Reset search
2020 Around the World on HAL2020 Around the World on HAL
SatelliteEdit route

2020 Around the World on HAL

January - March 2020
A 81-day adventure by Sonia Read more
+8
  • 58footprints
  • 16countries
  • 81days
  • 85photos
  • 1videos
  • 40.3kmiles
  • 26.0kmiles
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 33

    Around the Cape Horn to Ushuaia.

    February 4, 2020, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 48 °F

    After nine days in the ocean (could not stop in Falkland Island), we are waiting with anticipation to get on land in Ushuaia, Argentina. We are docking at 7:00 PM and staying overnight.
    We got up at 6:00 AM today because at 6:30 AM we were going around Cape Horn.

    Cape Horn is the southernmost point of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramerez Islands), Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

    Again, the weather was not cooperating. It was very windy and rainy, so I refused to go outside. Boris went outside for a very short time and came back. I was listening to naturalist on TV.

    This passage considered to be the rough passage of the ship, but the sea was calm and we had smooth sailing.

    I attended a very interesting lecture about ingenious people of this area, who are regarded as the southernmost peoples in the world. The tribe is Yahgan and unfortunately the last member of this tribe died in the beginning of XX century.

    Despite the extremely cold climate in which they lived, early Yaghan wore little to no clothing until after their extended contact with Europeans.They were able to survive the harsh climate because:

    They kept warm by huddling around small fires when they could, including in their boats to stay warm. The name of "Tierra del Fuego" (land of fire) was based on the many fires seen by passing European explorers.

    They made use of rock formations to shelter from the elements.

    They covered themselves in animal grease.

    Over time, they had evolved significantly higher metabolisms than average humans, allowing them to generate more internal body heat.

    Their natural resting position was a deep squatting position, which reduced their surface area and helped to conserve heat.

    The lecture was by the woman that was born and raised in Ushuaia, but now she lives in Australia.

    While I was at the lecture, Boris was at his watercolor class. He painted very nice albatross.

    By 7:30 PM we arrive Ushuaia. I could not wait to go ashore after 9 days in the sea. It is not an easy town to navigate with a wheelchair. We walked for two hours, got some chocolate and came back on the ship by 9:30 PM. Tomorrow we have an early tour.

    To see more pictures, please use the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dT4j9477mPff8RWq5

    More pictures will come later.    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 34

    Ushuaia, Argentina

    February 5, 2020 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F

    Today our tour started at 8:00 AM. I organized this tour long time ago. It was supposed to be two 18 passengers buses, but only 10 people on each bus. I wanted lots of room for everyone. Unfortunately, they had one big bus for 20 people. There were still lots of room.

    The weather today was very good. Cold, but sunny.

    Today's tour was to visit Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) National Park, where we saw the most typical species of the sub-antarctic.
    Our first stop was the end of the world. It is the most southern point of South America.

    Then we stopped at the Acigami Lake with beautiful mountains in the background.

    Our last stop was the post office. The setting of this post office is very beautiful and it is the Southmost Post Office in the world. Lots of people were buying stamps and post cards and mailing them.
    Meanwhile, Boris and I went for a little hike.

    Then we were dropped at the ship and some people from our group went to the city.

    And now we are going on the Beagle Chanal toward Punta Arenas, Chili. This chanal named after the boat that Charles Darwin traveled in this area.
    To see pictures of this day go to the links: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UTbZYsUXR1FZ5JRh9 and https://photos.app.goo.gl/qGsctTTcUYofXE3UA    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 35

    Punta Arenas and Fort Bulnes, Chile.

    February 6, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    After departing Ushuaia, we took a route towards Punta Arenas which took as through some of Chile's numerous channels. We passed five big glaciers and many small ones.

    Punta Arenas is a city near the tip of Chile's southernmost Patagonia region. Located on the Strait of Magellan, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

    We opened our shades at 6:30 AM to a beautiful sunrise.
    We had quick breakfast and got of the ship to find our tour. Ricardo was waiting for us. We were only two people on this tour, but he told us later in the day he will pick a group of 6 people from another cruise ship.
    Ricardo told us that it is a very safe city. And we felt safe walking during day time, although we saw burned building and shuttered glass from the bullets in the windows and lots of graffiti. May be it is all relative.

