World Cruise 2025 Part 4, Easter Island

On day 42, we hit terrible weather enroute to Robinson Crusoe Island. Didn't hold out much hope of actually anchoring there...too windy for tenders, probably. We made it after all, but not much to do unless one wanted to take a very serious hike uphill.

Easter Island. This was the big one, but we couldn't get into the main town, Hanga Roa, to anchor and tender because the swells were too much. Even the "dedicated" customs guys couldn't approach, so we moved to Anakena Beach, a place that does not have a tender pier, but has these:

Getting ashore in Anakena was no mean feat. The story was that the floating platform that was to be used for disembarking the tenders was damaged. We waited for hours while Captain and crew figured an angle, finally using one of our tenders as a landing platform. We will just say that it was a harrowing experience because the swells were fairly heavy at the beach. Pati was actually shaking when we made land, but our tender crew kept us alive. 

 

That said, one goes to Easter Island, or in the native language, Rapa Nui, to see the amazing Moai. We did. This is Akivi:

This is Ahu Tahai, by the water:

This unknown soldier stood alone. Actually, these are thought to be images of ancestors who are protecting the island's ancient tribes. How did these huge carvings get to their final locations? One thought is that they were given "mana", the life force, and they walked there on their own. There are lots of other theories...it's like the pyramids...who knows?

Nearby:

Interesting island life. Dogs roam freely as do horses, the latter either grazing by the road or trotting down the middle of it. Only the cattle are fenced in, and loosely at that. One place had quite a collection of roosters, chickens, dogs, and cats. One kitty jumped right into our bus and made friends. This guy seemed to be the gang's leader.

Later, we saw the aftermath of our landing. Two tenders, the one used as the platform and the other the one that carried us ashore, were both torn to shit. It was mostly cosmetic, skins, scrapes, and bruises, but enough that they'll need repair that can't be done onboard and will have to wait for dry dock. I guess the company isn't going to can the captain, but this is gonna cost some bucks.

 

Big barbecue onboard that night, and you know you're with old people when everyone knows how to participate during "Sweet Caroline".

 

World Cruise 2025 Part 3

 First, let me say this: I don't understand why this font keeps changing, but frankly, my dear...OK, pressing on.

Our closest point to the South Pole came at 63 degrees, 20 minutes south on February 6th.

Goodbye to Antartica and on the way to Ushuaia. Captain Abhi Singh attracts medical emergencies like Captain Stan attracts troubled ships at sea. Another emergency saw us dashing across the Drake Passage in an effort to arrive in Ushuaia early. Like, 8 hours early!

 

Finally Penguins! Magellan type.

Don't let these guys fool you. They're not penguins, they're cormorants.

We cruised the Chilean Fjords on day 36. It was cloudy and rainy in the morning, which didn't help our photography much. Nevertheless, here are Amalia and O'Higgins.

Next stop, Puerto Chacabuco. They have condors there, and beautiful scenery.

On to Puerto Montt, where you can see the volcano in the distance, and there's entertainment in the park on Valentine's Day.

A wine tasting event set especially for the World Cruise folks took place in Valpariso, Chile, before we set off westbound across the Pacific. We have a guest lecturer/troubadour on board. Terry and Gordon were often mistaken for one another.

 Our standard line was that Gordon has more hair and less talent than Terry. The wine venue issued us wine glass holsters and world cruise glasses. Very handy.

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