How does one celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of the world? If you are traveling on the Ocean Tramp you likely are exploring some wonderful location. This year our ship board family of 8 was on the remote Isla de los Estados (Argentina) in the southern reach of the world. Under the command of Capt Fede the Ocean Tramp sailed into Puerto Cook, a bay/fjord, near the eastern end of the island. Our afternoon was spent hiking 1 km across a narrow part of the island to Pto. Vancouver.
Our scientist, Alejandro Valenzuela– an expert in otters’ habitats headed off to find otter dens to document by leaving a motion-sensitive camera. The other 7 shipmates had garbage bags in hand to clean up the beach of materials washed ashore from ships over the years—primarily ropes.
Along the beach we saw that nature is very artistic leaving patterns of stones, shells, and tentacle remnants that could form the basis of a science fiction movie.
Back to the Ocean Tramp the 4 from the United States explained the tradition of Thanksgiving to the Argentine colleagues including enjoying a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce…. And, of course, a pumpkin pie dessert.
– Bob