Tuesday, December 6, 2022
After lunch, as we walked back to the Hotel Albatros, I was giving Kent options as to what to do next and turned the street corner, forgetting about the steps on the sidewalk. The next thing I knew, I was on forearms and knees facing downhill. It seemed a half dozen people helped me to stand up, but I was fine.
Except that I had scraped my knees.
At 16:00, I believe we walked nearly the same distance from the hotel to the motorcoaches (that would take us to the ship) as the distance to walk directly to the ship! (Okay, not quite as far!)
As we boarded the Quark Expeditions ship,
Ocean Diamond (1974), we had to hand over our passports for the duration of the cruise. Or rather, the duration of the "expedition." A cruise has planned destinations, but an expedition has a flexible itinerary that relies on weather and sea conditions.
 |
In the center of the reception area is
an artificial orchid surrounded by
sea sickness bags! |
Remembering that our cabin number had been changed, we went directly to #406, but there was no key in the locked door. We then went to the original cabin #423, where there was a key, and inside there was our luggage!
 |
Cabin #423 with our yellow parkas and the
provided bathrobes on the bed |
 |
The bathroom with the noisy
vacuum-flush toilet... |
 |
| ...and a shower |
 |
Today's view through our cabin window,
part of the Hurtigruten Expeditions (Norway) ship |
We headed to the top deck for a view of the city of Ushuaia.
 |
Reached the deck where most of the RIBs/
Rigid Inflatable Boats or Zodiacs were kept, including
a couple in the now-defunct swimming pool |
 |
| Also kayaks, both sea kayaks and inflatable kayaks |
 |
Up a couple levels above the Zodiac deck,
to note that clouds were descending on
the city from the west (KSS) |
 |
View from the Sky Deck of Ushuaia more to the east
|
 |
View forward from the Sky Deck; because
Ocean Diamond is registered in Madeira,
an autonomous region of Portugal,
the Portuguese flag flies in the center,
and the Argentine flag is on the right;
unsure of the meaning of the 'B' signal flag
on the left (are we carrying explosives?) |
NB: We learned that the 'B' signal flag is raised when the ship is refueling, thus it is indeed "taking in, discharging, or carrying dangerous cargo."
 |
We were a bit late for Afternoon Tea, with sliders,
salmon bruschetta, and crustless sandwiches |
 |
| A couple cake options |
 |
| Slices of a fruit bread and cookies |
 |
| Also a vegetable consommé |
 |
| Afternoon Tea and Bar Talks are held in The Club |
 |
| The Club has the bar |
 |
The Club also has 24-hour tea and coffee self-service
with some cookies, and the spiral stairway to the library |
 |
| The Library claims to be the largest of all the polar ships |
 |
| The Library |
 |
The Main Lounge hosts the educational presentations,
recaps and briefings, and... |
 |
| ...the mandatory Safety Drill |
 |
| Kent is ready for an emergency evacuation |
 |
| "I can't blow the whistle!" |
 |
The Safety Drill actually took us to our
respective lifeboats (one of two on the ship) |
 |
There is a private dining room, but due to COVID-19
protocol, this dining room was reserved for the expedition staff |
 |
| The Observation Lounge provided a 180-degree forward view |
 |
Okay, there was a baby grand piano in The Club, and
another in the Main Lounge; now here is a third one! |
 |
| Inside the elevator |
 |
| The Dining Room; we had to get used to dinner at 19:00! |
 |
| Hard to see, but the dining room chairs were chained to the floor |
 |
| A bucket brigade to bring in the beverage stock |
 |
| The wing bridge |
No comments:
Post a Comment