From the Cape to the Bayou

"Rounding the horn" is considered by some to be the "Mount Everest" of sailing.
Hang tight -- the furious winds give rise to equally fearsome waves.

With that level of expectation reflected in our morning's Princess Patter, it's not surprising that Julie and I were underwhelmed by the reality of calm seas and, following days of jaw-dropping scenery in Antarctica, the rather anticlimatic Pacific Coast ridges not that different from what might be found between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Nonetheless, we later received certificates that prove we have circumnavigated Cape Horn, which "sits near the top of most bucket lists," according to Princess.

Lest I be misunderstood, we're  happy we didn't lose our cookies trying to prove we could take the ravages of the pounding sea during a tumultuous storm.

And we definitely ate some delicious cookies at tea time before rounding the Horn.  Earlier in the day, we attended several classes, including  "Non-existent Islands of the Southern Ocean" by historian Bob Headland, whose voice reminded me of Clyde Crashcup cartoons from my childhood.  

That quirky voice added to the interest for me, but it annoyed Julie and Linda to the point of skipping his presentations.  This time, Professor Crashcup spoke on the subject of explorers charting islands that turned out to be ice bergs or not actually where they were supposed to be due to navigators losing  their bearings in these tempestuous seas.  This Brit usually lectured about explorers, which I covered in prior posts.  His observations were inevitably punctuated at the end by distinctively saying,  "Thank yo."

"Destination Expert" Liz Sullivan previewed Punta Arenas --- which we would be visiting two days hence ---during that same Cape Horn sea day. She'd spoken about Ushuaia, the port immediately after Cape Horn, the day before.

Note that if you have no idea what to do in ports before boarding a cruise, there's always guidance on board, including recommendations for ship-sponsored shore excursions.

Naturalist Caroline Gunn spoke about "Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle" on that same day.  We enjoyed all of Caroline's lectures on diverse scientific topics.

Darwin's voyage on the Beagle provided so much information for him to digest as a young man just out of college that describing what he experienced became his principal life's work for his remaining decades.  His theories of evolution have become more generally accepted, but for many years Darwinism was a lightning rod of controversy.

Environmentalist Rachel Cartwright spoke about "Our Blue Planet," with ecology being a subject I have touched on in several other posts.  One point she made on that Cape Horn day was that while mostly we think of trees that convert CO2 to oxygen, phytoplankton in oceans may have more of an impact.

Along those lines, she stressed the value of offsetting our carbon footprints by contributing to appropriate charities.  

Ocean Conservancy seems to be a good charity, if you have interest in appeasing your own environmental impact.  Perhaps you believe that humans harnessing technology and resources are as much a part of Darwin's natural order as birds building nests or plankton doing whatever instinct requires, but helping to preserve the oceans for future generations would be a good instinctive choice, too.

Of course, we don't spend entire sea days attending classes any more than we studied all day and night while in college.  There's much more to enjoy.

Cruising through the ocean is itself a beautiful experience, and the appearance of land on the horizon is always a treat.  We enjoy walking daily laps around the Promenade deck, combining fresh air and exercise to the panoramic views.

As connoisseurs of live entertainment, it's always a delight to hear classical violists, jazz pianists or guitarist-balladeers performing.  The Leal Party Band that played rock, Latin and country music throughout the trip were one of the best bands I've ever heard on a cruise.

The night of Cape Horn, we had front-row seats in the Universe Lounge for an amazing show called "On the Bayou."

The cast performed the songs from our school days with such vigor that it felt like hearing the music for the first time.  The dancers were equally energetic and skilled.  The set was a Louisiana Bayou, one which in my mind bore a strong resemblance to scenes from the Disney ride, "Pirates of the Caribbean."  I'll just say that the music fit the setting.

All of the lead singers excelled in their spotlights.

During the grand finale, two performers pulled both Julie and me onto the stage to dance with them before heading off in a conga line.  I don't think any of the dancers were in danger of losing their positions to us.

Mike, Linda, Julie and I agreed it was one of the best production shows we'd ever seen, both in concept and enthusiastic execution.