Buenos Aires

Week 5 – Part 2
Once we actually made it out of the cruise terminal we were on to our next adventure.  Taxi to Casa Lucy was quick and our host, Enid, was waiting patiently.  Casa Lucy is located on a tree-lined street in the Palermo Soho district of Buenos Aires and convenient to the Subte.  Our plan was to spend two weeks in BA and then take off and see some more sights in South America.
It became our home for the next three weeks.  We fell in love almost immediately!

Kitchen and view from the kitchen to our balcony.

Dining Area…

           Bedroom at Casa Lucy
After we had settled in and found the ATMs, grocery stores, wine stores, etc. we thought it was time to get out and figure out this city of 13 million people.  Best way to get your bearings is a Big Yellow Hop on- Hop off Bus tour! So that was our outing on Saturday. 

We were able to hop on a few blocks from Casa Lucy and 4 hours later we had completed the Grand Tour.  This city has an abbondanza of trees and that doesn’t always mix with open air double-decker buses!  Watch out, Watch out, Watch out!!!
I highly recommend the Big Yellow Bus Tour.  Now we were just about ready for anything…language barrier aside.  On Sunday, we wandered around Palermo and met Enid and her husband John for lunch at a typical Argentinian parrilla called La Cabrera.  When we initially booked the apartment with AirBNB we were a little concerned about renting directly from an owner and the language barrier upon arrival.  Turns out Enid and John are from Vail, Colorado, their daughter Piper lives here in BA and they visit often.  At this time, Piper is traveling around southeast Asia and they are down here dog sitting.  Small world..and no language barrier here!

La Cabrera was delicious.  We just need to figure out what cut of beef we want to order. 
Can’t believe we have been away from home 5 weeks now.  Time is flying. 
Time away from home… 5 weeks.
Distance traveled – 13,694 miles
To see more photos of our excursions while in Buenos Aires just click on the red excursion to visit “Dreamchaser Travels” at Shutterfly!
Till next time,

Don’t forget to relax and get some sand between your toes!!

Santé,

Puerto Madryn to Buenos Aires

Highlights of Week 5
It is difficult to believe that the cruise is almost over.  In a few more days we will be cruising into Buenos Aires and on to the next phase of this Great Adventure.
After leaving the Falklands we were finally heading north again and toward some warmer weather.  Ready for some sunshine!!    Puerto Madryn was our next stop. 

The beach boardwalk was the perfect place to spend the afternoon strolling.

Montevideo is our last port of call before heading into Buenos Aires.  It was another beautiful day to wander the streets once we were able to get off the ship.  It was another huge industrial area and a maze to get out of.

Had a wonderful afternoon checking out the main plazas in town and having a nice lunch at a side walk café. 

We checked out the huge Picada de Puerto first and decided the people watching was better outside. And it was just too pretty to sit inside!  Montevideo is a gorgeous colonial city that deserves lots of time to get to know.  Maybe next time.

Our last night on the cruise was spent at Vine’s of course, saying good bye to all of the great people we had the pleasure to meet during the last 30 days.  Time really does fly when you are having fun.  I wasn’t sure if I would like 30 days on a cruise ship but the verdict was a big yes.  Not because of the many ports we saw but for the time on the ship to relax and friendships formed.  Think a repositioning cruise across the Atlantic might be great.
Our disembarkation in Buenos Aires was one huge cluster…  They had 4 cruise ships in port at the same time.  A cruise terminal info guy said that 10,000 people were getting off and another 10,000 embarking before the day was over.  Not fun!  Hours to get a taxi.  We finally decided to walk up two blocks to the bus terminal and were the only people in the taxi line.  Thank you Gonzolo for the map and the directions.  
  Buenos Aires …… We’ve arrived.  Phase 2 of the Great Adventure starts now!

Falklands to Buenos Aires – 1,432 Nautical Miles
San Francisco to Buenos Aires – 9,803 Nautical Miles/11, 281 Miles
Totally miles so far….  13,694 miles.  And my feet feel it!!
To see more photos of our ports of call just click on the red port to visit “Dreamchaser Travels” at Shutterfly!
Till next time,
Don’t forget to relax and get some sand between your toes!!

