Thanks to guest Cheryl Kaufenberg for sending in these stunning photos from her South America and Antarctica cruise.

We sailed on the last of the winter 2013 South America/Antarctica cruises out of Buenos Aires on HAL’s Veendam. Weather the entire time was absolutely fantastic allowing us first of all to spend a day in Stanley in the Falkland Islands before sailing on to Antarctica. A trip to Bluff Cove to see king and gentoo penguins made the day a hit. The four days sailing around the Antarctic Peninsula were filled with plentiful opportunities to experience and photograph both the landscape and the wildlife while the seminars presented by antarctic specialists were highly valuable. There were ample choices of excursions at all ports of call with opportunities plentiful for experiencing what is unique about Uruguay, Southern Argentina, and Chile. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience consider sailing 60 degrees south with Holland America Lines! We really enjoy sailing with Holland America, as it is our favorite cruise line. The captain we had on the Veendam for this particular trip was especially exemplary. — Cheryl Kaufenberg

Antarctica.

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I have just returned from a three-week cruise on the Veendam which included a wonderful excursion to Machu Picchu. As usual HAL had organised everything perfectly and it all went like clockwork. The guides were excellent, the Monesterio Hotel lived up to its 5-star rating, the Hiram Bingham rail journey was a great experience and the Inca site itself was amazing. We had a lovely sunny day and because we didn’t arrive until after lunch, the crowds had gone and we managed to get some fabulous photographs. Machu Picchu was on our bucket list and we didn’t want to spend days trekking in Peru, so three days off the ship was a perfect way to do things. Grace, who happened to be the captain’s wife, travelled with us and was an excellent travelling companion, I hope we can keep in touch. — Margaret Morris

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After Part 1 and 2, here are the last pictures from our day spent repairing a local school in Manta, Ecuador. What a rewarding experience!

Children from the school in Manta, Ecuador, pose for a photo with Veendam’s Captain Bas van Dreumel.

Veendam crew donates toys, bikes and games to Manta’s young, little students.

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We posted Part 1 yesterday, and here are some more pictures from the day spent repairing a local school in Manta, Ecuador. Kudos to Veendam‘s amazing crew for doing such a terrific job!

Veendam crew installs new roof, curtains and beds in the school’s daycare area. Above are old, below are new.

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On April 21 the crew of the ms Veendam took the concept of “Cruise With a Purpose” literally in their own hands.

Cruise with a Purpose is a designation given to shore excursions that give back to the community or serve a higher purpose than entertainment, and today the crew of the Veendam did just that in Manta, Ecuador. Foregoing free time ashore to explore the port, nearly 100 volunteers from all departments on the ship chose to use their “down time” lifting others up by spending the day doing much-needed repairs to the local school; this institution is a day care and after-school care facility for the many hardworking yet lower income families of the city. A lofty goal was visualized to transform the school into a more pleasant and safe environment for the 80 children that are currently enrolled.

While crew from all departments repaired the roof, fixed the plumbing, renovated and upgraded the kitchen, painted the classrooms and playground and ultimately delivered much need educational games, toys and food, the children enjoyed a day onboard the ms Veendam. They were accompanied by parents and teachers and had a fun-filled day including lunch poolside in the Lido, games with the Club HAL staff and a picture with the captain. Weeks of planning, shopping and donations from vendors have made a difference in these children’s lives, and yet again shown that Holland America Line has a goal of replicating our harmonious life onboard in the ports that graciously welcome us to their shores.

With a supplement of 100 crew members, it still took one hour to offload all the items. We needed two buses and two large trucks to take care of all the transfers.

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Dear readers, my apologies for not contributing for several days. Towards the end of one’s contract, there never seem to be enough hours in a day. What with social functions, endless paperwork, (reports in various guises) and the everyday responsibilities of commanding a cruise ship, time to sit and write to you seems to be at a premium.

I write from the Atlantic, we are enroute towards Castries, St. Lucia, where we arrive tomorrow, Saturday. Since writing to you, we have called at Fortaleza and Belem, Brazil, and Devil’s Island, French Guyana. We have been blessed with relatively nice weather, being near the equator we have seen increasing humidity, temperatures and rain, nevertheless, our guests seem to have enjoyed it all.

Fortaleza is Brazil’s 11th most populated city in Brazil and lies on its north-eastern coast. Like many ports we call at, it is mainly commercial, however they are building a new cruise-ship berth which will be completed by 2014. The challenge with this port is the swell, it can roll into the harbour and make docking, or more to the point, staying alongside, difficult. Our pilot informs me that we are the first cruise ship to make it for some time, others having to cancel because of the conditions. Even so, with the swell we ranged up and down on the dock and moorings lines had to be tended all day. I spent the day on board, too much to do and hence the photos come from my ‘roving reporter’, Karen.

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Topics: Captain's Log, Grand Voyages, ms Amsterdam, South America | | 13 Comments

Belem, Brazil, with quite a “unique” tender ride using shoreside tenders – wooden boats. It was an adventure yet ran smoothly under the circumstances.

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On April 21st the Veendam will be in Manta, Ecuador, and as soon as the ship is docked, a large group of our crew will go to a local school called School Care San Jose, which is located 20 minutes from the port in Manta.

School Care San Jose is a school that currently has 80 kids from low economic background and this school is in dire need of basic stuff.

The Veendam crew has arranged a visit to the school in order to repair the roof, paint the building, fix the plumbing, replace windows, install curtains, supply new beds, linen and school supplies.

While our crew is at the school, we have invited the kids to come on board our ship for the day. Team Veendam!

The day is coming closer. We have daily contact with the agent who is the liaison between the vessel and the school; transportation has been set-up and currently we have 100 crew signed up who are eager to grab the brushes and to get the project going.

We were able to get 90% of all the items on their wish list; from paint to cribs, from curtains to light fixtures. We’re so excited for this big day!

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Topics: Good Deeds, ms Veendam, South America, Staff & Crew | | No Comments