After breakfast, we took a taxi to San Telmo market, and looked at antiques. Then we took a taxi to the Japanese garden, and arranged for the taxi driver, Gustavo, to pick us up. Unfortunately, the restaurant in the garden was closed, so we walked over to another Cafe, and then back to the Japanese garden.
Our taxi driver picked us up at the garden, took us to our hotel to pick up our bags, and then to the airport. The taxi driver had lots of questions about the USA, including the economic crisis and cars. Richard and the driver chatted the whole way. At the airport, Richard changed his remaining money from Chile and Uruguay to dollars. We left about 10 PM for our long flight to JFK airport in NYC. The flight was bumpy but OK.
We arrived in NYC in the very early morning, freezing cold, 21 degrees. We decided to get a day room at a nearby Day's Inn. Richard and Marianne slept for a while, and then Richard headed to Manhattan. After a shuttle ride, a train ride, and two subway rides, Richard arrived at the Guggenheim. The most impressive thing was a room lined with loose gold leaf.
Richard met our friends Malcolma and Janis for lunch; good to see them. Then he headed back to the hotel, picked up Marianne, and headed for the airport. Our flight from JFK to Denver left around 10 PM, so we got into Denver late. We took the RTD bus to our car, and then we were home.
Quite a trip, new countries, our first cruise.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Buenos Aires City Tour
We were picked up at our hotel by a bus, to go on a city tour. Our tour guide was bilingual, and very good. He was even pleased that Richard corrected his English.
We started at the main square with the Cathedral and the Casa Rosada (their White House). At the Cathedral, we saw a man restoring one of the mosaics on the floor.
We drove by the famous Boca Juniors soccer club, and then stopped in the Boca tourist area. This is a colorful and historic area, but very poor.
Marianne danced a little with one of the young men offering to take a photo. Towards the end of the tour, we were offered a memento of our tour, which we could not turn down.
Large parts of the city are modern and impressive, other parts are impressive, but now run down.
We had a nice late lunch at Sanjuanito's restaurant.
We started at the main square with the Cathedral and the Casa Rosada (their White House). At the Cathedral, we saw a man restoring one of the mosaics on the floor.
We drove by the famous Boca Juniors soccer club, and then stopped in the Boca tourist area. This is a colorful and historic area, but very poor.
Marianne danced a little with one of the young men offering to take a photo. Towards the end of the tour, we were offered a memento of our tour, which we could not turn down.
Large parts of the city are modern and impressive, other parts are impressive, but now run down.
We had a nice late lunch at Sanjuanito's restaurant.
Arriving in Buenos Aires
We woke up to find the ship at the dock in Buenos Aires. We had an assigned time to meet in one of the bars and leave the ship. Our bags were waiting there, and we had no problem with customs. Unfortunately, the taxi line was a madhouse, with people hollering at each other, cutting in line, etc. We eventually got into a taxi to our hotel, the Ibis.
On our taxi ride, we started to see demonstrators. Our taxi driver informed us that today, March 1, was the opening of the congress, and the President was giving her state of the union speech. Our taxi driver kept finding streets blocked, but finally got a policeman to let him get within a block of our hotel, which was ground zero for demonstrations. The Ibis was adequate, but a big comedown from the ship. The neighborhood was not good, with homeless sleeping on the sidewalks.
We took a taxi to the Galleries shopping area, where we admired the 1890 architecture and the 1940 murals. Then we took another taxi to the Recoleta Cemetery. This is where Eva Peron is buried, but we found the architecture of the mausoleums fascinating. We bought a map, but ended up just wandering around. When it started to rain, we took shelter in the porch of a mausoleum. Kind of a surrealistic experience.
After we got back to the hotel, Richard went out to get something, and was shook up to see a wraith-like homeless woman, white as a ghost with black hair, bobbing her head and talking to herself.
On our taxi ride, we started to see demonstrators. Our taxi driver informed us that today, March 1, was the opening of the congress, and the President was giving her state of the union speech. Our taxi driver kept finding streets blocked, but finally got a policeman to let him get within a block of our hotel, which was ground zero for demonstrations. The Ibis was adequate, but a big comedown from the ship. The neighborhood was not good, with homeless sleeping on the sidewalks.
