Looking Back
The Anne-Margaretha is now enjoying her second trip to Antarctica this season! The 1st trip went well: on the voyage out, we experienced an occasionally rather windy Drake Passage (read> 55 knots wind), and on the return trip there were moments of calm and unreal mirror-smooth water, followed by turbulent swells due to changing winds.
And Antarctica? Wonderful, dazzling, sparkling and sometimes exciting…. This was Heinz’s 10th time here, and for Greet her 6th time. Yet always special and impressive.
It is still fun to celebrate a white Christmas with the efforts of the guests and crew. Australian mate Winnie, an engineer, had constructed the perfect gingerbread house to greet the guests. Before long, she had us play “spoons” to chose who would demolish it, so that we could eat it on Boxing Day (Ah, what a shame with Heinz’ mallet!) On New Year’s Eve, Greet had to make “oliebollen,” sweet Dutch fritters, and we toasted to peace and friendship in 2018 on a very beautiful night in Port Lockroy. Surrounded by muted midnight light and with the sounds of penguins in the background, we sang a Scottish song, and wished a nearby ship Happy New Year…. We were just a 15-person family, on a boat in the middle of nature with a glass of champagne!
Now
Heinz is with the Anne-Margaretha and a completely German-speaking group at the penguin colonies, where the chicks have grown larger, and their mom and dad are hunting for food. Dangers are lurking: sea leopards, skuas see their chance … Spectacular sights, but still …
This time nobody waded into the volcanically heated warm waters of Pendulum Cove (Deception Island) …, but we were warmly welcomed at the Argentine base there.
This time again a surprise: even before the South Shetland Islands (the first land siting of our Antarctica expeditions,) we already had a group of curious orcas around us. The waves were high and they jumped out … Spectacular!
We also saw a lot of whales, which bodes us very well!
Preview
In a few weeks, we will make a third trip in Antarctica, after which comes a journey through Patagonia along the Chilean coast to the north. From Arica, Chile’s most northen city, we depart for the fascinating Galápagos Islands, and then via Panama Canal to Cuba.
All these trips are fully booked.
Do we still have places?
From Cuba the journey continues (via a 1 day supply stop in Bermuda ) to the Azores Islands (P22). Here we still have a few available places !!!
The Azores tour is fully booked, but on the (P24) trip, from Azores to La Coruña (Spain), and on the leg (P25), from La Coruña to St.Malo-Channel Islands and back to the Netherlands in August, we also have a few places.
Contact us if you want to join one of these voyages.
We wish you all a beautiful winter.
Sailors greetings, Greet and Heinz
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