Cruising Around Cape Horn

20 November - 8 December 2015

This was another RCI package that we bought into just like the Panama Canal cruise. We got the same deal: a long cruise, a week at any RCI resort, another shorter cruise, and a week at a Mexican resort. All for around $1700 which didn’t seem like such a good deal until we started talking to people who got good deals by booking their cruise very close to the start of the cruise. It seemed like they paid about the same, and they didn’t get the other resort stays and a second cruise. Of course, everybody has to pay the port fees and taxes before the cruise and then the hotel fee (gratuity) at the end. One advantage, though, to booking late and with a travel agent is there may be perks like on board credit and/or drink packages. We pretty much blew off the Mexican resort deal – none of the locations interested us too much. And we haven’t yet decided on a RCI resort; heck, we have trouble using up our Worldmark timeshare points each year. What we really wanted to do was take a cruise into the Norwegian fjords, but that would have to be in the summer and we needed to cruise before then. When we saw that part of the Cape Horn cruise was through the Chilean fjords, we thought that it would be a good winter getaway.

20 Nov, Fri – Up at 0330 and out the door in the dark and cold by shortly after 0400. We got to the Sandstone Inn early enough to get parked (118.57) and on the 0500 shuttle. Checking in at Virgin America was easy and we checked our three bags through to Santiago leaving us with just our backpacks. C.J. brought her new lightweight pack which is smaller than her usual Ozone pack so it was stuffed full with computer and other items. Going through security I got randomly selected for a scan, and then my keychain Swiss Army knife showed up in the scan of my backpack. I had to turn it in (mailing would have cost about twice the value of the knife. All this furor made me forget my fleece jacket on the conveyor, and I didn’t miss it until I had reached the gate (B1). Fortunately it was still there when I went back. I grabbed an Egg McMuffin for breakfast since we wouldn’t be getting anything on the flight to LAX. Our flight was delayed a short time because one engine was leaking a little fuel. The ground was mostly covered with fog and I napped on the way to Los Angeles. Just before we got there, the view cleared and we had good views of the hills and valleys approaching the LA basin. Since our bags were checked through, we only had to walk the short distance to the Tom Bradley International Terminal. We had less than three hours to wait for out LAN flight so we ate some of the food we had brought along [Later, when we reached Chile, we ate the nuts and raisins out of the trail mix so we didn’t have to declare them at Customs.] For some reason we did not have seats together on the Boeing 787 but C.J. turned on her charm with the guy sitting next to her (who had already offered her his window seat) and convinced him to trade places with me. It was a coincidence that the passenger was also a crew member on the HAL cruise we were about to embark on. And then, later, we learned that our other seatmate was also a crew member and would be working as a waiter in the dining room. The flight was long and over water for much of it. Lunch was served and then a sandwich.

Panorama of Valparaiso Harbor

21 Nov, Sat - We stopped in Lima for an hour but did not get off the plane. Then it was another three hours to Santiago with a breakfast omelet. We approached from the north, flying along snow-covered mountains. Once in the airport shortly after 0700 local time (five hours later than PST), the immigration and customs did not seem to take much time. There is no longer a “get-even” fee for US citizens entering Chile (although Canadians, Mexicans and Kiwis still have to pay a reciprocity fee. After getting out of the arrivals area we stopped at a kiosk and bought two local Entel SIM cards  for our NZ phones. The sales agent had some difficulty but eventually they were recognized by the network and we were able to text each other our new Chilean phone numbers. [1 week of service, 7 min talk, 100 SMS, 100 MB data]. Next I went up to the third floor and took out approx. $100 (70,000CLP) from a cajero automatico. By now we had fended off at least two ground transport/taxi/minibus touts who wanted to provide rides to Valparaiso for 80,000CLP, and we had figured out where the Centropuerto bus stop was. Getting the three checked bags on board was not a problem at all because an attendant loaded them into a storage compartment. The fare was only 3000CLP to the Pajaritos bus terminal for the two of us. The driver announced the stop and we got off, collected our bags and walked to the far side of the building, just as

C.J. on route to Cerro Concepcion

the Cruise Critic blog instructions had indicated. We found that there was a Pullman bus almost ready to pull out for Valpo and I quickly secured tickets at the terminal. Although our tickets (9000CLP) were for 0940, the driver of the Pullman fit us into the last two seats and left as soon as we were on board at 0900). Along the way I sent a text to Daniela, out Airbnb hostess in Valpo, to let her know when we would arrive. The drive was uneventful with sort of Northern California scenery plus some cacti and vineyards. It was not much after 1015 when we entered Valparaiso; there was a big Saturday market on the median of the street we came in on. The trip ended at the Rodivario Bus terminal and I found a TI who gave me a map of the city and pointed out that it would be only a 20-min walk to Daniela’s apartment at Brazil 1538 near the British Arch. We decided to find a taxi instead to leave us some energy to explore the city later. We got a wild ride  to the apartment building, checked in with the desk and got sent up the elevator to Daniela’s apartment where she greeted us and spent some time showing us places to go on

Arco Britanico

the map. It was a little challenging because she doesn’t speak much English (she had told us about that before she accepted our request for a stay with her). After unpacking a little we headed right out intending to find something to eat soon, probably one of the places Daniela had recommended as tipico. It was only a few blocks to the alley where the graffiti-covered restaurant J. Cruz was located. It looked better inside so we went in and were welcomed by the owner who seated us. We got drinks but nothing happened for what seemed like a long time, no menu, no one asked us what we’d like to eat. Just as we were about to give up a waitress brought a huge platter of French fries covered with onion and cheese and topped with beef slices. I guess that we got what was

rats nest of wiring

being served; we saw other patrons getting the same thing. We ate all we could before heading out to do some more exploring. We walked along the street (Condell, Esmeralda, Prat) past Plaza Anibal Pinto (where the other Daniela-recommended eating place, Cinzano was located) until we got to a side passageway/ stairway from which a crowd of obvious tourists were emerging. We figured that there must be something to see so we climbed the long stairway onto Cerro Concepcion where there were lots of old buildings and murals, small shops and hostals. We saw the Reina Victoria ascensor (funicular) and stopped in a heladeria for gelato before heading down a steep stairway to Ave Ramos and Plaza

War Memorial on the waterfront

Sotomayor with its monument to the heroes and martyrs of the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia. We had considered doing one of the “tours for tips” but we were about toured out. We continued down to the waterfront and wandered through some not-very-interesting artisan shops. By then I was tired and even C.J. was ready to head back to the Airbnb to rest, and it was only 1445. We walked back along a slightly different route and saw more old buildings and small shops and a few large stores. I took a shower and then slept until 1930. We went out again hoping to find an easy place to eat but nothing really grabbed us – there would be plenty of food on the ship for the next two weeks. We did wander through two large supermarkets and got a view of the harbor from a pedestrian walkway. We walked SW a ways through crowds of people as far as Condell then returned to Daniela’s apartment for the night. Computers and phones needed charging and we wanted to upload photos and write in our journals before we forgot everything.

Reina Victoria Ascensore (funicular)

Muelle Prat and gov't buidings from the ship

22 Nov, Sun – We had our alarm set for 0730 and after a shower we set off to see if we could find breakfast. Nothing was open including the juice stands we had seen the previous day. Eventually we wandered uphill as far as Plazuela Ecuador where there was a small market including a couple of bakeries. We got a scone-like pastry and a chocolate sprinkle-covered doughnut thingy. When I paid, an older woman behind me in line warned me about being careful with money. That was sort of scary. We went back down to the plano and walked north then west to the cathedral and the two parks then south to the British triumphal (?) arch and rose garden. That put us back at Brazil 1538 so we returned to Daniela’s apartment and collected our stuff and said goodbye. There was no problem finding a taxi right in front of the apartment building but the driver did not know where the Valparaiso Terminal de Pasajeros (VTP) was located. We drove north through a large market area and almost to the Rodivario bus terminal before I pointed out that we needed to go to the VTP which is near the Baron Metro stop. As we got close, there were signs for the VTP and we arrived at the terminal. We attached our room number tags to our luggage and kept our backpacks. The HAL agent kept our passports and gave us receipts for them. Then we walked through the large terminal to a shuttle bus which took us past the Muelle Prat downtown to the container port where the MS Zaandam was docked. The entrance gangplank took us directly to our deck, and our cabin, 2522, was

Ship docked in container port

forward. Our bags were delivered later. We went up to deck 8, the Lido and had lunch then wandered all over the ship trying to get a feel for where things were located. The glass roof over the Lido deck pool was open in the warm Valparaiso weather; by the next day it was closed. Back at the cabin we met our steward, Maryo, and unpacked our stuff into the drawers, shelves and closets. There was an introduction to the ports in the Mondriaan Lounge theater. We had our mandatory lifeboat drill at 1615. We went to dinner early, 1730 for open seating and there was no line. We sat at a table for six with a couple from Philadelphia, a woman from Dublin (Ourla) and another solo traveler from Vancouver, BC. It was a good group with lots of conversation. C.J. had strip steak and I had the pork chop with cherry chutney, both very good, and chocolate panna cotta and a brownie stack for dessert.

Valparaiso at night - sailaway

Later we attended the opening night theater production, “Listen to the Music”. The production company seemed quite talented. The Tango duo from Colombia were outstanding. The ship was supposed to leave around 1800 but the fuel had not arrived so we didn’t get under way until maybe 2100. [Later we found out that the ship had to turn back for a medical emergency transfer – apparently someone had got caught by a door and broke an arm.]

23 Nov, Mon – The cell phone alarm did not go off at 0730 because the time zone was still set to PST. We got up at 0800 or so and had breakfast in the Lido Restaurant (buffet). I attended a presentation on Photo Gallery, a free MS app, in the Digital Workshop. C.J. went to an intro to Spanish by the tango team. I caught the last of it and it was pretty basic even for me. Then we attended the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. We mingled a bit and then were lucky to run into a couple from Colorado Springs who had rented a car for Puerto Montt and were willing to take us along.

Lori, C.J. and G on tender for Chacabuco

They (or at least Lori, whom we were talking to) seemed like they were compatible – snag a sandwich from the ship so we don’t have to stop for lunch and maybe do some hiking, maybe a hot spring, maybe a boat ride. Hopefully it will all work out. Then we had lunch at the Lido and went back to the room to catch up on our journals. I went to another Photo Gallery class while C.J. wandered around the ship a bit. We watched the waltz class until it was time to go stand in line for our tender tickets. We got ones for 0930-1000.  I came back to where she had been sitting near the Explorations Café just as she and a number of others had spotted a whale off to the port (at this point we were only a few miles off shore). We went to a presentation on the next three ports – Montt, Chacabuco and Arenas – in the Mondriaan Lounge and found out a couple of things – we couldn’t take food on shore from the ship and there were no public buses out of Chacabuco port. You had to pay $10 for a taxi or $3 per person for a minivan to get to the next town, P. Aysen. Afterward we talked with Lori and thought maybe we could charter a taxi and pay $100-$200, much less than the $140/person for the cheapest 5-hour tour. I went back to the Digital Workshop and John let me download my own copy of Photo Gallery. Back to our room to get dressed for the first “gala” dinner – time for C.J. to break out her new dress, and for me to squeeze into my suit bought for our first cruise back in ’93. Dinner was excellent again with four interesting guests including Ron, the ship’s chaplain, from Yakima, Becky from the Netherlands
and Trisha and Darryl from Williams Lake, BC. C.J. got her lamb and I had a tenderloin of beef with cracked pepper on shrimp. Yohat, our row-mate from the Santiago flight was serving the tables

Chaplain Ron from Yakima

nearby so we stopped to say hello on the way out. [We had already run into him once when we had first boarded the ship.] Then we went directly from the Rotterdam Dining Room to the theater for the Captain’s toast which was followed by a show with the Zaandam dancers and singers. I was falling asleep during the presentation on the ports and during the show so when we went back to the cabin to pack for the shore excursion on Tuesday, I stayed there while C.J. went up on deck to see why the ship seemed to be rolling much more than usual. So far we’ve had only 1-2 ft wind waves although there have been some whitecaps. The shore was no longer in sight when we ate dinner at a window table, and someone spotted a whale blowing quite near the ship.

