17. Last days at sea.

We are now on the last leg of our voyage and due into Rio de Janeiro in the early hours of Saturday morning. However, we are doing our best to make the most of these last two days!

Although the weather on 1 January was not the best in terms of sunshine, it was warm and humid and so we just had to have a New Years Day swim. Yes, I know it's cheating a little bit plunging into the pool in the middle of the Southern Hemisphere's summer, but we don't have to mention that when we tell the story in the future.

We also found a quiet time in the casino and tried our luck (for the one and only occasion) on the roulette table. The net result?...we lost five dollars. Not the best outcome, but it could have been much worse.

As ever, the staff and crew have been superb, and friendly and efficient even under the occasional difficult circumstances. I know it's their job, but I would single out the cruise directors team for a special mention. They have been brilliant, hugely entertaining, and generated some wonderful humour out of the various language barriers.

It has also been very different for us on this cruise being in the minority group of native English speakers amongst the passengers. Perhaps I had not appreciated that this would be the case beforehand but this is a South American cruise after all! It has made the whole experience cosmopolitan and entertaining.

As I have mentioned previously, there are many extended families from a number of South American countries on the ship, all taking advantage of the Christmas break and the fact that schools are out for the summer holidays. Despite the number of 16-24 year olds travelling, they have always been well behaved and respectful whilst having fun, and I daresay the antithesis of a similar group of young Brits abroad.

We have met people from all over the world, ... New Zealand, Austria, Latvia, Canada, Hungary, Norway and Argentina to name just a few, and had much laughter and learned many things along the way.

Thus the port of Rio approaches and we still have the best part of two days to explore one of the world's greatest cities before our return home. However, our time at sea is coming to an end and we must shortly begin to pack our bags. Those bags will contain the tangible souvenirs and photographs from our Cape Horn adventure, but our horizons have been broadened and our memories will contain the sights and sounds and scents of the wonderful things that we have experienced.

We are indeed fortunate to have followed in the footsteps of Magellan in his ship Victoria, of Drake in the Golden Hind and of Darwin in the Beagle, and their names remain forevermore on the maps and charts of the region. They sailed these waters, exploring the coastline, mapping the bays and channels, whilst facing unknown dangers and all the forces of nature so that we could follow in safety centuries later. Those brave explorers have allowed us to appreciate the beauty of this stunning part of the world and we will always be in their debt.