Santé,

Amalia Glacier to the Falklands - Part 2

High Lights of Week 4
The cruise through the Beagle Channel brought us to Ushuaia which claims to be the southernmost town on earth. This is the main jumping off point for Antarctica and the end of the Pan-American Highway. “ The city is set against a backdrop of snow-capped, densely forested peaks, the Martial Mountains, and with a view-scape that includes glittering seas, glacier-clad mountains, and the last islands on the continent.” per Princess.  It is always surprising to see the European influences in the architecture.

I mailed postcards from the end of the world.  No one has received one yet but heck, it’s the end of the world!

Fun story.. 4 or 5 couples from the nightly Vines Bar crew ended up at the same pizza joint for beer and internet.  Couldn’t have planned that!

Our first experience in Argentina has been a positive one. Ushuaia rocks! But look out Cape Horn here we come….
We have had extremely calm seas for the total cruise and our journey around the Horn was the same. I have always imagined that going around The Horn would be extremely rough and scary. Thank you God! It was gorgeous. The crew said it was the best they had seen in years. It was a little grey when we started but the skies soon cleared and it was a beautiful day.


Think even I might be able to sail these waters around the Horn.

The week has been packed full of first and we still have a stop in the Falklands. The weather was a little inhospitable when we arrived but some warm clothes and an umbrella took care of that problem. We were searching for some authentic fish and chips and lucked out, thank you to some good local advise.





Then a stop at the Globe, a local tavern on the pier for a beer and some local flavor. Met a Falklands veteran, 85 years old, who was a hostage during “the war”, and he drinks one beer a day, on the house and has his name on the his chair.  That is small town!

Time to head on…see ya later Stanley.
 Puerto Montt to the Falklands – 1,903 Nautical Miles
To see more photos of our ports of call just click on the red port to visit “Dreamchaser Travels” at Shutterfly!
Till next time,

Don’t forget to relax and get some sand between your toes!!

Santé,

Amalia Glacier to the Falklands–Part 1

High lights of Week 4
The cruise has kicked into high gear now.  We are seeing wonderful vistas daily.  Probably the most amazing thing for me was cruising through the fiords of Chile. Up first was the Amalia Glacier.  I was up with the sun because I was too excited to sleep and I was not disappointed.  The countryside surrounding this area is amazing. “..the Andes curve gently eastward and slowly sink beneath the sea. This geographical fact lends the region its wild and untrammeled character: scattered islands of exceptional beauty, deep fiords, snow and glacier-capped mountains, continental ice caps, beech forests, and the grassy lowlands so attractive to sheep farmers.” according to Princess info.


One of the best parts of the cruise was the wonderful people that we met.  This is Stu and Susan, retired from Charleston, West Virginia.  And it was really that cold!

It was unbelievably blue!



The Amalia Glacier was an unreal experience even if was was a tad chilly. 
Next stop……

Punta Arenas sprawls up the slope of the straits of Magellan and is the largest southernmost city in South America.  Most of the important buildings and commerce are located on the central plaza which is dominated by a huge statue of Magellan.  It was market day and I actually bought some great mittens.  So much for missing winter this year.  LOL!

Local lore is that if you kiss the Indian’s toe you will return to Puerto Arenas.  I settled for just a little rub! After wandering around all the neighboring streets we found a wonderful place for lunch called  La Luna.  Good food and fun place.

Because of tide conditions at our next port of Ushuaia we had the pleasure to experience Glacier Alley, a few hours of magnificent scenery and 5 different glaciers.  It was cold but we wrapped up and sat on our balcony and didn’t miss a minute of it.  Probably THE HIGH LIGHT of the whole cruise!  Definitely worth losing a few hours sleep. 




This glacier was calving. Checkout the lower left corner.  You can see a series of these at Glacier Alley on Shutterfly



Caught this one calving.  My second one for the day!  Wahoo!

What a week!  And this is only part one!

Puerto Montt to the Falklands – 1,903 Nautical Miles
To see more photos of our ports of call just click on the red port to visit “Dreamchaser Travels” at Shutterfly!
Till next time,

Don’t forget to relax and get some sand between your toes!!

Santé,