MS Zaandam anchored at Puerto Montt

 24 Nov, Tue – Up early enough to get our 0930 tender with Lori and Bernie. We couldn’t bring the  

Petrohue Lodge and Osorno Volcano

sandwiches we had liberated from the Lido buffet because Chile law prohibits import of any food. And, sure enough, when we got off the tender in Puerto Montt, our packs were cursorily searched. Once through the tourist terminal we encountered many offers for tours and taxis. However, we just waited for Lori to get back with the car she had rented. Our job was to pick up a few local maps and we also talked with some of the tour operators about which road to take to get out of town. It was a pretty civilized scene for something that related to whether people got a job on that day. Lori drove us out of town on Allende which turned into a toll highway (which we didn’t find out about until we exited. Fortunately I had several 500 CLP coins so we could pay the 600CLP toll). [Later a map showed us that the toll road was the southern end of the Pan American Highway.] We got turned around in Puerto Varas and wound up back on the Rte 5 toll road until the next exit which took us down to the shore of Lake Llanquihue at Puerto

Selfie at Petrohue Falls

Llanquihue where we happened upon a local parade. Finally we had to get back on Rte. 5 and return to Puerto Varas where, after a couple of false starts, we got on the road to the National Reserve. We drove along the south lake shore through Ensenada, and then followed the Petrohue River to the end o

Petrohue Falls

f the road. We walked past the tour boats to a beach on Lake Todos los Santos. We could look back at Osorno Volcano whose snow-covered summit was swathed in clouds. On the way back we stopped at a tourist area where there was a path that led us (and a hundred other tourists) to the Saltos del Petrohué (Petrohue Falls)in the Rosales National Park. We took a couple of different trails so we got some exercise there. Then we retraced our route (without all the detours for getting lost) back to Puerto Montt. Lori dropped the car at Econorent/Ace agency and we spent about an hour walking back to the cruise terminal

Plaza des Armas, German settlers

through the town and along the shore. Even though the last tender was scheduled for 1630 (and we got there before then), we had a long line to get through and didn’t get out to the ship until close to 1700. We changed clothes and met Lori and Bernie for dinner at 1730. We hadn’t eaten all day so we had multiple appetizers and multiple desserts, as well as prime rib for C.J., pasta for me. Back at the room I was ready to head out to see the comedian when C.J. had a dental disaster. The cap on her front implant came off! We weren’t about to try to force it back on so C.J. contacted the Front Office. They promised to see if they could find a dentist at our next stop. When we got back to the room I fell asleep before I could try to get any blogging done.

Luis, our taxi driver, C.J., G

25 Nov, Wed – We didn’t have to get up as early for our tender but we decided to try to get to the medical center during the hours that the doctor is in, between eight and nine. He was able to apply a temporary adhesive and reseat the cap, but C.J. was really nervous about it staying on. Of course she couldn’t eat breakfast (but I had a good omelet). We were scheduled on the 11:15 tender but were able to leave earlier since the ship had arrived sooner than expected. This time Lori and Bernie had no prior arrangement but, based on their long cruise experience and our experience on the previous day, we figured we could find a tour at a more reasonable price than the same trip booked through the ship. We were welcomed to Puerto Chacabuco with Pisco Sours and

Pisco Sours and canapes

Sheep being roasted at the port

canapes, plus we could see that the local people were roasting a couple pigs (or maybe they were sheep) over a wood fire. Free buses took us out of the terminal area to a somewhat makeshift terminal where a crowd of tour operators met us. We chose a four-hour tour with a taxi driver named Luis. He didn’t speak much English but he was still a good guide. He took us out of the tiny town of Chacabuco to the larger town of Puerto Aysen (about 5 mi). Then we headed toward Coyhaique (about 30 miles farther). Leaving the broad

At Virgin Falls

Rio Simpson valley we entered a much narrower valley with waterfalls and steep, wooded canyon walls. We stopped at Rio Simpson National Reserve and took a short walk and looked through a one-room museum. A short distance farther along we stopped at a double falls with a shrine to the Virgin. We stopped again at another falls, Bridal Veil, then drove up to the high point at Marchant Mirador. Just after the tunnels, we stopped for a view and saw thermaling condors! From Marchant we could see Coyhaique and the wind turbines on the high ground. At Coyhaique we had about 20 min to explore the town. We didn’t find the artisan craft market until too late, but we did find a heladeria where C.J. finally got something to eat, a milkshake made with vanilla gelato and pineapple. I had a café helado which was not a blended drink as I had expected but more of a cold, coffee latte with vanilla gelato and whipped cream. Back at the taxi at 1400, we headed down to a little suspension bridge that had a view of a rock profile of an Indian. Then we stopped at another mirador just outside Coyhaique.

Indian Rock

From there we retraced our route back to Aysen where we made a final stop at the park. Then we drove the last five miles back to Chacabuco where we checked out the meager offerings at the stalls in the fabric domes before getting on the shuttle to the terminal. All the roast pig (sheep?) had been eaten, but at least it wasn’t raining as we waited to process through security (we had had some showers during the day, but also some sun). The free Wi-Fi at the terminal was too slow or has inadequate for the number of cruisers who wanted to get online to check email or whatever so we moved right on to board the tenders. Back at the ship we had dinner early with Lori and Bernie (again multiple appetizers and desserts); easy-to-chew salmon for C.J. and Argentine-style tri-tip for me.  We settled up the shared costs for the two shore excursions ($100, which would not have paid for even one ship-booked excursion for one person). After

"Golden Gate bridge" in Aysen

dinner we checked to see if C.J. could see a dentist in Ushuaia even though it was Sunday. We really did not want to miss our kayak trip in Punta Arenas. I went off to see the mentalist Chamo who was amazing, while C.J. worked on her journal on deck 5 near Explorers Lounge where there was live music. I finished up my blog about 2200.

Thanksgiving "turkey"

26 Nov, Thu, Thanksgiving – After a night of some pronounced rolling in 13-17 ft seas, we got up to calm seas in the Chilean Fjords. We had breakfast and caught most of Brett’s, the On Location Guide, presentation on Ushuaia and Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. It was raining pretty hard so we joined a crowd up in the Crow’s Nest Lounge on Deck 9 forward to watch the scenery. When it cleared we went outside on the large bow area which is usually off limits to passengers. We saw a few seals, some sea lions and a couple of orcas, and a lot of steep hills, waterfalls and rocks much like the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound but without the boat traffic (we didn’t see one other boat). The ship slowed down in the Messier Channel and almost circled the

Wreck of the Capitan Leonidas

wreck of the Capitan Leonidas, high and dry on the only rock around. We had to retrace our route a few miles because the channel got too tight for our big ship. While cruising through the Adalberto Channel we went up to the Crow’s Nest and lucked into Happy

Hour, so we got Pisco Sours in celebration of our anniversary and Thanksgiving. The dinner menu included traditional turkey dinner which C.J. had, while I had the honey-baked ham. We ate with two Canadian couples: Patricia and Darryl from Williams Lake and Bill and Grace from Campbell River. After dinner the ship left the fjords and steamed out into the Pacific Ocean while we attended a concert by Andy Bünger, a singer and dynamic multi-instrumentalist.

At El Brujo Glacier

27 Nov, Black Friday – We got up early enough to be on the bow as we approached El Brujo Glacier through a swarm of small icebergs and sea ice. We got closer to the front of the tidewater glacier than I thought we would. We even saw a small iceberg calve off the front. The ship then had to maneuver to turn around in the narrow channel. C.J. and I spent most of the day outside as we cruised through the Sarmiento Canal. Brett would pipe up once in a while with a piece of information. The area seems to be totally devoid of human settlement, and we passed only

El Brujo Glacier

two cargo or work ships all day (plus one anchored in an inlet). We took a break for lunch and I ordered a burger and fries from the Dive In grill near the Lido deck pool. My burger was cooked to order and both it and the fries were very good. C.J.’s lamb, on the other hand, was too tough to chew (especially since she is concerned about keeping the cap on for the rest of our trip. We had received a message that there would be no dentist appointment in Ushuaia because the clinic is not open on Sunday.) We’ve been watching the sea birds circling and swooping low over the water. The larger ones have very narrow wings with longitudinal white marking on the wing undersurface. A fellow passenger identified them as albatrosses, pretty cool! At 1400 we attended a bandoneon concert. The bandoneon is an accordion-like instrument that is a mainstay for tango music. The concert would have been much more interesting if there had been some dancers. At 1600 we reached Paso Summer, another narrow, scenic location where the ship slowed to 6 knots in the shallow water (only 4 ft of clearance under the

C.J. hanging on in 50-plus knot winds

keel). At 1700, Paso Shoal with another wreck, and at 1800 we entered the Straits of Magellan and the wind picked up to 57 mph across the bow. When we went out we had to hang on and we didn’t stay out long. During the afternoon while it was raining, before Paso Shoal, we joined Lori and Bernie and others for drinks ( Miami Vice – half strawberry daiquiri, half pina colada) during happy hour in the Crow’s Nest. This night was the second Gala-dress evening so we broke out our more formal clothes, not that we had brought any gowns or a tuxedo. We ate later, around 1840 and were seated with a Canadian couple from Toronto (Chuck and Judy), an Aussie couple (Ken and Lois) from north of Sidney, and Becky from Holland. C.J. had lamb in a pastry crust and I had duck beast; both were very good. After dinner I caught part of the variety show and then we went back to the room to figure out what, when and where we were up to on Saturday in Punta Arenas, our last stop in Chile.

C.J. and Karen rafted up

28 Nov, Sat – When we got up at 0630 we were already docked in Punta Arenas. Since our scheduled meeting time for the kayak trip was 0900, we ate breakfast and gathered a change of clothes and our gloves, warm hats, and rain gear. We were already wearing long underwear and fleece uppers. The guides were predictably late but they had a sign with “kayak” on it so it wasn’t too hard to figure out that they were there looking for us and Karen, the one other person signed up for kayaking. Apparently no one else on the ship was interested in possibly getting cold, wet and tired – must go with the HAL demographic. It was about a 20 min drive to a hosteria near Agua Fresca Bay where we put drypants with built-in feet on over our street clothes. Then we put a similarly high quality drytop over our light fleece. Wetsuit boots were then zipped over our feet and we were ready to

C.J. and artisan

go. Ricardo, Alejandro, and a third guide hooked up a trailer filled with Amaruk doubles and a few singles, and drove across the AF River and down a track to the beach near an abandoned Catholic school. The wind was SW and blowing hard enough to make wind waves of 1-2 ft. No problem launching and C.J. and I quickly got accustomed to the slightly more tippy kayak. We headed south down the coast for about 2.5 mi passing one boat with a shellfish diver and rounding a cape. We were glad to stop after 45 min and turn around because we knew that the paddle back would be a lot more strenuous. The weather held to mostly cloudy with only a short shower and we made it back to the beach where we just ran the kayak onto the sand/gravel and the guides pulled us up – those plastic kayaks can take a beating. After restacking the kayaks on the trailer we went back to the hosteria, changed out of our still-mostly-dry outerwear, then went into the dining room for a snack of cookies (including an alfajore), bread and jam and tea. We got back to the ship about 1415 and took just enough time

Homemade pastries at the hosteria

to pay the guides ($210 incl tip, still cheaper than the ship excursion) and drop our wet gloves in the stateroom before heading out to explore the area around the Plaza des Armas in Punta Arenas. We caught a shuttle (required) from the ship to the main square and browsed the artisan stalls until C.J. found the perfect unusual gift for her sister Ginny and a cute knitted hat for herself – that got rid of all but 15,000 Chilean pesos, about $18-20US. We took some photos of the large Magellan monument with its well-polished foot of one native figure. The local lore (tourist myth?) is that if you rub it, you will return to Punta Arenas. Our selfie shows both of us hanging on to the bronze foot. We walked a few blocks to the north and then back to the plaza where we found a Tourist Info place and got directions to the municipal artisan center. We walked the six blocks down there but did not find anything we liked so we returned to the plaza and caught a shuttle back to the ship. Since we hadn’t eaten a meal since breakfast, we were ready for dinner at 1730. We got a window table again (we wanted to see the ship leave port) and shared the table with two large, older women from NJ and a couple from PA. C.J. had the roasted beef and I had a pasta dish with sausage and escarole. The snickers pie for dessert was excellent. We took our computers to the theater so we could work on labeling photos while we waited for the show by the Zaandam Singers and Dancers. Later we sat in a window seat near the piano bar and worked on photos while checking out the snow-covered mountains on the starboard side as we glided through the Strait of Magellan until it got dark around 2200.

