January 30, 2025
Cruising the Chiliean Fjords
From January 18th to the 23rd we were cruising the
Chiliean Fjords. We had to skip tender port of
Puerto Chacabuco on the 20th due to rough seas, which would make the port tender operations unsafe. The scenery was amazing and in seemed like we were the only ones cruising these narrow straights getting to see the most beautiful landscapes. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace and comradery shared with fellow passengers every time the captain announced another wildlife or glacier sighting and we all would run outside. We love Captain Val - his announcements are so informative, and he always has a great big smile and heart felt laugh and he ends every day with a profound quote!
I have shared a couple post of my fellow residents who did a better job of catching everything in photos on Facebook. I was too busy enjoying the moments, to capture many of them. Below is a variety of glaciers and a pair of playful dolphins that were having some fun and giving us a show as we drifted along one of the glaciers.
Ternate, Indonesia, which is both the name of the city and island, and is part of the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. It is a port that sees maybe 3 Cruise ships a year. However, they really made an effort to show us the best of what they can offer. It's mainly a Muslim country, and we knew we had to dress discretely, but we knew little else. We didn't have our typical port talk prior, due to a technical issue with the AV equipment. Ben a fellow resident, organized an island tour, with about 8 stops, for 90 of us residents.
Cebu greeted our Ship with a big warm welcome, despite having just been rocked by a major Earthquake, days before our arrival. The Minister of Tourism arrived with a motorcade and she proceeded to chat with the residents and thank us, for all our support.
Today we were Cave explorers! We went to the one of UNESCO newly classified 7 NEW WONDERS OF NATURE - The Puerto Princesa Underground River.