Sea Days

I never thought I would love sea days as much as I have these last three. Serious R&R... I don't remember the last time I didn't have anything to do if I tried! That has meant finishing my book and starting another, working out on my own schedule, then relaxing in the thermal spa suite for longer than I worked out :)

Yesterday we were rocking and rolling south in the Pacific. Even the staff said it was the roughest day at sea in 6 months. Fortunately no one in our group had any problems with seasickness or anything and we waited it out in the spa by day and with a cocktail party by night.

Today we have entered the Chilean fjords for some scenic (and smooth!) sailing. The landscape on either side of the ship is remarkable! Ice-capped mountains soaring out of the Pacific ocean. We are cruising the waters of Magellan. Tomorrow is our first port of call in Punta Arenas and we are going to see the penguins!

Buenos Aires: the Paris/Madrid of South America

The moral of this story: 7 hours in Buenos Aires is about a week short of enough time here. But I think we made the best possible of our short time here, seeing some city highlights and then getting a true taste of the culture (literally and figuratively) with lunch and a tango show!

First we visited the impressive Recoleta Cemetery and paid our respects at Evita's grave. Some porteños paid a pretty penny to be buried in these monied mosoleums!  We did a little exploring in the Palermo and Recoleta neighborhoods, where our favorite hotels the Alvear Palace and Park Hyatt are located. Gorgeous old homes and so much green! I've never seen a city with so many parks!

Our visits to the main square and Pink House were pending demonstrations scheduled by a group of veterans of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands War. We were able to get there for some photo ops and couldn't miss their "Occupy BA"-style campout in front of the Pink House.

We saved the best for last and ended the day with a lunch of delish Argentine beef, empanadas (my fave), and dulce de leche, followed by the spectacular tango show! I'm obsessed and want to start tango lessons as soon as I get home. It was a perfectly sexy end to our Valentine's Day meal!

Before we headed back to the ship we did some souvenir shopping in the Bohemian La Boca neighborhood.

After being the closest one can get to Antarctica two days ago, it was a real change of wardrobe to disembark in 90 degree Buenos Aires! Back to summer for a few days - I better soak up the sun before it's time to return to DC winter :/

Penguin-n-Chips

First things first - unfortunately no Prince William sightings today. Apparently he is off island on a ship. But our guide said his friends in the military hang out with Will all the time at the pub for rugby matches.

Not really much else going on on the Falklands... I'd probably spend a lot of time at the pub too. There are about 3000 people total on the islands, 2500 of which live in the port town, Stanley. So when cruise ships come in, there are as many tourists in town as locals. There is one movie theater - about 40 miles from town by unpaved road.

In the morning we took a ten minute car to a farm northeast of town before hopping in 4x4s for a bumpy offroad ride to the penguins! A rookery of Rockhopper penguins call a rocky cliff on this farm home half of the year. You would think they picked the most inhabitable area - a sheer rocky cliff - to make their homes and breed. But they live up to their name, hopping on both feet up and down the rocks. These are the penguins with the funny hairdo, sticking straight out on top and from their eyebrows, and this is the only place they are found. Like the Magellanic penguins, they are so cute but so smelly.

The town of Stanley is very picturesque stretching up a little hillside from the port - all green and red and blue roofs. After the penguins we returned to town for some shopping and lunch. We picked the most local looking pub we could find, filled with Brits drinking beer and watching soccer. You just pick a table and order from the nearest bartender who's attention you can grab. "Do you have a menu?" "We serve two things here - penguin'n'chips or seal'n'chips." Deadpan face, so British. Haha. But really they do only have two choices on the menu - fish'n'chips or burgers - so we ordered the specialty with two British beers and were very satisfied. Fresh from the sea that morning.