29 Nov, Sun – Up at 0630 so we could get out on deck for the passage through “Glacier Alley” on the Beagle Channel. Surprisingly the mountains (mostly on the port side) were clear of clouds although there were clouds below the summits here and there. . Since the view was not bad from the Lido on the port side, I went inside to get breakfast; C.J. ate a few bites then went back outside where the photography was better. The sky was overcast with occasional breaks. We could see most of the Cordillera Darwin with a large glacier that descended in several lobes (with names like Espana, Romanche, Alemania, Franche, and Italia (in order from west to east). Farther along another lobe came all the way down to the channel and there were some icebergs. The last glacier as we passed an island to the right was the Italia Glacier (or maybe it was the captain’s favorite, the Hollande). Lunch was somewhat early and we just grabbed sandwiches at the Lido. We were scheduled to be able to go ashore at Ushuaia at 1300 and everyone else wanted off at the same time so there was a bit of a line. We walked down the pier in a strong wind past two or maybe three Antarctic cruise ships, much smaller than the Zaandam; one of them was the National Geographic Explorer. All the walk-off passengers went through port security but that just meant we all walked through the building; nothing was scanned. [Note: Argentina prohibits food from being brought into the country, but there seemed to be no enforcement.] At the end of the pier there was a somewhat understaffed TI. We finally got to ask about the trail at the ski area. They gave us a map of the town, showed us where the ski area (Glaciar Martial) was and told us what a taxi usually cost. Feeling brave we went out and hailed a taxi and headed up through the town and about 7 km up the mountain to the trailhead, café/bar refuge and tearoom at about 1000 ft. The “trail” was just the single ski run, now mostly gravel, lined with a forest of lenga trees, no understory. After several stops to get my heartrate down, we made reasonable time to the top of the ski lift at about 1850 ft. We thought that the lift platform was the mirador and the view was good out over the Strait of Magellan. Above the upper terminus of the lift there was snow but a trodden path followed what was obviously a regular trail in the summer. Avoiding walking on the snow covering the rushing stream we climbed a couple hundred feet to an area clear of snow with benches and an informational sign about the glacier, balsam peat bog and other features. This must have been the mirador, or at least one mirador. The trail continued mostly on gravel with some muddy patches and some snow. We finally stopped another half mile up the trail before a long snow crossing and a possible climb to a pass. It was a good place to have a snack and start back down. It was about 1515 and we had started up at 1400. Going back was pretty fast although C.J. had some problems with her toes. We hooked up with another couple from S.CA from the ship and shared a taxi back to the port. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a post office shop and C.J. sent a post card to Ginny and Wally ($4 which included a special cancellation “Fin del Monde”). It was after 1700 by then so we got ready for dinner and ate with two elderly ladies from Calgary and another couple from Toronto. C.J. had red wine-braised brisket and I had Chicken Cassoulet with white beans and sausage. The evening show was “Tango Pasion” and the dancers were amazing. Afterward C.J. and I went up to the Explorations café/library and wrote in our journals or labeled photos. Our plan was to go to bed relatively early so we could get some rest before getting up early for the passage within sight of Cape Horn between 0600 and 0700 (depending on the weather).

Ushuaia panorama from the pier

30 Nov, Mon – After being awakened at 0315 by the phone buzzing (an unplanned wakeup call, maybe?) we got up at 0530 so we could be on deck for the passage around Cape Horn. It turned out that the ship spent an hour circumnavigating the island so we had a rainy view (typical of 270 days of the year) of all sides. We saw the albatross monument and the lighthouse buildings from both sides as well as the iconic Cathedral Rocks (?). It wasn’t terribly windy and the sea was pretty calm (but too windy and rainy to be out on the bow. Charles Darwin wrote,"One sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril and death."
 After the ship circled the island, C.J. and I went up to the Lido for breakfast. Later we went to the Explorations café where I fell asleep in the too warm room while C.J. worked on her photos. At 1000 we attended a lecture on the discovery and explorers of “the bottom of the world” by Brett. I left a bit early so

Wet weather rounding the Horn, Cathedral Rocks

I could get to the Photo Gallery software class on pop art, collages and panorama. Then we got together in the library to watch a film of an 8000 ton sailing ship making the passage around the Cape. Lunch had Korean as the Asian food of the day so I had some short ribs and a chicken stir-fry dish. The dessert section wasn’t large enough for the profusion of desserts so it was expanded – some really good mousses and some puddings that looked really good but were rather tasteless. The magazine alpha was finally available for editing so C.J. worked on that during the afternoon and evening. At the library there was a narrated 37 min B and W film loop shot on an 8000 ton square rigger, one of the last to go around the Horn - impressive seamanship.

Memorial poem by Chilean author Sara Vial

 in honor of the sailors who died "rounding the Horn"

engraved on a plaque at the base of the Albatross Monument

I, the albatross that awaits you at the end of the world

I, the forgotten soul of the sailors lost

that crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of the world.

But die they did not in the fierce waves, for today towards eternity in my wings

they soar in the last crevice of the Antarctic winds.

I went back to the 1630 class on organizing photos. By the time that was finished and we had returned to the cabin to change,

Albatross monument on Cape Horn
Chilean sculptor Jose Balcells, 1992

it was almost dinner time, at least for us early birds. We got a table in the stern where we could see the rolling waves which were forecast to get to 5m (17ft) by early morning. Gale force winds are forecast for Stanley and it sounds like the long ride in on the tenders might be rock-and-roll. The show was a one-woman show by Puerto Rican singer and actress Natalie Toro backed up by the ship’s Neptune orchestra. The strong SW winds, Beaufort 11 - almost hurricane in force, arrived around 2145, much earlier than expected and the ship did some pretty serious rolling. Even during the show Natalie in her 5-inch heels was staggering around the stage a bit. There was an Indonesian crew member show at 2300 which sort of reminded us of a junior high talent show, but it was still fun. Getting to sleep was a little challenging with the rolling of the ship but I was surprised that I dropped off pretty quickly and went back to sleep after getting up the usual two times.

1 Dec, Tue – C.J. got up at 0645 so she could go to the Explorations Café (library) to try to send her

C.J. working in Explorations Cafe

completed edit of the magazine alpha. She had a good connection and didn’t have to use much of the one hour that was left on the 250 minutes ($100) she bought early on the trip. [I used it once or twice to get a map or Google Earth info; and I didn’t sign out when we went to lunch so I wasted at least 60 min!] When we got out on deck the ship was cruising slowly along the coast of the Falkland Islands (two main islands and about 700 smaller islets). The wind was still blowing a gale and the little harbor patrol boat was splashing waves over the whole boat as it cruised into the wind.

Windy in the Falklands - pilot boat

The captain kept us informed about conditions while we anchored but he wasn’t too optimistic – winds of 50 knots and higher gusts were too much for tendering. Finally Captain Wouter van Hoogdalem announced that the winds were not abating and that the forecast was for continued strong winds – tendering was canceled and we were to be heading early to Montevideo. Except for the wind the weather was great - mostly clear skies and sunshine let us see Stanley (pop. About 2000) and the barren land surrounding the port. C.J. and I didn’t feel like we missed anything except the experience of being in another country (where we could maybe have used the twenty pound note we had brought back from our brief foray in London.

Tenders/lifeboats prepared for lowering

Most of the passengers who booked excursions had been expecting to see penguins at one beach or another. We spent most of the time while anchored out on the walkaround, Deck 3, where the wind was so strong that it was hard to hold a camera steady, and pushing open a door was sometimes impossible. Part of the deck was cordoned off so that the lifeboats/tenders could be positioned for lowering into the water. The crew put the temporary pier for loading/unloading the tenders over the side but the waves kept washing over it. That was a good clue about the conditions. Later C.J. went swimming with Lori while Bernie and I hung out on the pool deck. They were the only people in the sloshing, surging pool which felt kind of cold to me. Afterward they warmed up in the hot tub. After a shower we went to a special Indonesian brunch at the main dining room.

Entrance to main dining room

We got there about 1345 and the food was almost all gone – we figured that they must have planned for most people being gone on shore during lunch time. More food was brought out later – there was nasi goreng (fried rice), chicken sate (skewers), bami goreng (seasoned stewed beef cubes) and some other foods (we have the menu). After lunch we got dessert at the Lido where it looked like just about the same items were being served but with even more variety. We got to Brett’s “Panama Canal vs Cape Horn” presentation early and worked on our journals. The hour-long Panama Canal lecture with slides covered almost everything we got from “Uncle Marty” on the Celebrity PC cruise so it was a good review. I took a picture of just about every projected slide. Next we took a nap; this cruising is tiring stuff. I managed to wake up just barely in time for another Digital Workshop, this one on using OneDrive. By the time I got back C.J. was awake and wondering where I was. It was almost time for dinner so that’s where we headed next. It was prime rib night, more than enough to eat, for sure. We sat with Ron, the chaplain from Yakima and Ourla from Ireland. Back at the room we downloaded photos and worked on them enough to miss the beginning of the show for the evening. We went to the late show at 2200 instead. It was another production number by the Zaandam singers and dancers: “Forever Rock”, a rock and roll loose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. The costumes and choreography were really good.

Digital workshop

Dec 2, Wed – Didn’t wake up until 0830. It was an “at sea” day so we didn’t do much. After breakfast I went to two Windows 10 classes at 1030 and 1130. C.J. worked on whittling her photos down to something reasonable so she could share them with Lori and Bernie. [I failed to complete today’s journal in a timely manner and by the time I got around to it, much of the events of the day had flown out of my brain.] At 1430 we went to a presentation by Brett on what to see and do in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Then at 1530 I went to another Windows 10 presentation about using Moviemaker. Surf and turf was on the menu for dinner but I had something else.The evening shows were at 1900 and 2100 to allow time for the Captain’s Masquerade Ball. We ate early as usual and then went to the later show. It was “The Pampas Devils Gauchos”, two guys and a gal who played drums, danced and spun boleadores (bolas). Very entertaining. We made our way through the crowd in the Crow’s Nest just to see what a masquerade ball night look like. There were a very few people wearing Mardi Gras-like masks but only a few. A bunch of the ship’s officers were there but nothing much seemed to be happening. I’m sure there was going to be music and dancing but it was too crowded for us so we headed back to our cabin.