    Meanwhile we drove for 5 minutes to reach The Nao Victoria Museum .There are four open full size replicas of the most important ships in the Magallanes Region. Nao Victoria, the only fleet commanded by Ferdinand Magellan completed the first circumnavigation of the globe. James Caird, originally a lifeboat Endurance that sailed from Elephant Island to South Georgia during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton 1916. Goleta Ancud, the ship, under the command of Manuel Bulnes, President of Chile, took the sovereignty of the Magellan Strait to Chile with the construction of Fuerte Bulnes. HMS Beagle, the famous British Navy ship under the command of Captain Fitz Roy raised cartography work of Magallanes Region. Aboard the boat was young Charles Darwin.
    There were also three little dogs at the museum (they belong to the owner of the museum) that were named after commanders of the ships.
    Very interesting open air museum and since it was 8:45 AM we were the only visitors. By the time we finished with a museum, the first tour bus from HAL arrived.

    We drove to another pier closer to the city to pick a group of 6 people from another cruise ship. It was a British Cruise line ship Balmoral and all six people were from Great Britain. Very nice group of people.

    Out next stop was Fort Bulnes. It is a Chilean fort located by the Strait of Magellan, 62 km south of Punta Arenas. It was founded in 1843. during President Manuel Bulnes Prieto.

    It was reconstructed between 1941 and 1943 as a historic monument. The replica includes the church, chaplain's quarters, jail, powder magazine, post office and stables. It was declared a national monument in 1968.
    The weather was perfect and the walk and the view were very pleasant.

    We also visited museum of Patagonia that has scaled models of the most important ships that discovered and study this area, history of this ares. Very new and modern museum. Wish we spent a little more time there.

    After that we drove back to Punta Arenas and somewhere half the drive we stopped for a bite of baked Chilean beef empanada and a glass of Chilean wine.

    We continued driving to the city and stopped at the main squire with statute of Magellan. That was out last stop on the tour. We decided not to go back to the ship right away, but spend some time in the city. First we found a very nice coffee shop and had a great cappuccino. Than we walked all over the city, got some good chocolate and decided to walk back to the ship. We were told it is about 3.2 miles.
    Then we got back to the main squire and found a shuttle from our ship. So we changed our mind and took a shuttle. We were glad we did it. It was at least 20 min ride back to the ship and not less then 6 miles.

    We came back, changed and had a very nice dinner on the ship. The evening was warm and sunny and we enjoyed our lanai cabin very much. The sunset was way after 10:00 PM.
    To see the pictures of the day please us link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PZTaK4iPA2r76v446
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/iVTe77NYa4fKmVET8    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 38

    Puerto Montt, Chile

    February 9, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    That is what our captain wrote:

    "In all my years of cruising South America, I have never been as fortunate with the weather as we have these past days.  In years past, I have been hanging on with my teeth in anchorages, or being tug assisted while trying to stay on a berth; this year we have been blessed with clear skies, sun and light winds, (maybe the weather Gods are looking after me on my last voyage, fingers crossed). "

    Yes, the weather has been absolutely perfect.

    The city was founded in 1853 and completely destroyed in a 1960 earthquake.  The surrounding countryside is becoming a popular tourist destination.

    Two years ago when we visited Puerto Montt, we had a tour to the lakes and volcano. Since there is not much to see in Puerto Montt, we decided to visit German town Puerto Varas. This town is approximately 12 miles from the port of Puerto Montt.
    Today was tender port. I got up at 6:00 AM, got in line for tender tickets. There were already big line to get tickets. People lined up since 5:00 AM.

    We did not get on the first tender, but managed to get on the second with all people that were going on ship tour.
    We had few choices on how to get to Puerto Varas: take city bus, taxi or Uber. There was another couple going the same way, so we split the cost of the car ride.

