20 November - 8 December 2015
This was another RCI
package that we bought into just like the Panama Canal cruise. We got the same
deal: a long cruise, a week at any RCI resort, another shorter cruise, and a
week at a Mexican resort. All for around $1700 which didn’t seem like such a good
deal until we started talking to people who got good deals by booking their
cruise very close to the start of the cruise. It seemed like they paid about
the same, and they didn’t get the other resort stays and a second cruise. Of
course, everybody has to pay the port fees and taxes before the cruise and then
the hotel fee (gratuity) at the end. One advantage, though, to booking late and with a
travel agent is there may be perks like on board credit and/or drink packages.
We pretty much blew off the Mexican resort deal – none of the locations
interested us too much. And we haven’t yet decided on a RCI resort; heck, we
have trouble using up our Worldmark timeshare points each year. What we really
wanted to do was take a cruise into the Norwegian fjords, but that would have
to be in the summer and we needed to cruise before then. When we saw that part
of the Cape Horn cruise was through the Chilean fjords, we thought that it
would be a good winter getaway.
20 Nov, Fri – Up at 0330 and out the door in the dark and
cold by shortly after 0400. We got to the Sandstone Inn early enough to get
parked (118.57) and on the 0500 shuttle. Checking in at Virgin America was easy
and we checked our three bags through to Santiago leaving us with just our
backpacks. C.J. brought her new lightweight pack which is smaller than her
usual Ozone pack so it was stuffed full with computer and other items. Going
through security I got randomly selected for a scan, and then my keychain Swiss
Army knife showed up in the scan of my backpack. I had to turn it in (mailing
would have cost about twice the value of the knife. All this furor made me
forget my fleece jacket on the conveyor, and I didn’t miss it until I had
reached the gate (B1). Fortunately it was still there when I went back. I
grabbed an Egg McMuffin for breakfast since we wouldn’t be getting anything on
the flight to LAX. Our flight was delayed a short time because one engine was
leaking a little fuel. The ground was mostly covered with fog and I napped on
the way to Los Angeles. Just before we got there, the view cleared and we had
good views of the hills and valleys approaching the LA basin. Since our bags
were checked through, we only had to walk the short distance to the Tom Bradley
International Terminal. We had less than three hours to wait for out LAN flight
so we ate some of the food we had brought along [Later, when we reached Chile,
we ate the nuts and raisins out of the trail mix so we didn’t have to declare
them at Customs.] For some reason we did not have seats together on the Boeing
787 but C.J. turned on her charm with the guy sitting next to her (who had
already offered her his window seat) and convinced him to trade places with me.
It was a coincidence that the passenger was also a crew member on the HAL
cruise we were about to embark on. And then, later, we learned that our other
seatmate was also a crew member and would be working as a waiter in the dining
room. The flight was long and over water for much of it. Lunch was served and
then a sandwich.
 |
| Panorama of Valparaiso Harbor |
21 Nov, Sat - We stopped in Lima for an hour but did not get off the plane.
Then it was another three hours to Santiago with a breakfast omelet. We
approached from the north, flying along snow-covered mountains. Once in the
airport shortly after 0700 local time (five hours later than PST), the
immigration and customs did not seem to take much time. There is no longer a
“get-even” fee for US citizens entering Chile (although Canadians, Mexicans and
Kiwis still have to pay a reciprocity fee. After getting out of the arrivals
area we stopped at a kiosk and bought two local Entel SIM cards for our
NZ phones. The sales agent had some difficulty but eventually they were
recognized by the network and we were able to text each other our new Chilean
phone numbers. [1 week of service, 7 min talk, 100 SMS, 100 MB data]. Next I
went up to the third floor and took out approx. $100 (70,000CLP) from a
cajero automatico. By now we had fended off at least two ground
transport/taxi/minibus touts who wanted to provide rides to Valparaiso for
80,000CLP, and we had figured out where the Centropuerto bus stop was. Getting
the three checked bags on board was not a problem at all because an attendant
loaded them into a storage compartment. The fare was only 3000CLP to the
Pajaritos bus terminal for the two of us. The driver announced the stop and we
got off, collected our bags and walked to the far side of the building, just as
 |
| C.J. on route to Cerro Concepcion |
the Cruise Critic blog instructions had indicated. We found that there was a
Pullman bus almost ready to pull out for Valpo and I quickly secured tickets at
the terminal. Although our tickets (9000CLP) were for 0940, the driv
er of the
Pullman fit us into the last two seats and left as soon as we were on board at
0900). Along the way I sent a text to Daniela, out Airbnb hostess in Valpo, to
let her know when we would arrive. The drive was uneventful with sort of Northern
California scenery plus some cacti and vineyards. It was not much after 1015
when we entered Valparaiso; there was a big Saturday market on the median of
the street we came in on. The trip ended at the Rodivario Bus terminal and
I found a TI who gave me a map of the city and pointed out that it would be
only a 20-min walk to Daniela’s apartment at Brazil 1538 near the British Arch.
We decided to find a taxi instead to leave us some energy to explore the city
later. We got a wild ride to the apartment building, checked in with the
desk and got sent up the elevator to Daniela’s apartment where she greeted us
and spent some time showing us places to go on
 |
| Arco Britanico |
the map. It was a little
challenging because she doesn’t speak much English (she had told us about that
before she accepted our request for a stay with her). After unpacking a little
we headed right out intending to find something to eat soon, probably one of
the places Daniela had recommended as
tipico.
It was only a few blocks to the alley where the graffiti-covered restaurant
J. Cruz was located. It looked better
inside so we went in and were welcomed by the owner who seated us. We got
drinks but nothing happened for what seemed like a long time, no menu, no one
asked us what we’d like to eat. Just as we were about to give up a waitress
brought a huge platter of French fries covered with onion and cheese and topped
with beef slices. I guess that we got what was
 |
| rats nest of wiring |
|
being served; we saw
other patrons getting the same thing. We ate all we could before heading out to
do some more exploring. We walked along the street (Condell, Esmeralda, Prat)
past Plaza Anibal Pinto (where the other Daniela-recommended eating place,
Cinzano was located) until we got to a side passageway/ stairway from which a
crowd of obvious tourists were emerging. We figured that there must be
something to see so we climbed the long stairway onto
Cerro Concepcion where there were lots of old buildings and murals,
small shops and hostals. We saw the Reina Victoria ascensor (funicular) and
stopped in a heladeria for gelato before heading down a steep stairway
to Ave Ramos and Plaza
 |
| War Memorial on the waterfront |
Sotomayor with its monument to the heroes and martyrs of
the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia. We had considered doing one of the “tours for tips”
but we were about toured out. We continued down to the waterfront and wandered
through some not-very-interesting artisan shops. By then I was tired and even
C.J. was ready to head back to the Airbnb to rest, and it was only 1445. We
walked back along a slightly different route and saw more old buildings and
small shops and a few large stores. I took a shower and then slept until 1930.
We went out again hoping to find an easy place to eat but nothing really
grabbed us – there would be plenty of food on the ship for the next two weeks.
