Jan 30 2015 Friday

Landed in Buenos Aires early morning after a 6 hour flight to Panama City and a 7 hour flight to Argentina. Got maybe 2 hours of restless sleep. I hope to stay up for the 6 hour city tour. The pickup driver was waiting for us and drove us to the BA Hilton. He doesn't speak English so it's a quiet ride through rush hour traffic.

The Hilton is very nice in the “safe” area of Puerto Madero. It makes you think that the rest of BA isn't that safe. We wait about an hour in the lobby for Virginia who was waiting for us somewhere else. She's a calm person that speaks very good English. We jump into the same van with driver that picked us up at the airport and headed to Plaza de Mayo. First stop was the Cathedral de Buenos Aires - it was similar to, but not as spectacular as the Italian cathedrals that we've seen. Pretty mosaic tile art on the floor, religious scenes and prayer areas on the side. We were able to see the guards perform the ceremonial opening of Capitan General D. Jose San Martin’s mausoleum.

Crossed the street to the center park area where there were imprints of white scarves on the ground around a statue monument commemorating the 25 May 1810 revolution for independence from Spain. 9 July 2016 is the actual Independence Day.  The scarves represented mothers protesting the disappearance of their sons during the oppression of the 1970s when tens of thousands of dissenters disappeared with no trace or acknowledgement by the military government.  We saw a large crowd congregating in front of the Capitol building where Eva Peron was known to speak to the people. They were waiting to enter the Capitol to hear the president speak at noon. A bus playing music also stopped by celebrating the anniversary of the Falkland war.

We then drove to San Telmo, and visited a traditional home area to see where the upper class  first lived and later moved out due to disease. This area was later inhabited by poor immigrants from Western Europe.  (This probably wasn't a real safe area because Virginia told Byron to place his camera over his neck.) We walked down to a mercado/farmers market area before driving to our next stop, the La Boca/La Caminito area. La Boca (the river’s mouth) is where the ships came to drop off their goods. The sailors used to visit the brothels along the river. This area is well known for its colorful buildings - the poor used left over paint from others to paint their corrugated sheet metal homes.  We saw figures of Maradona, Eva Peron, and some general staring down from a balcony. We came to a corner where Tango couples would try to get tourists to pay $10 for pictures with them. Up the next street were many restaurants that had Tango dancers to entice people into the restaurant. We learned that Tango was originally danced by two men because there weren't any women – then with prostitutes – and it was only after the dance became popular in Europe that it was accepted by the upper classes in Argentina.  (The music of the tango was a mixture of the various immigrant cultures.)

As we left the area, we drove by the Boca futbol stadium. Supposedly two teams played at the stadium when first built and they played a game to determine who stayed and who had to leave. The losing team eventually got a nicer, newer stadium in a better part of town.

We headed over to La Tortino, one of the oldest restaurants in town for lunch. Very interesting and unusual décor but blah food. We learned that a salad in Argentina does not involve lettuce unless it's specifically stated.

From there we headed to the La Recoleta area and its famous cemetery. Recoleta had many beautiful homes – some have been converted into embassies for France and Brazil.  By this time we were all dozing off during our city drive.  Fortunately we were able to stretch our legs at Recoleta cemetery.  We’ve never seen a place with so many tightly packed mausoleums and tombs. There were some very simple headstones, but there were many beautifully designed mausoleums with unique stories like the General (who accompanied General Martin over the Andes) who wanted to be buried in the Andes, but his relatives felt it was too far away, so they built his mausoleum using rocks from the Andes – or the young girl that was entombed when she was still alive. The most famous person buried here is Eva Peron. Never knew the story of her body being stolen by General Aramburo (who overthrew Peron) and was lost for 16 years, then found and taken to Milan where Juan Peron was exiled, then buried in a simple tomb but under her original family’s name (Duarte) in the cemetery. Somewhere along the way, Gen. Aramburo’s body was stolen and held for “ransom” until Eva Peron’s body was returned. Our  last stop of the day was at the Recoleta church next door to the cemetery before heading back to the hotel. We caught a glimpse of the famous Teatro Colon, one of the five top opera houses in the world.

Back at the hotel, we coasted in the lobby until dinner. Grandma and Byron walked across the river on the Womens Bridge to find food while Karen caught up on sleep. We were all out by 8pm that night. And miracle of miracles, Byron even slept in until 6am.

 

Jan 31 2015 Saturday

Woke up and took a stroll along the river. Crossed the Womens bridge again and had breakfast at McDonalds. The language barrier won when we received only half of the items that we actually thought we ordered.

