Today we are at sea as the MS Oosterdam cruises from the Falkland Islands to Punta Arenas in Chile.

 

This morning we have our breakfast in The Lido restaurant, with its self-serve system, this is much quicker than the Dining Room.

 

At 10am, we attend a presentation regarding Punta Arenas. This is done by Ed who, as usual, does an excellent job. There are questions after the presentation, some of which are unbelievably stupid; Ed handles these with patience and good manners, even though he keeps getting questions regarding the fact that (due to weather conditions) we will no longer be sailing round Cape Horn.

 

After relaxing with coffee, we go to the Pinnacle Grill for our 'free' lunch. There are few other diners here as we have an excellent meal. We both start with the wonderful crab cakes (left) and then Jeanette has ravioli (right).

 

After his crab cakes to start, David has tenderloin (left) for main course. Desserts are raspberry pavlova (J - right) and trifle (D).

 

We talk extensively to the   Maitre d' who is from South Africa, and the waiter who is from Namibia. A most enjoyable meal, particularly as we have a table by the window that enables us to view the sea which has a high swell today.

 

Another lovely experience.

 

There is another port presentation in the afternoon (on Ushuaia) which is followed by a showing of the film March of the Penguins.

 

Tonight's show is by the vocalist Camila Andrade who sings jazz and bossa nova numbers.

 

 

 

 

After cruising 558 miles, the MS Oosterdam arrives in Punta Arenas, and we are up at 5:30am in order to be on time for our excursion: The sights of Punta Arenas

It is quite cool, and at times cold but mostly sunny, as our tour takes us to:

 

 - the Plaza de Armas, where our guide (starting before all the passengers have disembarked the bus) tells the story of local hero Ferdinand Magellan whose monument (right) dominates the square;

 

 - the Municipal Cemetery, which is named after Sara Braun who donated the land in 1894, is a National Monument of Chile. The cemetery is huge and apparently contains the remains of several important characters, but we do not get to see any of their monuments - not even Sara Braun's. We do learn, however, that the main gate was used for Sara Braun's funeral in 1955, and has not been used since;

 

 - the Mirador Cerro de la Cruz: an observation point offering panoramic views of  the surrounding city landmarks, plus the bay, where we can see our ship;

 

 

The Municipal Cemetery