We did wander through two large supermarkets and got a view of the harbor from
a pedestrian walkway. We walked SW a ways through crowds of people as far as
Condell then returned to Daniela’s apartment for the night. Computers and
phones needed charging and we wanted to upload photos and write in our journals
before we forgot everything.
 |
| Reina Victoria Ascensore (funicular) |
 |
| Muelle Prat and gov't buidings from the ship |
22 Nov, Sun – We had our alarm set for 0730 and after a
shower we set off to see if we could find breakfast. Nothing was open including
the juice stands we had seen the previous day. Eventually we wandered uphill as
far as Plazuela Ecuador where there was a small market including a couple of
bakeries. We got a scone-like pastry and a chocolate sprinkle-covered doughnut
thingy. When I paid, an older woman behind me in line warned me about being
careful with money. That was sort of scary. We went back down to the
plano and walked north then west to the
cathedral and the two parks then south to the British triumphal (?) arch and
rose garden. That put us back at Brazil 1538 so we returned to Daniela’s
apartment and collected our stuff and said goodbye. There was no problem
finding a taxi right in front of the apartment building but the driver did not
know where the Valparaiso
Terminal de
Pasajeros (VTP) was located. We drove north through a large market area and
almost to the Rodivario bus terminal before I pointed out that we needed to go
to the VTP which is near the Baron Metro stop. As we got close, there were
signs for the VTP and we arrived at the terminal. We attached our room
number tags to our luggage and kept our backpacks. The HAL agent kept our
passports and gave us receipts for them. Then we walked through the large
terminal to a shuttle bus which took us past the Muelle Prat downtown to the
container port where the MS Zaandam was docked. The entrance gangplank took us
directly to our deck, and our cabin, 2522, was
 |
| Ship docked in container port | |
forward. Our bags were delivered
later. We went up to deck 8, the Lido and had lunch then wandered all over the
ship trying to get a feel for where things were located. The glass roof over
the Lido deck pool was open in the warm Valparaiso weather; by the next day it
was closed. Back at the cabin we met our steward, Maryo, and unpacked our stuff
into the drawers, shelves and closets. There was an introduction to the ports
in the Mondriaan Lounge theater. We had our mandatory lifeboat drill at 1615.
We went to dinner early, 1730 for open seating and there was no line. We sat at
a table for six with a couple from Philadelphia, a woman from Dublin (Ourla)
and another solo traveler from Vancouver, BC. It was a good group with lots of
conversation. C.J. had strip steak and I had the pork chop with cherry chutney,
both very good, and chocolate panna cotta and a brownie stack for dessert.
 |
| Valparaiso at night - sailaway |
|
Later we attended the opening night theater production, “Listen to the Music”.
The production company seemed quite talented. The Tango duo from Colombia were
outstanding. The ship was supposed to leave around 1800 but the fuel had not
arrived so we didn’t get under way until maybe 2100. [Later we found out that
the ship had to turn back for a medical emergency transfer – apparently someone
had got caught by a door and broke an arm.]
23 Nov, Mon – The cell phone alarm did not go off at 0730
because the time zone was still set to PST. We got up at 0800 or so and had
breakfast in the Lido Restaurant (buffet). I attended a presentation on Photo
Gallery, a free MS app, in the Digital Workshop. C.J. went to an intro to
Spanish by the tango team. I caught the last of it and it was pretty basic even
for me. Then we attended the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. We mingled a bit and
then were lucky to run into a couple from Colorado Springs who had rented a car
for Puerto Montt and were willing to take us along.
 |
| Lori, C.J. and G on tender for Chacabuco |
They (or at least Lori,
whom we were talking to) seemed like they were compatible – snag a sandwich
from the ship so we don’t have to stop for lunch and maybe do some hiking,
maybe a hot spring, maybe a boat ride. Hopefully it will all work out. Then we
had lunch at the Lido and went back to the room to catch up on our journals. I
went to another Photo Gallery class while C.J. wandered around the ship a bit.
We watched the waltz class until it was time to go stand in line for our tender
tickets. We got ones for 0930-1000.
I
came back to where she had been sitting near the Explorations Café just as she
and a number of others had spotted a whale off to the port (at this point we
were only a few miles off shore). We went to a presentation on the next three
ports – Montt, Chacabuco and Arenas – in the Mondriaan Lounge and found out a
couple of things – we couldn’t take food on shore from the ship and there were
no public buses out of Chacabuco port. You had to pay $10 for a taxi or $3 per
person for a minivan to get to the next town, P. Aysen. Afterward we talked with Lori and thought maybe we could
charter a taxi and pay $100-$200, much less than the $140/person for the
cheapest 5-hour tour. I went back to the Digital Workshop and John let me
download my own copy of Photo Gallery. Back to our room to get dressed for the
first “gala” dinner – time for C.J. to break out her new dress, and for me to
squeeze into my suit bought for our first cruise back in ’93. Dinner was
excellent again with four interesting guests including Ron, the ship’s
chaplain, from Yakima, Becky from the Netherlands
and Trisha and Darryl from
Williams Lake, BC. C.J. got her lamb and I had a tenderloin of beef with
cracked pepper on shrimp. Yohat, our row-mate from the Santiago flight was
serving the tables
 |
| Chaplain Ron from Yakima |
nearby so we stopped to say hello on the way out. [We had
already run into him once when we had first boarded the ship.] Then we went
directly from the Rotterdam Dining Room to the theater for the Captain’s toast
which was followed by a show with the Zaandam dancers and singers. I was
falling asleep during the presentation on the ports and during the show so when
we went back to the cabin to pack for the shore excursion on Tuesday, I stayed
there while C.J. went up on deck to see why the ship seemed to be rolling much
more than usual. So far we’ve had only 1-2 ft wind waves although there have
been some whitecaps. The shore was no longer in sight when we ate dinner at a
window table, and someone spotted a whale blowing quite near the ship.
 |
| MS Zaandam anchored at Puerto Montt |
24 Nov, Tue – Up early enough to get our 0930 tender with
Lori and Bernie. We couldn’t bring the
 |
| Petrohue Lodge and Osorno Volcano |
sandwiches we had liberated from the
Lido buffet because Chile law prohibits import of any food. And, sure
enough,
when we got off the tender in Puerto Montt, our packs were cursorily
searched.
