Buenos Aires to Valparaiso
Travel Notes
JAN. 5, 2024 – BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (Day 27)
FINALLY! After many hours of struggling to migrate this domain to a different hosting platform, I was able to get a complete backup to restore. It has been a frustrating process, but I sense that it will all go much smoother moving forward and we can keep up on the Travel Notes and pictures. I have invested way too much cruising time in front of a computer. I went back through and added hot links, that are in blue, to many of the ports and some of the places we are visiting so you can read and learn more about them.
The estancia provided us with a driver, named Santiago, who had lived in Miami and the U.S. before. He was such a great guy, who offered to show us a little of Buenos Aires before we returned to the ship. Gwen had a bookstore on her list of sites to see, named El Ateneo Grand Splendid, so Santiago took us there. They had converted an old theater into the bookstore. The inside was very ornate and interesting. They had converted the stage area into a coffee shop for their customers. (Fun Fact: Buenos Aires has more than 700 book stores, which is more per capita than any city in the world!)
We were so pleased with Santiago, that we booked him for further exploration of Buenos Aires tomorrow. We are looking forward to seeing more of this surprising city full of monuments and beautiful architecture.
JAN. 6, 2024 – BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (Day 28)
We met up with Santiago and he gave us a great tour till noon. Our first destination was a part of town called La Boca. It is know for it’s colorful painted buildings. The predominate color is Bright Blue and Yellow that represents the colors of their soccer team. Legend has it that the colors were chosen by a decision to use the flag colors of the next ship that came into port. That ship turned out to be Swedish so the blue and yellow were chosen. Supposedly, the reason for a lot of the houses being painted other bright colors, is that the area was very poor so they used whatever left over paint they could find to paint their buildings. The addition of so many characters painted on the buildings made this a fun place to visit.
We walked in a plaza and saw the Casa Rosada, which is the office building of the President of Argentina. As is usual we walked in a beautiful church that held the remains of San Martin (their George Washington). Gwen wanted to see the cemetery where Eva Peron was buried and we found that quite interesting. Several families had huge ornate marble structures where the entire family would be interned.
At noon, Gwen, Margaret, and I were dropped off to go to “The Asado Experience”. Doug had decided earlier that he just wanted to walk about the city and wasn’t interested in our plans. Boy, did he miss out on a great afternoon.
Belen was our host, along with an all woman grill team who were very personable and knowledgeable about Asado and it’s role in Argentina culture.
After greeting us at the gate we were escorted inside to a very welcoming atmosphere. The wine was very nice and plentiful, and though I truthfully think Belen and her staff are the stars of the show, the meat and grilling were at the center of the stage. The entire Asado experience was explained to us in detail. We even learned about the woods and grilling techniques that are used. Of course, those of you who know me, know that it is the beef that I come for, and I was not disappointed. It was tender and delicious. Let’s just say that I ate more than my fair share. It was such a pleasure sharing the afternoon with new friends and great food! T
JAN. 7, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 29)
I woke up at 2 a.m. and worked on my laptop till 5 a.m. Not a good start of the day. I now know that there are workers above us on the pool deck moving things and cleaning all during the night. The noise is not really bad enough to wake you but is always present till about 5 a.m.
We had another Community Group gathering and we continue to grow. We are now up to 19 people. The thing that I noticed today was that so many stayed after closing prayer to visit and continue talking in small groups. We are truly becoming a community of world cruisers.
I can’t tell you how much talent they have on the stage in their musicians. We attended a show tonight, called Marquee. They performed several songs from well known musicals. We will have the chance to see the shows again and I will try to record short videos and post them back here. I am going to start being more active and spending less time in front of a computer.
JAN. 8, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 30)
We are going to have a choir again for this leg of the journey. We will be doing all the parts this time as there will be more days to practice before a performance. We had the second practice today and we are working on Sea Shanty songs.
Gwen and I went to the gym and rode stationary bicycles for about 30 minutes. I returned after working on one of our business projects to do some weight lifting. Now, if we can make it a habit.
JAN. 9, 2024 – PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA (Day 31)
We got a taxi to the Airport where we rented a car for the day. We took off south to get to a place Gwen had researched for wildlife. We arrived at Punta Loma where we watched a large group of Sea Lions on a secluded gravel beach.
We drove further south to a beach called Playa Cerro Avanzado. We walked down the beach seeing that it was a place where the people of Argentina come to camp out during their summer. I guess it was nicer than their winters, but it was very windy everywhere we went. The beach was covered with numerous jellyfish that were stranded there as the tide was going out. (There were hundreds in the water around our ship when it came time to pull away from the tier.)
