Southern winter

We are back in Seattle after our trip to the east coast and enjoying the northern summer as we house sit around Seattle.

Meanwhile, James and Somira of SV Anasazi Girl are taking care of Windarra. Somira took these photos of the recent snow. You can also see the ice forming in the water.

I feel a little guilty enjoying the beautiful weather in Seattle.

New earrings

Rich with his new earring in his left ear

Elaine's new earring

As part of the tradition of going around The Horn, Rich and I had our left ears pierced. Sarah took us to a piercing and tattoo parlor at Alderwood. We will wear these studs for 6 weeks, then we will be able to switch to gold hoops. Another part of the tradition includes the right to put one foot on the table. I think we will have to be judicious about exercising this right.

Besides enjoying the lovely spring weather in the Pacific northwest, we have been making the rounds of our doctors and dentists. Everything is checking out fine so far.

Returning to Seattle

After our arrival in Punta Arenas we spend the next 2 days checking out the grocery stores and some of the local sites. We were interested in the grocery stores for provisioning on our return. The selection in Puerto Williams is a bit limited and Punta Arenas is a city on the 'mainland' with a lot more goods available. In Punta Arenas we were able to find items such as maple syrup, pancake mix, refried beans, Heinz ketchup, decent canned tuna, canned cream of mushroom soup, real cheddar cheese. All of these items are readily available in any store in the United States but rare in small towns in Chile.

We stayed at Rentahome, just west of downtown. It offers rooms with small kitchenettes which are convenient for us to make some of our own meals. It is operated by Guido and Monica, both of whom speak some English. They also have laundry facilities, do it yourself or have it done. One block away is a nice bakery and there is a Unimarc grocery store within walking distance.

On Wednesday we began our trip back to Seattle, an expected 23 hours as Punta Arenas is a long way from Seattle. When we are sailing we pay a lot of attention to the weather. When flying we just assume that it will be fine unless we know there is a big snowstorm or something like. Arriving 3 hours early for our first flight with just cloudy skies, we were not concerned. As the day progressed our flights did not. Foggy weather in Puerto Montt meant that our plane would not be arriving in Punta Arenas. The 23 hours turned into 50 hours including an overnight stay in a hotel in Punta Arenas that the airline paid for and another round of colds. Rich and I are sick again but glad to be back in Seattle. Hopefully we will recover quickly and be able to visit soon.

It is amazing that we have been sailing on Windarra for the last 5 years from Seattle to Alaska to the far end of South America and we have only be sick twice and both times within the last month.

Go figure.

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Ferry from Puerto Williams to Punta Arenas

On Saturday afternoon, Francisco gave us a ride to the ferry dock at the far end of Puerto Williams. It is a 30 hours ride up the Beagle Channel, Brecknock Channel and part of the Straits of Magellan to Punta Arenas. We had semi-cama or sleeper seats next to the square windows on the upper (beige) level of the ferry. They serve 3 meals a day as part of the ticket price. There are TV screens playing most of the time. It started with soap opera bloopers in Spanish and switched to movies including Elysium and Jonah Hex. On board we met some backpackers from Switzerland. Residents of Puerto Williams may ride the ferry at a very reduced rate and were kind enough to make sure we knew when the meals were being served.

We passed the time watching the scenery and reading the new Erik Larson book. Snow is covering the mountain tops and most of the hills. Time to head north.

When we arrived at Punta Arenas, the front end of the ferry opens, you grab your bags and walk of the ramp. We looked for a taxi to our hostel but most were already occupied. We saw a woman we met on the ferry and she offered us to share as it was her cousin driving. It worked out for all of us. It was nice to wake up in the morning and have the room warmer than the 51-53 degrees that the boat has been in the morning.

Our new plan

We have a new plan. As our friends on Frannie B and Limbo have headed north and checked out the marina situation in Uruguay with disappointing news about the hard stand there, we have decided to form a new plan. We will leave Windarra here at Club Naval de Micalvi in Puerto Williams and return to the US for the northern summer. Of course, it is also a bit of an adventure in the returning. On Saturday we will take a ferry from Puerto Williams in the Beagle Channel to Punta Arenas in the Straits of Magellan. From there we will catch flights to Santiago, Dallas and Seattle.

We look forward to visiting family and friends on the west and east coasts.

Cheers,
Elaine and Rich

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Rounding Cape Horn

A quick photo of the Horn as we went passed.

Back at Puerto Williams

Wednesday was a long night after a long day. We pulled into Puerto Toro expecting to see some of the lights on at the pier but it was very, very dark so we anchored in the harbor and right behind us was a sailboat at anchor with no lights on, faintly looming in the dark. After they heard us anchor they turned their lights on, a little late.

Thursday morning we hoped to go all the way back to Puerto Williams but the 30 knots on the nose in the channel discouraged us so we anchored at Caleta Margarita, for a calm restful afternoon, reading and relaxing. A much better alternative to pounding at 3 knots.

This morning we had little wind and smooth water to Puerto Williams and we are tied up at the same place where we left on Monday morning.

I looked up traditions concerning rounding the Horn. One tradition is that a sailor who had rounded Cape Horn was entitled to wear a gold loop earring, in the left ear, the one which had faced the Horn in a typical eastbound passage - and to dine with one foot on the table. Sounds good to Rich and I. There is also something about tattoos but I am not going there.

Cheers

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