South American Odyssey: Chile

Greetings, readers!  (All two of you!)  After Argentina, the grand South American cruise continued on to Chile.  Our first port of call in that long, skinny country was Punta Arenas which we visited on March 1st.  The weather continued cold and rainy, but that didn't dampen our spirits.  After disembarking the ship, we decided to walk to the Salesian Museum.  We spend an hour or so looking at the exhibits which seemed to me like a collection of various priests' taxidermy and rock collections!  LOL!  (You've never seen such moth-eaten animal mounts in your life!  The poor things!)  Anyway, after we left the museum, we stopped at a little cafe that had caught Noah's eye (roasting chickens & racks of ribs in the window).  He ordered an empanada, and I ordered an avocado and tomato sandwich (I'd been going through avocado withdrawls for awhile as there were no avocados on the ship!)  I was expecting something along the lines of a small Subway sandwich, but this is what I got instead!!  It was actually quite delicious (the tomatoes were vine-ripe and incredibly tasty, especially compared to the nearly-green tomatoes we'd been eating on the ship).  I ended up eating 3/4ths of it.  YUM!!

Buckskin's gigantic Chilean sandwich

The rest of that port stop involved wandering the streets, looking into shops, and going to the super market to buy strawberries and avocados to take back on board with me.

The next day, March 2nd, was spent cruising through the many channels that  make up the southernmost parts of South America.  Around 5:00 p.m. we cruised past the Amalia Glacier.  Here is a photo of it taken from our cabin's balcony.

Amalia Glacier, Chile

Next stop was Puerto Chacabuco, Chile on March 4th.  Here we hopped onto an independent tour with a few other passengers and took what we now refer to as the bridges and waterfalls tour.  First stop was the Puente Aysén which the guide compared to The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (though it did have a few less spans!)

Puente Aysén

From there, we visited our first waterfall, the Cascada La Virgen, complete with a shrine to the Virgin Mary. 

Buckskin at Cascada La Virgen

Buckskin at shrine to the Virgin Mary

We were then taken on a long drive to the city of Coyhaique where we stopped at the Puente Piedra del Indio over the Río Simpson.  The bridge is very narrow and only one car is allowed to cross it at a time.  A rock formation over the river looks like the face of an Indian & that's how the bridge got its name.  You can see the formation above my head in this first photo, and better in the close up in the second photo.

Buckskin on the Puente Piedra del Indio in Coyhaique, Chile

Face of the Indian

After that, we  were taken to the center of Coyhaique and given about 20 minutes to browse the craft fair.  However, Noah was hungry and wanted an empanada, so I asked the driver for a recommendation.  He walked us a few blocks to a place called the Casino de Bomberos which turned out to be a tiny cafe tucked behind the local fire station.  It was packed with people, and we purchased two empanadas to go.  They were amazing!  We munched as we walked, and by the time we got back to the van, we had a parade of street dogs following us hoping for a bite to eat!

Back in the van, we commenced our long drive back to port with a stop at Bridal Veil Falls for a look at one more waterfall.  It was a slippery, muddy hike up to the falls, but well worth it.  This waterfall reminded me of Victoria Falls in Glacier National Park in Montana.  And just like our visit to that waterfall, Noah made me pose with it.  Of course there was tons of spray, combined with a good stiff wind which ensured I was soaking wet by the time we got finished.  But we did get a good photo!!

Bridal Veil Falls

Buckskin takes a shower in Bridal Veil Falls

Back in port, we took a quick look into the craft fair where I bought a cute amagurimi doll from a lady & then it was back on-board to to dry off & warm up!

 The following day, March 5th, we arrived at Puerto Montt.  Noah said he wasn't up for another long day being driven around in a van or taxi, so we opted to wander the city looking at the sights.  As we'd done in Punta Arenas, we found a supermarket and purchased some more avocados and a jar of Chilean honey.  We spent a good deal of time walking the streets in the city center.  I bought some wonderful strawberries from a street vendor and Noah had a middling empanada at a bar, so I could use their restroom.  We ended up having lunch at this charming restaurant we discovered up an alley in the fish market.  The proprietress fried us a delicious merluza (hake) fish filet which was served with mashed potatoes and some very tasty bread.  It was more than enough for two!