We took a taxi to the Galleries shopping area, where we admired the 1890 architecture and the 1940 murals. Then we took another taxi to the Recoleta Cemetery. This is where Eva Peron is buried, but we found the architecture of the mausoleums fascinating. We bought a map, but ended up just wandering around. When it started to rain, we took shelter in the porch of a mausoleum. Kind of a surrealistic experience.
After we got back to the hotel, Richard went out to get something, and was shook up to see a wraith-like homeless woman, white as a ghost with black hair, bobbing her head and talking to herself.
Uruguay
After Puerto Madryn, Argentina, we had a sea day on our way north to Uruguay. We are still discovering things, in this case the excellent dance band. Richard saw some dolphins jumping out of the water, following the ship.
This was our last formal night. The evening international dance show was good, although the USA part was hokey.
On Friday February 27th, we arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay. After a long tender ride, we walked around a bit, before finding a shopping mall, off the tourist track. After a brief stop, we caught a taxi to the Ralli museum, which was closed, so Marianne had the taxi driver take us to Casa Pueblo, the house/studio/hotel of Carlos Paez. The view was beautiful, as was his art; we bought one of two colorful cats. Paez is the national artist of Uruguay, a kind of renaissance man. He built his house and studio with local workers. Richard thought that his house reminded him of Gaudi, and his wide range of interests remind him of Richard's friend, Bruce F, a poet/artist/housebuilder.
We called our taxi driver to come back and pick us up, and take us back to the dock. We sat in a beachside restaurant to peoplewatch and drink wine.
On Saturday, we arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. We hopped a free shuttle to the Montevideo leather factory. Marianne decided that she wanted a leather jacket that really fit her, so they said that they could make a jacket to fit to pick up the same day! The lady who helped us was the daugher of an Austrian Jew who escaped to Uruguay in 1938.
Sergio Leites approached us to offer a tour, sounding like the New York City cab driver that he was. We ended up going on a city tour with him, Bill, and Betty. We saw government buildings and all the usual sights, including the house of Reverend Moon. We had a good but expensive lunch, superb lamb. Montevideo has beautiful buildings, ethnic neighborhoods, but the streets, sidewalks, and buildings are in disrepair.
The jacket fit, so Marianne bought it. It looks good.
We said goodbye to our friends at dinner, and packed up our suitcases to leave.
This was our last formal night. The evening international dance show was good, although the USA part was hokey.
On Friday February 27th, we arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay. After a long tender ride, we walked around a bit, before finding a shopping mall, off the tourist track. After a brief stop, we caught a taxi to the Ralli museum, which was closed, so Marianne had the taxi driver take us to Casa Pueblo, the house/studio/hotel of Carlos Paez. The view was beautiful, as was his art; we bought one of two colorful cats. Paez is the national artist of Uruguay, a kind of renaissance man. He built his house and studio with local workers. Richard thought that his house reminded him of Gaudi, and his wide range of interests remind him of Richard's friend, Bruce F, a poet/artist/housebuilder.
We called our taxi driver to come back and pick us up, and take us back to the dock. We sat in a beachside restaurant to peoplewatch and drink wine.
On Saturday, we arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. We hopped a free shuttle to the Montevideo leather factory. Marianne decided that she wanted a leather jacket that really fit her, so they said that they could make a jacket to fit to pick up the same day! The lady who helped us was the daugher of an Austrian Jew who escaped to Uruguay in 1938.
Sergio Leites approached us to offer a tour, sounding like the New York City cab driver that he was. We ended up going on a city tour with him, Bill, and Betty. We saw government buildings and all the usual sights, including the house of Reverend Moon. We had a good but expensive lunch, superb lamb. Montevideo has beautiful buildings, ethnic neighborhoods, but the streets, sidewalks, and buildings are in disrepair.
The jacket fit, so Marianne bought it. It looks good.
We said goodbye to our friends at dinner, and packed up our suitcases to leave.
A sea day, Puerto Madryn, and Penguins
After Cape Horn, we had a sea day, on our way north towards Buenos Aires.
On the sea day, the captain answered questions from the guests, and Richard got a tour of the ship's bridge.
