Day 18 - Arriving in Valparaiso and the bus to Santiago!

Arrived in Valp´o at 7.30am, and arrived here in Santiago at around 10.30am. It´s 30C,clear blue sky and nice and hot! Have had a Starbucks (!), done some shopping and then found this cafe! So need to finish this post and then do a bit more walking around!






























Here we are in a park, with fantastic views of Santiago...





























Finally, time for a beer...














And then after getting back to the boat, time for the sailaway form Valparaiso... a good day!

Days 16 and 17... still at sea...

Well Day 16 and it´s still cold - 12C! Oh well, time for the Art display - what do you think of my painting Robin?!?

Day 17 - it´s warmer again! Up to 17C and clear blue skies, so time to start sunbathing again on the top deck!!

Day 15 - Around the Horn and our anniversary...

Well an early start. At around 8.50am we rounded the Horn. An unbelievable experience! We

were lucky and had a relatively calm and clear day - so the spot where around 80 ships are on the sea bed along with over 10,000 souls,we rounded safely!!

Then off to the Veuve Cliquot champagne bar to crack open a bottle at around 11am with our table mates. A nice champagne shall we say!

Then it was off for a bit of lunch as the Queen Mary 2 prepared to head down the Beagle Channel. After we rounded the Horn, the ship headed towards the Chilean fjords. We were disturbed at lunch by the sight of... penguins! Families of penguins off the right hand side!

Here is the view from the QM2 - down the fjords and then of Puerto William, the world´s most Southerly city.

In the afternoon we had the most spectacular views of all. As we sailed down the Beagle Channel, we had the sight of glaciers to our right - unbelievable! The second one had a waterfall where the ice is clearly melting on its way to the sea. An amazing sight!!

So on to dinner, a few more drinks and then a special cake made by our kitchen staff!

Days 13 and 14... two more days at sea...

Sorry blog followers, getting a bit behind! As we head south the temperature has suddenly dropped to 12 degrees C at its coldest, wind has picked up and the day is now 16 hours long! So a bit blowy and chilly on deck, some difference to only a few days ago!

Having to take advantage of the indoor facilities, such as the onboard cinema - including such "B" movie classics as Ten Inch Hero, about an American burger restaurant (what might you have been thinking of?!?).

To Wendy, Michelle, Katy and Marie - hope all is well at work - have I really been off nearly three weeks already?

Day 15 so us go around the Horn, and obviously was a notable day for other reasons. Will catch up with a much longer blog update on Saturday when we reach Valparaiso (Chile) where the world of the internet cafe onshore is significantly cheaper than the satellite internet connection here on the QM2!

Hope you're all well and be in touch in a couple of days...

PS. A Sunderland fan who works in the Golden Lion pub here kindly informed me of the Toon 2-1 defeat at Man City, nice of him wasn't it?

Day 12 - late in Montevideo...

After a late night up until 2am in the G32 Nightclub, we woke this morning... with the boat still 25 miles frm Montevideo. "High winds has prevented us from docking in Montevideo" comments the Commodore. Mmmm. "I´ll be in touch with more information later".

So with the prospect of kicking our heels at sea, eventually we get the news at 9.30am that we´re setting sail for Montevideo harbour. Hurrah. But we won´t be getting in until 12.30pm, five and a half hours late. So a quick lunch and off we get for the "Old City Walking tour" with our guide Juanita, a little old lady from the city.

So after looking around Independence Square and seeing the statue of Jose Artegas (the hero of all Uruguay who fought off the nasty Brazilians and Argentinians and made Uruguay an independent state), we then spent about an hour going around Theatre Solis, an upmarket London Palladium. But really an hour?!?

Then off to a market, the cathedral, and an Arts musuem before finishing at a mini presidential palace where the president has meals with important guests. And then back to the ship for the photos below (and a couple of entries in Froudy´s "How far away can you wear a Nationwide Knights red t-shirt" competition).

Oh well - hope you enjoy the pictures - I need to go and find a Uruguayan beer before we head back to the ship.

