In the Pacific and Valparaiso bound

Day 13 of our adventure finds us in the Pacific Ocean - named by Ferdinand Magellan after his exhausting trial in negotiating the strait - the Ocean was such a calm relief that he named it the Pacific. And - true to that history, the Pacific today is placid and welcoming. We had a lovely day cruising northwards with the beauty of the Southern Andes on one side and the ocean stretching out to the other - except when we were in channels and looking at glaciers and dolphins and bendy trees and whatnot... At around 3pm we neared the Amalia Glacier which is a truly gorgeous glaciers stretching from high in the mountains down in a gentle sweep to the ocean where a mile-wide ice face meets salt water and bergy bits bob around and the ocean turns green from minerals. The weather held and the glacier showed us it's blue - it was too cool to be actively calving but was wonderful regardless though the more jaded among us were heard to make such comments as, "I am tired of ice and rock, I've seen ice and rock..." etc. Everyone was out on deck though and the reminder of how great it can all be kept us all snapping pictures though everyone at home may also wonder exactly how many pictures of ice and rock a pair of people can take (so far more than 1000 I think).

I thought I would take a chance to describe some of the daily life around here while we have our last 3 days at sea.

There's Jessie and Natalyia and Daniela who greet us every morning. Natalyia is Ukrainian and serves a lovely hot chocolate (milk and chocolate - not powder and water). Daniela is Macedonian and is very creative and eager to get to Santiago as she gets to go home after this trip. Jessie is the bartender at the piece of marble we keep warm (International Cafe bar) and is Filipino and smiles kindly and puts out the icewater when he sees me approach. He was the first to recieve an origami penguin as a gift - though the others have all earned theirs as well.

There's Raj who is young and Indian and newly married and likes to joke around but got frightened when Dale asked him to set up a meeting with the Captain. There's Robert who was cool at first (a Polish lad) but has warmed up to us and helped Donna and I create the perfect Origami Orca complete with ocean waves. There is also Mark who seems stiff but really isn't - he's just British and looks forward to London after this trip - he always makes sure the ice is in the water and the peanuts are at hand then tells tales of 16 years working on ships. Manuel serves us extremely ably and cheerfully each evening though he seems to have a hearing problem and always brings twice as many desserts as any of us ordered. It is creating clothing problems in some quarters...

There's "Ottawa" the friendly chap at the bar who learned to fold a penguin for his grandson and checks the latest news from Canada for us on his laptop. And there is "Houston" whom Dale met for the first time today. He is the kind neighbour who got help for me when I was locked out on my balcony. There are the people who gather around and shyly ask if we will teach them how to fold a whale. There is also the very odd older lady who looks about 103 but curiously fit though very thin and insists on wearing culottes in bright colours with matching argyle knee socks. There is the stodgy Swiss chap who though young, is VERY Swiss and somewhat dull but fancies himself a ladies man - the ladies tend to let him down gently. There is the couple - her bent over a walker and he, somewhat distant appearing, who wear supersized penguin slippers around the ship and introduce them by name to unsuspecting travellers who are trapped in an elevator with them. There is the fellow that tried to take Donna's seat when she went to the washroom and insisted it was his then went off to eat 5 bowls of soup with lemon squeezed in and annoyed the bar staff by trying to serve himself lemons from their container. There are the people who insist on standing in doorways and at the top of stairwells and of course all the people who have to be first in line and can't listen to instructions if their lives depend upon it. There are also the lovely, kind people who share stories of their countries and lives with us - farmers, engineers, preachers, retired teachers, and so many more. it is an oddly comforting sort of united Nations that manages not to get too out of hand most days. like any society, this one has its jerks but they are held in check by the good ones so it all works out.

Ciao dear friends - hasta manana

D&M