I didn't mention that the Hilton was a very large and beautiful hotel. Spacious rooms with lots of amenities and a large open lounge area that we frequented. It is also close to the residence of soccer player Messi, although he plays and lives in Barcelona.

Took a taxi to the cruise port around noon. Would have been around $5 if we had pesos but paid $15 at the taxi’s exchange rate.

We were warned to expect a long embarkation process due to 3 ships being in port and slow immigration process. We were happy when it went very quickly and we were on board in 45 minutes. We coincidentally ran into the Fullertons just as we got out of the taxi.

We snuck into the dining room for lunch just minutes before they closed. We explored the ship, then it was dinner already. Surprised to see that there was one other guest at the dinner table with us and the Fullertons, Sandra from Toronto who had just escaped 19degree weather! Very nice frequent traveler.

The evening show was very strange. An Argentine folkloric dance troupe and a Patagonian band - with an emcee (McCloskey?) whose father played with Tommy Dorsey at USC. Strange because it was on a bare stage with no props or backdrops. The elderly emcee would  randomly repeat the names of the dance and dancers (“Sergio and Rowena” and “hui, hui, hui!”) throughout the performances and would hum and sing along in random fashion also. Gary entertained us with his face making – even the couple behind him got a kick out of it as well. Overall it was strange and nothing like a typical Princess production… Making us wonder if it was a last minute substitute act. Nevertheless it was interesting seeing three generations of the family perform.

We closed the night at the karaoke bar where only the Princess crew volunteered to perform. They had no luck recruiting any volunteers. At its peak there were about four fellow cruisers watching the show. Stephanie went into the lounge to support one of the crew who sang his second song.

 

1 Feb Super Bowl Sunday

Excursion to the Tigre river delta, the Rio de la Plata. Didn't know what to expect but was surprised to find a combination of a Louisiana bayou and the Venice canals. The delta is 250 km at the widest point and consists of many, many islands separated by 5000 canals.

Andrea was our tour guide and took us on a one hour bus ride to the delta. We passed through many towns such as Palermo, Olivos and we stopped at San Isidro to see the cathedral and take a banos  break. An arts and crafts fair was just starting to set up so we didn't see too many vendors. Not surprisingly, Sunday service was being performed so we couldn't tour the church. Got to meet Ed, an Albuquerque tour director who takes groups to Hawaii. He wanted to know if I really worked as a Hawaii Five O film crew. (Yes, that shirt is such a conversation starter.) After rejoining the bus we reached our destination 20 minutes later. The area was packed with locals spending time at the river.

We hopped on a riverboat “catamaran” that took us on an hour cruise through the various canals. Was surprised to see so many waterways with a wide range of shanties to luxury homes on its banks. All supplies have to be boated in. There are boats acting as markets, school buses, church buses, ambulance, taxis and more. Houses purify river water for gray water purposes like laundry and showers but drinking and cooking water must be brought in. Most homes have docks and boat lifts and are built on stilts to accommodate unpredictable river water levels.

The water levels are affected by the winds. Homes in the area range from $30,000 - $100,000 USD. (All homes are priced in USD.) Easy to imagine living in such a tropical setting. We were told to not wear black and to expect mosquitos, but we did not see or experience any. (Yes, Karen was bite free!) There were no “no wake” zones, as most boats zipped around quickly and seemed to cause a lot of wave action.  We felt sorry for those paddling in small canoes since they were rocked about by the wake. Interesting area of the country that I would not have expected

 

2 Feb Monday

What we learned about Montevideo, Uruguay. You pronounce it “Ooh Roo Gwai”. The official name of the country is the Republic Oriental of Uruguay and the people are called Orientals not Uruguayans. Montevideo is translated and named for six hills that are part of the city and has a population of 1.5M. The country’s independence was in 1845 and brokered by Great Britain to end a conflict between Spain and Portugal. It was originally claimed by Spain, who did not settle it because it lacked gold or silver. Portugal took over by “homesteading” the land when Spain wasn't paying attention. Then Spain got upset and retook the the land. Montevideo was established by Spain and was enclosed by a wall. Today, only an arch remains from the wall and is in the Plaza Independencia. The bay that fronts the city, Rio de la Plata, was declared a river for political purposes instead of an estuary. An estuary would be subject to international maritime rules while a river is controlled by the country. The most famous person in Uruguayan history is  General Artigas who has a statue in the Plaza. He did not have anything to do with independence but he did have a grand plan to create a United Republic of territories to include Uruguay and portions of Argentina. His plan failed but he is still a part of history due to his intent. A United Republic flag flies next to the Uruguayan flag in the Plaza.