As we came back north to the city we decided to visit a point where there was a primitive lighthouse. The high hill views were great but it was so windy we couldn’t stay long. From this view we got to see the sparse vegetation of the landscape.
Coming into town, we found a small museum that honored some Welsh settlers that had come to Argentina in the 1800’s. It was interesting to see how they planned the trip and how they built homes in small caves on the coast to survive. Gwen and I paid the $1.00 to go into the museum. We were curious, as Gwen’s hometown of Oak Hill, Ohio has a museum honoring the Welsh immigrants that settled there.
After all this exploring and site seeing, we decided to stop for lunch at El Nautica Cantina. We had read some reviews and we were not disappointed with the food. Gwen and I shared a Seafood Paella for two that was great and cost less than $20 USD. After lunch we walked around to see some shops and had ice cream and a pastry.
JAN. 10, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 32)
We had an announcement that we would have a change in the itinerary due to weather conditions. Captain Stig Nilsen was already scheduled to give a Weather Briefing for Drakes Passage, so we ended up with a full house. The plan now is to reverse our plans. Instead of going to Port Stanley tomorrow, we will head directly to Antarctica to get to Gerlache Strait. This way the waves and wind will be less than the predicted weather in 2 days. We will have 25 ft. waves, instead of 42 ft. waves if we stayed on our original plan.
Our Capt. is the best of all that we have encountered over our years of cruising. He has a great sense of humor. One of the questions he was asked during Q&A, was whether we would hit 66 degrees in latitude. Capt. Stig replied, “I don’t plan on HITTING anything.” His time with us was filled with wry comments that cracked up the audience.
DRAKE PASSAGE is known for wild weather and is quite the phenomenon. The amount of water pushing through the short distance between Cape Horn and the Shetland Islands of Antarctica mind boggling. A Sverdrup (1 million meters cubed/sec) is a measurement of water flow per second. Drake Passage has the strongest oceanic current estimated at 100-150 Sverdrup. Since that means nothing to you, if 100 Sverdrup were converted to gallons per second, it is 26,417,205,200 gallons/second. So it is between 26 and 40 billion gallons/sec. The presence of Drake Passage allows the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans to be connected. Ahh, the things you learn on this journey. Gwen is learning more about photography with another Enrichment talk on “Capture the World”.
JAN. 11, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 33)
It’s all about survival today without getting seasick. Some did not fare well at what Capt. Stig called our “Rock and Roll” party, Thankfully, we made the decision last night to go ahead and apply our scopolamine patches. We have never had seasickness on a cruise, but have had it in some small boats years back when we were scuba diving.
The waves are tremendous. We have had a lot of fun watching the spray as our ship cuts through the current. I can’t imagine what 40 ft. waves would be like.
We kept occupied working on projects and playing games in our room. We are hoping that the views in Antarctica are worth it.
JAN. 12, 2024 – GERLACHE STRAIT/PARADISE BAY (Day 34)
Wow! Wow! You can see icebergs in pictures but you have to be here to really experience the beauty. Once we cleared Drake Passage and got into the strait, the waters calmed and the scenery became surreal. Captain Stig announced over loud speaker the first whale sights. At the beginning we struggled with being on the correct side of the ship to see them. As we continued and got closer to Paradise Bay they were abundant. We even got better at seeing the change in the water as they neared the surface to breath. It would seem that the water would form dark lines then 10 seconds later you would see the spouting of water. The sound of a whale exchanging air through the blow hole was so unique. I doubt I will ever see sights again like we saw today. It is hard to describe.
We got so many steps in today according to Gwen’s watch. She had over 11,000 steps without working out. Just walking around the ship to see the views and take pictures was a workout. We had to keep coming back inside to warm up. We even had coffee and hot chocolate for warming up. We didn’t realize how exhausting it was to be in the wind and weather most of the day. We had purchased hand warmers for the cruise and they really helped.
The penguins would zip in and jump out of the water as they swam. We could recognize them from far away as it looked like the water was bubbling. It was very difficult to get photos but I think the videos will show a better representation of what we were seeing. It seems like you never tire of seeing the icebergs (some with penguins on them), penguins, and whales. We have so many photos to go through tomorrow on our way to Elephant Island, even though I’m sure there will be more icebergs to see along the way.