    Puerto Varas is a city in southern Chile's Lake District. It has a view of snow-capped Osorno and Calbuco volcanos. Both of these are still active. The town has traditional German architecture. It was build in early 20th century. The city is also known as "the city of roses". They are everywhere.
    We had very nice day walking in this small city, enjoying good weather, beautiful views and musicians playing on the main squire. Our car driver suggested a restaurant for a lunch and around noon we found this restaurant and had a delicious lunch. Boris ordered salmon and I got a king crab.
    After lunch we walked a little bit more and then we decided to take Uber back to Puerto Montt. Could not find the Uber, we took some local currency from ATM and decided to take a local bus. We had one concern: How do we fit a wheelchair on this mini bus?
    We waited for the bus maybe 5 minutes. When the bus came, locals loaded Boris and the wheelchair on the bus and the driver was driving the bus and holding the wheelchair.
    It took about 30 min to get to our destination.
    It was good and interesting experience. To see pictures of the day please go to the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zz9awBeSvsE8o8bo8    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 40

    San Antonio, Chile.

    February 11, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Today we docked in San Antonio, Chile at 7:30 AM and by 7:45 AM we were at the terminal. We booked a tour thru cruise critic website. It was supposd to be a group of 8 people. When we found our group there were at least 50 to 60. I did not like it. So, right on the spot, we organized group of 8 and hired a tour guide.

    Our destination was Valparaiso. It is about 1-1.5 hours drive.
    Known as Valpo, Valparaíso is Chile's second largest city, located on the Pacific coast. A historical city nestled in the hills, Valpo is the heart of Chile’s bohemian culture. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, Valpo is a special place with historical significance. The city has 45 hills, the most prominent of which is Cerro Alegre.

    The weather was warm, but there was light drizzle and fog, so being on the hill the fog did not permit us to see panaramic view.
    We drove around the city, stoped to take pictures. Some architecture is very beautiful, but everything is in pretty poor condition. Lots of street art like murals, lots of graffiti. The city is dirty and poor.
    We took one of the oldest faniculars in the city to go up the hill. There are use to be around 30 faniculars in the city, but now only 16 remain. Most of them were build in 19 or beginning of 20 century.
    Then we walked down. We stopped in little cafe and had Empanadas and I had hot chocolate and Boris had carrot/orange juice.
    Then we visited Pablo Neruda's house. It is converted to a museum.

    Our last stop was beautiful winery. We tested few wines, spend some time on the patio of the winery. By that time the sun came out and we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.
    By 3:30 PM we were back in the port.
    To see pictures of the day please go to the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zGWvQtKsR1P1WjHCA    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 45

    Easter Island, Chile

    February 16, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    After four restful days we had a chance to go ashore.
    Easter Island is a tender port. We booked a private tour. Since the private tour operator has a monopoly on this island, but still not as expensive as ship tours, there are 80 people on private tour with 20 people on each bus.
    I asked people on how early get in line for tender tickets and was told EARLY.
    I set an alarm clock for 5:00 AM, but got up at 4:30 AM and decided to go check if there are any people in line. To my surprise there was around 15 ahead of me. The first in line came at 3:30 AM to get tender tickets.
    Well, by 8:30 AM they started to give out the tickets. We got #2 tender. As soon as we got tickets, we went down to deck 1 to get in line for the tender boat. We knew it will be slow since even when the ocean is calm, the tender boarding is very rough at this location. More times then not cruise ships are not be able to stop here.
    By 10:00 AM we were on tender boat. The crew did a marvelous job to load people.
    Few minutes later we were on land in Hanga Roa (capitol city) and after payment of $80 pp for basically entrance to the island, we joined the tour.

    This island was annexed to Chile in 1888 and it is a World Heritage Site. It is the most isolated island in the world. The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the such explorer, who landed on the island on Easter Sunday in 1722.
    Easter Island has 887 statues called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. Much of the island is dedicated to the protected national park.
    There are close to 8000 people live on this island of which 4000 from Chile, 3500 native and 500 from other countries.
    Our guide, Peter, was from Czech republic.
    There are 7000 horses roaming in the island.