Once through the tourist terminal we encountered many offers for tours
and
taxis. However, we just waited for Lori to get back with the car she had
rented. Our job was to pick up a few local maps and we also talked with
some of
the tour operators about which road to take to get out of town. It was a
pretty
civilized scene for something that related to whether people got a job
on that
day. Lori drove us out of town on Allende which turned into a toll
highway (which we
didn’t find out about until we exited. Fortunately I had several 500 CLP
coins
so we could pay the 600CLP toll). [Later a map showed us that the toll
road was the southern end of the Pan American Highway.] We got turned
around in Puerto Varas and wound
up back on the Rte 5 toll road until the next exit which took us down to
the
shore of Lake Llanquihue at Puerto
 |
| Selfie at Petrohue Falls |
Llanquihue where we happened upon a
local
parade. Finally we had to get back on Rte. 5 and return to Puerto Varas
where,
after a couple of false starts, we got on the road to the National
Reserve. We drove
along the south lake shore through Ensenada, and then followed the
Petrohue
River to the end o
 |
| Petrohue Falls |
f the road. We walked past the tour boats to a beach
on Lake
Todos los Santos. We could look back at Osorno Volcano whose
snow-covered
summit was swathed in clouds. On the way back we stopped at a tourist
area
where there was a path that led us (and a hundred other tourists) to the
Saltos del Petrohué (Petrohue Falls)in the Rosales National Park. We took a couple of different trails so we got some exercise there. Then
we retraced our route (without all the detours for getting lost) back to Puerto
Montt. Lori dropped the car at Econorent/Ace agency and we spent about an hour
walking back to the cruise terminal
 |
| Plaza des Armas, German settlers |
through the town and along the shore. Even
though the last tender was scheduled for 1630 (and we got there before then),
we had a long line to get through and didn’t get out to the ship until close to
1700. We changed clothes and met Lori and Bernie for dinner at 1730. We hadn’t
eaten all day so we had multiple appetizers and multiple desserts, as well as
prime rib for C.J., pasta for me. Back at the room I was ready to head out to
see the comedian when C.J. had a dental disaster. The cap on her front implant
came off! We weren’t about to try to force it back on so C.J. contacted the
Front Office. They promised to see if they could find a dentist at our next
stop. When we got back to the room I fell asleep before I could try to get any
blogging done.
 |
| Luis, our taxi driver, C.J., G |
25 Nov, Wed – We didn’t have to
get up as early for our tender but we decided to try to get to the medical
center during the hours that the doctor is in, between eight and nine. He was
able to apply a temporary adhesive and reseat the cap, but C.J. was really
nervous about it staying on. Of course she couldn’t eat breakfast (but I had a
good omelet). We were scheduled on the 11:15 tender but were able to leave
earlier since the ship had arrived sooner than expected. This time Lori and
Bernie had no prior arrangement but, based on their long cruise experience and
our experience on the previous day, we figured we could find a tour at a more
reasonable price than the same trip booked through the ship. We were welcomed
to Puerto Chacabuco with Pisco Sours and
 |
| Pisco Sours and canapes |
|
 |
| Sheep being roasted at the port |
canapes, plus we could see that the
local people were roasting a couple pigs (or maybe they were sheep) over a wood
fire. Free buses took us out of the terminal area to a somewhat makeshift
terminal where a crowd of tour operators met us. We chose a four-hour tour with
a taxi driver named Luis. He didn’t speak much English but he was still a good
guide. He took us out of the tiny town of Chacabuco to the larger town of Puerto
Aysen (about 5 mi). Then we headed toward Coyhaique (about 30 miles farther).
Leaving the broad
 |
| At Virgin Falls |
Rio Simpson valley we entered a much narrower valley with
waterfalls and steep, wooded canyon walls. We stopped at Rio Simpson National
Reserve and took a short walk and looked through a one-room museum. A
short distance farther along we stopped at a double falls with a shrine to the
Virgin. We stopped again at another falls, Bridal Veil, then drove up to the
high point at Marchant Mirador. Just after the tunnels, we stopped for a view
and saw thermaling condors! From Marchant we could see Coyhaique and the wind
turbines on the high ground. At Coyhaique we had about 20 min to explore the town.
We didn’t find the artisan craft market until too late, but we did find a
heladeria where C.J. finally got
something to eat, a milkshake made with vanilla gelato and pineapple. I had a
café helado which was not a blended
drink as I had expected but more of a cold, coffee latte with vanilla gelato
and whipped cream. Back at the taxi at 1400, we headed down to a little
suspension bridge that had a view of a rock profile of an Indian. Then we
stopped at another
mirador just
outside Coyhaique.
 |
| Indian Rock |
From there we retraced our route back to Aysen where we made
a final stop at the park. Then we drove the last five miles back to Chacabuco
where we checked out the meager offerings at the stalls in the fabric domes before getting on
the shuttle to the terminal. All the roast pig (sheep?) had been eaten, but at
least it wasn’t raining as we waited to process through security (we had had
some showers during the day, but also some sun). The free Wi-Fi at the terminal
was too slow or has inadequate for the number of cruisers who wanted to get
online to check email or whatever so we moved right on to board the tenders.
Back at the ship we had dinner early with Lori and Bernie (again multiple
appetizers and desserts); easy-to-chew salmon for C.J. and Argentine-style tri-tip for me.
We settled up the shared
costs for the two shore excursions ($100, which would not have paid for even
one ship-booked excursion for one person). After
 |
| "Golden Gate bridge" in Aysen |
dinner we checked to see if
C.J. could see a dentist in Ushuaia even though it was Sunday. We really did
not want to miss our kayak trip in Punta Arenas. I went off to see the
mentalist Chamo who was amazing, while C.J. worked on her journal on deck 5
near Explorers Lounge where there was live music. I finished up my blog about
2200.
 |
| Thanksgiving "turkey" |
26 Nov, Thu, Thanksgiving – After
a night of
some pronounced rolling in 13-17 ft seas, we got up to calm seas in
the Chilean Fjords. We had breakfast and caught most of Brett’s, the On
Location Guide, presentation on Ushuaia and Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. It
was raining pretty hard so we joined a crowd up in the Crow’s Nest Lounge on
Deck 9 forward to watch the scenery. When it cleared we went outside on the
large bow area which is usually off limits to passengers. We saw a few seals,
some sea lions and a couple of orcas, and a lot of steep hills, waterfalls and
rocks much like the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound but without the boat
traffic (we didn’t see one other boat). The ship slowed down in the Messier
Channel and almost circled the
 |
| Wreck of the Capitan Leonidas |
wreck of the
Capitan
Leonidas, high and dry on the only rock around. We had to retrace our route
a few miles because the channel got too tight for our big ship. While cruising
through the Adalberto Channel we went up to the Crow’s Nest and lucked into
Happy
Hour, so we got Pisco Sours in celebration of our anniversary and
Thanksgiving. The dinner menu included traditional turkey dinner which C.J.
had, while I had the honey-baked ham. We ate with two Canadian couples:
Patricia and Darryl from Williams Lake and Bill and Grace from Campbell River.
After dinner the ship left the fjords and steamed out into the Pacific Ocean
while we attended a concert by Andy Bünger, a singer and dynamic multi-instrumentalist.
 |
| At El Brujo Glacier |
27 Nov, Black Friday – We got up
early enough to be on the bow as we approached El Brujo Glacier through a swarm
of small icebergs and sea ice. We got closer to the front of the tidewater
glacier than I thought we would. We even saw a small iceberg calve off the front.