Adios for now...

Day 10 and Day 11...

So sailed away from Rio late Thursday night and headed SW for Montevideo in Uruguay. A mere 1042.6 nautical miles, due to arrive at 7am on Sunday morning (tomorrow).

Here's an interesting thing. As we sail south in the Southern Hemisphere, the days are getting significantly longer by the day - 13 hrs 26 mins yesterday and 13 hrs 55 mins today! We were about 33S and 51W at midday today. The days will get longer until we hit Cape Horn and head north up the coast of South America.

So what did we do today? After my Arts class (!), off to the Golden Lion to watch Andy Murray win his 3rd round match and listen to the Aussie barmen winding up these people who insisted Andy was "British" rather than Scottish. Then the bunfight that was the deck 4 launderette - use someone else's tumble dryer at your peril.

"Only" 24C today and sunny - oh well off for a drink and get ready for dinner...

Day 8 on the ship and.. day 9 in Rio!

Day 8 - and the final day at sea before Rio. So after overcooking it in the sun a bit yesterday (well the sun was nearly directly overhead at lunchtime and the boat was only 5 degrees south of the equator), took it a bit easy.

However evening time meant another formal dinner with dicky bows and nice dresses. We dine on a table of six and here are our tablemates - John and Stella (from Maidenhead) and Alan and Vivienne (who now live in Southern France). Oh and that was my pudding:

Early to bed as in the morning it was time for...

Day 9 - Well here we are in Rio de Janeiro! Pulled into Rio about 3am, looked outside the balcony to see us going past Sugar Loaf mountain and.. it´s chucking it down with rain! Eventually left the ship around 9am to start our trip around the city.

First stop - the cathedral. Weird looking place - looked like an Inca temple! But very impressive. Then off to Sugar Loaf mountain, and a trip to the top via two cable cars. What a view from the top of Rio and the famous beaches of Copacabana!! But as you can see it´s a bit cloudy here today and only 21C.

Heré´s some more photos, including Ralph who we´ve met on the ship:

So after a bit of lunch served Brazilian style at the table (i.e. you sit there and the waiters pile your plate with every kind of meat and some token lettuce and tomatoes), it was off to Cristo Redondo (or the Statue of Christ the Redeemer).

So we get on a little fernicular train which takes you to the top... and it´s raining and cloudy!! Oh well, here´s how the pictures came out:

But what a great city! Time for some caiprinhas before we set sail out of here at 11pm! Weather should get better after this - currently blue skies, 30C and sunny in Montevideo where we are on Sunday.

Thanks for following the blog and please leave some comments!!

Day 6 and Day 7 - off the Brazilian coast...

Well we actually passed the equator at 9.45am yesterday morning ship time... currently just past Recife (get your atlases out!). ship time currently being +3 hours v. GMT and the clocks go back another hour tonight in preparation for arrival in Rio de Janeiro...


Here is Jacqueline posing on the stairs of the Grand Lobby...

So what's been happening yesterday/today? Another day of sunshine (28C outside at the moment) and food, food and more food... Hey Robin, I've started attending an Arts class! I'll see if I can post one of my works when I've got something worth showing! Saw Batman aka the Dark Knight last night, and off to see a show tonight.

Obviously big news on the TV today is Mr Obama being inaugurated... no English football on TV which is probably a good thing! Oh, and Graham no doubt pleased that Celtic lost at the weekend...

Oh well better go and find a bar and the cocktail of the day...














(Cocktail of the day was this frozen concoction that gave me frozen brain ache, you know what I mean!)

By the way if you're reading this, please register as a follower so we can see you!!

Day 4 & 5 - cruising off the north coast of South America...

Well here we are on the 5 days at sea until we reach Rio de Janeiro, a.k.a. the River of January (but you all knew that!). So we've just passed the coasts of Guyana, Surinam, French Guinea (I think!), and now off the Brazil coast...

