Good air, heat and water

Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

With tears in our eyes, we had to say goodbye to the Zandaam.

After 20 days of pure stress-free luxury, we were ignominiously thrust back into reality. Our first sight of the city of Buenos Aires was from the very industrial looking port. Really no surprise when you arrive on a ship. Since we did not have to make any tight airline connections, we were at least able to delay our departure until we had a chance to partake of one last leisurely breakfast on board.

 

Our hotel was only about a 5-minute taxi ride from the cruise ship terminal, so we arrived way too early to check in. We were able to stow our luggage and do some preliminary explorations of the immediate vicinity, mostly in search of an ATM to get some local currency. Because it was Sunday, a lot of stuff was closed, although there were quite a few tourists about in the streets. Quite pleasant really

 

Yesterday, our first full day here, saw some record high temperatures in Buenos Aires, reportedly hitting 38 degrees. It certainly felt hot to us! In the morning we joined a free walking tour group for a few hours, ending up leaving us by the gates to the Cementario de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetary) where the biggest attraction is the grave of Eva Peron - a must-see for anyone visiting the city. After a couple of hours sitting in the shade at a nearby restaurant, we ventured inside. Pretty cool place, for a Cemetary.

Palace of Justice

 

My overall impression of Buenos Aires so far is very positive - I really like the disorganized hodge-podge of architecture and generally pedestrian friendly streets. I'm not sure Susanne is as enthusiastic - too hot perhaps?

Imagine Madonna in full voice

The world's widest avenue

 

Today, other than a quick trip to the nearest Starbucks for coffee and muffins, we have been holed up in the hotel, while the rain has been almost torrential (thus this opportunity to catch up on this blog). Tomorrow promises to be much less wet and no more extreme heat - should be a great day for further explorations.

 

{GMST}34|36|S|58|24|W|Buenos Aires, Argentina|Buenos Aires, Argentina{GEND}

 

 

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Quick tour of Uruguay

Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay is not a very large country. In spite of that, we saw very little of it. Such is the downside of travel on a cruise ship.

Our first stop was in Punta del Este, the location of my last post on this blog. When we left the boat, a 25-minute tender ride to the dock, the day looked very promising. The sun came out and we managed to walk a bit of this seaside resort town before the rains came with a vengeance. After huddling in a restaurant, drinking incredibly overpriced cappuccinos, we made a mad dash back to the docks and returned to the ship. As soon as we were back on board, the sun came out and it looked gorgeous, but there was not enough time left for us to make another attempt at seeing the town. Punta del Este was a bit of a bust.

 

Punta del Este is home to quite a large marina, with lots of pleasure boats, something we have not seen for a while. If the prices for everything else is any indication, it is probably a very expensive place to keep a boat.

Next stop was in the city of Montevideo, where the majority of the people in this country live. Here we were able to spend a very pleasant day, taking a self-guided walking tour. The historic district, right around the harbour, is quite picturesque, but the rest of the city just looks like any other city to us. Much less expensive than Punta del Este but still not cheap.

 

 

 

Our Zandaam home

 

One odd sight, as the ship was leaving the port, was a collection of old rusting hulks of ships that apparently came here to die. Kind of a sad sight.

 

{GMST}34|53.5|S|56|11.25|W|Montevideo, Uruguay|Montevideo, Uruguay{GEND}

To Antarctica and back

Punta del Este, Uruguay

 

How to describe what we have seen in the last 2-1/2 weeks?

Chilean Fjords, Glacier Alley, Beagle Channel , Strait of Magellan, Ushuaia,, Antarctica, Falkland Islands

Impossible! Here are a few images that do not do it justice...

In two more days we will be leaving our cruise ship home and returning to life on the hard.  It is going to be a big adjustment.

{GMST}34|57.60|S|54|56.4|W|Punta del Este, Uruguay |Punta del Este, Uruguay{GEND}

 

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Cruising to where?

Valparaiso, Chile

 

Some last few images from Valparaiso...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, after almost a week in the gorgeous city of Valparaiso, we will be boarding our cruise ship bound for the frozen south. From what we can determine, these cruise companies make keeping in touch via Internet a very expensive proposition. As a result, I probably won't be making any new entries in the blog until we arrive in Buenos Aires (don't cheer too loud please).

 

 

For information sake, this is where we should be over the next few weeks...

 

 

 

Before we are completely out of touch, let us wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. While you are surrounded by friends and family, we will be celebrating in the company of strangers. Happy and sad times all rolled into one.

{GMST}33|2.2|S|071|37.633|W|Valparaiso Harbour, Chile|Valparaiso Harbour, Chile{GEND}

 

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