We are sailing northward up the Chilean coast with the Atacama, the world’s driest desert, off to starboard. I am attaching a picture of it. Yes, it is a fogbank.
Northbound up the Chilean coast
The Sunday before last the chaplain at worship service suggested that if music indeed soothes the savage beast, mayhap singing loudly will improve the weather as we pass the southern tip of South America, notorious for its savage storms. By cracky, it worked. We had excellent weather throughout that portion of the cruise. Indeed, the weather the whole cruise has been marvelous.
Punta Arenas, Chile
I took my life in my hands today, and was fortunate to have emerged unscathed. From Punta Arenas, you can embark upon a tour to Magdalena Island, a penguin sanctuary and rookery. I almost didn’t go. The vessel was way too rickety for comfort. But the appeal of penguins is just too great to chicken out.
Embarkation Day
Somewhere many years ago, I think I read that Disney invented the turkey chute at Disneyland. They put it to good use boarding the QV passengers. We went through security similar to airports’ but it was faster and more sensible and they didn’t care if you carry a knife. Don’t get caught with a bottle of Pepsi, though. Then we snaked back and forth in the chute to reach a bank of folks who took our pictures and issued us cards. Through the tunnel and aboard.