This is the second part of the article outlining a holiday with Princess Cruises on the Star Princess from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our first date and the fact we’d managed to save up long enough to afford it. The first part of this article can be found here: Star Princess: South America Cruise (Part 1).
The Beagle Channel
Star Princess docked at Ushuaia in the background, freezing cold photographer in the foreground, another freezing cold photographer taking this picture.
One of my favourite sights on our trip was waking up to discover the cruise ship was docked in Ushuaia and surrounded on three sides by towering mountains made more ominous and oppressive by the dim pre-dawn light of day. What can I say? I like the sea and I like mountain ranges; put them together and you’ve got yourself something I like twice.
Now, unlike the Falkland Islands where we’d been told it could be cold and wet but it wasn’t, in Ushuaia we’d been told it would be cold and wet and it certainly was. It was very cold. And it was very wet. Fortunately, the wet part eased off early but the cold part persisted. How cold was it? It was long-sleeved top and thick hoodie and wool hat and waterproof coat, with hoodie done up and hood raised, and coat done up and hood raised, and gloves on cold. And we’d booked an excursion on a catamaran out onto the Beagle Channel to look for wildlife so it was all that type of cold plus out on an exposed stretch of water cold. Still, only one mad, mad person decided to ignore the spray and biting wind and spend the entire catamaran venture out on the deck of the boat rather than taking in the views from inside.
That was me.
No matter the species there’s always one poseur.
So, sure, I was cold. Frozen, you might say. But I knew I’d recover and I got some wonderful views and fabulous shots of mountains, birds, sea lions, and a lighthouse, as well as the fond memory that there was probably at least one person on board other than my wife thinking “What is that loony doing out there?”
Cruise Tip
Maybe two pairs of gloves next time I head out onto the Beagle Channel.
Ushuaia
Now, we’d been told on the Falkland Islands that the majority of people who were really a little bit, er, antsy where it came to that place’s sovereignty were the Argentinians in and around Ushuaia; whether this was because the harsh living and economic conditions there simply brewed anger couldn’t be said with absolute certainty but most other people in that area of the world had a more liberal live-and-let-live attitude. We’d also seen in our daily briefing notes on board ship that we shouldn’t wear anything with the words “Falkland Islands” on while ashore. We didn’t (although we heard some people did anyway), but with those thoughts hinting at extra vigilance at the back of our heads we went for a walk around Ushuaia after our Beagle Channel cruise.
After spotting a sign proclaiming the “Malvinas” were illegally occupied by the British we rounded a corner to be met by a large group of protesters. What they were protesting wasn’t clear because our Spanish was sorely limited (unsurprisingly, since we’re English and lazy when it comes to things like that) but we assumed it was us. We kept a low profile, I kept my camera pointed down, and we slipped past hoping not to meet any eyes. We then came upon a large mural that our poor grasp of the lingo translated as something like “Tourists are ruining Ushuaia.” Our uncomfortable levels raised a notch so we entered a store to buy some crap and it was here that I talking to a friendly staff member who assuaged my fears and explained the protest was anti-government because of new taxes. The relief was immense.
I suspect a lot of anger and protests in the Ushuaia region of Argentina are mostly an excuse for human contact and warmth.
Cruise Tip
It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, everyone hates the government and taxes.
I felt much happier taking pictures of the protesters after that and much calmer walking around the pleasant streets with their plenty of examples of graffiti to occupy my photographic desires. Later, back on board, we heard that our friends from up north had not only helped stoke some braziers (it was cold, if you remember) for the protesters but also carried some placards too.
Our stay in Ushuaia was then extended somewhat as the ship found itself wedged against the pier from the wind pushing against it. I might have mentioned the wind. About four hours later than expected we got underway for an overnight cruise that would take us our next stop.
Punta Arenas, Chile
The plan had been to disembark early for our short tour of our first stop in Chile, then have plenty of time to ourselves to wander about. However, that delay in Ushuaia had a knock-on effect in that our early tour became a late one leaving far less additional time for exploration. Still, our tour took in an open air museum, a natural history museum (with delayed departure because a handful of people decided meeting times were for other people and just wandered off on their own), our second cemetery with above ground vaults of the cruise, a nice viewpoint overlooking the city, and the city square.