JAN. 13, 2024 – ELEPHANT ISLAND (Day 35)
Elephant Island had many more whales than we had seen in Gerlache Strait and Paradise Bay. They were the larger Blue Whales so getting a picture was much more difficult. The Blue Whales were observed with a large spouting water blow, but their bodies did not breach the surface as the Minke whales had done. We spent the day watching penquins swim and whale blowing spouts. The pictures weren’t as impressive, but we had fun watching the water for any sign of life.
Elephant Island is known for being the place that Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton and his crew camped after having their ship, the Endurance, trapped in ice. We passed the site where they were camped before finally being rescued. Their story is one of the great survival stories in world exploration.
JAN. 14, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 36)
Another chill sea day working on our photos, choir practice, and connecting with family. Gwen went to an Argentine Tango show in the Tropical Theater. Our Community Group has grown to 24 people and is going strong. We are having a great time meeting new people and having meaningful conversations.
In the evening we had a “Penguin Party” where some dressed in costumes and others dressed in Black & White with a touch of yellow. They had big band music and we did some dancing in the centrum.
JAN. 15, 2024 – PORT STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS *CANCELLED* TOO WINDY FOR TENDERS – SEA DAY (Day 37)
Captain Stig had to cancel our visit to Port Stanley. While the winds would have let us debark the ship they would be increasing and they would not be able to get us back on in the afternoon. Gwen did get some good pictures from our balcony as a rainbow lit up the sky.
We have started playing a progressive board game called Pandemic Legacy. It will probably take us the entire cruise to finish the game. We are just getting started, but I have already realized that everything that happens in the game today will impact the game tomorrow and next month. This should be an interesting way to spend some creative time together. The game room was packed today with people playing card and other games. That is definitely different from our normal week to 10 day cruises. Everything is much more social.
JAN. 16, 2024 – CAPE HORN (Day 38)
While in reality it is a sea day as we don’t get to go ashore at Cape Horn, we were able to stop in the sea and take pictures. We got to Cape Horn around 2:00 p.m. The ship took in a pilot that will guide the ship through the strait to Ushuaia. Everyone went out on deck to capture pictures of the islands. While Cape Horn is not the southern most tip of South America, it does mark the northernmost part of Drake Passage. Many a sailor has lost their lives sailing around this point as the water and weather combinations could easily overwhelm ships over the last few centuries. We were blessed to have calm seas and moderate weather.
The captain came over the intercom of the ship and asked for a moment of silence to honor the sailors that did not survive their passage. The Albatross Monument is a memorial to them and there is a poem associated with it that Capt. Stig read:
Albatross Monument Poem
I am the albatross that awaits you
At the end of the world.
I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners
Who passed Cape Horn
From all the oceans of the world.
But they did not die
In the furious waves.
Today they sail on my wings
Toward eternity,
In the last crack
Of the Antarctic winds.
by
Sara Vial
JAN. 17, 2024 – USHUAIA, ARGENTINA (Day 39)
We rented a car so we could explore Tierre del Fuego National Park on our own. We drove out of town south on the famous Pan-American Highway. There is a post office in this park called Unidad Postal Fin del Mundo (post office at the end of the world). We mailed post cards to our grandchildren from there and then went hiking on the coastal trail. We were warned to be prepared because the weather can change rapidly, which is exactly what happened. Our sunny skies turned to rain. Before we ran back to the car, we did enjoy the trail for a bit. We saw an otter swimming, various birds, a roaming horse, and of course some beautiful scenery we were able to photograph.
On the way back to town we stopped by the station for El Tren Del Fin Del Mundo (train of the end of the world). It was interesting to see a narrow gauge train and track. Back in town we enjoyed a lunch of empanadas and exploring this scenic town. Ushuaia sits between Beagle Channel and the Martial Mountains (a part of the Andes) and is so beautiful! We were very happy to have 2 days ay this port.
JAN. 18, 2024 – USHUAIA/GLACIER ALLEY ARGENTINA (Day 40)
Since our day at the Falkland Islands got cancelled we knew we had to see penguins here at Ushuaia, so we booked a ship’s tour. First, our tour went to a pair of small islands very close together. One had a lighthouse and the other was covered with both cormorants and sea lions. It was fun to watch the sea lions “argue” with one another or go swimming in the channel with us being so close.
The final destination was an island where the penguins were. We loved watching them from our boat, pulled up on the shore though we couldn’t get off. We really didn’t need to as we had the best seat in the house. They swim so fast! There were Magellanic and Gentoo penguins, and only one King penguin. We really enjoyed seeing all the wildlife on this tour!