The ship has two 27,000 horsepower "Pods", which are electric motors attached to fully steerable propellers. It has three bow thrusters. It draws 8 meters of water (approximately 26 feet).
During the bridge tour, they did not want us taking pictures or even looking at the work areas in the rear of the bridge; not sure what they did not want us to see. The captain and most key officers are Greek; on the tour, they told us that they only spoke English on deck, right after one officer called another in Greek. ;-)
The passenger list included people from 42 nations, 836 of whom were not native English speakers. The crew is from 60 nations. The ship feels like the united nations, with many languages heard in every corner. Their philosophy is that if the crew is happy, the guests will be happy.
The dinner was formal night, including Bill's 88th birthday! The entertainer was Billy Fellows, songs and jokes, pretty good.
In Puerto Madryn, Richard got on a tour to the Penguin colonies. There was no space on the English speaking bus, so Richard ended up on the Spanish language tour. The guide was Luis Rufino Fuentes. His family grew up in that area. His grandfather ran wagons through the area, using horses and mules. His father did subsistence farming. It sounded like a brutally hard life.
The terrain south of the city of Trelew, near Puerto Madryn, was scrub brush, semi-desert, and amazingly empty. We were on the important north-south highway 3. I saw no side roads, no gas stations, no houses, nothing. I think that it may be even emptier than Wyoming.
One amusing story was about Gauchito Gil, a kind of criminal/saint. We passed one of his shrines, surrounded by red flags, where people leave offerings. A not so amusing story had to do with a military base that we passed, where the military dictatorship executed dissidents, using a phony breakout as a cover story.
At the penguin colony, we saw thousands of Magellenic Penguins (around two feet high) nesting under bushes. We also saw hundreds of humans gawking at them. A Guanaco ran by, apparently wild.
This was Ash Wednesday, and conveniently there is a priest on board to say mass and dispense ashes.
On the sea day, the captain answered questions from the guests, and Richard got a tour of the ship's bridge.
The ship has two 27,000 horsepower "Pods", which are electric motors attached to fully steerable propellers. It has three bow thrusters. It draws 8 meters of water (approximately 26 feet).
During the bridge tour, they did not want us taking pictures or even looking at the work areas in the rear of the bridge; not sure what they did not want us to see. The captain and most key officers are Greek; on the tour, they told us that they only spoke English on deck, right after one officer called another in Greek. ;-)
The passenger list included people from 42 nations, 836 of whom were not native English speakers. The crew is from 60 nations. The ship feels like the united nations, with many languages heard in every corner. Their philosophy is that if the crew is happy, the guests will be happy.
The dinner was formal night, including Bill's 88th birthday! The entertainer was Billy Fellows, songs and jokes, pretty good.
In Puerto Madryn, Richard got on a tour to the Penguin colonies. There was no space on the English speaking bus, so Richard ended up on the Spanish language tour. The guide was Luis Rufino Fuentes. His family grew up in that area. His grandfather ran wagons through the area, using horses and mules. His father did subsistence farming. It sounded like a brutally hard life.
The terrain south of the city of Trelew, near Puerto Madryn, was scrub brush, semi-desert, and amazingly empty. We were on the important north-south highway 3. I saw no side roads, no gas stations, no houses, nothing. I think that it may be even emptier than Wyoming.
One amusing story was about Gauchito Gil, a kind of criminal/saint. We passed one of his shrines, surrounded by red flags, where people leave offerings. A not so amusing story had to do with a military base that we passed, where the military dictatorship executed dissidents, using a phony breakout as a cover story.
At the penguin colony, we saw thousands of Magellenic Penguins (around two feet high) nesting under bushes. We also saw hundreds of humans gawking at them. A Guanaco ran by, apparently wild.
This was Ash Wednesday, and conveniently there is a priest on board to say mass and dispense ashes.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Cape Horn
We got up early to see the fabled and infamous Cape Horn. We were told that the weather was relatively good for the Cape, which meant heavy overcast and 30 mph winds.
It was amazing to realize that we had actually arrived at the Cape. Cape Horn is an island, and we circumnavigated it. The island has a small Chilean naval base with a helicopter.