The ship then had to maneuver to turn around in the narrow channel. C.J. and I
spent most of the day outside as we cruised through the Sarmiento Canal. Brett
would pipe up once in a while with a piece of information. The area seems to be
totally devoid of human settlement, and we passed only
 |
| El Brujo Glacier |
two cargo or work ships
all day (plus one anchored in an inlet). We took a break for lunch and I
ordered a burger and fries from the Dive In grill near the Lido deck pool. My
burger was cooked to order and both it and the fries were very good. C.J.’s
lamb, on the other hand, was too tough to chew (especially since she is
concerned about keeping the cap on for the rest of our trip. We had received a
message that there would be no dentist appointment in Ushuaia because the
clinic is not open on Sunday.) We’ve been watching the sea birds circling and
swooping low over the water. The larger ones have very narrow wings with
longitudinal white marking on the wing undersurface. A fellow passenger
identified them as albatrosses, pretty cool! At 1400 we attended a
bandoneon concert. The bandoneon is an
accordion-like instrument that is a mainstay for tango music. The concert would
have been much more interesting if there had been some dancers. At 1600 we
reached
Paso Summer, another
narrow, scenic location where the ship slowed to 6 knots in the shallow water
(only 4 ft of clearance under the
 |
| C.J. hanging on in 50-plus knot winds |
keel). At 1700,
Paso Shoal with another wreck, and at 1800 we entered the Straits
of Magellan and the wind picked up to 57 mph across the bow. When we went out
we had to hang on and we didn’t stay out long. During the afternoon while it
was raining, before Paso Shoal, we joined Lori and Bernie and others for drinks
( Miami Vice – half strawberry daiquiri, half pina colada) during
happy hour in the Crow’s Nest. This night was the second Gala-dress evening so
we broke out our more formal clothes, not that we had brought any gowns or a
tuxedo. We ate later, around 1840 and were seated with a Canadian couple from
Toronto (Chuck and Judy), an Aussie couple (Ken and Lois) from north of Sidney,
and Becky from Holland. C.J. had lamb in a pastry crust and I had duck beast;
both were very good. After dinner I caught part of the variety show and then we
went back to the room to figure out what, when and where we were up to on
Saturday in Punta Arenas, our last stop in Chile.
 |
| C.J. and Karen rafted up |
28 Nov, Sat – When we got up at
0630 we were already docked in Punta Arenas. Since our scheduled meeting time
for the kayak trip was 0900, we ate breakfast and gathered a change of clothes
and our gloves, warm hats, and rain gear. We were already wearing long
underwear and fleece uppers. The guides were predictably late but they had a
sign with “kayak” on it so it wasn’t too hard to figure out that they were
there looking for us and Karen, the one other person signed up for kayaking.
Apparently no one else on the ship was interested in possibly getting cold, wet
and tired – must go with the HAL demographic. It was about a 20 min drive to a
hosteria near Agua Fresca Bay where we put drypants with built-in feet on over
our street clothes. Then we put a similarly high quality drytop over our light
fleece. Wetsuit boots were then zipped over our feet and we were ready to
 |
| C.J. and artisan |
go.
Ricardo, Alejandro, and a third guide hooked up a trailer filled with Amaruk
doubles and a few singles, and drove across the AF River and down a track to
the beach near an abandoned Catholic school. The wind was SW and blowing hard
enough to make wind waves of 1-2 ft. No problem launching and C.J. and I quickly
got accustomed to the slightly more tippy kayak. We headed south down the coast
for about 2.5 mi passing one boat with a shellfish diver and rounding a cape.
We were glad to stop after 45 min and turn around because we knew that the
paddle back would be a lot more strenuous. The weather held to mostly cloudy
with only a short shower and we made it back to the beach where we just ran the
kayak onto the sand/gravel and the guides pulled us up – those plastic kayaks
can take a beating. After restacking the kayaks on the trailer we went back to
the hosteria, changed out of our still-mostly-dry outerwear, then went into the
dining room for a snack of cookies (including an alfajore), bread and jam
and tea. We got back to the ship about 1415 and took just enough time
 |
| Homemade pastries at the hosteria |
to pay
the guides ($210 incl tip, still cheaper than the ship excursion) and drop our wet gloves in the stateroom before
heading out to explore the area around the Plaza des Armas in Punta Arenas. We
caught a shuttle (required) from the ship to the main square and browsed the
artisan stalls until C.J. found the perfect unusual gift for her sister Ginny
and a cute knitted hat for
herself – that got rid of all but 15,000 Chilean
pesos, about $18-20US. We took some photos of the large Magellan monument with
its well-polished foot of one native figure. The local lore (tourist myth?) is
that if you rub it, you will return to Punta Arenas. Our selfie shows both of
us hanging on to
the bronze foot. We walked a few blocks to the north and then
back to the plaza where we found a Tourist Info place and got directions to the
municipal artisan center. We walked the six blocks down there but did not find
anything we liked so we returned to the plaza and caught a shuttle back to the
ship. Since we hadn’t eaten a meal since breakfast, we were ready for dinner at
1730. We got a window table again (we wanted to see the ship leave port) and
shared the table with two large, older women from NJ and a couple from PA. C.J.
had the roasted beef and I had a pasta dish with sausage and escarole. The
snickers pie for dessert was excellent. We took our computers to the theater so
we could work on labeling photos while we waited for the show by the Zaandam
Singers and Dancers. Later we sat in a window seat near the piano bar and
worked on photos while checking out the snow-covered mountains on the starboard
side as we glided through the Strait of Magellan until it got dark around 2200.
29 Nov, Sun – Up at 0630 so we could get out on deck for the
passage through “Glacier Alley”
on the Beagle Channel. Surprisingly the
mountains (mostly on the port side) were clear of clouds although there were
clouds below the summits here and there. . Since the view was not bad from the
Lido on the port side, I went inside to get breakfast; C.J. ate a few bites
then went back outside where the photography was better. The sky was overcast
with occasional breaks. We could see most of the Cordillera Darwin with a large
glacier that descended in several lobes (with names like Espana, Romanche, Alemania,
Franche, and Italia (in order from west to east). Farther along another lobe
came all the way down to the channel and there were some icebergs. The last
glacier as we passed an island to the right was the Italia Glacier (or maybe it
was the captain’s favorite, the Hollande). Lunch was somewhat early and we just
grabbed sandwiches at the Lido. We were scheduled to be able to go ashore at
Ushuaia at 1300 and everyone else wanted off at the same time so
there was a
bit of a line. We walked down the pier in a strong wind past two or maybe three
Antarctic cruise ships, much smaller than the Zaandam; one of them was the
National Geographic Explorer.
All the walk-off passengers went through port
security but that just meant we all walked through the building; nothing was
scanned. [Note: Argentina prohibits food from being brought into the country,
but there seemed to be no enforcement.] At the end of the pier there was a
somewhat understaffed TI. We finally got to ask about the trail at the ski
area. They gave us a map of the town, showed us where the
ski area (Glaciar
Martial) was and told us what a taxi usually cost. Feeling brave we went out
and hailed a taxi and headed up through the town and about 7 km up the mountain
to the trailhead, café/bar refuge and tearoom at about 1000 ft. The
“trail” was just the single ski run, now mostly gravel, lined with a forest of
lenga trees, no understory. After several stops to get my heartrate down, we
made reasonable time to the top of the ski lift at about 1850 ft. We thought
that the lift platform was the mirador and the view was good out over the
Strait of Magellan. Above the upper
terminus of the lift there was snow but a
trodden path followed what was obviously a regular trail in the summer.