Dec 3, Thu – Another at-sea day so I didn’t get up until C.J. had already gone up to the library to check email to be sure her uploaded alpha had made it to USHPA (it had). We had only a little fruit,

"Monkey" towel critter in our stateroom

tea/cocoa and pastry for breakfast because we were invited to the Mariner Brunch at 1100. I went to at least one more Digital Workshop at 0930 on photo organization. At 1000 we sat in on most of a presentation on Argentine history and culture by the Bandoneon player, Matilde. It was somewhat challenging to interpret what she said and what was translated on her slides. We missed the mini concert played on the large organ that fills three stories of the Atrium. Then at 1300 we got a behind the scenes (virtual) bridge tour in the Mondriaan Lounge. Since I kept falling asleep, I went down to the cabin to rest for an hour and C.J. went to a class on towel folding. At 1500 we had Indonesian Tea (for sale by HAL) in the upper dining room with Lori It was kind of fun and we agreed to meet later at the pool and hot tubs. I surprised myself by actually getting in the pool. The water wasn’t cold and the covered Lido deck (the roof was only slightly open) kept the air relatively warm. You could tell that we had traveled toward the equator by the warmed temps. On the way back from the pool we stopped at the jewelry shop and I bought C.J. a bracelet-earring-necklace set for our anniversary. [Hey, they were on sale.] I caught another Windows 10 class and then we hit the early seating for dinner. C.J. had a tasty pork chop

C.J. and Lori in Lido hot tub

and I had the Corvina (rock fish) fillet. We sat with couple from Toronto and another couple from Rhode Island. I excused myself right after dessert to go talk to Brett during his Q-and-A time about what to do in Montevideo and BA. I also recovered C.J.’s green fleece hoody from Lost and Found [Earlier C.J. amazingly got one of her favorite earrings back from Lost and Found]. We went up on the deck in the pleasantly warm air and watched the ship dock at Montevideo. We came in past a bunch of anchored wrecks that Brett referred to as “the Montevideo Yacht Club”. We were soon tied to the dock and by 2000 passengers were going ashore. We weren’t up for a big city at night so we got caught up on journals and went to the nightly show (only one this night), piano virtuoso Rogerio Tutti, at 2130. He was amazing and the audience loved him.

Welcome to Montevideo selfie

Taking the bull by the horns - Artigas Monument

4 Dec, Fri – We slept in until 0800 and then went to breakfast while everyone else probably rushed off the ship. A big Norwegian Cruise Line ship came in and docked near us. We disembarked before the cruisers from the Norwegian Sun could get off so it wasn’t too crowded near the port. There was a Ministry of Tourism building just before one left the port area and there appeared to be free wi-fi there but we didn’t stick around to punch in the password figuring there would be other places with free wi-fi later. We picked up a good free map which pointed out a suggested walking tour of the old city. There were some artisan and souvenir stalls around the Mercado del Puerto but we kept meandering along the pedestrian street (Perez Castellanos) To Washington where we cut over to the left (west, I think) to Plaza Zabla. Then we continued west on Washington to Plaza Constitution. There we jogged north to Sarandi, another pedestrian street/shopping mall, and walked west all the way to the restored gate to the old walled city (1959). There was a little sprinkle of rain, just enough for us to put on hats but not our rain jackets. It stayed warm but not hot. Passing through the arch and crossing the busy Ituzaingo Street brought us to Plaza Independencia, the central square of Montevideo. It was dominated by huge equestrian statue of Artigas, the Father of Uruguay. Below the monument was a dimly lighted memorial containing his ashes guarded by two motionless soldiers in ancient dress uniforms. It was at

Palacio Salvo

first hard to tell that they were not statues. After wandering about the square for a while and taking a bunch of photos of the imposing Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building in South America, we followed an alternate route back toward the port. We saw the Teatro Solis, built in the mid 1800’s, the cathedral, and many ornate buildings. We stopped for a quick tour of the Museo Romantico, which showcased the life of the wealthy from the past. When we neared the Mercado del Puerto again we could see that the activity level had picked up with more stalls. We ducked inside the building which now contains restaurants which mostly specialize in grilling meats, parrilladas. They all looked great and if we weren’t already eating so well on the ship we might have stopped for lunch since it was just after noon. On the way past the Ministry of Tourism I stopped to try to get enough of a wireless signal on my NZ phone to pick up email but had no luck. We were back on the ship by 1300 or so and just made it to the Lido before it closed. The only serving station that was still open was the Asian specialty station and the lunch was good (but maybe not as good as at a parrillada). After lunch we downloaded photos and I caught up on my journal sitting out

Parrillada at Mercado del Puerto

on the deck chairs on Deck 3. Shortly after 1600 we hit the Crow’s Nest for a happy hour Pisco Sour (9.74). There was no crowd and we could grab two of the comfortable lounge chairs which gave us a great view out over Montevideo. At 1730 I caught another Windows 10 class in the Digital Workshop sponsored by Microsoft. There were only two other attendees. Most folks were already thronging the Lido deck for the South American “Gaucho Asado”. C.J. dropped in to tell me that Lori and Bernie had grabbed a table for the four of us, so when John was finished with the presentation I went right to the Lido deck and found Bernie. The dinner was an amazing spread of sausages, lamb, pork and beef with some salads and veggies. There was even “barbecued cheese”, a fondue-like provolone. The desserts were also over the top. The Neptune band was playing and there was room for people to dance. The cooks and servers even got into the spirit by dancing on the edge of the pool with their serving implements. C.J. got into the spirit (or spirits), too by ordering us a happy hour-priced pair of Sangria. After a bit of time taken to recover from the eating orgy, we went to the 2000 show: “Elements” by the Zaandam dancers and singers. Lots of great dancing and use of lighting.

5 Dec, Sat – We reached our final destination, Buenos Aires, around 0730 (which was shortly after I

Evita on downtown bldg

woke up. C.J. had gotten up early and gone to check to see if the beta was up. It wasn’t. We ate breakfast in the main dining room for the first time with a couple from Tucson. Good food, which seemed even better for having it delivered on china by a uniformed waiter, rather than the cafeteria-style dining in the Lido buffet. Around 1000 we left the ship and took the free shuttle a very short distance to the terminal building. The crowd was pretty thick at the TI, but I managed to snag a map and we gave up on anything else (Lori had already told us that the Wi-Fi wasn’t very good). Out on the street we stood on the corner for a while trying to figure out where exactly we were. The map was kind of confusing because it had south up unlike our basic map from the ship. We finally took off along Ave des Immigrantes, crossed a main

C.J. at Heladeria Cadore

thoroughfare (Av Antartida Argentina) on a long pedestrian bridge and then walked past the crowd at the Retiro bus terminal and the train terminal. Thinking that we might be able to check out our hotel, we turned right on Libertador and walked just beyond the ramp from a divided highway which emptied onto the widest boulevard in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio. We took a street to the left and got onto Alvear street where we thought the hotel should be but the street ended long before the number (742) came up. A more thorough look at the map showed that the hotel was really located on Marcelo T. de Alvear street which was on the far side of 9 de Julio. So we decided to just walk down 9 de Julio past the Torre des Ingleses (renamed to Torre Monumental after the Falklands/Malvinas war) to the Obelisk and the Teatro Colon. In the distance we could see a giant (10 story) face of Eva Peron on the Ministry

El Atenao bookstore

of Health building farther downtown. We turned right on busy Corrientes and then deviated a block to the right to a small plaza (Tribunales) where we took a break and had some water from the 8 oz bottle we were carrying (not enough for a warm, sunny day!). Then we got back on Corrientes and walked north a ways, almost to Av. Callao, where we found a gelato shop (Heladeria Cadore) recommended by our guide book from the ship. We decided that gelato for lunch was a viable idea so I had coffee flavor and chocolate with Cointreau; C.J. had pineapple and dulce de leche granzinado. We then turned back toward the ship, or at least in that general direction up Callao. [I had managed to get my NZ phone connected to some Wi-Fi in the little park and was able to use Google Maps to show where we were and what some landmarks around were even though I did not have a local SIM card.] The map showed El Atenao, the old Grand Splendid Theater now a bookstore, was nearby so we detoured to have a look inside. Pretty impressive for a bookstore – it reminded me of the Library of Congress! From there it wasn’t too far to the famous Recoleta

Tomb of Eva Peron in Recoleta

Cemetery (cementario, in Sp). We made a pit stop in the Recoleta Mall before joining the weekend (and cruise) crowd at the walled cemetery filled with ornate mausoleums. After some wandering and a little help from someone who spoke English, we found the tomb of Eva Peron, Evita. It had the name of her family, Duarte, rather than Peron. On the way out we followed a pedestrian route through a large number of artisan stalls, most of them souvenirs like tango paintings. By then we were both tired, having covered over seven miles according to C.J.’s Fitbit, so we took the most direct route back following Posadas and Libertador to Immigrantes, past the terminals, over the pedestrian bridge and finally to the port terminal and a shuttle bus to the ship, our home for one last night. [Total distance was about 9.4 miles if the Fitbit is to be believed.] Instead of resting, we started packing because our bags had to be outside our room by midnight. Then we got showers and went to our last dinner. It was just as good as our first dinner, even better because we were hungrier. C.J had a lamb shank and I had the herb-encrusted

Souvenir stall display - Recoleta

prime rib. We followed up by sharing three desserts: baked Alaska, marinated pear fondue, and esterel cake. We ate with a couple from Camano Island, Walt and ? Then we finished packing except for what we’d need in the morning. The 2130 show was Rogerio Tutti and Natalie Toro, good but not outstanding. C.J. checked with Lori about plans for a boat tour of the Tigre River and delta. The driver is supposed to pick us up at 1000, cost $125 ea, not sure about whether we can pay with credit card and not sure about how to get back to our hotel (Lori and Bernie are going directly to the airport). We may catch them at breakfast, if not then at the terminal where we pick up our bags.

6 Dec, Sun – Disembarkation Day – Up at 0700 so we could finish packing and get breakfast before

Farewell from the Zaandam crew representatives

they called our group, one of the last, to debark. Wouldn’t you know it, the one day when we are leaving the safety net of the ship we run into a couple at breakfast who were robbed in BA; it was the bird dropping scam and the pickpocket got away with $300 plus credit cards and ID. C.J. sent me off with the last sixteen minutes of our 250 internet minutes to check in for our LAN flight on Monday. I was successful with just one minute left. By then the PA was announcing that all passengers could go ashore so we took our one rolling bag and our backpacks and joined the line at the gangway. The cruise director and representatives from all the service groups were there to wave goodbye, a nice touch. We had already touched base with Lori and were planning to meet them at baggage claim or in the café just outside but we ran into the tour guy holding a

G, C.J., Lori and Bernie aboard the Bruma

makeshift sign saying “Lori” so we waited with him until L and B appeared. Carlos Serantes, known as “Chuck”, loaded us and our gear into his small Renault Fluence and drove us NW on a tollway to a marina on the Tigre River (or maybe it was the Rio Lujan in the Tigre Delta?). There we boarded a motor launch big enough for twenty [The Bruma, a converted log-hauling boat, 16.5m x 4.8m) and took off onto the channels of the delta. There were lots of other motorboats (and sculls, seadoos and a few kayaks) as this was a holiday weekend (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and the water was choppy from all the wakes, and brown from the current stirring up the bottom. We went downwind and against the current until Chuck took us into a narrow channel, passing a
Christo Redemptor statue, where we were traveling

Ready to board the Bruma at San Fernando

with the current. Although he was hoping to make a loop trip by taking the narrow channel, we had to turn around to avoid losing steerage. Back we went and then turned into another wide place where several boats were anchored. We dropped anchor, too, and soon the wide area seemed to fill up with other boats also stopping for lunch or something. We had already had brie and thin-sliced dried meat with wine, beer or Coke. Now, Walt, the cook, prepared a real parrilla of Argentine tenderloin beef on a charcoal grill. There was also a potato casserole and a big salad with tomatoes and avocado. Everything was delicious, the best meat we had the whole trip. There was

Lunch on the stern of the Bruma

even a flan-like dessert. Although the sun was hot, we had to don fleece and windbreakers as we sat in the shade in the stern. After lunch we hung out on anchor for a while and then motored back to the marina. The four of us had been discussing what to do to get to the airport/hotel, and we could have gotten a taxi, or Chuck would have driven us to the train station (then bus to airport or taxi to hotel). For convenience and lower stress we decided on the third option: Chuck would drive L and B to the airport and drop us off at the hotel (Sheltown at 742 Marcelo T. de Alvear) for $100 (so that was $50 for us; the boat tour was $250 and Chuck didn’t take credit cards - our cash was down to end-of-trip level). We made it and had some money left, but not so much that we could be throwing it around. When we got to the hotel it looked good for a place that charged only $43 for a night. It was not far from Av 9 de Julio and

Plaza San Martin

Calle Florida, the pedestrian shopping street. We checked in and arranged for a taxi at 0500, paid the desk $35 and got a voucher. After checking out our room which was not much larger than our cabin on the ship, we went out for a short walk since it was only 1830. We walked to Av 9 de Julio, up to Santa Fe then back past Plaza San Martin to Calle Florida which looked busy enough that we felt okay walking a couple of blocks. It really wasn’t all that interesting to non-shoppers, even though there were Christmas decorations strung across the street. We walked back on Cordoba and Maupi and returned to our room where I caught up on my journal and C.J. rested until about 2000 when she decided to go to bed – sounded pretty good to me, too. The room was quiet enough but we didn’t sleep very soundly, maybe worrying about the alarm not waking us in time to catch the taxi.