After the Horn, we went back to bed, and then unsuccessfully played Nautical Trivia, as well as "Complete the Song Lyric" in Spanish.
Ushuaia - The End of the World
Ushuaia is the furthest south city in the world, and our first stop in Argentina.
On our way down the dock, we found a catamaran tour ready to leave, so we signed up. The man who sold us the ticket exposed us to the unique Argentinian accent, and to their mate tea, drunk in metal mugs with metal straws.
The views of the surrounding mountains were truly impressive.The tour included huge numbers of seals and king cormorants, and even a few penguins swimming.
After the tour we had lunch and walked around town. Marianne bought Richard a hat for his birthday, a few days early.
There was a folkloric show, which included Ecuadorian Indians strangely dressed as Cheyenne Indians from the USA! Anything for the tourists......
Punta Arenas - Fun in Small Boats
Richard got up early to be on an early tender, to go on his scheduled kayak trip. The driver met him at the dock, and took him to the kayak outfitting place. The kayak guide was Juan, an ex-military cartographer. The other kayakers were from the Norwegian Sun cruise ship, which is on a similar schedule to ours. The kayak tour followed the shoreline for about 7 km round trip. The guide was nervous about the weather forecast, which promised high winds later. Richard was the only guest in a single kayak; the guide had to tow the clueless French lady back.
Richard called Marianne on the cell phone to ask her to meet him at the dock. Her tender ride was somewhat exciting and rocky; some water came in the door, so the Guatemalan tender captain slowed down.
We stopped by to take a photo of a house for someone Richard knows, and then on to the Salecian museum, which is noteworthy for artifacts of a now extinct native people. We had lunch at Sotitos, and walked to the port, only to find that the winds had shut down tender operations. We waited in the port building, going into the outer room. We had not heard anything for a while, so Marianne went into the other room, only to find that the last tender was about to leave! We got on the last tender to the boat, another rocky ride.
Norwegian handled their tender line differently, and had long lines on the dock, in the wind and rain. Glad that we were on Celebrity.
Richard called Marianne on the cell phone to ask her to meet him at the dock. Her tender ride was somewhat exciting and rocky; some water came in the door, so the Guatemalan tender captain slowed down.
We stopped by to take a photo of a house for someone Richard knows, and then on to the Salecian museum, which is noteworthy for artifacts of a now extinct native people. We had lunch at Sotitos, and walked to the port, only to find that the winds had shut down tender operations. We waited in the port building, going into the outer room. We had not heard anything for a while, so Marianne went into the other room, only to find that the last tender was about to leave! We got on the last tender to the boat, another rocky ride.
Norwegian handled their tender line differently, and had long lines on the dock, in the wind and rain. Glad that we were on Celebrity.
Puerto Montt - 25 Pound Salmon - two days at sea
Richard had arranged a day of guided fishing with Marcello. Marianne decided not to go. The plan was to go fly fishing, but the river fishing was slow, so we went to where the Petrohue River meets the sea, to fish for salmon. Richard caught an 18 inch rainbow trout, and later a 25 pound King Salmon! (a Jack, so smaller than most Kings). The weather looked dubious, but the rain held off until 2 PM.
Richard talked various business issues with the guide, such as web sites, Skype, Google Ads, credit cards, and Paypal. Richard may help the guide later with some of these opportunities.
The following day was a sea day. Richard got seasick, while Marianne did not, the reverse of what one would expect. Richard finally took a Bonine pill, which really helped him.
Lots of reading and hanging out on sea days.
We started referring to our interior room as "The Cave", since it had no windows. The room was nice, however.
The evening show included a tango show.
We had another sea day on our way south. Unfortunately, the visibility was limited, so we did not see much of the fijords. We played Scrabble and Trivia.
Coquimbo, La Serena, and at Sea
Richard decided to wander around the not very interesting cities of Coquimbo and La Serena. The most interesting thing was an art gallery at Coquimbo, including art based on common Chilean expressions, which the lady was good enough to explain to me.
The following day was a sea day, and formal night. The ship's show was bits of Broadway musicals, West Side Story, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the opera.
The following day was a sea day, and formal night. The ship's show was bits of Broadway musicals, West Side Story, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the opera.
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