Avoiding walking on the snow covering the rushing stream we climbed a couple
hundred feet to an area clear of snow with benches and an informational sign
about the glacier, balsam peat bog and other features. This must have been the
mirador, or at least
one mirador. The
trail continued mostly on gravel with some muddy patches and some snow. We
finally stopped another half mile up the trail before a long snow crossing and
a possible climb to a pass. It was a good place to have a snack and start back
down. It was about 1515 and we had started up at 1400. Going back was pretty
fast although C.J. had some problems with her toes. We hooked up with another
couple from S.CA from the ship and shared a taxi back to the port. On the
way back to the ship we stopped at a post office shop and C.J. sent a post card
to Ginny and Wally ($4 which included a special cancellation “Fin del Monde”).
It was after 1700 by then so we got ready for dinner and ate with two elderly
ladies from Calgary and another couple from Toronto. C.J. had red wine-braised
brisket and I had Chicken Cassoulet with white beans and sausage. The evening show
was “
Tango Pasion” and the dancers
were amazing. Afterward C.J. and I went up to the Explorations café/library and
wrote in our journals or labeled photos. Our plan was to go to bed relatively
early so we could get some rest before getting up early for the passage within
sight of Cape Horn between 0600 and 0700 (depending on the weather).
 |
| Ushuaia panorama from the pier |
30 Nov, Mon – After being awakened
at 0315 by the phone buzzing (an unplanned wakeup call,
maybe?) we got up at
0530 so we could be on deck for the passage around Cape Horn. It turned out
that the ship spent an hour circumnavigating the island so we had a rainy view
(typical of 270 days of the year) of all sides. We saw the albatross monument
and the lighthouse buildings from both sides as well as the iconic Cathedral
Rocks (?). It wasn’t terribly windy and the sea was pretty calm (but too windy
and rainy to be out on the bow. Charles Darwin wrote,"One sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril and death."
After the ship circled the island, C.J. and I
went up to the Lido for breakfast. Later we went to the Explorations café where
I fell asleep in the too warm room while C.J. worked on her photos. At 1000 we
attended a lecture on the discovery and explorers of “the bottom of the world”
by Brett. I left a bit early so
 |
| Wet weather rounding the Horn, Cathedral Rocks |
I could get to the Photo Gallery software class
on pop art, collages and panorama. Then we got together in the library to watch
a film of an 8000 ton sailing ship making the passage around the Cape. Lunch
had Korean as the Asian food of the day so I had some short ribs and a chicken
stir-fry dish. The dessert section wasn’t large enough for the profusion of
desserts so it was expanded – some really good mousses and some puddings that
looked really good but were rather tasteless. The magazine alpha was finally
available for editing so C.J. worked on that during the afternoon and evening.
At the library there was a narrated 37 min B and W film loop shot on an 8000
ton square rigger, one of the last to go around the Horn - impressive
seamanship.
Memorial poem by Chilean author Sara Vial
in honor of the sailors who died "rounding the Horn"
engraved on a plaque at the base of the Albatross Monument
I, the albatross that awaits you at the end of the world
I, the forgotten soul of the sailors lost
that crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of the world.
But die they did not in the fierce waves, for today towards eternity in my wings
they soar in the last crevice of the Antarctic winds.
I went back to the 1630 class on organizing photos. By the time
that was finished and we had returned to the cabin to change,
 |
Albatross monument on Cape Horn
Chilean sculptor Jose Balcells, 1992 |
it was almost
dinner time, at least for us early birds. We got a table in the stern where we
could see the rolling waves which were forecast to get to 5m (17ft) by early
morning. Gale force winds are forecast for Stanley and it sounds like the long
ride in on the tenders might be rock-and-roll. The show was a one-woman show by
Puerto Rican singer and actress Natalie Toro backed up by the ship’s Neptune
orchestra. The strong SW winds, Beaufort 11 - almost hurricane in force,
arrived around 2145, much earlier than expected and the ship did some pretty
serious rolling. Even during the show Natalie in her 5-inch heels was
staggering around the stage a bit. There was an Indonesian crew member show at
2300 which sort of reminded us of a junior high talent show, but it was still
fun. Getting to sleep was a little challenging with the rolling of the ship but
I was surprised that I dropped off pretty quickly and went back to sleep after
getting up the usual two times.
1 Dec, Tue – C.J. got up at 0645
so she could go to the Explorations Café (library) to try to send her
 |
| C.J. working in Explorations Cafe |
completed
edit of the magazine alpha. She had a good connection and didn’t have to use
much of the one hour that was left on the 250 minutes ($100) she bought early
on the trip. [I used it once or twice to get a map or Google Earth info; and I
didn’t sign out when we went to lunch so I wasted at least 60 min!] When we got
out on deck the ship was cruising slowly along the coast of the Falkland
Islands (two main islands and about 700 smaller islets). The wind was still
blowing a gale and the little harbor patrol boat was splashing waves over the
whole boat as it cruised into the wind.
 |
| Windy in the Falklands - pilot boat |
The captain kept us informed about
conditions while we anchored but he wasn’t too optimistic – winds of 50 knots
and higher gusts were too much for tendering. Finally Captain Wouter van
Hoogdalem announced that the winds were not abating and that the forecast was
for continued strong winds – tendering was canceled and we were to be heading
early to Montevideo. Except for the wind the weather was great - mostly clear
skies and sunshine let us see Stanley (pop. About 2000) and the barren land
surrounding the port. C.J. and I didn’t feel like we missed anything except the
experience of being in another country (where we could maybe have used the
twenty pound note we had brought back from our brief foray in London.
 |
| Tenders/lifeboats prepared for lowering |
Most of
the passengers who booked excursions had been expecting to see penguins at one
beach or another. We spent most of the time while anchored out on the
walkaround, Deck 3, where the wind was so strong that it was hard to hold a
camera steady, and pushing open a door was sometimes impossible. Part of the
deck was cordoned off so that the lifeboats/tenders could be positioned for
lowering into the water. The crew put the temporary pier for loading/unloading
the tenders over the side but the waves kept washing over it. That was a good
clue about the conditions. Later C.J. went swimming with Lori while Bernie and
I hung out on the pool deck. They were the only people in the sloshing, surging
pool which felt kind of cold to me. Afterward they warmed up in the hot tub.
After a shower we went to a special Indonesian brunch at the main dining room.
 |
| Entrance to main dining room |
We got there about 1345 and the food was almost all gone – we figured that they
must have planned for most people being gone on shore during lunch time. More
food was brought out later – there was nasi goreng (fried rice), chicken sate
(skewers), bami goreng (seasoned stewed beef cubes) and some other foods (we
have the menu). After lunch we got dessert at the Lido where it looked like
just about the same items were being served but with even more variety. We got
to Brett’s “Panama Canal vs Cape Horn” presentation early and worked on our
journals. The hour-long Panama Canal lecture with slides covered almost
everything we got from “Uncle Marty” on the Celebrity PC cruise so it was a
good review. I took a picture of just about every projected slide. Next we took
a nap; this cruising is tiring stuff. I managed to wake up just barely in time
for another Digital Workshop, this one on using OneDrive. By the time I got
back C.J. was awake and wondering where I was. It was almost time for dinner so
that’s where we headed next. It was prime rib night, more than enough to eat,
for sure. We sat with Ron, the chaplain from Yakima and Ourla from Ireland.