7 Dec, Mon -It seemed like I had only just fallen into deep sleep when the alarm woke us up at 0415. I got a shower and we repacked the one suitcase we had opened. When I looked out the window to the street in front of the hotel I saw a couple of cars but no taxi. But when we got down to the desk, about ten minutes early, we found our driver was already there. Apparently we weren’t going to have to deal with the “taxi mafia” to get to the airport. It was quite a long ride to Ezeiza (EZE) airport, at least a half hour, some of it on toll roads. I gave the driver our last (only) pesos (50 ARP) and we rolled our bags to the LAN check-in. Even though the rolling duffel showed a weight of 23.5 kg, there was no hassle and we got our boarding passes and proceeded through a quick security scan. The route to our gate went through a big Duty Free store as usual. We had seats way in the back of the plane but the view was good particularly as we passed over the Andes and the coast just south of Iquique, Chile. We landed in Lima and had a couple of hours to wait while our plane was cleaned and refueled. We had to go through immigration but we did not get a stamp in our passports, so I guess we haven’t really been to Peru. Much of city seemed to consist of boring tan-brown apartment buildings but we could just make out the (soarable) tall hotel buildings on the bluff above the shore as we departed. Perhaps we should consider a trip to Lima-Cuzco-Macchu Picchu sometime (after we recover from this long flight). We had had something like a melted cheese sandwich plus wine or other drinks once we got past the turbulence over the Andes on the first leg. On the Lima-LAX leg we had two meals. LAN is certainly not trying to compete with the food on Singapore or Emirates, but we had enough to keep us from being hungry. When we were ready to board (after getting “selfies with a llama” from a LG advertising kiosk), there was a carry-on inspection and we had to surrender our water. Fortunately, on the plane, along with the blanket and pillow, there was a new bottle of water. Once in LA and through the automated passport check kiosk and clearing customs, we left our checked bags on their way to Alaska Airlines for our 0700 flight - about ten hours to wait. Hoping to get an earlier flight, we walked from the International terminal to Terminal 6, quite a ways, to see if Alaska could change our flight. Emilio, at the special services desk said he couldn’t do anything (even though there was an abundance of seats on two flight before midnight) because the flight was booked through LAN, but he gave us a number to call LAN. When we called, the connection was scratchy and the agent’s accent was hard to understand. He said someone would call back in two hours or less but suggested talking to a LAN agent at LAX. So back we walked to the international terminal where the LAN agent, Sr. Oro, at the ticket sales desk was very helpful and got us tickets for seats on AS 471 at 2355. We returned to Alaska and got another agent, Susan, because Emilio was busy. At first she could not find any record of us, then when she used our conf. no., she was able to issue us boarding passes and even called the baggage people to see if they could shift our bags to flight 471. Going through security was kind of stressful because the TSA agents seemed to be nervous or high-strung or something. But we had no problem and we soon reached our gate. I spent most of the waiting time working on my travel journal and charging my phone. Then I ran down to order a mocha milkshake at The Habit just about when the gate agent started calling the first passengers to board. I checked to make sure I had time to wait until I was paged for the milkshake and was assured that there was no problem, particularly since the flight was only a third filled. So C.J. boarded and I carried my shake aboard when it was ready. The flight was about three hours and we tried to sleep to alleviate our scratchy eyes. There was no seatback entertainment system but apparently you could access the on board internet and watch a selection of films and listen to music, but not surf the internet –that cost money.

Did we have a great time on our cruise?

8 Dec, Tue - We reached Seattle around 0230 (that would be 2130 in BA time, and we had been flying since 0800. That makes 13.5 hours flight plus waiting-in-the-terminal time); all three of our bags quickly arrived and we got the shuttle back to the Sandstone Inn. It wasn’t as warm as Buenos Aires but it was raining, not snowing [We had flown through what looked like heavy snow as we descended into SEA] so it wasn’t all that cold. Still, we were glad to have our fleece jackets and rain parkas. We were home by 0400 and found the house cold but undamaged by any fallen trees or feral cats. After letting the bed warm up with the mattress heater, we went to bed hoping to get enough sleep so we could function for the rest of the day. I guess we got about five hours before getting up, unpacking and starting to wash all the accumulated dirty laundry, even the stuff we had rinsed out in the cabin sink. I picked up the mail and got some fruit at QFC; C.J. made an appointment with her dentist to have her crown permanently emplaced. Then we had an early dinner with the ham we had bought before the cruise. Stretching our jetlagged brains and bodies, we still went to the KT Squares dance workshop. But by 2115 we knew that we wouldn’t be able to participate in the Advanced lesson so we said good night to Steve Noseck who was subbing for Kevin. Linda was there however, and she reported that Kevin’s knee surgery that day went well and he expected to be back calling in a couple of weeks. The trip home was just as rainy as the trip to Maple Valley. There was a flood warning due to the heavy rain, warm temperatures and melting of the recent mountain snowfall. Our front yard stream was flowing strongly and didn’t start going down until midday Wednesday.

Southwest Road Trip and BOD Austin

30 September-21 October 2015

C.J. and I had a USHPA board meeting scheduled for mid-October in Austin Texas. Since fall is a good time for travel, we considered what we might do instead of flying to Austin and back again. A Road Trip! That way we could join the AZHPA at the annual Dixon White Memorial Fly-in at the Craters near Flagstaff, visit two couples in Oklahoma, and then try to make up for the flying we missed the last time we were in OK and Arkansas. Ultimately we’d drop down into Texas for the board meeting and leave via a route through the Texas Hill Country. Three weeks would do it nicely.

9/30, Wed – Off around 0830. Pit stop at Three Pines CG in Yakima Cyn, Top up at Union Gap, got another two gallons at Fruitland, ID, across the river from Ontario, then filled up at Costco in Nampa. We pushed on to Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenn’s Ferry. It was almost dark and the tail lights were working intermittently as we drove through the town. We found a nice level site and didn’t even have to unhook. There were a few showers but no real rain.

10/1, Thu – Up at 0730 (MDT) and it was still pretty gloomy. C.J. had gotten a call from editor Nick who was leaving that day for a long-delayed trip to Iran (!) and needed C.J. to cover his job while he was gone. That meant that she would have to look at the magazine beta and make sure all the corrections had been incorporated. So we had a quick breakfast of cold cereal and got on the road as early as possible. Our first stop was at the Visitors Center in Twin Falls just over the I.B. Perrine Bridge where C.J. was able to get the beta through the free wireless access. I went off to get gas at Costco and to see if I could find an inverter so C.J. could work with her computer from the car battery. After trying Office Max, I found an inverter in the mall at Radio Shack. By 1100 C.J. had uploaded her work and we were ready to go. We got sidetracked by the frozen custard at Culvers, a restaurant we had not before seen outside of the Midwest and then headed south on Rte 93. It was another long drive and we didn’t reach our planned-on-the-fly destination at Cathedral Gorge State Park near Panaca NV until 1700. On the way we stopped at one of the only rest areas on 93, a former Pony Express way station, now just a spot on the map called Sherbourne. We filled up with more expensive gas in Ely as the headwind was really eating into our mileage. We were glad to get to Cathedral Gorge reasonably early so we had time to hike around the eroded pinnacles and wind through some of the tiny canyons. The wind finally died down after dark and it cooled off from the 80-deg temps during the day.

10/2, Fri – We drove east from Panaca through a large juniper forest over a range then south on Rte 18 through Enterprise. About 25 miles north of St. George we came upon the starting line for the St. George marathon which would be run on Saturday. The most notable feature was a long line of portapotties, then every mile along the route another scattering of several johns. We passed through St. George and went north on I-15 to Costco in Washington where gas was almost 50 cents cheaper than other southern Utah gas stations at 2.359/gal. We took exit 16 through Hurricane then drove along Rte 59 (passing the turnoff for the road to the Hurricane launch at Mollie’s Nipple) and into Arizona. We went through Colorado City and along the Pipe Springs National Monument, then along the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. We went over a 7000’-plus pass and noted a nice campground at Jacob Lake and the turnoff to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our route took us along the Vermillion Cliffs and over the Colorado River on Navajo Bridge near Marble Canyon. Then it was another hour or so to Flagstaff where we got gas at a Maverik station and headed for the Sheba Crater LZ on Townsend-Winona Rd to Leupp Rd, then another 12.5 miles to the unpaved road into the fly-in gathering. We had forgotten that AZ is not on daylight savings time so we were an hour earlier than we thought at about 1600. The wind was strong and we asked for help when raising our Aliner roof. It didn’t look like flying would be possible but a truckload of hopefuls went up in The Beast, a huge 6x6 Air Force surplus ordnance recovery vehicle. The wind did not stop howling until the sunset so most people were disappointed even though The Beast drove down to the lower bench to find better conditions (by then it was too dark). We had dinner in the trailer and then hung out with Keri and Scott and others around a propane campfire until 2100 (which we thought was 2200). It got pretty chilly overnight, someone claiming it got down to 32 deg.

10/3, Sat – We set the alarm for 0700 but when I checked my watch it was 0715 and no alarm. Our alarm on my mobile phone knew that there was no DST so it did not go off at 0600. Anyway, we were still eating breakfast when Travis drove a load of pilots in The Beast to the summit (where the wind was already strong). Later we were ready when the next crowded load went to the summit of Sheba. The wind was way too strong for C.J. and me, and for several others, (plus the summit was covered with sharp lava gravel and thorny plants) so Travis took us to the lower launch on the northern bench (still facing W). The wind was still too strong so we rode down the rest of the way although some others launched. C.J. got to hang in her new harness on Aaron’s towing-rig truck and adjust the height of the seat. The rest of the day we hung out in the wind and sun and didn’t try flying until 1700 when a really overloaded Beast brought maybe 40 of us to the southern bench. Again it was too strong – peaking at 18 mph plus – but the mini wings were enjoying the conditions. As the sun approached the horizon the wind began moderating and I was one of the first few to launch a normal paraglider. There seemed to be plenty of lift but I wanted to be out of the soon-to-be crowded skies and pushed speed bar to get out over the LZ. Landing was mellow and the sun was already down (5 minutes?) C.J. landed shortly after I did and we packed our wings into cinch sacks back at the trailer. I disconnected the wires to the solar panel I had been using to keep the charge up on our trailer battery while C.J. tried to charge her computer with the new inverter. [It worked, but slowly; the solar charger worked great.] Around 1900 we, and everyone else, drove the dozen miles to the 2Bar3 roadhouse for dinner. We all could order a drink and any menu item, included in our $50 fly-in entry fee, which also included a t-shirt. We left around 2100 and found our way back to camp in the dark. It looked like it would be another cold night.