Cocineria Quinllen

Noah with our merluza lunch

Next port was San Antonio, still in Chile, and again, we decided to just wander around town.  Here we walked along the boardwalk where we saw a group of sea lions lounging on the sand.  However, as soon as we spotted them, a pack of street dogs chased them into the water!  Bad doggies!  Next we visited the mall, then walked along the city's two main streets.  As it was getting hot & I wasn't feeling my best, we wound things up early and headed back to the ship.

Buckskin at San Antonio, Chile

Our final stop in Chile was the port of Coquimbo which we visited on March 8th.  I had been up half the night with a very bad stomach (the ship food was really taking it's toll on my digestive system!)  But by the afternoon, I'd rallied enough to head out with Noah to explore the dock area which included both a fish and craft market.  We purchased some alpaca hoodies (one for me & one for a friend), and moseyed through the fish market where they were selling some amazing-looking ceviches.  And where a woman tried to pick Noah's pocket! It was a fail!

Coquimbo fish market

Coquimbo fish market 2

We met some very smart critters that day, too.  A happy street dog who was playing in the water with some kids, and an intrepid kitty who lived in the fish market.

Dog & pirate ship at Coquimbo

Scratchy's brother at fish market in Coquimbo, Chile

As we were heading back to the ship, we stopped to listen to this gentleman playing the pan flute.  Back on board our ship sailed for Peru, ending our time in Chile.

Pan flute player

Until next time,
Love,
Buckskin Lily

South America Odyssey: Uruguay, Argentina & The Falkland Islands

Buckskin Lily at the End of the World

Hello, everyone!  This is Buckskin Lily reporting from on-board the Royal Princess currently docked at the port in Coquimbo, Chile.  I'm sorry I'm a bit tardy with this post, but the number of photos I had to download, sort and edit was a bit daunting & I've been putting off the task, but I'm here now and ready to update you on the latest.

After leaving Brazil, we sailed south to Montevideo, Uruguay, arriving on February 20th.  Uruguay was the first of the very European-style cities we visited in South America.  It was an especially hot day, so we decided to hire a local guide with a taxi and see the city that way.  Unfortunately, the A/C in the taxi was practically non-existent, so we sweated our behinds off!  (Our taxi driver had a tea towel that he used to constantly mop his face, because he was sweating so much!)  Nevertheless, we had a pleasant and informative tour of the charming city of Montevideo.  Our first stop was this monument commemorating Uruguay's cattle and sheep ranchers.

Noah & I in posing at cattlemen's monument

The cattlemen's side

The sheepherders' side

Another side of the monument

Next stop was Plaza de la Constitución, the oldest plaza in Montevideo (it is in the Ciudad Vieja), and there we saw the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral.

Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral

Skylight & stained glass windows in Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral

Noah & I posing in front of the Montevideo Metropolitan Museum

 We also saw the Cabildo de Montevideo, the building that was used as the capitol building during colonial times.   Sorry, but my photo of the Cabildo was terrible & I had to throw it out!  Next stop on our tour of monuments was Plaza Independencia.  Here we saw two significant structures.  First was the Palacio Salvo.  The Palacio Salvo houses The Tango Museum and was originally intended to be a hotel, but that didn't pan out.  Today the Palacio is a mixture of residential apartments and office space.  It is very tall, so this is the best I could do!!

The Palacio Salvo

In the Plaza Independencia we also saw the Artigas Monument and Mausoleum.   José Artigas is an Uruguayan hero sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood."  There is a huge statue of him on his horse in the plaza with stairs leading down to the mausoleum underneath where an urn containing his ashes is on display.  The monument is guarded 24/7 by a soldier called a Blandegues de Artiga.

Monument to Artigas

We also  saw the Gateway to the Citadel, one of the few remaining bits of the wall that surrounded the old city of Montevideo.  Most of it was torn down in 1829.

Gateway to the Citadel

Our guide rounded out the tour by showing us the Teatro Solis, Uruguay's most famous theater, built in 1856...

