Did you see what I did with the title of this entry?? 'A chilly (Chile!) experience. Because we're in Chile and today we will be cold!!Question: When can an unpleasant experience be very pleasant? Answer: When we visited Ottway penguin colony in Punta Arenas!!Our journey began at 6:30am with breakfast in our cabin. Despite the first serving being stated as between 06:30-07:00, I stated 06:30. I also wrote 1 boiled egg and 2 toasts, as this was not an opti...

15/02/2013I was woken by a loud crash in the night. I wasn't perturbed, as I knew it was only the swell of the sea crashing against the bow. My experience in the Southern Ocean told me that. Captain McBain had warned us of the rough weather from now until midnight tonight when we once again enter sheltered water.The ship was tossing and pitching but as the Skipper had in a previous announcement convinced everyone that this was normal and nothing to be alarmed...

Today is February 14th, Valentines day. I was so chuffed. I had worked out all by my self that Valentines Day would occur when we were away. When Roisin woke up she was welcomed by a card and a heart shaped box of chocolates. OK not the most original of ideas but when you're celebrating this day 6,000 miles away it has to be the thought that counts. These chocolates could well have ended up in San Diego! And in my case, I was in the process of giving me a pr...

12/02/13Check out of our hotel was at 12 noon so there was no hurry to rush. The couple of things I wanted to see and had planned to do this morning AND we didn't see on yesterday’s walking tour, we saw on the walk back to the hotel; namely the clock tower and the funicular that services Cero Conception. As I said, nothing to do this morning except relax, take our time. Due to the size of the Cruise Terminal in Valparaiso, everyone is given a check in s...

10th Feb 2013Our first impressions as we sat on the coach from Santiago airport to our hotel was made more relaxing by the mellow tones of the Carpenters 'Close to You' bellowed out (not a word I would have associated with the Carpenters but ‘bellow’ out, they did!!). On our route from the airport our first impression were that we are both surprised as to how advanced Chile appears.Chile is not as cold as the name suggests. The temperature sta...