It was very interesting to be in the Falklands and talk to the locals, especially after the recent tension between Britain and Argentina over Prince William's station and the new ship stationed there. The island was a lot more British than I expected. I asked if any Argentines live on the islands and my answer was "maybe a couple, but they try not to advertise it." The landscapes also reminded me of the Aran Islands in Ireland, shrubby and rocky, and we learned the British isles and the Falklands are almost equidistant from the equator so that makes sense. Of course the island exudes a charm and cheer only Brits can deliver. Overall it was a great day from the penguins to the pub!

It's the end of the world!!

Another check off my Bucket List - I have been to the end of the world and back!!! Today we visited the world's southernmost city - Ushuaia, Argentina on the southern side of Tierra del Fuego. Our tour was scheduled for the afternoon so Michelle and I decided to get our first true Argentinian meal. While window shopping we found a place with lomo a la brasa in the window and decided that was the place - good choice. We got one order of king crab, native and fresh in Tierra del Fuego, and one order of lomo (lamb) another local specialty. We watched our meal prepared a la brasa (grill), filled our bellies, and then rolled ourselves back for the tour. We figured we needed the energy if we were going to make it all the way to the end of the world!
The name of the game so far has been amazing scenery and Tierra del Fuego has been the highlight. Gorgeous cragged mountains (think Switzerland) and pristine mountain lakes (think Colorado).
The 'official' end of the world is the end of the Panamerican Highway, nearly 18,000 miles opposite Fairbanks, Alaska.

Cruising Cape Horn

I think we have it a lot better than the explorers did... Our day at sea circumnavigating Cape Horn was clear, cool, and smooth sailing!

Glacier Alley & the Straight of Magellan

This morning we set the alarm very early for vacation time, 6AM, to see the glaciers of the Chilean fjords and the Strait of Magellan. We cruised slowly for about 3 hours past the glaciers named for the countries of their discoverers... Espana, Alemania, Francia, Italia, y Hollanda, plus one named for their ship, which is melting into a waterfall (pictured). Incredible scenery! Yesterday in Punta Arenas we saw a replica made to scale of Magellan's ship, hardly bigger than a playground ship, and decided the explorers had to be at least 50% crazy to navigate these waters with their technologies...

It's Summer in Santiago!

Better late than never! This post was supposed to be my first on this trip but did not update due to lack of internet! So here it is...

Why did I not pack appropriate clothing for the 90 degree weather?? It sure is summer here in Santiago de Chile! (But snowing more on Mallorca yesterday than it has in DC this year??)

I love colonial South American cities so our old city tour yesterday was lovely. Our A&K guide Bernardo was the best.

Our hotel is well located in walking distance of plenty of restaurants and since dining is one of my favorite travel experiences you know I'm happy. Yesterday Michelle and I had lunch at a little local Chinese/Chilean dive - yum! And very happening with Chileans on siesta!

Today we are off to Valparaiso to board the Star Princess. Next stop: Punta Arenas... Then Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio!!!

Will update as often as we have internet!

Penguins & Punta Arenas

Today we visited Chile's southernmost city, Punta Arenas, which half of the year is home to Magellanic penguins... So cute but smell so bad!! The penguins come to the same spot every summer to burrow and breed and then swim north to Brazil where it is warmer for the winter and they can bask on the beach in their bikinis.

Doing My Homework

This is an email I just sent my Dad after one day in Santiago...

Subject: Doing my homework...

Pisco sour - check
The Chileans claim it too. My friend who is a Peruvian living in Santiago confirms it's Peruvian... Probably bias but I'm going to agree with that since the Peruvians started drinking Pisco sours at 11am and they don't seem to be as big a deal here...

Chilean beer - check
An ale, not bad. I forget the name but it sounded German. I think starts with a K. Will look it up for you later. Lots of German influence in Chile I learned.

Fantachop - check
Typical drink apparently - half beer/half Fanta (orange drink)... Like the half red wine/half Coke in Spain...You'd hate it :)

Chilean wine - obviously check.
Just drove an hour and a half thru wine country. Could spend a lot of time here... Let's come back.