Welcome to M/V Ortelius ... Our Floating Home for the Next 30+ Days

Friday, 9 January 2015
At Sea — Beagle Channel
Position: 54°57’ S / 66°52’ W
Temps: Hi 52F (11C) / Lo 41F (5C)

Greetings from M/V Ortelius … we’re on our way to the Antarctic! I can barely stand the excitement!

But first … a special photo I came across when I was researching the ship and the itinerary.  We were already booked on our recently-completed South America cruise when I found it … I thought it was quite prophetic.

Celebrity Infinity from the bridge of M/V Ortelius … when? by who?
I wish I knew so I could credit the photographer.
[the selective color processing is mine.]

We’re settled into our floating home for the duration of this expedition voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina to Bluff, New Zealand. Figured it’s better to unpack and put things away now while we’re in the Beagle Channel. After all we don’t know what the Drake passage has in store for us tomorrow ;-)  Now, with the empty luggage stowed, I can focus on writing my first blog post aboard Ortelius.

Ross Sea Expedition map — courtesy of Oceanwide Expeditions, the company
that operates M/V Ortelius. I added the inset showing our embarkation port in
Ushuaia, Argentina. The helicopter marks Puerto Williams, Chile … where we
will pick up the three choppers that are going to the Antarctic with us.
then … through the Beagle Channel and out into the Southern Ocean.

So, going back in time to earlier today … in Ushuaia.

We had our last breakfast at Casa Los Tulipanes with Marta and Jack, and Francesca and Stefano. Then we set about re-packing what we had taken out of our bags. By 10:30a, we were ready to walk into town. This time, we followed the upper route through the forest, walked down some steps to another road, and navigated another set of steps that brought us to Avenida Magallanes.  Less traffic and about the same distance as following the main road.

This road from Casa Los Tulipanes runs through a quiet neighborhood set in a beech forest.

Down these steps, and then off to the right, and down another set of steps
by that red building in the distance … and we’ll be at the edge of downtown.
The path we took in past days is just this side of the trees on the far side of the road.

From a distance, we could see several expedition ships in port. But we postponed checking them out in lieu of a quick visit to the hair salon for haircuts. Not that we really needed a cut.  We’d stopped by the same salon when Infinity called on Ushuaia on 27 December, but with 30 days at sea ahead of us, a trim was definitely in order. Fernando did a great job.

My hair’s cut; now it’s Mui’s turn.

From there we wandered down to the port area to identify the ships. Akademik Ioffe, an all white ship with a boxy superstructure, was easy. As was NatGeo’s Explorer and SilverSea’s Silver Expedition — prominently displayed logos helped.  Via Australis was familiar from having seen it at Cape Horn two weeks ago. That left the ship at the end of the pier as Ortelius — the very one whose name had been blocked from our sight last night. No way to get a clear photo of it, but we clicked the shutter anyway and headed back to Avenida San Martin to get ourselves some lunch.

We can identify four of the five Antarctic expedition vessels docked at the pier;
that leaves the ship we saw last night — hidden behind the white one — as M/V Ortelius.

Mui wasn’t in the mood to experiment with a new place, so we went to Tante Sara. I opted for a flat bread pizza; Mui ordered the salmon omelet ... we shared both. Dessert was at Laguna Negra — hot chocolate for me, and a submarino for Mui … with a couple of chocolate-covered alfajores to share. A coupon Mui picked up at the order counter resulted in my hot chocolate being complimentary — nice ;-)

Yummy treats at Laguna Negra.
A submarino involves stirring a stick of chocolate in hot milk until it melts and dissolves.

We returned to Casa Los Tulipanes to while away our last hour in Ushuaia, chatting with Jack about travel plans … theirs and ours. Marta was on assignment, escorting the Silver Explorer passengers to lunch before dropping them off at the ship. Her job done early, she called to say she was ready to meet us, so we put the last of the bags in the car and headed into town around 3:30p.

Our home away from home until we disembark on 10 February.

Access to the port is restricted, so we were thinking we were going to have to roll our bags down the length of the pier, but Marta came to our rescue. As a guide, she has a vehicle pass that allows her through the gates. She and Jack drove us all the way to the end of the pier, where we gave our bags to the crew; completed the health questionnaire — no, we have not been anywhere where we might have contracted Ebola; and waited a few minutes for boarding to be called. We used those minutes to bid a final farewell to our friendly hosts. They were pulling away from the ship when we were invited to board.

Looking down the pier from M/V Ortelius.

At the top of the gangway, we were directed to the reception desk in the lobby on Deck 4. Michael, the hotel manager, was standing by to hand over the keys to cabin 529 in exchange for our passports — which the ship will hold until we arrive in New Zealand. We were then escorted to our cabin by our stewardess.

”X” marks the cabin we booked; the circle marks the cabin we were upgraded to by Oceanwide.