Back at the room we downloaded photos and worked on them enough to miss the
beginning of the show for the evening. We went to the late show at 2200
instead. It was another production number by the Zaandam singers and dancers:
“Forever Rock”, a rock and roll loose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet and
Hamlet. The costumes and choreography were really good.
 |
| Digital workshop |
Dec 2, Wed – Didn’t wake up until
0830. It was an “at sea” day so we didn’t do much. After breakfast I went to
two Windows 10 classes at 1030 and 1130. C.J. worked on whittling her photos
down to something reasonable so she could share them with Lori and Bernie. [I
failed to complete today’s journal in a timely manner and by the time I got
around to it, much of the events of the day had flown out of my brain.] At 1430
we went to a presentation by Brett on what to see and do in Montevideo and
Buenos Aires. Then at 1530 I went to another Windows 10 presentation about
using Moviemaker. Surf and turf was on the menu for dinner but I had something
else.The evening shows were at 1900 and 2100 to allow time for the Captain’s
Masquerade Ball. We ate early as usual and then went to the later show. It was
“The Pampas Devils Gauchos”, two guys and a gal who played drums, danced and
spun boleadores (bolas). Very entertaining. We made our way through the crowd
in the Crow’s Nest just to see what a masquerade ball night look like. There
were a very few people wearing Mardi Gras-like masks but only a few. A bunch of
the ship’s officers were there but nothing much seemed to be happening. I’m sure
there was going to be music and dancing but it was too crowded for us so we
headed back to our cabin.
Dec 3, Thu – Another at-sea day so
I didn’t get up until C.J. had already gone up to the library to check email to
be sure her uploaded alpha had made it to USHPA (it had). We had only a little
fruit,
 |
| "Monkey" towel critter in our stateroom |
tea/cocoa and pastry for breakfast because we were invited to the
Mariner Brunch at 1100. I went to at least one more Digital Workshop at 0930 on
photo organization. At 1000 we sat in on most of a presentation on Argentine
history and culture by the Bandoneon player, Matilde. It was somewhat
challenging to interpret what she said and what was translated on her slides.
We missed the mini concert played on the large organ that fills three stories
of the Atrium. Then at 1300 we got a behind the scenes (virtual) bridge tour in
the Mondriaan Lounge. Since I kept falling asleep, I went down to the cabin to
rest for an hour and C.J. went to a class on towel folding. At 1500 we had
Indonesian Tea (for sale by HAL) in the upper dining room with Lori It was kind
of fun and we agreed to meet later at the pool and hot tubs. I surprised myself
by actually getting in the pool. The water wasn’t cold and the covered Lido
deck (the roof was only slightly open) kept the air relatively warm. You could
tell that we had traveled toward the equator by the warmed temps. On the way
back from the pool we stopped at the jewelry shop and I bought C.J. a
bracelet-earring-necklace set for our anniversary. [Hey, they were on sale.] I
caught another Windows 10 class and then we hit the early seating for dinner.
C.J. had a tasty pork chop
 |
| C.J. and Lori in Lido hot tub |
|
and I had the Corvina (rock fish) fillet. We sat
with couple from Toronto and another couple from Rhode Island. I excused myself
right after dessert to go talk to Brett during his Q-and-A time about what to
do in Montevideo and BA. I also recovered C.J.’s green fleece hoody from Lost
and Found [Earlier C.J. amazingly got one of her favorite earrings back from
Lost and Found]. We went up on the deck in the pleasantly warm air and watched the
ship dock at Montevideo. We came in past a bunch of anchored wrecks that Brett
referred to as “the Montevideo Yacht Club”. We were soon tied to the dock and
by 2000 passengers were going ashore. We weren’t up for a big city at night so
we got caught up on journals and went to the nightly show (only one this
night), piano virtuoso Rogerio Tutti, at 2130. He was amazing and the audience
loved him.
 |
| Welcome to Montevideo selfie |
 |
| Taking the bull by the horns - Artigas Monument |
4 Dec, Fri – We slept in until
0800 and then went to breakfast while everyone else probably rushed off the
ship. A big Norwegian Cruise Line ship came in and docked near us. We disembarked
before the cruisers from the Norwegian Sun could get off so it wasn’t too
crowded near the port. There was a Ministry of Tourism building just before one
left the port area and there appeared to be free wi-fi there but we didn’t
stick around to punch in the password figuring there would be other places with
free wi-fi later. We picked up a good free map which pointed out a suggested
walking tour of the old city. There were some artisan and souvenir stalls
around the Mercado del Puerto but we kept meandering along the pedestrian
street (Perez Castellanos) To Washington where we cut over to the left (west, I
think) to Plaza Zabla. Then we continued west on Washington to Plaza
Constitution. There we jogged north to Sarandi, another pedestrian
street/shopping mall, and walked west all the way to the restored gate to the
old walled city (1959). There was a little sprinkle of rain, just enough for us
to put on hats but not our rain jackets. It stayed warm but not hot. Passing
through the arch and crossing the busy Ituzaingo Street brought us to Plaza
Independencia, the central square of Montevideo. It was dominated by huge
equestrian statue of Artigas, the Father of Uruguay. Below the monument was a
dimly lighted memorial containing his ashes guarded by two motionless soldiers
in ancient dress uniforms. It was at
 |
| Palacio Salvo |
first hard to tell that they were not
statues. After wandering about the square for a while and taking a bunch of
photos of the imposing Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building in South
America, we followed an alternate route back toward the port. We saw the Teatro
Solis, built in the mid 1800’s, the cathedral, and many ornate buildings. We
stopped for a quick tour of the Museo Romantico, which showcased the life of
the wealthy from the past. When we neared the Mercado del Puerto again we could
see that the activity level had picked up with more stalls. We ducked inside
the building which now contains restaurants which mostly specialize in grilling
meats,
parrilladas. They all looked
great and if we weren’t already eating so well on the ship we might have
stopped for lunch since it was just after noon. On the way past the Ministry of
Tourism I stopped to try to get enough of a wireless signal on my NZ phone to
pick up email but had no luck. We were back on the ship by 1300 or so and just
made it to the Lido before it closed. The only serving station that was still
open was the Asian specialty station and the lunch was good (but maybe not as
good as at a
parrillada). After lunch
we downloaded photos and I caught up on my journal sitting out
 |
| Parrillada at Mercado del Puerto |
on the deck
chairs on Deck 3. Shortly after 1600 we hit the Crow’s Nest for a happy hour
Pisco Sour (9.74). There was no crowd and we could grab two of the comfortable
lounge chairs which gave us a great view out over Montevideo. At 1730 I caught
another Windows 10 class in the Digital Workshop sponsored by Microsoft. There
were only two other attendees. Most folks were already thronging the Lido deck
for the South American “Gaucho Asado”. C.J. dropped in to tell me that Lori and
Bernie had grabbed a table for the four of us, so when John was finished with
the presentation I went right to the Lido deck and found Bernie. The dinner was
an amazing spread of sausages, lamb, pork and beef with some salads and
veggies. There was even “barbecued cheese”, a fondue-like provolone. The
desserts were also over the top. The Neptune band was playing and there was
room for people to dance. The cooks and servers even got into the spirit by
dancing on the edge of the pool with their serving implements. C.J. got into
the spirit (or spirits), too by ordering us a happy hour-priced pair of
Sangria. After a bit of time taken to recover from the eating orgy, we went to
the 2000 show: “Elements” by the Zaandam dancers and singers. Lots of great
dancing and use of lighting.