We’d spotted some interesting street art at the start of our tour so had enough time to walk along the seafront and check some of it out before returning to the ship where the evening included victory in the rock trivia quiz.
Whilst Punta Arenas wasn’t the most interesting of places it did afford an excellent view of the Star Princess at anchor.
Rough Seas
The captain wanted to make up for lost time and he wanted to increase speed while out on the open water after Punta Arenas but the area of the world we were in was where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans met. The result – a bit like Hart to Hart – was murder! Actually, it was less than murder and not even manslaughter. Big waves is what it actually was. And the thing about big waves is that you can’t really go quickly through them which is why our progress was slower than hoped and bumpier than many people liked. Not us, though; we love a good wave. When it comes to spicing up a sea day on a cruise ship there’s nothing quite like hearing the elevators banging against the shafts as you use them, or watching spray crash past your deck 9 balcony, or clenching your buttocks in (unfounded) fear as the bar staff lurch your way like Frankenstein whilst carrying fully-loaded trays of drinks, or walking down the corridor at either end of the ship as the floor seems to drop away from your footstep and you experience momentary weightlessness.
Cruise Tip
When the seas get rough head to the highest point of the back of the ship for the best experience. Unless you’re a coward.
Amalia Glacier
I do like a nice glacier.
The rough seas eased off as the Star Princess got some shelter among the Chilean Fjords on its way to the Amalia Glacier. In order to prevent everyone rushing to the one bit of the ship that could get a decent view of the natural phenomenon and capsizing the vessel (I’m sure that doesn’t happen that often) the cruise ship proceeded to rotate in place at a reasonable speed ensuring everyone got a great look at the wall of blue-white ice flowing out of the distant mountains. This was our second cruise trip that had taken in a glacier (we’d previously hit Norway) and they don’t get any less magnificent. When we get around to cruising to Alaska (which very nearly everybody on board at some point recommended we do when they learnt we hadn’t already) there are no prizes for guessing what we’re going to see there too.
Cruise Tip
Glaciers are cool in every sense of the word.
Sunbathing
Never fear! There are no images of me sunbathing here! However, with the next day being a sea day and the weather being lovely and us not really being fans of hanging around with other people too much and us having splashed out on a mini suite which meant we had nice reclining chairs and leg rests and exposure to the elements on our balcony I came over all giddy and exposed my moobs to spy satellites, the occasional albatross, the cameras attached to the exterior of the bridge, and any fool mad enough to peer over the starboard side as we tracked northwards through the Pacific off the Chilean coast. I lasted about twenty minutes because it was warm but I’m sure the skin on my torso enjoyed the rare blast of ultraviolet rays.
Either side of the crazy escapades on the balcony we won the very packed morning quiz and lost the afternoon one on the tie breaker. And there was an art auction. And we bought more art. Because that’s what we appear to do at these things.
Puerto Montt
We arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile under low, heavy-looking, white cloud which didn’t bode well as we were scheduled to experience some great-looking places on an excursion. Nevertheless, we boarded our coach and commenced our tour with a guide whose name I never caught but who I can safely refer to as Mr Unbelievably Proud Of Chile. As that’s a smidge long I’ll just call him Mr Proud. Mr Proud, as you might have guessed, was unbelievably proud of Chile and as we wound our way through the roads from Puerto Montt through Puerto Varas and then onwards to our first destination we heard him describe how the socialist system in Chile worked well for the people; promoting socialist values with such passion to a busload of mainly old, white, probably-Republican Americans takes a lot of guts so he got my complete attention. During the course of the day we’d hear about how the people ousted Pinochet and their regular run-ins with Argentina when both countries had dictatorships. My main memory, though, was remarking to my wife that Chile’s history seemed to consist largely of picking the wrong sides in wars and then switching when things looked bad.
