Spring Moon of the Southern Cross<\/p>\n
In spite of my desire to see the Southern Cross we’ve not had a clear night, even out of Coquimbo with 300 clear skies a year; the Humboldt Current kicks up enough moisture to create cloud cover over the ocean. Over head, too, is the Larger Magellanic Cloud, a naked eye galaxy only 200,000 light years from earth and named after Ferdinand Magellan.<\/p>\n
Ferdinand figures into tonight’s sailing since the Captain estimates we will hit the Straits of Magellan about 7 pm Santiago time. The Straits of Magellan will take us to Punta Arenas, the big city around these parts, where Kate and I take off for Ottway Bay and penguins up close.<\/p>\n
The next three days will find us still sailing in the mass of islands and peninsulas that make up the end of the Americas in the south. On the 12th<\/sup> we will round Cape Horn.<\/p>\n Our ship has instituted biological control measures, meaning more frequent washing of hands, crew serving food on the normally cafeteria Lido deck, closing the self-service laundries and isolating sick passengers in their staterooms until 24 hours of disease free time has passed. Though I had a cold, neither Kate nor I (so far) have succumbed to a GI illness making the rounds, something on the order of turista.<\/p>\n It’s hard to fault Holland America since they push hygiene and have done since the cruise started. Still, it’s a difficult situation for all concerned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spring Moon of the Southern Cross In spite of my desire to see the Southern Cross we’ve not had a clear night, even out of Coquimbo with 300 clear skies a year; the Humboldt Current kicks up enough moisture to create cloud cover over the ocean. Over head, too, is the Larger Magellanic Cloud, a … Continue reading Cloudy Skies<\/span>