Cruise Days 37-39
8, 9096, 14316
We left Antarctica and cruised to Stanley in the Falkland Islands today. Unfortunately, the weather at the Falklands was poor with high winds expected. (Holland had a bad experience in the Falklands 5 years ago when several hundred people from the cruise were stranded, when high winds prevented the tenders from bringing excursion passengers back, with the ship leaving. Local residents and the church put up the stranded cruisers.) The captain decided to pass this stop because of worsening weather conditions.
Antarctica was spectacular and we were able to get an extra day cruising in the Antarctica Peninsula. We were disappointed to not be able to go on our excursion in the Falklands but very grateful for the all the sites we have been able to see in the many countries we have visited.
During our Antarctica cruising, we entered Paradise Bay on King George Island and were met with strong winds. The ship encountered gusts of wind up to 90mph. The captain requested everyone to return to their cabins and not venture out. He shared this was precisely the point where the Zaandam ship should not be and took very quick corrective action. I did venture out on our veranda to take a little video. This clip was taken from our stateroom on the 7th floor, with mist blown off the wave tops rising to our balcony and above.
Sue shot some great video from the 3rd deck on the Zaandam, as we cruised back across the Drake passage. This video shows the size of the waves encountered. We believe these waves were in the 15′ range. Walking on the ship was challenging, at times.
During our Antarctica cruising, we did have a humpback whale surface very close to our veranda. I was lucky to get a good tail shot.
Get your guesses in for the set of three numbers. We have a couple of correct responses but no one has correctly identified all three. (One clue, note the 8 did not change this time.)
We have had a great time but are looking forward to getting home the end of next week.
Best wishes!