5 Dec, Sat – We reached our final
destination, Buenos Aires, around 0730 (which was shortly after I
 |
| Evita on downtown bldg |
woke up. C.J.
had gotten up early and gone to check to see if the beta was up. It wasn’t. We
ate breakfast in the main dining room for the first time with a couple from
Tucson. Good food, which seemed even better for having it delivered on china by
a uniformed waiter, rather than the cafeteria-style dining in the Lido buffet.
Around 1000 we left the ship and took the free shuttle a very short distance to
the terminal building. The crowd was pretty thick at the TI, but I managed to
snag a map and we gave up on anything else (Lori had already told us that the
Wi-Fi wasn’t very good). Out on the street we stood on the corner for a while
trying to figure out where exactly we were. The map was kind of confusing
because it had south up unlike our basic map from the ship. We finally took off
along Ave des Immigrantes, crossed a main
 |
| C.J. at Heladeria Cadore |
thoroughfare (Av Antartida Argentina) on a long pedestrian
bridge and then walked past the crowd at the Retiro bus terminal and the train
terminal. Thinking that we might be able to check out our hotel, we turned
right on Libertador and walked just beyond the ramp from a divided highway
which emptied onto the widest boulevard in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio. We
took a street to the left and got onto Alvear street where we thought the hotel
should be but the street ended long before the number (742) came up. A more
thorough look at the map showed that the hotel was really located on Marcelo T.
de Alvear street which was on the far side of 9 de Julio. So we decided to just
walk down 9 de Julio past the Torre des Ingleses (renamed to
Torre Monumental after the
Falklands/Malvinas war) to the Obelisk and the Teatro Colon. In the distance we
could see a giant (10 story) face of Eva Peron on the Ministry
 |
| El Atenao bookstore |
of Health
building farther downtown. We turned right on busy Corrientes and then deviated a
block to the right to a small plaza (Tribunales) where we took a break and had
some water from the 8 oz bottle we were carrying (not enough for a warm, sunny
day!). Then we got back on Corrientes and walked north a ways, almost to Av. Callao,
where we found a gelato shop (Heladeria Cadore) recommended by our guide book
from the ship. We decided that gelato for lunch was a viable idea so I had
coffee flavor and chocolate with Cointreau; C.J. had pineapple and dulce de
leche granzinado. We then turned back toward the ship, or at
least in that general direction up Callao. [I had managed to get my NZ phone connected to
some Wi-Fi in the little park and was able to use Google Maps to show where we were
and what some landmarks around were even though I did not have a local SIM card.] The map showed El Atenao, the old Grand
Splendid Theater now a bookstore, was nearby so we detoured to have a look
inside. Pretty impressive for a bookstore – it reminded me of the Library of
Congress! From there it wasn’t
too
far to the famous Recoleta
 |
| Tomb of Eva Peron in Recoleta |
Cemetery (
cementario,
in Sp). We made a pit stop in the Recoleta Mall before joining the weekend (and
cruise) crowd at the walled cemetery filled with ornate mausoleums. After some
wandering and a little help from someone who spoke English, we found the tomb
of Eva Peron, Evita. It had the name of her family, Duarte, rather than Peron.
On the way out we followed a pedestrian route through a large number of artisan
stalls, most of them souvenirs like tango paintings. By then we were both tired,
having covered over seven miles according to C.J.’s Fitbit, so we took the most
direct route back following Posadas and Libertador to Immigrantes, past the terminals,
over the pedestrian bridge and finally to the port terminal and a shuttle bus
to the ship, our home for one last night. [Total distance was about 9.4 miles
if the Fitbit is to be believed.] Instead of resting, we started packing
because our bags had to be outside our room by midnight. Then we got showers
and went to our last dinner. It was just as good as our first dinner, even
better because we were hungrier. C.J had a lamb shank and I had the
herb-encrusted
 |
| Souvenir stall display - Recoleta |
prime rib. We followed up by sharing three desserts: baked
Alaska, marinated pear fondue, and esterel cake. We ate with a couple from
Camano Island, Walt and ? Then we finished packing except for what we’d need
in the morning. The 2130 show was Rogerio Tutti and Natalie Toro, good but not
outstanding. C.J. checked with Lori about plans for a boat tour of the Tigre
River and delta. The driver is supposed to pick us up at 1000, cost $125 ea,
not sure about whether we can pay with credit card and not sure about how to
get back to our hotel (Lori and Bernie are going directly to the airport). We
may catch them at breakfast, if not then at the terminal where we pick up our
bags.
6 Dec, Sun – Disembarkation Day –
Up at 0700 so we could finish packing and get breakfast before
 |
| Farewell from the Zaandam crew representatives |
they called our
group, one of the last, to debark. Wouldn’t you know it, the one day
when we
are leaving the safety net of the ship we run into a couple at breakfast
who
were robbed in BA; it was the bird dropping scam and the pickpocket got
away
with $300 plus credit cards and ID. C.J. sent me off with the last
sixteen
minutes of our 250 internet minutes to check in for our LAN flight on
Monday. I
was successful with just one minute left. By then the PA was announcing that
all
passengers could go ashore so we took our one rolling bag and our
backpacks and
joined the line at the gangway. The cruise director and representatives
from
all the service groups were there to wave goodbye, a nice touch. We had
already
touched base with Lori and were planning to meet them at baggage claim
or in
the café just outside but we ran into the tour guy holding a
 |
| G, C.J., Lori and Bernie aboard the Bruma |
makeshift
sign saying “Lori”
so we waited with him until L and B appeared. Carlos Serantes, known as “Chuck”,
loaded
us and our gear into his small Renault Fluence and drove us NW on a
tollway to
a marina on the Tigre River (or maybe it was the Rio Lujan in the Tigre
Delta?). There we boarded a motor launch big enough for
twenty [The Bruma, a converted log-hauling boat, 16.5m x 4.8m) and took
off onto the channels of the delta. There were lots of other
motorboats (and sculls, seadoos and a few kayaks) as this was a holiday
weekend (Feast of the Immaculate Conception)
and the water was choppy from all the wakes, and brown from the current
stirring up the bottom. We went downwind and against the current until
Chuck
took us into a narrow channel, passing a
Christo Redemptor statue, where we were traveling
 |
| Ready to board the Bruma at San Fernando |
with the current.
Although he was hoping to make a loop trip by taking the narrow channel, we had
to turn around to avoid losing steerage. Back we went and then turned into
another wide place where several boats were anchored. We dropped anchor, too, and
soon the wide area seemed to fill up with other boats also stopping for lunch
or something. We had already had brie and thin-sliced dried meat with wine,
beer or Coke. Now, Walt, the cook, prepared a real
parrilla of Argentine tenderloin beef on a charcoal grill. There
was also a potato casserole and a big salad with tomatoes and avocado.