4 Oct, Sun – It wasn’t as cold as the previous night so the comforter plus the quilt was a bit of overkill, and the fleece blanket was entirely too much. My phone alarm waked us at 0630 and that wasn’t any too early as people were loading The Beast before 0700. We piled on and joined the crowd going for an early morning flight before the wind picked up. As we neared the summit we could feel that we were already too late; the blasting wind was cold as well as too strong. I don’t think anyone offloaded at the summit launch and a few minutes later we ground down to the southern bench. There the wind was reasonable and C.J. didn’t wait for it to get stronger but got set up right away. There was a launch on the left that faced more into the mostly south wind and C.J. followed Ginger and a few others off for a 1:30 flight to the LZ. I had helped her get her lines untangled from the thorns and then set up my wing – it was really quick to do because I had left it all connected to the harness in the Critter cinch bag. Launch was easy, maybe the wind was not getting stronger as quickly as we thought it would. I tried going to the left a little but the slope there was too gentle to produce any appreciable ridge lift. So soon enough (3:10) I was landing in the LZ. Neither of us had taken the time to attach a white crepe paper streamer to our harness, but those who had, looked pretty impressive. Although the transport was going back up, we decided to pack up for travel; the folks whom we could see appeared to be parked, but they were getting above launch. Soon dark clouds began to cover the sky and we got the word that it was raining hard in Phoenix and that there was a 60% chance of precip. in nearby Winona (and tomorrow didn’t look much better). We took time to cook oatmeal for breakfast and then started packing the trailer. Fortunately the winds remained moderate and we were able to lower the roof without any drama. There was a sprinkle of rain which really speeded up the exodus from the campground. We were on the road by 1015 which included all the goodbyes and exchange of phone numbers/email addresses. Our route took us east toward Leupp (Lee up) in the Navajo reservation. Then we took Rte 99 south to I-40. Around noon we stopped at Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park. We took a moment to get a map at the visitor center and then drove into the Painted Desert part of the park (north of I-40) where we took the one-mile trail between Tawa Point and the Painted Desert Inn (now a historical building with exhibits showing what the 1921 building and 1937? CCC remodel looked like. Back at the car we headed east on I-40 and ran through a little rain as we ate lunch. Not having a destination in mind we discussed various possibilities. We gave Steve and Lily Hill a call leaving a message that we were camping near Albuquerque and could meet them for dinner. When we reached the New Mexico Welcome Center we found out that Oct 3-11 is the balloon festival in Albuquerque and there would be no camping spaces available. We tried calling a couple of places in Tijeras but they either were charging $47 or had no room. One suggested stopping no closer to ABQ than Grants. C.J. tried to reach the RV park at Sky City Casino but they did not return her call. Then we spotted a sign advertising a Good Sam CG at Grants for $20. That was a good price for the two of us who had not had a shower in several days. A call to them secured us a spot and we stopped there around 1600 (or maybe 1700, we were still a bit confused about the time zones)($22.13). Shortly after getting set up I found that the electric connection (20A) did not work. The manager could not get it working either and I had to use the 30A power outlet. About that time it started raining; then it started pouring with accompanying flashes of lightning and blasts of thunder. When the brief storm was over we were partially surrounded by deep puddles. Still, we got a good shower and later C.J. made a delicious pasta dish with the last of the chicken carried from home and our tomatoes and zucchini. Then we got to charge everything and use the CG Wi-Fi.

5 Oct, Mon – Out around 0900 and on to Albuquerque where we stopped at an AAA for SW maps and guidebooks including a $5.95 Woodalls CG guide. The agent told us more about the Balloon Festival and recommended visiting Santa Fe. We saw a half dozen balloons on the way into ABQ but none on the way out via Tramway Road. We stopped along I-25 at a TI and got info on where to park a trailer near the old town. When we got there the lot was really full but we found a spot too small for any other RV’s and squeezed into it. ($4) We walked to the stone basilica Cathedral of St. Francis and then up to the oldest operating church in the US, and the oldest house. We toured the main floor of the round State Capitol then returned to the main street, San Francisco, to window shop all the stores and markets. We came back via a different street, and nowhere did we find a good ice cream shop (except a very crowded Haagen Dazs). We left around 1415 and drove to Las Vegas NM on I-25, got a few gallons of gas at a Phillips 66 (2.395) and then took SR. 104 across the plains to Tucumcari. On the way we hit 7000 ft and saw a tarantula crossing the road casting a long shadow in the late afternoon. We got to Tucumcari about 1800, bought gas at Loves (2.179) and checked into Mountain Road RV Park, a Good Sam operation so we got our discount ($25.50). We had water and electricity and a nearby bathroom/shower so we were happy as clams. I spent the evening working on Award Comm. stuff and C.J. was concentrating on her article about the fly-ins. It got pretty chilly and we were surprised to see a large toad outside the rest room building.

6 Oct, Tue – It wasn’t too cold overnight but there was a heavy dew. We got going around 0830 back on I-40. We crossed into Texas, then into OK. We bought gas (2.195) in Elk City and stopped for ice cream at Braums in Clinton. Then it was a relatively short drive to OK City and David and Jayne’s house in the northwest part of the city near the lake. Jayne was already at work so we visited with D and worked on our computers. Around 1900 we went out to Vito’s for Italian food (calamari, ravioli, and eggplant parmesan)(48.61). David took us by The Ranch Steakhouse to see Jayne in her cute waitress outfit.

7 Oct, Wed – After breakfast and showers, Jayne took us to see a couple of the houses they own and are either renting out or remodeling. Then we continued in to OKC to see the memorial to the bombing of the Murraugh Federal Building, a nice arrangement of two gates and a reflecting pool with 168 stylized chairs representing the victims. We walked south from there and through the tall, glass Devon Tower and walked through part of Myriad Gardens. We returned to the car and drove to a Freddy’s frozen custard place for an early dessert (we hadn’t had lunch yet) ($10.46). Jayne took us into the park on the shore of Hefner Lake before returning the short distance home. Later C.J. fixed Dave and me delicious sandwiches for dinner. I had contacted Jim Reynolds earlier to let him know that we were heading down his way on Thursday. Cathy sent directions by email.

8 Oct, Thu – C.J. hung out until almost noon visiting with Jayne who had worked late the previous night. Then we got on the road south. We used SR 277 rather than the I-44 toll road until we got down to Chickasha where we stopped for lunch at Braums – just lunch, no ice cream! We continued south on the toll road (2.00) to Lawton and, after some fumbling around, found gas at a low price (2.269) but not as low as Gas Buddy app claimed. We found Jim and Cathy’s home without much trouble using Cathy’s (Jim’s) directions and visited for a while before going back to Lawton for dinner at the Golden Corral ($23.74). The variety of salads, fruit, meats, seafood and desserts was really incredible. Back at Jim and Cathy’s we talked until late with Jim, Cathy still recovering from serious repercussions due to her doctor or health plan not renewing her meds in a timely manner. Around 2330 we bedded down in one of the guest rooms.

9 Oct, Fri – We got up around 0700 and I took a shower. Jim provided quick-cooking oatmeal with his mix of cinnamon and sweetener, plus canned blueberries. We got on the road around 0900 and drove until 1200 when we stopped for gas in Atoka (2.139). We thought we could buy a rotisserie chicken at the local Walmart but there was no hot deli. We headed north on SR 69 through intermittent showers to McAlester where we shared a bacon-burger meal at Braums with a couple of small shakes (9.20?). We also stopped at the Walmart supercenter and got a chicken, a quart of yogurt and an avocado (9.37) since we were pretty much out of meat in the trailer. The last leg was in the forest and over a low point in the Jack Fork Mountains on our way to the Buffalo Mtn LZ. We missed the turnoff because we were looking for the landmark we remembered from our last trip, a tall water tower. But we spotted some streamers so we turned around and returned to the driveway, drove in to near the upper end where there was already one trailer. We parked and walked over to Ron Kohn’s cabin to talk with him about the site. Then we set up the trailer and settled in hoping for better weather on Saturday. Ron was thinking that Panorama might be flyable; Buffalo did not look good until Sunday as there was too much NW wind, a bad direction for almost all the local sites.

10 Oct, Sat – We got up about 0730 but apparently we had already missed Ron and his student. So, after breakfast of Welsh griddlecakes, we headed for Panorama, a site that had at least a chance of facing into the wind. We drove half the length of the Talamena trail before realizing we had somehow missed seeing the Panorama Vista which is the landmark for the Paraglider Point launch. When we retraced our route we found the launch and there was a vehicle parked there, so probably flying was happening. Just as C.J. started to get ready, Ron and Rena and Kurt arrived having already had several flights. Ron was willing to let us ride with his two students so we both got ready and, after a couple of failed inflations, I launched in the very light conditions. I went left, upwind, and found enough lift to keep me sinking only slowly. Then I went farther out and found several patches of light thermal lift that got me over launch   so I ended up with about 12 minutes before landing in the huge, flat, mowed field. C.J. joined me, then Kurt (a new P-2 with about 17 flts). Rena, also a P-2 had some trouble getting off launch in the even weaker conditions, but then had a good flight with Ron directing her to the lift. After packing up Ron was soon there and we took the gravel Dead Man’s Trail back to the Talamena Byway. Since it didn’t look any better at Panorama, and Ron was seeing the possibility of “south” at Buffalo, we headed that direction. We all stopped for lunch at Pam’s Hateful Hussy Café (13.11), then dropped our car and Kurt’s at the Buff. LZ. Conditions at launch looked doable, but very light. Kurt made a couple of attempts, then I tried two forward inflations; my third one got me in the air but just barely as my harness dipped into the high grass below launch. Still, there was light thermal lift out at the “wall” where the hill drops off and I circled in it enough to eke out fifteen minutes before landing in the large, grassy field. Rena landed soon after C.J. but Kurt got caught in a tree below launch so the three of us got Ron’s pole saw, piled in the Sorento, and headed back up. By the time we had reached launch Ron had extracted Kurt and his wing. Then we spent a long time sorting out his tangled lines. The conditions hadn’t changed for the better so we headed down. Ron, Reena and Kurt were heading for the local steakhouse and we had a salad since we had eaten so much for lunch. Ron let us use his bathroom and shower and that felt good since the day had been pretty hot – definitely in the 80’s. It cooled down nicely once the sun set.

11 Oct, Sun – Up at 0730, up the hill with Ron and Kurt around 0930. The south wind was cycling up to 14 mph and averaging about 12 according to the anemometer Ron had attached to his iPhone. I had a good reverse inflation and got right off while going up. It was slow going heading out to the wall but I wasn’t losing any altitude. Instead of hitting big ridge lift at the edge of the slope, I just kept running through patches of lift and sink. Ron’s advice was to fly through the ridge lift and then dip back into it so that I was never too far into it in case the wind picked up. Since there was no lift band, I flew all the way out to the LZ and landed to the SW (0:10). After reporting my landing and conditions, Ron said that the trees at the wall were showing too much wind and he recommended that C.J. not fly. Of course, Ron had not let P-1 Kurt fly in the conditions we had at launch, even earlier. Back at the LZ C.J. repacked her stuffed glider and it was hot in the sun with only a light wind. Later we went over to hang out with Kurt and Ron at his cabin. Kurt was taking the P-2 test. Sometime after 1400 C.J. and I went back to the trailer where we had been charging my computer while solar charging the trailer battery. We got some of the food out from under the bed and had a chips-n-cheese lunch. After that we went outside where it was really comfortable in the shade with the wind. We looked at maps to try to figure out what we might do next if the weather continued too strong for flying. No plan yet.