We left Ushuaia at 2PM and thought we were done for the day until Captain Stig announced that we were getting ready to pass some beautiful glaciers in Beagle Channel. It is nicknamed Glacier Alley and is one of his favorite places in the world. There are five glaciers one after the other that are named for the European countries, Holland, Italy, France, Alemania, and Romanche. They were stunning and words cannot describe. Neither will them any photos do them justice.
One glacier came all the way to the water (a tidal glacier), one ended in a spectacular waterfall, and all had touches of blue where the water is so pure and pressed together. Streams of waterfalls were flowing down the mountain sides frequently. We were so surprised because we had no idea what to expect in Beagle Channel leaving Ushuaia, but we surely enjoyed this area! Everyone on the boat was oohing and ahhing over the views. Quite the show!
JAN. 19, 2024 – PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE (Day 41)
We are now 3 for 3 on cancelling ports where we have to tender in to the port. (Tenders are boats that ferry us to the dock because we are unable to tie up) This time it was the Port itself that cancelled on us and not the Captain. Punta Arenas closed their port due to high winds. Once the winds get over 20 knots it is difficult for the guests to get off the tenders and on to the ship safely.
Captain Stig decided to veer off course and do a little more sight seeing in the Fjords in that area. At one point, he took us all the way in to a glacier at a dead end and spun the ship 180 degrees to head out. I think he gets as excited as the “sailors” (as he calls us in his daily announcements) in seeing the beauty this area holds.
There were so many waterfalls in this area as the glaciers melt. We were also in areas that a ship of this size would seldom come. We were so close to the shores that we could hear the waterfalls coming down the slopes. What a pleasant surprise and better than a lot of the excursions we could have done in Punta Arenas.
JAN. 20, 2024 – STRAITS OF MAGELLAN, CHILE (Day 42)
It was a foggy, cloudy day so it was not very conducive to picture taking or sight seeing. We spent the day doing some work and catching up on pictures and website. We did do an “Escape” type puzzle in the Safari Lounge. Gwen and I got paired with a young couple (Cory and Taylor). Our team was at a disadvantage as most teams had 6 players. The discrepancy was evident as soon as we started and there were 6 puzzles in our packet to solve! But despite all that we did extremely well in dividing and conquering the puzzles. I would say we came in 3rd as we finished the puzzle, but did not have time to write down and turn in the correct answer. All in all, it was a lot of fun.
Last night, Gwen went to watch an impressive gymnast and comedian at the show, while I watched a less than impressive Razorback basketball team lose yet another game.
JAN. 21, 2024 – DAY AT SEA
The sun is shining again! The temperature is starting to rise, so Gwen and I walked over 2 miles on the top deck. We were very excited to get outdoors in such nice weather. While we have loved the scenery around Chile and Argentina, the cold, foggy, overcast, and mostly windy weather has confined us indoors for too long.
We have had a couple of briefings from the staff for the “consecutive cruisers” as we are now called. Our “Town Halls” are to give us information on procedures that are needing to be followed for continued cruising. A big part of that is to make sure everyone gets their Visas that are needed for some of the future cruises. They do a good job of keeping us informed.
We had a lot of great conversation at dinner tonight with a full table. The Filet Mignon and Lobster dishes, generally help fill up the main dining hall. It seems that we are just now, really getting to know one another and this leg will be over. Our 4 other tablemates are getting off the ship in Valpraiso.
Gwen got to dress up for the ’80’s party tonight and there was a lot of dancing to familiar old songs. It is funny to see the younger adults who never lived in the ’80’s dress up and dance to the music from that era. We finished the night out with playing Euchre.
JAN. 22, 2024 – DAY AT SEA
We started the day doing much needed laundry. There was a seminar by the Gymnast Lance Ringnald who had performed a few nights earlier. It was very interesting to learn techniques to improve memory. Two days later, I can still recall the list of 12 things To Do, that we had to memorize!
Coquimbo is coming up and we have not nailed down an activity, so we got together with Doug and Margaret to go over possibilities. It looks like it will be a walk around town. We had our Community Group with Andrew Kenney leading on the topic of Perspective. It was a great time with lots of discussion. One person even shared some deep hurts that I am sure will put him on the prayer list for many.
Of course, we worked on this website and finished the night listening to Daniel in the pub. It has turned into one of our favorite activites.
JAN. 23, 2024 – VALPRAISO, ARGENTINA
Turn-Around Day! See Comments on Valpraiso on Leg 3 Travel Notes!
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