Noah & me in front of Teatro Solis

...The Palacio Legislativo, built in 1904 , and, according to our guide, incorporating 27 different kinds of marble all quarried from Uruguayan mines. .. 

Us in front of the Legislative Palace

...and finally a stop at a scenic viewpoint overlooking the Rio de la Plata:

Me & the Montevideo sign overlooking the beach & the Rio de la Plata

Speaking of the Rio de la Plata (a very brown, muddy, turbid and WIDE river), it just so happens that Bueno Aires lies across the river (and up a-ways) from Montevideo.  So that was our next port of call, our first of several in Argentina.

We arrived in Buenos Aires around 2:00 p.m. on February 21st.  This was quite a bit later than the scheduled 5 a.m. arrival.  There had been quite a bit of drama on the ship the previous night involving people trying to stow away.  (This was the end of the first leg of this around-South America cruise, and lots of passengers were leaving the ship at this port, and others were embarking).  This delay didn't affect us very much, but it caused a lot of grief for the embarking passengers who had to sit in the terminal for 5-6 hours without air conditioning (it was swelteringly hot and the electricity in the terminal went out leaving it without A/C!)  Also, lots of departing passengers missed their flights back home, creating even more havoc.  But as I said, this chaos left us basically untouched, and for that we were glad!

When we finally were able to get off the ship, we hired a taxi driver to take us to the Recoleta Cemetery which I was interested in visiting.  Established in 1822 as the city's first official burial place, the cemetery consists of 6,400 unique above-ground tombs built from all types of materials and in all types of architectural styles.  The pathways are paved with brick, and it's very interesting to stroll along the "streets" admiring the miniature structures.  Here are some photos I snapped during our explorations:

Noah in Rocoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires

Buckskin in Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires

Detail of a mausoleum door

More mausoleums in Recoleta Cemetery

Another mausoleum

Detail of old lock

Detail of stained glass window in one of the mausoleums

Our driver took us to see La Flor, a huge metal sculpture that actually opens and closes like a real flower.

Buckskin poses with La Flor

Later that evening, we went to to the Tango Porteño show.  The evening started with dinner at the theater featuring a salad with jamon followed by a gigantic Argentinian beef steak.  The show started after dinner and lasted about an hour.  It included lots of loud music, singing, and tango dancing as well as a number featuring tap dancing gauchos swinging bolos blazingly fast (my favorite part).  We went to this show because of a recommendation from a fellow passenger, Santiago Gonzalez, who we met in Fortaleza, Brazil when we shared a taxi with him and his traveling companion.  His good friend is the manager of the Tango Porteño show and theater, and Santiago assured us it was a must see when in town, so...we went, but I don't think it was exactly Noah's thing.  Here he is waiting for his meal and sweating in his dress shirt (poor guy!)  

Noah waiting for his dinner at Tango Porteño show

I  don't have any photos of the show itself, because I couldn't get any decent ones from where I was sitting (up in a balcony with about 6 people in front of me...)  Anyhow, after the show, we didn't arrive back to the ship until after midnight (it was an overnight port, so that's why we were able to stay out so late).  We slept in very late the next day and then had a sea day in which to recuperate.

It had been blazing hot in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, but as soon as we left BA and got a little further south, the weather took a sudden change.  It became very cold and windy, and the seas got rough.  Lots of people were getting sick, but I like the rocking and rolling:  helps me sleep!  Our next scheduled port was Puerto Madryn, Argentina.  We were scheduled to dock there on February 24th.  However, the seas were so rough, the captain had to cancel the port.  He said it would have been too dangerous to park the ship along the dock with the swells so high.  That gave us another day at sea before our next scheduled port, The:

Falkland Islands welcome center sign

Probably my favorite destination so far.   We arrived here on February 26th and when we got off the ship, we were able to secure a tour with a local guide to take us to Bertha's Beach for penguin watching.  Because the penguins lived on a privately-owned ranch, we were able to walk among them, not just look at them from afar.  The ride to the beach took about an hour each way, and we were able to mingle with the penguins for an hour.  As I said earlier, the weather had taken a great and sudden turn.  It was very windy and cold on the beach, but that didn't deter us.  The penguins we saw were gentoo penguins.  King penguins also breed on this beach, but they had recently moved to their fall/winter habitat (the seasons are opposite ours down here).  I took a LOT of photos, but will show you only the best ones (chosen by Noah and myself):

Noah & Buckskin bundled up & frolicking with penguins

Running penguin

Mom feeding (big) baby

"I'm so handsome!"