    There were 20 people on the bus.

    Our first stop was Anakena. It is the only sand beach on the island. It is known as "The bay of the king". It named after the first Rapa Nui King disembarked here. The beach is pretty nice and there were few people in the water. The place has two moai statues. They were restored in 1950th.

    Our next stop was Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu on Eastern Island. It's moais were topped during island's civil war and by tsunami after strongest earthquake in Chile. This place has 15 moais. All of them are face sunset during the summer solstice.

    Our next stop was Rano a Raraku. It is moai statue quarry. It is a volcanic cone, now extinct. Moais were carced from the rock in horizontal position and then separated from the mother rock, lifted vertically and then somehow moved to the desired location. There are many statues on this site with in the difference stages of carving. There is also a walking path around on the mountain to see carvings. We were there around 2:00 PM and by that time it was pretty hot and we were trying not to drink too much since there are not too many toilets on the island. I went for a walk around and Boris walked a little and he was hungry since we had breakfast very early in the morning, so he found a little place to buy a hotdog for $7.

    Our last stop was a volcano crater. Rano Kau, is the largest volcano and one of the most beautiful and impressive natural settings. The view was so increadably beautiful, it is hard to describe. In addition to that the sky was blue with puffy clouds and a nice breeze. It was a wonderful ending to our tour.
    We still had time to explore the town, but Boris was very tired and we took the tender boat and went back on the ship. It felt good to take a shower and have sothing to eat.

    To see pictures, please use link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/SDmhrjXFybEY7NRM8    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 48

    Pitcairn Island, UK

    February 19, 2020 on the Pitcairn Islands ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We got extra hour in a day for the last 4 days. Because of that we wake up very early. So today I got up at 5:30 AM after being awake since 3:00 AM. I went for a walk around the ship for 2 mi and at 6:30 AM we had breakfast.
    Right after breakfast we were getting closer to Pitcairn Island.

    The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Pitcairn Island is the only one that has people. The population is less then 70.

    The earliest known settlers of the Pitcairn Islands were Polynesians. They traded goods and formed social ties between them. Eventually, important natural resources were exhausted, inter-island trade broke down, causing the small human populations on Henderson and Pitcairn to be cut off and eventually become extinct.

    Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767 by the British crew. The island was named after midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island.

    In 1790, nine of the crew from the ship Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them settled on Pitcairn Island and set fire to the Bounty. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most these people.
    And up to the resent time there still cases of crime.

    The fertile soil of the island let them grow variety of fruit and vegetables. Also, British government sponsored production of the honey.
    Pitcairn exports honey to New Zealand and to the United Kingdom. In London, Fortnum & Mason sells it and it is a favourite of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

    We were sailing around the Island for at least 3 hours. During this time, I think half of the island population came onboard to sell their art and craft. They also brought honey. Very pricey, but that was the only opportunity to get something from this land. And it is favourite 😍 of the Queen!
    People were buying t-shirts, handmade jewelry, wood carvings.
    After that, the little boat was loaded with the food from our ship, including ice cream and the natives and they left the ship. We continue sailing toward Tahiti.

    The weather is absolutely magnificent. Sunny, warm and very calm. We enjoyed all day being outside.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/31VhcHN5U8C7tooXA    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 51

    Tahiti, French Polynisia.

    February 22, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Three years ago when we visited Tahiti was a rainy day. That day we has a 4x4 tour to the top of the mountain.
    Today was sunny and very warm. Our tour today was West and East side of the island. In other words, tour around the whole island.
    There were 8 people on the tour. Our tour guide came right on time at 8:30 AM on a bright red Mercedes van. Tracy, the tour guide/the owner of the company is a very colorful woman from Great Britain that married a local guy and settled in Tahiti.
    The tour started with overview of the city. We stopped to see the Governer's building. The city has beautiful main Street with big trees that provide much needed shade. The weather temperature is the same all year around. It was 88F degrees and very humid.
    Then we continue West stopping at a little church. Tracy explained to us that people in Polynesia are very religious and all their live is around the church.
    We drove around the island stopping at interesting places like botanical gardens, waterfalls, blow holes, caves and sand and back beaches. Also we stopped at the old Polynesian praying temples with no walls and no roofs. In the middle of all this we tried local pineapple and stopped for a lunch in a sea food restaurant that is located right on the small beach. The fish they serve was swimming only few hours before. Boris and I ordered shared seafood sampler plate and I had a local beer.
    We got back on the ship around 4:30 PM pretty tired. Has shower, dinner and by 8:00 PM were sound asleep.
    To see pictures of the day, please go to the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PZyk1v7cZDTXurVp9    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 53