12 Oct, Mon – I set the alarm for 0700 then shut it off and snoozed until 0715. Then we had a quick breakfast of granola and texted Ron that we were ready. He showed up about 10 min later and by 0800 we were on our way up Buffalo again. This time we figured we were early enough to beat the forecast strong winds. Sure enough, it was a bit lighter than the day before but I wasn’t enthusiastic. Finally I decided that it was a waste to drive up and not give it a try, so I set up and launched. Conditions were pretty much the same as the previous day and I didn’t find anything worth more than a single 360. I landed in very light SW wind after eight minutes. I was surprised to hear that C.J. had changed her mind and was going to fly. She had two aborts, one after she had gotten off the ground, but on her third one she got out to the wall and scratched out 15 minutes. I missed seeing her fly because I was back at the Aliner preparing it for moving on. I dumped the portapottie and did some repacking. After Ron got down we hung out with him for a while and took showers before saying goodbye. We left him with $50 for the four rides up the hill plus all his advice, cheap at that price! We headed down the road about 1130, stopped to fill up at the EZ station in Talihina (2.179) then changed our minds about our destination (Broken Bow and the state park on the nearby lake) to Mt. Nebo, AR, just to camp there, and just possibly to run into someone who might be flying. We made one more stop on the way out of Talihina to fill up the propane tank - 4.3 gal, $10 (a filled tank contains 4.7 gal, the tech told us, so we were pretty low). We took the Talamena Scenic Byway, stopping at all the vista pullouts including the Kerr Botanic Area where we walked a mile-long trail through shortleaf pine and oak forest. We didn’t go all the way to Mena, exiting onto SR 270 and driving through forest and small communities, most too small to have a grocery store, and certainly no ice cream shops. We reached Mt Nebo State Park around 1700 and climbed the “crooked and steep” entrance road for four miles. Check-in was at the Visitors Center but it had closed at 1700 so we apprehensively drove to the small campground (only 30 sites) and found that there were only a very few sites occupied. After setting up, hooking up to power and water and exploring the bathhouse rest rooms with shower, we drove over to Sunset Point and watched the sun set behind Spring Mountain. Afterward, C.J. prepared another great dinner with the leftover chicken and the little bit of veggies we still have from home. It’s getting to be time to do a little shopping. [When we opened the trailer upon arrival at Mt Nebo we found the refrigerator door open and some stuff loose on the floor. It could have happened on a rough road just before we turned onto the entrance road…or it could have been open all day (seems more likely considering how not-cold everything was)]

13 Oct, Tue – Up at 0715 or so. After breakfast, which we ate outside at the picnic table, we went over to the visitor center to pay for camping (16.68 with the 25% discount for seniors (S-Th). We noted that Philip Morgan had signed in to hang glide on 10/11 and the next most recent sign-in was Mark Stump on 9/27. A breeze seemed to be coming up the launch just around back of the VC. On the way back to hook up the trailer we drove out to Sunrise Point where the LZ looked even farther away than the one(s) at the VC and the wind was clearly out of the west, not NE, and not even SW. We were on the road shortly after 1000 and stopped for gas in Dardanelle at Walmart (2.079). Then we drove down scenic byway 7 to 28 and south to Mena. Since there was no obvious ice cream shop there we continued south then west on SR 4 into OK. We drove through some of the Ouachita National Forest and then into what looked like a resort area along the road accessing Broken Bow Lake and State Park. We were unsure where to camp since there were many CGs so we stopped at the VC/Heritage Center and got directed to the Cypress Camp where there were many sites available. We even got one that we could treat like a drive-through. Just down the camp road from us were two other A-frames, Rockwoods. After setting up we went back and toured the Timber Heritage Museum then drove to the trailhead for the Cedar Bluff trail and walked the one-mile loop which had one steep climb at the beginning leading to a view down to the Mountain Fork River. Later we drove to a place where the road had washed out during the big rainstorms of May ’15. Back at camp we visited with the folks with the Rockwoods then sat outside enjoying the early evening with a drink and chips. C.J. made a good dinner of chicken, refried beans and cheese rolled up in tortillas and fried. We discussed where we might head the next day to get closer to Austin. Ennis has a couple of Corps of Engineers CGs that might work. It’s about 389 mi, 7 hrs to Austin from the Beavers Bend State Park near Broken Bow, a long day, particularly if we want to arrive mid-afternoon.

14 Oct, Wed – Woke up at 0730 and stepped in some water on the floor. Uh-oh! A quick check showed that the high-pressure water had caused a slow leak into the front storage area on the left side. Anything cardboard was wet and we had to do a thorough unloading of that area as well as check the battery compartment and the water tank area. The old Puyallup Fair “shamois” soaked up the water and we put everything out to dry. After breakfast we left the stuff to dry and went for a hike up and over a ridge to Beaver Creek, about a half hour. Instead of retracing our steps we thought we could cut cross country and hit another trail back to near our camp. We crossed the creek and found no trace of a trail so we thought it might be on top of the ridge. We climbed a fairly steep slope to the ridge top and hunted around but did not find what should have been an obvious trail. Rather than give up we started down the other side in more-or-less the right direction. We never found the trail but we did come out on the road right by our loop, and the whole hike took only an hour. Everything was mostly dry so we packed up and were on the road by 1215. The Rockwood A-frame folks had stopped by and we checked with them about camping at Ennis. They also mentioned their favorite place which was west of Lawton in the Witchita Mountains, a game reserve – lots of elk. Around 1300 we stopped near Broken Bow for gas at the Choctaw Casino (2.159) then drove on to Idabell where we got some groceries at Walmart (4.46). We felt pretty ice cream-deprived after several days without a fix so we looked at a Sonic menu without getting enthusiastic. Fortunately just down the road a short ways we spotted a Braums and got two shakes (5.88) for lunch. Pretty soon we were crossing the Red River on Rte 589 and entering Texas. We took I-30 as far as Exit 93 where we got on Rte 34 and took it all the way to Ennis and four miles beyond to the Corps of Engineers High View Park (8.00 w/park pass). We had a good site just above the lake but there was no shade. We left the refrigerator plugged in and the fan running and took a walk along the lake and out on a peninsula, then back along the other side past a marina. When we got back the refrigerator didn’t feel cold – I had plugged in the 20A 110V line but not turned on the refrigerator. I turned on the propane power for the refrigerator and it cooled down pretty well and was good and cold overnight. We had a nice pasta salad with the last little bit of the chicken we had bought back at Walmart in McAlester just before we reached Buffalo. It was still warm enough in the trailer that we left the fan running until early morning. There was a great sunset followed by a little sliver of moon setting into the sunset glow.

15 Oct, Thu – Since it was only a little less than three hours to Austin, we didn’t try to make an early start but we were on the road by 0915. We stopped a few miles up the road in Italy to get gas at Shell (2.049) just before we got on I-35. But down the interstate a bit farther we noticed that gas prices were below $2. We didn’t stop again until we reached Round Rock where there was a Freddy’s Frozen Custard. We shared a California Steakburger with skinny fries. Then we had mini sundaes for dessert (15.32). We wouldn’t need much to eat for dinner! Once we got to Austin we found the Crowne Plaza where the board meeting was taking place and the EconoLodge where we were staying about a half-mile apart, pretty convenient. The motel looked pretty good and our room was small but clean and looked out on the pool. After checking in and moving most of our stuff from the car to the room we drove over to the Crowne Plaza and joined most of directors in a meeting about what to do about our liability insurance. The cost has been doubling just about every year. Tim Herr’s suggestion is that we form a self-insurance corporation(risk retention group) in Vermont with $2M capitalization (from USHPA, the FFF, and some large schools) and insure up to four $250,000 claims per year, anything over that would be covered by Lloyd’s of London. Tim claims that our present insurance companies won’t fight claims in court, and settle the case with a payment to the plaintiff. He figures that we may be starting to look like a pushover for claimants and that we should fight all suits in court. It all sounded very logical but it made me think that Tim would get a lot more court time (and pay) under this new system. Later we had the traditional icebreaker party with light snacks and a no-host bar. We noticed that Julie was drinking a margarita; she told us that happy hour at the lounge went from 4 ‘til 7 and the drinks were half price. I went down and got C.J. a ($5.50) margarita. Afterward we had a presentation of Ryan Voight’s film on what a student should expect at his or her first hang gliding lesson. Then Julie presented the beta version of the new USHPA website. We got back to the motel before 2100. Jug won’t get in until after midnight.

16 Oct, Fri – Jug must have used a stealthy entry because I didn’t hear him come in but he was there in the morning when we got up at 0630. Breakfast was forgettable, the usual carbohydrate overload. C.J. had made overnight oatmeal for herself and there was some fruit, but no hot chocolate. Anyway we drove over to the Crowne Plaza in time for the 0745 meeting for committee chairmen about the new online comm. report. The Awards Comm. Mtg didn’t begin until 0915 and then we took an hour and a half to choose the recipients:

Bettina Gray Award (photography): Jonathan Dietch

Best Promotional Video: "8 Days at Base" by Ross Smith

Chapter of the Year: Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

Commendation: Reed Gleason, Roy Warren, T.J. Olney, Kit Martin

Exceptional Service: Rick Ray

Hang Gliding Instructor of the Year: Bart Weghorst

Paragliding Instructor of the Year: Brad Hill and Maren Ludwig (team)

Rob Kells Memorial Award: Mike Meier

Website of the Year: Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

After the meeting some of us stuck around to watch the rest of the “8 Days at Base” video. [It was very long and I contacted Tiffany/Larry about editing out much of the music and dancing.] Then Mark, C.J. and I went out to “lunch” at Amy’s Ice Cream, about a mile away (15). Back at the hotel there were other meetings which I sat in on but spent my time typing up the report for the Awards Comm and catching up on the georges email account. When I got excluded from the Tandem Comm, during a hearing about Mitch Bogden, I went over to the Accident Review Comm. chaired by Mitch Shipley. After the meetings were all over we went for dinner with Jug at Pappadeaux just a short walk away. C.J. and I shared a Pasta Mardi Gras and a Greek salad with a very citrusy IPA. It was pretty reasonable because seniors could order from the lunch menu 24/7 ($40).

17 Oct, Sat – General Session, president’s report, Exec Dir report, then reports from the committees. After lunch (leftovers back at the EconoLodge) there were more reports. Gabriel Jebb cornered me to tell me how disappointed he was, since he was obviously the best candidate for the PG IOTY. Then we heard from the Financial/Insurance/Risk Management Comm. about what the RRG was going to cost – an increase of dues to $125, Instructors to 350, 30 day waivers to $8, Site insurance to 200, 500, 1500 depending on how popular the site is, tow operations to $500/yr. Much discussion ensued, then the matter was tabled. Later Paul Murdoch of the Financial/Insurance/Risk Management Comm. came back with a different proposal – “up to” $149 individ, “up to”                $350 inst, $8 for 30-day mem. USHPA needs an agreement soon so Tim can deal with Lloyd’s of London for excess (over $250,000) insurance. The membership will be notified that the board is going to vote on this increase in the next 10 days. The meeting wrapped up with elections. Jaime and Greg Kelley are in as directors-at-large while Ryan is out and Dennis Pagen, who was not present, had resigned. Paul Murdoch is the new president and Jamie is the VP. C.J. and I hung around after adjournment at 1700 and eventually went to dinner at Pappadeux’s with the office staff (Julie, Beth and Ashley) and Greg Kelley. We had a wait of more than an hour but the food was still good. Actually, the blackened Costa Rican mahi was excellent! C.J. ordered a cup of the sausage and shrimp gumbo and the “small” Greek salad. The gumbo was a bit too spicy for her but I ate my share. We shared a crème brulee and got to sample the pecan pie and banana pudding with vanilla wafers that other people ordered. It was after 2200 when we got back to the room and we still had to decide which route we were going to take to go home. Google Maps had shown a very direct route which was supposed to take 32 hrs. The only problem was that it retraced much of routes we had taken on other road trips. But that was better than our car GPS was showing –all interstates and no diagonals. We had the room to ourselves as Jug had left for home (Santa Cruz) around 1530.