The following day, February 27th, we sailed around Cape Horn at about 5:30 in the afternoon.  I did not get any photos as there really wasn't all that much to see.  When the captain made the announcement that we were rounding the cape, we went up to the Horizon Court on Deck 17 to check it out, but all there was to see were a few largish brown rocks jutting out of the water.  Had really been expecting something more dramatic.

Our final stop in Argentina was Ushuaia, "El Fin del Mundo," which we visited on February 28th.  As mentioned above, the weather this close to Antarctica was cold, windy, and the day we were here, rainy as well, but we made the most of the it anyway and hired a local guide to take us to the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego.  But before we got to the park, we stopped to visit the Tren del Fin del Mundo (Train at the End of the World).

Noah at the End of the World Train Station

Here's a map of the train's route if you're interested:

End of the World Train route map (for the interested)

While at the train station, we met a very nice drug-sniffing dog & had our picture taken with him.

Noah & me posing with goofy (I mean nice) drug-sniffing dog at The End of the World Train Station

From there, it was off to the park.

Welcome to Tierra Del Fuego National Park!

Our first stop in the park was Enseñada Bay, which on clear days provides "picture postcard" views of the Beagle Channel (a strait between some of the islands in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago).  The Channel was named after the HMS Beagle, the ship that carried 22-year-old Charles Darwin on his voyage as a "gentleman passenger," a position that was created by the ship's commander, Robert Fitzroy.  Fitzroy wanted someone on the journey who could both keep him company and observe and record discoveries made during the 5-year voyage.  Unfortunately, the weather prevented us from getting that picture postcard view.  Here's what we got instead (still pretty cool)  That red dot to the right of the photo is Noah:

Ensenada Bay

Ensenada Bay is also the site of the world's most southerly post office.  We really wanted to mail a post card from there, but a huge busload of tourists had just gone inside, and the line was out the door, so I settled for this photo instead.  We were only 745 miles from the South Pole!

Mileage sign outside southernmost post office in the world

Next stop was Laguna Verde, the Green Lagoon.  Even though it was a bit gloomy and overcast, the waters of the lagoon still had a milky-green tint.

Soggy Buckskin posing above Laguna Verde

Picture of Laguna Verde without me in it

Next stop was Lapataia Bay, the spot where Route 3 (the Pan-American Highway that starts in Alaska) ends.  

End of the road sign

And just in case you weren't clear about being at the end of the world, they had this handy-dandy map to make it so:

End of the road map:  you are HERE!

Noah & I gamely hiked to the Bay, and I posed for a photo even though the wind was blowing like a bugger and we were soaking wet.  It's not like we just happened to show up on a bad weather day, though, so that made us feel a bit better.  Our guide informed us that they have, on average, 28 days of sun per year in Ushuaia, so the chances of showing up on a sunny day are pretty slim!

Soggy and frozen Buckskin at Lapataia Bay

Our final sightseeing stop in the park was Lago Roca, in my opinion, the prettiest spot we visited:

Beautiful Lago Roca

On a clear day, you can see Condor Mountain, which lies on the Argentina-Chile border, across the lake.  Our tour of the park finished, our guide took us to the Centro de Visitantes Alakush (the visitor center) where we drank hot chocolate to warm up and browsed through the small museum there.  Then it was back to town.  Before returning to the ship, I posed with this penguin before looking through the stalls at the handicraft market and buying a delightful woven llama doll complete with a striped serape.

Found another penguin!

Whew!  That concludes my blog for this portion of the cruise.  My next post will document our adventures in Chile.  That one will be coming out soon (I hope!), as we have already completed our ports in Chile and are currently sailing for Peru (we'll be arriving there the day after tomorrow).  Anyway, thanks for following and reading.  Until next time,

I'm yours sincerely,

Buckskin Lily