Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cruise begins in
Puerto Madryn
Monday 12th November 2018
 
The hour we had all been waiting for... our expedition was about to begin! Derek took this photo as our coach drove onto the harbour pier, where our ship was waiting for us. Security was tight. An Argentinian security officer boarded the coach to check our passports. He told Derek that his surname was Roberts too... well we did know that there were strong connections with Wales!
 
 
Three coachloads were offloaded in quick succession. We were greeted warmly by a dozen or so members of the ship's crew and the entire expedition team.
 
 
We were shown into the main lounge for tea first and then invited to go to our cabins at a leisurely pace afterwards, to avoid a bottleneck in the corridors. Nicely done... they have clearly done this before!
 
We didn't sample the "welcome on board" cake, but it did look lovely nonetheless.
 
Our cabin (419) - only one problem, the bed needed to be separated, but that was quickly done, haha!
 
Since my previous trip on this ship (last year), the cabins on this deck had been upgraded to have sliding doors, in place of a window. This gave us direct access to the deck and proved to be very useful when we wanted to go outside quickly to see whales and other wildlife.
 
Lifeboat drill... which we took very seriously!
 
 
Some sea lions had made themselves at home on the pier supports next to the ship...
 
...from where they dived into the sea...
 
...as well as finding other unusual places to relax!
 
And then, without fanfare, we calmly drifted away from the dock to begin our exciting voyage!
 
We didn't appreciate in advance how far we would be sailing between landings!
 
The sea was calm, the sun was shining. It couldn't have been better!
 
Once we had cleared the harbour, a boat appeared and came alongside to pick up the pilot.
 
 
The pilot departs...
 
...taking a few photos of us for his collection...
 
 
 
...and then the wildlife spotting began in earnest!
 
 
 
 
 
 
The back deck, where meals are served for the brave and hardy passengers amongst us!
 
 
 
It was lovely to be recognised instantly by Executive Chef, Jörg. Geoff and I had sailed with him on two previous occasions (Sicily 2017 and Japan 2016) and we greatly admired his skills!
 

At the pre-dinner briefing, we were introduced to the expedition team. Those on the Iguazu excursion already knew Kristine and I remembered Pam from our Baltic cruise in 2011, when she was the assistant cruise director.
 
We were then given a demonstation on how to put on the "one-size-fits-none" immersion suit!
 
Of course we paid attention and took this seriously, at the same time hoping we wouldn't need it!
 
 
 
It was wonderful to be back on board a familar ship with an exciting itinerary ahead of us!
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble