Some gentle moaning and groaning … and sleeping

Kraken near Aurora

A strange incident yesterday as I was going to sleep. An offshore camera picked up this picture of Aurora as it passed the notorious Nazca Zone where lines of force and strange effects converge. With a roll call later on it was discovered that four of the larger passengers and two crew were missing and part of the antennae had gone AWOL, leaving no trace behind. Cue spooky music. 

A quiet sea day

Our wake as we travelled past Peru's coastline

I think word has got through to the tour guides that they have to get us back to the ship when instructed. We made it back with 15 minutes to spare yesterday. I get that they want to give us our money’s worth and they believe the ship won’t go without us. Not the case, as we already know. Being in the desert had been tiring and draining and something of a sensory overload. It was warm with a gentle breeze in places, but we were constantly being warned about the UV. So naturally, we piled the sun protection on, only for the fine sand and dust to stick to us. So, after we set sail, a lovely hot bath was the order of the evening. As we left the northernmost part of Chile, we immediately travelled along the coast of Peru. Not surprisingly, it looked pretty identical. I felt the need to ponder our time in Chile. The positives were they were hugely friendly and welcoming, but the downside is they really need to sort out their road safety.

Up into the Atacama Desert to Codpa Village

At The Guardians

Yesterday we spent the late afternoon reading and writing. Then to the Glass House for prinks and dinner with a wine flight. As it was formal night and we were all dolled up, two people referred to Gabrielle as a fairy in her pink flowery party frock. She then went on to be a fairy godmother to Janice with some relationship advice. 

Heavy seas, grey water and a challenging hike

Touching the foot of the statue on Hernando Magellan's memorial

I started my blog session from my bed of pain. I’d been holding it together, though it was touch and go. I stoically gathered together last night’s attire in readiness to go to the restaurant. I’d already declared to Nick that he’d be drinking on his own. As we started coming out of the fjords and heading briefly back into the sea, a force 8 made movement around the ship pretty tricky. I then started returning to my original whiter shade of pale. Ooohhhh sounds like a great name for a song! Spray was flying past our balcony and we’re on deck 10.

The cruise that keeps on giving ... and maybe a looming problem

Glacier-spotting at 5:45am

Last night we decided to opt out of the world and had omelettes and chips in the cabin. We didn’t even go out to the gaucho show, but stayed at home, reading. There comes a point when you just have to stop! Then it was off to bed because the Captain had notified us that Chilean glaciers would be visible on the starboard side (our side) from 6am. So alarms were set for 5:45am. 

Here's the itinerary

 

It's a long old trip - 65 nights - but it visits many locations and you can see the full list below.  We leave on 6 January 2023 from Southampton and return there on 12 March 2023.

Check out the video to see how we get there.