We initially booked a twin window cabin. Later, we were sent new deck plans announcing the deck 5 refurbishment had been completed. Our cabin was now considered a deluxe window cabin. The difference — nothing; just a designation for an end-unit cabin. Before we could get ‘excited’ about the change, however, we received an email from Marie at Oceanwide’s Houston office. Apparently, a couple of people traveling together wanted our deluxe cabin, which connected to the adjacent cabin. The question was: “Will you accept a free upgrade to a superior cabin?” Are you kidding us … that was now the highest category on the ship ;-) A review of the available cabins netted us #529 — the port half of what used to be a suite that was converted into two superior cabins. Through a door just outside the cabin, easy access to the outer decks was guaranteed.  Perfect!  Almost like having a private veranda ;-)

Cabin 529 is a superior cabin on the recently-refurbished deck 5.
The loveseat opens into a twin bed to sleep 3 people if booked as a triple cabin.
Note the raised edges of the platform around the bed — so we don’t fall off in high seas :-)

On the left, a double wardrobe; a bar fridge and desk next to it. The door
connects to an adjacent cabin — what used to be the other half of a suite.

Pull-down blackout shades ... handy since we will have 24-hour days on this voyage.

The cabin is simply furnished. Everything has a sheen of newness about it. We have plenty of space to move about, and a bonus loveseat, which actually converts to a bed. One end of the desk has a bar fridge — opening the door revealed two bottles of wine, which the bartender said is ours to enjoy gratis … perk for our cabin category. On the desk is a kettle, and a selection of teas and Nescafé to make hot beverages. Also a couple of bars of chocolate for when the cravings hit ;-).

Perks and amenities.

There is plenty of storage in the cabin — space under the bed to stow empty luggage … handy since we are not traveling light; two bedside cabinets with a top drawer; and a wardrobe with rods to hang shirts and pants (need pants hangers), topped with two shelves on one side, and five shelves on the other side.

The en suite is quite spacious, with a walk-in shower in one corner. There is a medicine cabinet above the sink, and a two-shelf cabinet below … plenty of space for toiletries. The soap and shampoo dispensers are filled with organic products. The only problem with the design of the bathroom is the lack of a towel rack. Luckily, our suction cup hooks work really well on the metal door, so we have a place to hang our towels. Our shoe-bag-thingy — which we use for grab-and-go odds and ends — fits perfectly on the outside of the bathroom door to complete our storage capacity.

Once settled into the cabin, we wandered around the outside decks and the public spaces to get the lay of the ship. The lack of helicopters on either the helipad or in the hangar was a bit worrisome — until we found out later that they would be flown from Puerto Williams to the ship on our way out of the Beagle Channel. Aaah yes — Chilean pilots in Argentinean waters would not be kosher ;-)

from the bow on deck 4 towards the bridge on deck 7.
I anticipate we will be spending a lot of time out here — if sea conditions allow.

The zodiacs we will be using for ice cruises and landings are stowed on deck 5.

Helipad and helicopter hangar — the choppers will be coming aboard in Puerto Williams.

Deck 7 panorama of the open space behind the bridge (white structure forward).

At 5:00p, we headed to the lecture hall — Deck 3 forward — for a briefing by Don MacFadzien, our expedition leader, and Third Mate Matei, the ship’s safety and navigation officer. The briefing was followed by the muster drill. Wearing our life vests, we headed to the muster station — the observation lounge on Deck 6 midship — where a roll call was taken. When the abandon ship signal was given, we were escorted to the lifeboats. Though the hatches were open, we did not have to enter the boats — unless you wanted a photo op once the drill was completed … we didn’t ;-)  It was at about this time that it started raining, so we scurried inside once the all clear was sounded.

Lecture hall on deck 3 forward — utilitarian is the description that comes to mind.

Our first briefings — many more will come, but on different topics.

It was still raining when the ship threw off its bowlines, pivoted, and headed east down the Beagle Channel. It was 7:00p — an hour later than scheduled, but no one seemed to mind the delay. Once the ship was underway, we adjourned to the observation lounge/bar for the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party.

Captain Ernesto’s remarks were brief and included an invitation to visit the bridge whenever it is open to passengers — “but not all at once, please.” Introduction of the expedition team followed. In addition to the leader and assistant leader, we have five naturalist guides who will be speaking to us on various topics, and driving the zodiacs when we start landings in a few days’ time.

A sense of déjà vu comes over me as Ortelius leaves the pier.
Didn’t we just do this two weeks ago?

At 8:00p, we moved en masse to the dining room on Deck 4 midship. Set up as open seating, it accommodates everyone at the same time. Dinner was table service — tablemates tonight were fellow-passenger Didier (Switzerland); expedition leader Don (New Zealand); and naturalist/guide Gillian [Gill] (New Zealand). It didn’t take long for conversation to flow freely … and with considerable hilarity.

There was only one choice on the menu tonight — pan roasted turkey — but I understand that in the days ahead we will select from three options. The choices will be presented to us at lunch, and we will place our order at that time.  We’re very much in favor of this practice, which we are familiar with from our previous Antarctic expedition … anything that serves to minimize food waste is a good thing.

There is a mirror image of this side of the dining room on the port side of the ship.

By the time dinner was over, we were approaching Puerto Williams, Chile … on the south side of the Beagle Channel. The light was dying, and it was still raining, so we opted to unpack instead of going on deck to watch the fly-in of the three helicopters that we will be taking south with us.

We’re still in the Beagle Channel, so the waters remain calm. But I imagine we’re getting close to the mouth of the waterway. What is awaiting us outside the channel? At dinner, Don said the Drake was looking good. But we’re talking about waters that are some of the stormiest anywhere around the world, so that can change at the drop of a pin. All we can do is hope for the best ;-) In the meantime, my bed is calling me.