Today was another day at sea and then we landed in Punta Arenas, Chile. On sea days, Princess wants to keep everyone busy, so there are enrichment lectures as well as games, the casino, and open shops to occupy the transit time. We attended four lectures dealing with the discovery of Antarctica, the animals of Antarctica, the geology of Antarctica , you get the picture!

We went to a new restaurant (for us) for dinner, Makoto Ocean, a Japanese sushi restaurant. It was some of the best sushi we have ever had! Here is the menu and some of the dishes.

The next day at Punta Arenas, Chile.

Today I enjoyed the peace and quiet of sitting in a bar drinking cappuccino while Alan went into Punta Arenas and went hiking in Magellan National Park.

Fortunately, we bought Alan a waterproof and fleece lined jacket. Despite an annual rainfall of only 17 inches, we had rain almost all day during the bus ride and hike. The hike was around Fort Bulnes on a hill overlooking the Straits of Magellan south of Punta Arenas. This was an area fortified by the Chileans in 1843 to give them control over ships entering and leaving the Straits. It was reconstructed based on an old painting in 1943.

Then after a bathroom break we started down the trail. Because of the rain, I expected the trail to be muddy, but it felt more springy and never deposited much mud on my boots. There were many plants, flowers, mosses, lichen and mushrooms. There were also wild fuschias.

After the hike, we stopped at the visitor’s center and had Pisco Sours and empanadas. There were also fields of pink, purple, and red flowers that we saw from the bus, but never slowed down enough to get a good picture. They looked similar to lupine.

When we arrived back to Punta Arenas, the wind was blowing at close to 50 mph. It was a long wait standing in the wind before being able to board the tender. I wasn’t cold with the new jacket, but had to hold onto my hat and lean into the wind to avoid being blown over. Shortly after I arrived back at the ship, the captain cancelled all shore leave and shut down the tender service early because of the wind and very choppy water. After a quick snack and coffee, I went back up to the room to join BJ and get ready for dinner at the Crown Grill, a steak house onboard.

The dinner at the Crown Grill restaurant was outstanding. It is a typical steak house with huge portions and separate sides. I asked if I could get just half a 14 ounce ribeye and the waiter looked at me like I was crazy. I was barely able to eat half, just as I thought, but the waiter said if they divided it they would throw away the other half anyway. Next time we will order one steak and a lobster tail and split both since Alan only ate half his ribeye too.

Last night we finished traversing the Straits of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean and then south to the Beagle Passage and headed east toward Ushuaia. It is raining but very calm.

We have already attended one enrichment talk about the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. We will be landing soon in Ushuaia where Alan will be going on another hike in Tierra Major Natural Reserve and I will again be vegging. Loving this vacation so far.