18 Oct, Sun – We packed up and moved everything to the car and trailer (mostly stuff from the motel fridge to the trailer fridge), hitched up and parked in the Crowne Plaza lot. Paul Voight had given us his breakfast buffet tickets since he and Ryan were leaving too early on Sunday to use them. The buffet was a LOT better than the one at the EconoLodge (It had been even worse on Sat when there were many more guests, some of them young and hungry athletes). We snagged a couple of really good chocolate muffins, and had scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, fruit. I had a slice of French toast, and the waitress brought us cups of hot chocolate. We said goodbye again and started off around 0800. To avoid some toll roads we drove south on I-35 then NW toward Abilene and Lubbock. We had a short stretch on I-20 and we bought gas twice (2.159 in Llano, 1.995 in Snyder). We crossed the border into NM near Clovis and hit the local Walmart for a bathroom break and to grab a rotisserie chicken and, I hate to admit it, a marked-down selfie stick for five bucks (10). It was too early to camp in the Walmart Lot, our undependable taillight would not allow a two-hour drive to the nearest open state park, and the local RV parks seemed expensive. We started off toward the Santa Rosa Lake State Park anyway thinking we might have to stop at a nearby rest area, but then we saw a sign for Oasis State Park, south about 10 miles toward Portales. A moment later we saw Travelers RV Park and decided to save the 11-mile trip down and back and stay in the RV Park where C.J. could finish editing whatever articles were still on the server and then could upload them without having to find a Wi-Fi venue on Monday (26.78). C.J. had been working on her computer most of the way from Austin.) The office was closed but there were directions for campers arriving late and we got a pull-thru and got set up for the night. Naturally, there was a somewhat busy RR track right behind the camp and the main highway to the west was on the other side of the park.

19 Oct, Mon – Up at 0630 although we were awake earlier - it was either the trains, the traffic on the highway or someone starting up a noisy car. We hit the road about 0800 and drove over the llano estacado to Fort Sumner (Home of Billy the Kids Grave! the billboards said) where we got gas (2.159). C.J. spotted a couple of small herds of pronghorn antelopes as we continued west, then north to hit I-40 at Clines Corner. We drove through Moriarty and Albuquerque and turned north on I-25 for 15 miles to Bernalillo. We got gas at a Warrior Fuel station ($1.979) and continued northwest on 550 to Cuba. We had used up the last of the cheese we brought from home on Sunday so we either had to buy groceries or grab lunch at Subway. The footlong ham and cheese toasted Subway was actually quite tasty. When we reached Farmington we did stop at Safeway and bought cheese (it was on sale) and a half gallon of milk (we’d need it when we got home anyway). As we headed west we could see Shiprock; then we turned north and in 20 miles crossed the border into Colorado. A few miles more and we stopped at the Mountain Ute Casino for gas (2.209) and a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. From there it was 100 miles to Monticello and another 54 to Moab. I was concerned about making it to Moab in the daylight since we were having trouble with the tail lights on the trailer – they were working only intermittently. Since we hadn’t figured out where the USFS campgrounds were outside of Monticello, we pushed on north toward Moab. It was 1845 before we reached the town and the sun had set at 1831; fortunately the lights were working and it really hadn’t gotten dark yet. Apparently fall is the time to visit Moab because the town was bustling and the campgrounds up the Colorado River canyon were full until we got way out to Upper Drinks, the same place we had stayed last time we camped here. We found a single empty site with a permit slip showing that the camper had checked out on the 19^th. It was full dark by the time we had maneuvered the trailer into a reasonably level position but we were just glad we had a site. Moments after setting up and paying the (7.50) site fee, a thunderstorm hit and there was a brief, but heavy shower. C.J. whipped up another skillet meal with the chicken, potatoes, carrots and zucchini and served it with chips and our small bottle of red wine. It was an eleven-hour day and we still have two more driving days to go, and at that we will be getting home a day later than I thought we would. What was I thinking about how long the return trip would take?

20 Oct, Tue – Awake at 0530 but got up at 0630 and it was still quite dark. I got a couple of photos of the bright star/planet high in the NE above the canyon rim. We had scrambled eggs for a change, cleaned up and were gone by 0730. It was interesting to note some of the new tourist facilities in place since we were through here last time. We both want to come back and do more than a quick overview.  There was some rain and a rainbow near Green River. We stopped for gas just before Price – just a few gallons at the highest price of the trip (2.759). Then we blew on to Sandy where we tanked up at yet another below-$2 price (1.979). We went in to use the restroom and to grab a jar of unsalted cashews for Nick. He had invited us to stop by at his new residence in north SLC and pick up a computer monitor that he was no longer using. He also invited us to lunch but when we got there around 1230 he was busy on the phone and couldn’t get away. We ate lunch on the road while driving up I-15. The crossing over into Idaho was enlivened by seeing the clouds rolling over Mt Harrison and dropping rain. Finally we reached Twin Falls and got gas at Costco (1.939) and our frozen custard fix at Culvers (5). Our plan at that time was to head for Boise and stay at a Walmart near Costco, but the lure of the new made us leave the interstate at Hammett and drive to C.J. Strike Dam and find the campground right below the dam just about at sunset. The camp fee was only $10, and there was a fifty percent discount for any level of veteran disability ($5). The small, flying bugs were swarming but the wind kept them from being totally awful. As soon as the sun went down and it cooled off, the bugs disappeared. We walked around the campground and C.J. spotted a river otter in the water; there were lots of jumping fish for sure. Most of the water was coming out of the powerhouse, with very little coming over the spillway. There is a bridge across the Snake just downstream of the dam where you can drive over to another campground which may be where the LZ is for the launch that faces east from the bluff on the north side of the river/lake. There was also a BLM campground back to the east; we passed it on the way to the C.J. Strike dam area. Wednesday we should make it all the way home. Then clean up on Thursday and see if we want to leave for the Women’s/Halloween fly-in at Chelan on Friday.

20 Oct, Wed – It was pretty chilly overnight and we used the heater in the morning for the first time in many days. On the way out we talked to an Idaho Power employee and asked if he ever saw anyone fly HG or PG from the bluff. He had never seen anyone there but had seen people fly downstream near Swan Falls. We got going after 0800 and drove through the sugar beet farmland and a couple of small towns including Murphy, the county seat of Owyhee County. C.J. got a text from Nick asking her to do some editing so when we reached SR 45 which crossed the Snake and headed north, we drove up to Nampa to find the nearest Starbucks. I dropped C.J. there to get the articles proofed and uploaded while I drove the mile or so to Costco to fill up with not-as-cheap gas (2.239). The rest of the day was just driving on Interstates except for the usual trip through the Yakima Canyon to avoid going over three summits on I-82. We got gas at Pilot near Stanfield, OR, which was just as cheap as Costco in Union Gap (2.159), clearly gas is going to be more expensive in the NW. We got home around 1715, missing the 1730 shutdown of I-90 at Keechelus Lake for blasting. The whole yard was buried under leaves and walnuts so there will be lots of cleanup to do Thursday. But first I need to take the left trailer tire to Les Schwab to see if they can do anything about the wear on the outside part of the tread. Otherwise, I’ve got to at least replace it with the spare tire. Anyway we got unloaded, both the car and trailer, and made a big pile of dirty clothing in the living room. Thursday definitely has to be laundry day.

Back at home

22 Oct, Thu – We got the washing machine working early and did several loads. While waiting for the leaves to dry out somewhat, I removed the left tire from the trailer and took it over to Les Schwab. The tech told me that I needed a new tire for sure. I guess that’s not unreasonable since the tire is more than five years old and has lots more than 20,000 miles on it (NM, cross country to NH, a couple of trips to San Bernardino, plus two Labor Day trips to Montana, not to mention all the short hops to Dog and Chelan – hmm, maybe I’d better replace the right-side tire, too). I got a lot of leaves ground up with the mower, and a pile of walnuts into the yard waste container. I didn’t want to do a serious cleanup because there were still lots of leaves on one of the trees.

23 Oct, Friday – I scrubbed the bugs and road grime off the trailer, and went shopping in Issaquah (plus gas at Costco), but we didn’t leave for the Women’s/Halloween Fly-in because the weather looked chancy.

Women's/Halloween Fly-in

24 Oct, Sat – Even though it looked to be too windy and/or from the wrong direction, we threw our overnight stuff in the car and headed for Chelan. For one night it didn’t seem worthwhile towing the trailer, especially if we might end up going to Saddle to fly on Sunday. I booked a room at the Apple Inn over the Internet (51). We got to the soccer field LZ pretty early but people had already gone up to fly. However, the Sunnyside launch was one of the areas on the Butte that had burned so PG people were not eager to spread wings out on the ash. A hang glider pilot, however had no such qualms and got an extended sledder. Then folks started launching from Ants, and we heard that Lakeside was launchable as well with sledders to Lone Pine. C.J. and I drove up to town to see if we could get into our room and drop off everything we didn’t need for flying – not our warm clothes because it was cold and damp. It was around noon when we got to the motel office and our room wasn’t ready. We drove over to Lakeside Park just to look at where the fires had burned, then we went to Walmart to get some crackers and stuff. By then the room was ready. Later we drove up to launch. No one was there but it was blowing in lightly on Lakeside so C.J. got set up. Just as she was ready to launch several more vehicles arrived with Meredyth, CJB, Susan, Derek and others. They all set up and C.J. got launched for a good flight to the Lone Pine tall grass. I stuck around to help Susan and then another couple who decided to launch Ants where the wind appeared calm even though people were taking off from Lakeside. [Their reasoning was that they had left their retrieve car down at the soccer field.] The guy made it off but the girl had to give up after several tries when the downhill breeze started to be obvious. I picked C.J. up at Lone Pine and we returned to the motel to change for the party. This year we recycled an old couples costume – I was the fish and C.J. the fisherperson. There were lots of interesting costumes among the forty or so people who came to the party – Bo-Peep and family (the Heims), coneheads (Jan and Murdoch), thundercloud and victim (Tina and Larry), Wizard of Oz characters (the Swepstons and Brian), Scots couple complete with claymore, and Gordon Grice as Darth Pro, in black and covered with GoPros. The chili cookoff provided ample food with the potluck salads, crackers, dip and cheese. Plus, there were more desserts than the group could eat! We left before 2130 and had a nice rest in the comfortable motel room, a pleasant change from the tiny trailer.

Saddle Mountain Blowout

25 Oct, Sun – Conditions looked not so good for flying in Chelan so we took a cue from Meredyth who was heading for Saddle where it was forecast to be north at 7-8 mph. We stopped for gas in East Wenatchee at Costco (2.___). Flags and trees along the way looked promising so we met Mer at the LZ and carpooled to launch. On the way up we met a BC couple coming down who reported great flights the day before. When we reached launch we found that the wind was north at 15-20 gusting to 28. We sat in the car and waited at least a couple of hours. By then the velocity had decreased to almost-comfortable, but the sky had darkened and it looked like a storm was on the way. We bailed and headed for home.