Disaster!!! The End of the World!! And Covid Strikes!!

Saturday & Sunday, 11-12 February, 2023

Heading back out to sea was all very well, but the sea was certainly not ‘pacific’ and it was back to the seasick pills for Val, which seemed to do the trick. Very rock and roll and a reminder of what we had in the Atlantic. We are making for Punta Arenas and Tierra del Fuego through the fjords that make up the archipelago that is Southern Patagonia.

It is very desolate and rugged and certainly lives up to its ‘end-of-the-world’ status. The final tip of the continent is Tierra del Fuego, part of which is Chile and part being Argentina. The hope is then to spend 3 days cruising off Antarctica, but much will depend on the weather.

Late in the evening, the Captain steered us towards a very spectacular glacier, the name of which escapes me. The light was fading and it was very chilly with the odd ice floe in the characteristically pale blue water.

On the morning of 12th February I awoke with a runny nose and a bit of a headache and the start of a cough (yes, another one!!) So we did the right thing and called the medical centre who sent the nurse up to do a PCR test on us – and, you’ve guessed it, I was positive. Val was negative, but as she needs me as her carer, has to stay with me in isolation.

A shame, but I feel we did the right thing by being tested – I am not sure everyone else is bothering to be tested as they want to avoid what we are going through, which is a bit naughty. We were escorted (a bit like prisoners) to our new cabin in the isolation wing (H Block?). We obviously cannot go out, although we can have an hour on a balcony to get some fresh (and distinctly cold and sometimes wet) air.

I have to laugh as ‘isolation’ does not equate to not being contacted every few minutes. It is just coming up to 1pm and so far today we have had Val’s breakfast delivered at 0700, my breakfast at 1000; a visit from the medical team; a call from Room Service asking what we would like to order for lunch and dinner and a call back from us to tell them; a call from Guest Services to ask if we would like some fresh air and a call back from us to say yes; a further call from us to point out we will need to get something warm to wear from our previous cabin (it is a bit chilly here at the end of the world – we are currently in Punta Arenas); someone to deliver the Daily Times; someone else to deliver the Britain Today newsletter, a kind of digest of what is going on back in Blighty (though we can get Sky News and BBC World News on the TV); and the doctor called to ask how I was. I think there were more, but too busy answering the phone and the door to remember!

13th to 16th February, 2023

It now Day 2 of our incarceration. We have nothing much to report other than I am feeling a bit better and we did get to have our hour of fresh air yesterday afternoon. This entailed us getting some warm weather clothing from our usual cabin and then being escorted to the lift (already there waiting for us with a man with a spray bottle and cloth to wipe down after us) and the marched to one of the suites on Deck 10 (our cabin is on lowly Deck 4). Very swish!! There is a saying though – the more you pay, the more you sway, but it might be worth it if we could afford it!! The only problem was that it was very cold out and spitting rain, so we did not stay out for long.

It looks like we will be in isolation for at least 2 more days and everything depends on test results. Fingers crossed!

We are in Punta Arenas, the most southerly city in Chile. All we can see of it is the view out of our window, which largely consists of another ship moored on the other side of our quay. We can watch all the other guests disembarking for their time on shore……

We are coping OK, though incarceration is not something that sits well on Val. Lots of reading, games of Scrabble, Yahtzee and cards and the TV all help + our hour in the ‘exercise yard’. It started hailing today the minute we got there!! We also get complimentary Wi-Fi, though it can be a bit variable in strength in this part of the world!! This means that uploading the photos to the blog seems to be taking an age or not happening at all.

14th February, 2023

St Valentine’s Day!! We left Punta Arenas and sailed down to do some more scenic cruising, this time past the notorious Cape Horn or Capo Hornas as it is known locally. I had not realised it is actually a collection of islands right at the bottom of Tierra del Fuego. The unfortunate thing is that we sailed past with the islands on the port side. All fine except we are isolated on the starboard side! The Captain did point the bow towards the monument to sailors who had lost their lives in what is possibly the most notorious patch of water in the world, but I can’t say we had a very clear view sadly. Ho hum. I did manage to take some photos of something through our not very clean cabin window (which also seems to have a rather bluish tint), but I could not see the monument and cannot swear that what is in the photos is actually Cape Horn itself. Thankfully the sea was remarkably calm for the trip!!

15th February. Correction, they are not going to let us out until at least the 18th! I upset one of the doctors on board by pointing out that others seem to have been released in a mere 2 to 3 days and she got very officious about how they keep to the protocols and how much trouble they would be in if the authorities in Chile/Argentina/Uruguay/Brazil felt we had not done what the ship is supposed to do. Hopefully that will not mean I am condemned to an even longer sentence!! Val tested herself and is still negative, which is good.

Today we are anchored in the harbour of Ushuaia in Argentina, the most-southerly city in the world. Luckily the ship is positioned with the starboard side facing the shore, so we do at least get a view of what is a stunning backdrop to any city anywhere. It is hard to tell if there are more mountains behind the ones we can see due to the rolling clouds, but even if not, it is still very dramatic. Considering this is the equivalent of mid-August in the Northern Hemisphere, it gives you an idea of the climate! Makes you wonder what it is like in the winter. 3 degrees out! MOST annoyingly, of course, my great opportunity to take some photos unobstructed by dirty windows whilst on our hour ‘break’ did not happen because the weather closed in again – only for the sun to come out the second we entered our cabin!!!

We have now left Ushuaia and, I think have sailed eastwards down the Beagle Channel. Reading The Voyage of the Beagle, Captain FitzRoy and Darwin and the rest of the crew took 24 days to try and get round Cape Horn. I did get one rather good photo before we left the channel and headed south to Antarctica.

OK, I seem to have had a good burst of strong Wi-Fi, so the photos are uploaded and I will now try to publish this!! Next stop Antarctica.