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Thursday, January 31, 2019

Crossing the Equator on a Cruise Ship

This shows off my certificate proving I crossed the Equator on a cruise ship. This also includes some ocean and sunset views near that date.



I crossed the Equator on the Celebrity Eclipse on Dec. 1, 2018

Starting November 23 and ending December 23, 2018, I embarked on an extraordinary adventure.

The adventure began with a TransAtlantic flight from the Huntsville International Airport in Alabama and ended with me landing in Barcelona, Spain on Thanksgiving Day in 2018. Of course, Spain does not celebrate that holiday. Lol! So, my hotel dinner was pasta followed by a night of sleep attempting to get over feeling jetlagged.

On November 23, 2018, I took a taxi to the cruise port. I did my best not to gasp as the taxi driver whipped through traffic. What was my destination? I was going to take two back-to-back cruises that would take me to some extraordinary places.

The cruise ship was called the Celebrity Eclipse. Knowing that I was going to see glaciers and other amazing sights, I booked a cabin with a balcony. Thankfully, my travel agent helped me find a very economical way to do this. I found a cheap flight to Barcelona. The part that was not so economical was the flight home from Buenos Aires, South America. That part really hurt the pocketbook. Sigh!

The first cruise was 16 nights long. Here is the itinerary:


  • Nov 23 – Board ship in Barcelona, Spain 
  • Nov. 24 – Cartagena, Spain 
  • Nov. 25 – Day at Sea 
  • Nov. 26 – Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain 
  • Nov. 27 – Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain 
  • Nov. 28 to Dec. 4 – Cross the Atlantic Ocean 
  • Dec. 5 – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, South America 
  • Dec. 6 – Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil, South America 
  • Dec. 7 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 8 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 9 – Arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America


The second cruise was 14 nights long. Here is that itinerary:


  • Dec. 9 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America 
  • Dec. 10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America 
  • Dec. 11 – Punta Del Este, Uruguay, South America 
  • Dec. 12 – Day at Sea Dec. 13 – Puerto Madryn, Argentina, South America 
  • Dec. 14 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 15 – Cruise past Cape Horn, Chile, South America 
  • Dec. 16 – Ushuaia, Argentina, South America 
  • Dec. 17 – Cruise past Strait of Magellan, Chile, South America 
  • Dec. 18 – Punta Arenas, Chile, South America 
  • Dec. 19 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 20 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 21 – Day at Sea 
  • Dec. 22 – Montevideo, Uruguay, South America 
  • Dec. 23 – Return to Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. Fly home 
  • Dec. 24 – Reach Huntsville International Airport in Alabama at 2:24 PM extremely jet-lagged


Some of the places I visited will be topics for future blogs. I also plan to write some children’s books about some of the animals I saw.

The topic for this blog was the TransAtlantic crossing that included crossing the Equator on December 1, 2018. Here is what my certificate looked like. By the way, my married name is Deborah Dunn Moore. I do my writing and storytelling under my maiden name of Debbie Dunn. Naturally, when I travel, they have to use the name on my passport.






The Only Day I Saw Sargassum was the Day Before Crossing the Equator

If you have been following my blog from the beginning, you will be aware that catching sight of Sargassum is one of my favorite pastimes. That is because it is an animal habitat for over 130 critters that include sea turtle youngsters and a strange frog-fish called Sargassum fish.

So, every day on this cruise, I would stand out on my cabin balcony or peek out the window in hopes of seeing that golden-brown seaweed. Oddly enough, the only day on the entire 30-night cruise that I saw Sargassum was the day before we crossed the Equator.

So, here are two pictures of two of the Sargassum rafts I saw on November 30, 2018.











Pretty Sunset on December 2, 2018

Here is a pretty sunset I saw the day after crossing the Equator.




Ocean Views on December 4, 2018

I did not take any photos on December 3rd. Here are four photos of the beautiful blue water of the ocean taken on December 4, 2018.




We Visited Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on December 5, 2018

Beginning with a sunrise picture, here are four views of the port in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, South America. We stopped at this port on December 5, 2018.

I actually took a tour to see the extraordinary Christ the Redeemer statue in this city. I will include a link to that blog at the end of this article in case you missed it.




December 6-7, 2018

On December 6, 2018, we stopped at Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil. Given all the talk of pickpockets in Brazil, I decided to cancel the beach tour that I had originally signed up for. When I heard my tablemate that night complaining about the lackluster tour she took in that city, I kind of congratulated myself for making that decision. Plus, it was rainy and overcast the entire day.

The next day, December 7th, was a Day at Sea. It was back to being sunny again. Here is the one picture I took of the pretty blue water.




Muddy Ocean Water the Day Before Reaching Buenos Aires, Argentina

I was kind of shocked when I viewed the ocean water the day before we were to reach Buenos Aires, Argentina. The water was quite muddy-looking. The date was December 8th.

Here are four shots of the water we saw throughout the day.




Beautiful Sunsets in Buenos Aires, Argentina

On December 9, 2018, the water was back to being pretty again.

This was the in-between day for both cruises. Many passengers exited the ship that morning. The November 23rd to December 9th Spain to South America cruise had ended. I was one of a little over 300 passengers that were scheduled to take the next cruise, as well.

By lunchtime and throughout the afternoon, hundreds of passengers boarded the ship for the December 9 to December 23rd South American cruise.

Given that we were going to still be in Buenos Aires the next day, I decided to remain on the ship. That night, I enjoyed some of the prettiest sunsets I had ever seen. A couple of the shots reminded me of the beautiful color schemes featured on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. So far, I have only seen this ceiling via pictures and documentaries. Perhaps someday, I can go to Rome and see it in person.

So here are five shots of the lovely sunsets as seen on December 9, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina in South America.


























Link to other Blog about Seeing the Christ the Redeemer Statue

This is the link to the other blog I wrote about seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. It will open up in a new window. I’ve also included links to the two blogs about Sargassum, in case you would like to read them, as well.

Visiting Christ the Redeemer Statue was Highlight of my Trip to Brazil


Mystery: What was that Golden-Brown Seaweed?


Some Fascinating Facts about Sargassum


Amazon Link to all children’s books by Debbie Dunn

Here is the link to the author’s page on Amazon of all paperback and kindle books by Debbie Dunn.. It will open up in a new window.


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