The Weather Turns

Our luck with weather seems to have run out. Bad enough that the loudspeakers began the day with bad singing of love songs in Spanish for Valentine’s Day (which is actually not a very big deal in Chile), but the ship was rocking from the high wind and waves, even in the protected confines of the Montanas Fjord. Fog was thick, and the rain was not just coming down as a shower, it was coming down as a torent. There was even occasional sleet mixed in.

The first excursion was to be only a ride by Zodiac to see a glacier that the larger ship could not reach. Only about a third of the passengers elected to go, and all came back very wet. The second excursion involved taking Zodiacs to a glacial moraine for a one hour hike. Even fewer elected to leave the ship for that one. An afternoon excursion was to be a one hour boat ride to look at birds (and our tour director told us that we have already seen examples of every bird species that can be found among these islands).

Mary and I skipped all three excursions. We felt slightly guilty, as we are usually among the first in line for every opportunity and activity on these trips. But our primary purpose for traveling in February is to escape nasty weather, not to seek it. The first rule of inclement weather is to reduce exposure, so we sat and read our books in the bar while the cabin boys were cleaning our room, then returned to the room for more of the same.

Between excursions, our tour director had a briefing for our group in one of the bars. She gave us the word on our travel arrangements to Santiago for tomorrow. But for added entertainment she had three members of the group go behind the bar to get a lesson on making the Pisco Sour cocktail, after which we all got a small drink. It helped break up an otherwise dull day. The sun did come out in the evening, but the wind remained and the sea was rough. We won’t be sorry to get back into warm weather tomorrow in Santiago!

The evening meal on this last night aboard Skorpios III is the Captain’s Celebration. There was a huge buffet table set up (unusual because our other meals have been served by waiters), but before the table was opened, there was a good 15 minutes of people standing around, “ooo-ing and ah-ing” about the spread. Then everyone was asked to take their seats for an address from the Capitan. This was similar to the welcome speech the first night — the captain spoke long paragraphs in Spanish that were eventually translated into short sentences in English. The speech went on forever, asking applause for each of the 11 represented nations, thanking crew members by name and having them stand, etc.

After the food on the buffet table was good and cold, El Capitan finally wrapped up his monologue by proposing a toast to our cruise. The waiters had been filling our champagne glasses previously, so we all raised them. Then the table was open. The result was one of the most disgusting displays of gluttony ever encountered. There was no line, no order. Just people pushing and shoving to get to the food, as if someone else was going to get it all first. I finally put a few items on my plate, went back for a few more, but couldn’t believe how people were piling it on. When it came time for desserts, which were very good, I decided I could be a glutton, too. I went back for seconds on those, as well.

Part of the captain’s speech had been an “order” that everyone had to dance after dinner. As the buffet table was cleared off the dance floor, we slipped out and returned to our room. However, our room was just down the hall, and we could hear the cruise director (the same guy who is on the loudspeakers six times a day, “Amigas y amigos...”) on the mic as he began his gig as DJ. He decided to get things going by SINGING along with the first couple tracks. Off key and simply awful.

Fortunately, we had ear plugs and managed a great night’s sleep despite the racket down the hall.