Petrohué Falls
Our first stop was the Petrohué Falls on the river of the same name (pronounced Petro-Weh). Mr Proud had tried on a number of occasions to point out the volcanoes we were passing on the journey but cloud kept obscuring the view. “Don’t worry,” he told us. “We are climbing in altitude and the clouds will burn off. You will see!” And we did. Good as his word, we arrived at the river under a sudden, eye-achingly clear, blue sky. With the Osorno Volcano – our next destination – in the distance we had a little explore of the river and its falls.
Not the world’s most impressive falls but still very beautiful with gorgeous colours you’ll have to imagine here as my camera hasn’t really captured them.
After Petrohué we got back on the coach and proceeded to take the long, twisting road up the Osorno Volcano.
Intermission
Let’s have a little break there to talk briefly about people. Specifically: the ungrateful, complaining, and just plain odd people that somehow seem to frequent foreign travel.
Mr Proud casually mentioned that at the volcano stop there would be a store and a café but that if we wanted to take advantage of the time we had we could pay for a chairlift ride higher up the mountain for a better view (and for the fun of a chairlift ride!) For those remaining at the store/café, he recommended that they drink the local alcoholic chocolate drink. “Just so I know,” he asked, “how many will be taking the chairlift?” We raised our hands. Us and eight other people on a coach with over 50 decided to take advantage of the great experience of the chairlift! That’s quite sad when you think about how much people were paying for this cruise and excursion. We later learned that of the 40+ who remained the number of people who chose the alcoholic chocolate drink rather than coffee was… wait for it… wait for it… it was zero! Not one person. That’s also really sad.
Mr Proud also mentioned that following our volcano visit we would be heading down to a restaurant for lunch which would consist of local vegetable soup, fresh farmed salmon, a blueberry pie, local wine, and pisco sour. Everything food-wise there sounded great to me except for the blueberries but when in Chile do as the Chileans do was my temporary motto. Everything food-wise there sounded awful to my wife except for the blueberries but when in Chile do as the Chileans do was her temporary motto too. We like to embrace the places we’re going to. We’re like the opposite of those people who we met on our honeymoon cruise who went for an excursion to a tea house in the hilltops of Taiwan and asked for coffee (yes, they too were American; well done for guessing that.) The temporary motto we’d adopted was not shared by everyone.
“Sorry, did you say salmon?”
“I was told there’d be a choice.”
“I don’t eat salmon. And my wife doesn’t either, do you? No, there, see, she doesn’t.”
“I only eat Alaskan salmon.”
“We were definitely told there’d be a choice.”
Cruise Tip
Just shut up about the salmon. Especially you, Mr I Only Eat Alaskan Salmon. Do you know how much of a knob you sounded?
We’d never seen anything about a choice and we’d learnt from Mr Proud that salmon was one of the region’s primary exports so were keen to try it anyway. Other people, though, are only happy when they complain. Mr Proud took a show of hands of people who didn’t want the salmon and said he’d phone ahead while we enjoyed the volcano to see if they could prepare something special just for them.
That’s enough for the intermission but I’ll be returning to the subjects covered soon…
Osorno Volcano
Chairlift ride up the side of a volcano or take a look in a shop selling t-shirts? Decisions, decisions…
We took the chairlift up another few hundred metres in height which gave me a chance to read the sign and practice some absolutely dreadful Spanish on the ticket seller. “Un tramo por dos adultos, por favor,” was the gist of what I said. The chairlift was smooth and silent and afforded fantastic views. Mr Proud had advised us to slap sunblock on based on the altitude and lack of pollution. My wife missed a spot on her chest and got noticeably burnt on the 12-minute long trip up.
Cruise Tip
Going up a volcano in a chairlift? Wear sunblock. Skipping the chairlift in favour of a shop? Why not just stay on board ship instead?
Lake Llanquihue
After coming back down on the chairlift and taking a quick nose around the shop to buy a t-shirt we got back on the coach for the reasonably quick drive down to the restaurant on the shore of Lake Llanquihue. We were seated in tables of six and found ourselves sharing with a couple we’d met before – Americans, fiercely Republican (I’d wound them up a little bit there), and fiercely Southern Baptist with a love of Billy Graham (I’d wound them up a little bit there too), but not dreadful people despite those shortcomings – and another couple we’d not met before.
