LOCATION: Puerto Williams
Another day at sea in the Drake Passage and almost, but not quite, calm. A big improvement on the overnight rock and roll and no longer the 3 am washing machine agitator. @Captain Sasha was making excellent time and was keen to outrun the storms that were still closing in.
So calm in fact that our day was marked by regular visits to the food venues. Fronted up to the Restaurant for breakfast where @Mac went all out to celebrate @Mindy's birthday and ordered Canadian bacon AND French toast. Happy Birthday @Mindy Moo from Country Two . .... who just so happened to be in Hawaii weathering a fierce storm that included gale force winds and torrential rain. Her Daddy assured her ... "No worries, you ARE the sunshine." Truer words never spoken.
Of course, the range of activities continued to be on offer here on board the ship - a little bit of bingo, some more lectures and a meetup on deck for the farewell sail in party to Puerto Williams. Funny though, because we were so early in arriving - we had to anchor in the channel until the Silver Endeavour left in the evening and we could take our position portside. The entertainment crew always pull something out of the hat to mark the occasion.
Joined @Mareika and the Expedition Team for the Mega Recap and her retell of our adventures, challenges, sightings and landing was a perfect finale. Wish I had the presence of mind to press record on the audio of her run down. Brought to life again for us, how truly fortunate we have been to experience so many encounters in this part of the world. Felt like we have been the stars of our very own wildlife documentary. In fact, such stars, that our photo was featured on the recap.
Speaking of photos, there was a competition for passengers to enter shots they had taken - lots of stunners!
As the finale to the recap, a chart, hand painted by one of the staff was auctioned off and the funds go towards their "welfare" fund. @Deb had $13 US left on her on board credit and was all set to bid. Um, not likely. The bidding opened at $500 US and the piece was finally sold ay $2 600 US after frantic rounds of bidding.
A definite sense of sadness as you say farewells to new people who have entered your life. We did little speeches and thank you and acknowledgement for our restaurant and bar duo, @Naina and @Daniel who have made us feel very comfortable with our requests for food and drink. Definitely imbibed our way around Antarctica.
All evening preparations were completed and we had our luggage in the hallway by the 10 pm deadline. We had hoped we would be lighter going back - no such luck. We've got the added parkas, backpacks and water bottles. We do have a plan to off load the majority of the winter gear with @LoRi as they head back home after the cruise.
Set our alarms for the 5.30 am wakeup call! We are off the ship at 6.30 and on the flight at 7.30. We need a holiday - thank goodness for an easy afternoon in Santiago tomorrow ... and there will be sunshine!
Survival Barometer
Steps 6 834
Weather 5 degrees - some rain
Health -- continuing with good health and good spirits
PS Happy Birthday Mindy - we sort of feel we are in the same time zone - well, at least on a connected continent.
PPS Speaking of birthdays I had a sneak at a little parcel given to me by @LoRi for my April birthday. Hope it lasts till then. I sealed it back up.
Can you believe this?
Beagle Channel considered one of the richest waterways in the Southern Hemisphere. Co-Pilot suggested we should look out for the following:
🐧 Penguins
- ☐ Magellanic Penguins (common — moulting, on beaches & swimming)
- ☐ Gentoo Penguins (occasional visitors)
- ☐ King Penguins (rare but possible — a few individuals linger year‑round)
🦭 Seals & Sea Lions
- ☐ South American Sea Lions (very common — big harems, active pups)
- ☐ South American Fur Seals (less common — rocky outcrops, shy)
🐋 Whales & Dolphins
- ☐ Humpback Whales (possible — feeding before migration)
- ☐ Minke Whales (occasional)
- ☐ Peale’s Dolphins (common — bow‑riding)
- ☐ Commerson’s Dolphins (common — fast, black‑and‑white “panda dolphins”)
🕊️ Birds
- ☐ Black‑browed Albatross (common — soaring over the channel)
- ☐ Southern Giant Petrel (common — scavengers, huge wingspan)
- ☐ Imperial Cormorant (very common — nesting colonies)
- ☐ Rock Cormorant
- ☐ Kelp Goose
- ☐ Upland Goose
- ☐ Chilean Skua
- ☐ Antarctic Tern
- ☐ Steamer Duck (flightless, hilarious, very local)
🦊 Land Wildlife
- ☐ Fuegian Red Fox (possible near Puerto Williams or coastal trails)
🌟 Special Behaviours to Watch For
- ☐ Sea lion pups learning to swim
- ☐ Dolphins bow‑riding the ship
- ☐ Albatrosses gliding without flapping
- ☐ Penguins porpoising beside the boat
- ☐ Giant petrels patrolling for food
- ☐ Mixed feeding frenzies (penguins + dolphins + birds)
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