Tomorrow we cross the equator at 8.19am... So it's time to check the water going down the plug hole; clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, amticlockwise in the south... and it switches at the equator! Oh, and the drowning ceremony as you crosss the equator for the first time in the ceremony of King Neptune...

Today? Up for some gym, breakfast, a show in the Planetarium, some sunbathing, reading, more food and then maybe a pint at 4.30pm in the pub before dinner? A hard life...

Don't know what it is about the ship's PCs, but they won't allow picture uploads, so you might need to wait until Santiago and some more photos.. sorry loyal blog followers! Until next time...
Oh and I hear the Toon lost again... grumble, grumble...!

A day in Grenada... continued...

So After finding the internet cafe, it was up the hill for a good view of the QM2...

And as we were walking up the hill, we were stopped and asked if we wanted to go on a round the island tour for $10! So a bit cheaper than the official tours...! Off to see a waterfall, an old fort, where the govenment of 1983 got executed... But an excellent trip and what a beautiful island.

So its lunchtime... and time for Grand Anse beach... and time to have a beer and hack into someone's wireless internet to check on some e-mails!

Oh well... a great afternoon in the sun and time to head off back to the boat...

Day 3 - here we are in Grenada!

So... here we are in Grenada! Hot and sunny, disembarked off the tender... here's the view as we left the QM2!

Wandered around trying to find an internet cafe, and met Hermann "the main man". Took us around the place for half an hour and then the usual question - can I have a tip? So we left him with a few dollars and eventually found this place!

So a chance (a lot cheaper!) to finally add some pictures to the blog, and then look for a taxi for Grand Anse beach!! So more later...

Oh by the way, for those who haven't, if you register as a follower you'll get a note to say when I've updated the blog...

Day 2 - cruising the Carribean...

So here we are at sea, passed between Dom Rep and Puerto Rico earlier today. Went to the gym first thing (you'd be proud of me Shaun!), then breakfast, then some sunshine on deck...

Then a lecture from an American on criminlogy who ran for the senate. Just about stayed awake (yawn!). Around 82F today (sh*t happens!).

Lunch in the pub on board - fish and chips and beer, then off to a show in the planetarium which was kind of weird, but excellent. Then some more sunshine and a coffee. So life on board is very leisurely!!

Tonight another formal dinner and then up early tomorrow for Grenada...

And here's a picture!

Day 1, Wednesday 14 January...

Well here I am in the library, typing up this post...

It's a bit cloudy outside as we sail through the Bahamas, however it looks like the sun is breaking through. We had a nice lunch in the restaurant, and going for a bit of a stroll around the boat later before getting ready for the first formal do around 8.30pm local time. A Black and White ball - should have brought my Toon top! PS. Shaun/Robin - need the Newcastle result later...!

Will givew you another update tomorrow, must sign off...

Welcome to Miami...

Well... finally made it through to Miami! Plane one hour late, arriving 6.30pm local time and then... what a nightmare. Miami International has to be the WORST airport I've ever been in. So eventually grabbing all cases (nearly an hour later) fighting our way through customs... and then it's join the queue to catch the bus to the hotel! So around 9pm, eventually into the hotel.. a beer and it's bed time!

Next day rather than pay some stupid amount for the Intercontinental breakfast, it's off to a diner for some American breakfast in a diner. Nice! Then off for a walk around downtown Miami. Sunshine, 82F or 28 deg C - is this real?

Then back to the hotel to wait for the bus to Fort Lauderdale. We go the bar (again!) for a lunchtime sharpener and meet Jen from California - we have a couple of drinks and then last to get on the bus which leaves for Fort Lauderdale at 2.30pm.

Then.. what a nightmare to get on the boat! You've heard of piss ups and breweries, well this took the biscuit! So virtually last on the QM2, we eventually get on board and in the cabin for 5.00pm before eventually leaving port at 6.20pm Tuesday local time... more later...

PS. These PCs have blocked their USB ports. Sounds like Nationwide?!? It means no photos unfortunately... how rubbish is that?!? Will be speaking to someone in higher authority!!