The new couple and one of the old couple all had the “alternative choice” rather than salmon, which turned out to be chicken cooked specially for them. My wife doesn’t like vegetable soup but tried it, loved it, and finished it off. My wife doesn’t like salmon but tried it, loved it, finished it off, and vowed to give it another go when we got back home because that’s how impressed she was. I don’t like blueberries but tried them, tolerated them, and finished them off. We both love wine and most other forms of alcohol so there was no problem there.
View of the lake from the restaurant that certain people did nothing but complain about.
At the end of the meal we were encouraged by Mr Proud to leave a small tip if we thought the waiting staff – who’d been buzzing around to serve us – deserved it, so we did. And so did the couple we’d met before. And so did… half of… the new couple. It transpired that the wife there didn’t like the chicken that had been cooked just to please her, didn’t eat it, and therefore didn’t want to leave a tip because they saw the tip as a reflection of the quality of the mind-reading capabilities and alignment of tastes between foreigners and themselves rather than any form of thanks for the effort.
Cruise Tip
When someone goes out of their way to do something just for you just leave a tip even if you don’t like what they did you ungrateful little shit.
Leaving Chile
We had one more stop after the meal: a short shopping chance in Puerto Varas (ideal for those people who didn’t get enough from the small shop up the volcano when they could have experienced the chairlift (I know, I know, I should just it go)) with the highlight there being bumping into a couple we’d seen in the nightclub a few times.
Some fellow cruisers shuffling around Puerto Varas.
“Hi there!” we said, with a wave.
“Oh it’s you!” came the rather excitable reply, pointing.
“Er… yes?”
“We saw you on the ship!”
“I know. We, er, we’ve all been on a ship together for two weeks.”
“No, no, no. We saw you! While we were waiting to disembark. We saw you on the screens, dancing with a tango dancer!”
“Ah. Yes. Wonderful.”
Confirmation that my dance in Uruguay had made it onto the DVD of the cruise and that I was recognisable in it. Oh well, what’s a cruise for if not for new and excruciating experiences?
Back on board the Star Princess we decided to relax in our stateroom for a bit before heading down for the afternoon BOGO and trivia. I wandered out onto the balcony to take some final shots of our final port stop, looked down, and rushed back in to the cabin. “Quick! Come outside!” I told my Kindle-reading wife. My Kindle-reading wife transformed into an eye-rolling, heavy-sighing wife but she followed me out only to rush back in and grab her camera too.
A submarine! A Chilean Navy submarine! A final, wonderful bonus sight on our wonderful South American cruise!
See! We really did see a submarine!
Valparaiso
After a final day at sea that saw us winning a bottle of champagne as victors in the final quiz of the cruise (we are so smart!) and feeling completely out of place as we’d packed all our smart clothes away and returned to the casual wear we’d sport on the flight home we disembarked at Valparaiso for the coach ride to the airport at Santiago. Disembarkation was incredibly swift, a testament to the difference it makes when someone dressed as a penguin isn’t trying to get everyone to pose for photos. That said, disembarkation was so swift and the coach trip to the airport was so devoid of interaction (since it wasn’t an excursion) that the whole affair felt rather like we were being ushered off out of the way as quickly as possible. A bit of a shame. It was also a shame that there was no short excursion offered, perhaps in the form of a small tour around Valparaiso since it looked wonderful from an architectural and vibrancy perspective, especially in light of the fact that we had to hang around the airport for three hours before we could even check our luggage in. Not the greatest end to the cruise but certainly not enough to spoil it.
The Air France flight home was better than the one coming out even though it was longer. The plane was newer, felt larger, the equipment was better, the seats were not quite as terrible, the food was an improvement.
And that was our South American cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso on board the Princess Cruises ship Star Princess in early March, 2016.
All the photos that I took during the cruise can be found on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/neonbubble/collections/72157665437897710/
Videos from the cruise can be found here: South America Cruise Videos.
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