Everything was delicious, the best meat we had the whole trip. There was
 |
| Lunch on the stern of the Bruma |
even a
flan-like dessert. Although the sun was hot, we had to don fleece and
windbreakers as we sat in the shade in the stern. After lunch we hung out on
anchor for a while and then motored back to the marina. The four of us had been
discussing what to do to get to the airport/hotel, and we could have gotten a taxi,
or Chuck would have driven us to the train station (then bus to airport or taxi
to hotel). For convenience and lower stress we decided on the third option:
Chuck would drive L and B to the airport and drop us off at the hotel (Sheltown
at 742 Marcelo T. de Alvear) for $100 (so that was $50 for us; the boat tour
was $250 and Chuck didn’t take credit cards - our cash was down to end-of-trip level). We made it and had some money
left, but not so much that we could be throwing it around. When we got to the
hotel it looked good for a place that charged only $43 for a night. It was
not far from Av 9 de Julio and
 |
| Plaza San Martin |
Calle Florida, the pedestrian shopping street.
We checked in and arranged for a taxi at 0500, paid the desk $35 and got a
voucher. After checking out our room which was not much larger than our cabin
on the ship, we went out for a short walk since it was only 1830. We walked to
Av 9 de Julio, up to Santa Fe then back past Plaza San Martin to Calle Florida
which looked busy enough that we felt okay walking a couple of blocks. It
really wasn’t all that interesting to non-shoppers, even though there were
Christmas decorations strung across the street. We walked back on Cordoba and
Maupi and returned to our room where I caught up on my journal and C.J. rested
until about 2000 when she decided to go to bed – sounded pretty good to me, too.
The room was quiet enough but we didn’t sleep very soundly, maybe worrying
about the alarm not waking us in time to catch the taxi.
7 Dec, Mon -It seemed like I had
only just fallen into deep sleep when the alarm woke us up at 0415. I got a
shower and we repacked the one suitcase we had opened. When I looked out the
window to the street in front of the hotel I saw a couple of cars but no taxi.
But when we got down to the desk, about ten minutes early, we found our driver
was already there. Apparently we weren’t going to have to deal with the “taxi
mafia” to get to the airport. It was quite a long ride to Ezeiza (EZE) airport,
at least a half hour, some of it on toll roads. I gave the driver our last
(only) pesos (50 ARP) and we rolled our bags to the LAN check-in. Even though
the rolling duffel showed a weight of 23.5 kg, there was no hassle and we got
our boarding passes and proceeded through a quick security scan. The route to
our gate went through a big Duty Free store as usual. We had seats way in the
back of the plane but the view was good particularly as we passed over the
Andes and the coast just south of Iquique, Chile. We landed in Lima and had a
couple of hours to wait while our plane was cleaned and refueled. We had to go
through immigration but we did not get a stamp in our passports, so I guess we
haven’t really been to Peru. Much of city seemed to consist of boring tan-brown
apartment buildings but we could just make out the (soarable) tall hotel
buildings on the bluff above the shore as we departed. Perhaps we should
consider a trip to Lima-Cuzco-Macchu Picchu sometime (after we recover from
this long flight). We had had something like a melted cheese sandwich plus wine
or other drinks once we got past the turbulence over the Andes on the first
leg. On the Lima-LAX leg we had two meals. LAN is certainly not trying to
compete with the food on Singapore or Emirates, but we had enough to keep us
from being hungry. When we were ready to board (after getting “selfies with a
llama” from a LG advertising kiosk), there was a carry-on inspection and we had
to surrender our water. Fortunately, on the plane, along with the blanket and
pillow, there was a new bottle of water. Once in LA and through the automated
passport check kiosk and clearing customs, we left our checked bags on their
way to Alaska Airlines for our 0700 flight - about ten hours to wait. Hoping to
get an earlier flight, we walked from the International terminal to Terminal 6,
quite a ways, to see if Alaska could change our flight. Emilio, at the special
services desk said he couldn’t do anything (even though there was an abundance
of seats on two flight before midnight) because the flight was booked through
LAN, but he gave us a number to call LAN. When we called, the connection was
scratchy and the agent’s accent was hard to understand. He said someone would
call back in two hours or less but suggested talking to a LAN agent at LAX. So
back we walked to the international terminal where the LAN agent, Sr. Oro, at
the ticket sales desk was very helpful and got us tickets for seats on AS 471
at 2355. We returned to Alaska and got another agent, Susan, because Emilio was
busy. At first she could not find any record of us, then when she used our
conf. no., she was able to issue us boarding passes and even called the baggage
people to see if they could shift our bags to flight 471. Going through
security was kind of stressful because the TSA agents seemed to be nervous or
high-strung or something. But we had no problem and we soon reached our gate. I
spent most of the waiting time working on my travel journal and charging my
phone. Then I ran down to order a mocha milkshake at The Habit just
about when the gate agent started calling the first passengers to board. I
checked to make sure I had time to wait until I was paged for the milkshake and
was assured that there was no problem, particularly since the flight was only a
third filled. So C.J. boarded and I carried my shake aboard when it was ready.
The flight was about three hours and we tried to sleep to alleviate our
scratchy eyes. There was no seatback entertainment system but apparently you
could access the on board internet and watch a selection of films and listen to
music, but not surf the internet –that cost money.
 |
| Did we have a great time on our cruise? |
8 Dec, Tue - We reached Seattle around
0230 (that would be 2130 in BA time, and we had been flying since 0800. That
makes 13.5 hours flight plus waiting-in-the-terminal time); all three of our
bags quickly arrived and we got the shuttle back to the Sandstone Inn.
It wasn’t as warm as Buenos Aires but it was raining, not snowing [We had flown
through what looked like heavy snow as we descended into SEA] so it wasn’t all
that cold. Still, we were glad to have our fleece jackets and rain parkas. We were
home by 0400 and found the house cold but undamaged by any fallen trees or
feral cats. After letting the bed warm up with the mattress heater, we went to
bed hoping to get enough sleep so we could function for the rest of the day. I
guess we got about five hours before getting up, unpacking and starting to wash
all the accumulated dirty laundry, even the stuff we had rinsed out in the
cabin sink. I picked up the mail and got some fruit at QFC; C.J. made an
appointment with her dentist to have her crown permanently emplaced. Then we
had an early dinner with the ham we had bought before the cruise. Stretching
our jetlagged brains and bodies, we still went to the KT Squares dance
workshop. But by 2115 we knew that we wouldn’t be able to participate in the Advanced
lesson so we said good night to Steve Noseck who was subbing for Kevin. Linda
was there however, and she reported that Kevin’s knee surgery that day went
well and he expected to be back calling in a couple of weeks. The trip home was
just as rainy as the trip to Maple Valley. There was a flood warning due to the
heavy rain, warm temperatures and melting of the recent mountain snowfall. Our
front yard stream was flowing strongly and didn’t start going down until midday
Wednesday.
