmill and the boat did a drift and I had what Neil, our expedition leader, would call Antarctica TV.  Then I tried to go in the hot tub but they were both full so I swam for only about 10 minutes.  First time swimming outside in Antarctica!

At our end of the day briefings we have some short talks.  Some fun, some serious.  Tonight had a hilarious one on penguin poop!

Pat, Debra and I decided to brave the cold and have dinner at Hot Rocks on the pool deck.  We were thrilled when our expedition leader, Neil, joined us.  We have two days back to Puerto Williams through the Drake Passage.  It's 10:30 PM here and we are rockin' and rollin'.  Someone in a cabin next to me has lost their dinner.  🤮

3/1

Rough start to Drake Passage last night, but calmer today.  My view from the treadmill this morning wasn't as nice as while we were in Antarctica.  

Our first enrichment lecture was with Sara this morning on the marine carbon cycle.  While climate change happens were are doing poor things to speed it up and change it.

Our next talk was with George - Part one of surviving the cold.  How animals adapt.  The conditions and what they must do to adapt.  Today was on things little and whales.  Tomorrow will be penguins.

Last night we were offered to have a tour of the bridge, which I was able to do today.  They take 4 hour shifts on and then 8 hours off.  The gentleman looking out the window does that for 4 hours looking for ice, whales, etc...  It is done by GPS and cruise control most of the time.  Earlier we were traveling at 16 knots, now 14 to get us to Puerto Williams by 2 pm tomorrow.  Diesel fuel costs are $10,000-$20,000 per hour!  Can go 21 days with the fuel supply at lower speeds.

This evening those of us that signed up to be an Antarctic Ambassador received certificates and the paper that showed what we had to do.  The last page is what we can all do to be an Antarctic Ambassador.

We had our captain's talk and staff parade.  This captain leave the ship this weekend and we will have a new captain.

This morning we passed Cape Horn on our way to Puerto Williams.  Luckily the sea was calm so we could go to 3 meters away.  You can only go closer with a Chilean pilot.  The albatross statue is to honor sailors that lost their life trying to get around Cape Horn. Back to early on the trip that once the Panama Canal opened this area was not a big trade route.

As we got into the Beagle Channel there were many Sooty Shearwaters.

A Black Browed Albatross

We are anchored at Puerto Williams until the Silver Cloud leaves this evening. Many cormorants and gulls.

We had the expedition team farewell and they auctioned off this beautiful map and all the proceeds goes to the crew fund.  It went for $4,000.

It was a little sad at dinner to be the last with these new friends.  They all get off tomorrow.

So tomorrow new pictures will be on the Pole to Pole with Silversea - Puerto Williams to Buenos Aires page.