    Rarotonga, Cook Islands

    February 24, 2020 in Cook Islands ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    Another tender port. Since we get almost everyday 25 hours a day, we all can not sleep past 3:00 AM. I got up very early and went on deck 5 to get inline for tender tickets. This is another difficult port for tender boats. By 8:00 AM we got tender tickets and got on the first boat after cruise ship tours.
    Our plan for today was find a good place to snorkel. The online investigation pointed to three best snorkeling placed.
    I also consulted with my cousin Helen who has been their many times.
    One was very shallow, the other one popular with families with kids and the third looked good. So we decided to go to the third place.
    After 15 minutes of wait on shore, we boarded island bus and asked the driver to stop at Tikiokie beach.
    The beach was absolutely empty. We found a big boulder, so Boris could sit on and then we put our snorkeling gears on and went into the water. The water was not crystal clear because of the rain yesterday, but good enough. There were lots of colorful fish, bright blue star fish, some pretty corals.
    We did not want to sit on the sun, so we walked about 100 yards and found big palms that create a lots of shade. We settled under these palms. Shortly one men came to the same area and went for a swim. After he got out of the water, he got a huge coconut right of the tree and made a hole in it. I asked and he told as that he is local and shared this coconut with us. Delicious fresh coconut water.
    We did more snorkeling and after couple more hours on the beach took a local bus back to our tender boat.
    Very nice day away from the crowd.
    To see the pictures of the day please go to the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ETLdQVjrr2Gr1jFy7    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 57

    Nuku'alofa, Tonga.

    February 28, 2020 in Tonga ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    Tonga is located in South Pacific. It is the only country that was never colonized. Consisting of 176 islands, Tonga has a history dating back over 3000 years and the monarchy was in place around 1000 years. Tonga was given the nickname " the Friendly Islands" after Captain James Cook arrived here in 1776.
    In the 19th century missionaries arrived, converting local population to Christianity. Country's capital Nuku'alofa translates to "Abode of Love"

    We are very lucky to dock at this island. They turned away four ships before us. They really afraid of the coronavirus.

    We docked around 7:30 AM and by 8:15 AM we were on the dock. We changed some money for local currency and found a taxi to take us to the beach and pick us up later.

    We drove past king's palace, some government buildings, thru town, villages to the end of the peninsula. First two beaches were closed for private events (tours from our ship), then he drove us to the third beach. It is a private beach that we paid $2.50 pp. The beach was stunning, unfortunately the sea was a little rough. Boris went snorkeling, but it did not feel safe. He saw some fish and corals.
    The rest of the time we were sitting on the beach under the palms and going to the water to get a little cooler.

    There was one local woman on the beach and we asked for some drinks, so she offered a coconut. We got a huge coconut from refrigerator. It was really good. After we finished a coconut water, I asked if it is possible to break the 🥥 to have the nut. She took the coconut, and then in about 10 min, the guy came back to us and explained....our big coconut is not good, so he gave us small brown coconut and inside it was a small round part that considered to be a delicacy. We finished it and the meat from the coconut.

    Later he came with another coconut that had sponge like filing instead of the coconut water. That is sprouted coconut. The sponge tasted good too.
    By now it was after 1:00 PM and extremely hot. We were very relieved when our driver came to pick us up.

    We got back on the ship, took a shower, had salad and an ice cream and trying to keep cool. I will put link with pictures later.
    To see the pictures of the day, please go to the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CkHk4hQGDqVKTEENA    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English