Today We visited Montevideo Cathedral, similar the one in Buenos Aires, and the Solis Theatre, the only one in the city. Renovated in 1999 after ownership was transferred from private to Government ownership. We drove through the old part of town, the Centenario soccer stadium, and the beaches along La Ramba. We also visited the mercado del puerto where we were treated to a “mate” drink that is extremely popular in the country. Tea like but very strong and mood enhancing.

We ended the day with lunch at the Port Marketplace across the street from the cruise terminal. The language barrier struck again when we unknowingly ordered $88 of a meat sampler dish of which half of the items were barely edible. It was a fabulous 86 degree sunny day.

Jorge was a fun tour guide that we found on Trip Advisor and Adam &Carol from New Jersey kept us company all day.

 

3 Feb Tuesday Sea Day

Read Term Limits by Vince Flynn.

Stardust is a Princess production “of Days Gone Past” Grandma would like the music if she would stay awake

 

4 Feb Wednesday Puerto Madryn

Surprising rain started and ended our day. In between we had cloudy but warm weather. Diane was our bus guide. The city was settled by Welsh immigrants and named for a famous Welshman. Puerto Madryn is flat and has no trees. The area has so little rainfall that trees do not grow. They reclaim gray water for some irrigation but all of the water must be brought in. Interesting that fires are not fought with water since there isn't any. We saw a few herds of sheep and Guanacos, llama like animals, on the two hour drive to the Estancio San Lorenzo Ranch. We sat in the back of the bus and met a nice couple from North of Orlando, Jim and Joanne.

The Magellan penguin nesting area did not disappoint with thousands of adorable birds all over the place. Magellans are a smaller penguin as compared to the larger Emperor, King, or Gentoo. They are fearless of humans and pretty much ignore our presence. Explored the nesting area and beaches for an hour before having lunch at the ranch house.

Next stop was Punta Norte, home of the elephant sea lions. Karen says we didn't see any but we did see a lot if very large sea lions. Diane said there were about 1300 animals with 400 juveniles.

It was a very long day with too much bus riding and only 90 minutes of wildlife viewing.

 

5 Feb Thursday sea day

Had a champagne breakfast compliments of AAA travel. Attended an advanced photography class and wine tasting for elite passengers. Gaucho de Plata was a comedy disguised as a folk show.  Very Similar to the Argentine brothers in the V show in Vegas.

Byron Started feeling a little sick today, slight stuffiness and cough.

 

6 Feb Friday Stanley, Falklands

Up early to catch the first tender to meet Derek at 0820. Stephanie booked this private tour with Patrick Watts for only $195/person compared to same $399 on ship. The Falklands looks flat and barren. Lots of rocks that forms a mosaic on the landscape that Derek called stone runs. The stone runs are natural formations from erosion caused by freezing and thawing during the last ice age. There are very few trees to be seen, supposedly due to the high winds that topple them before they can mature. Derek seems to still harbor a mistrust of Argentina. He was 19 and fought in the 72 day conflict in 1982. There are only 3000 inhabitants on the island with most living in Stanley. The first hour of the drive to Volunteers Point was fine on well maintained dirt roads. We passed workers from a Zimbabwe company that were clearing leftover mines from the war. Apparently there are 125 fields that have not been cleared.

We reached a cluster of buildings for a potty break but the 90 minute drive from there was brutal. There was no road but only tire tracks from prior vehicles. The best paths were often the new ones that we created as we off roaded over open pasture fields. When we finally arrived at the nesting grounds, we were happy that the rugged trek was worthwhile. Much nicer than the nest site at Puerto Madryn, here were thousands of King and Gentoo penguins. This is absolutely the highlight so far being able to watch and interact with the curious birds. They screamed and pecked at us. They really put on a show. Then Gentoos were especially curious of our selfie stick and camera. Derek’s wife made egg salad and tuna sandwiches for lunch which was perfect for the trip. Created memories of a lifetime.

The trip back always seems faster and was uneventful. Derek gave us a tour of Stanley town before catching up with mom, who took the Bluff’s Cove tour, at the pier.

Second night of Gaucho La Plata was too much of the same but worse

 

7 Feb Saturday Cape Horn Scenic cruising

Attended a free wine tasting for elite passengers

Was excited to see Cape Horn although a little anticlimactic to see an outcropping of rock and a lighthouse from about 3-5 miles away. We didn't cruise around the Cape but steered north and made our way through the straights toward Ushuaia. Had to bundle up due to weather and the wind practically blew us across the front of the ship. Saw silly Sandra from Vancouver wearing open toe sandals.

Caribbean Caliente was typical boring dance production with Latin/Caribbean themed pop music. Finished Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn

 

8 Feb Sunday Ushuaia, Argentina

This was the first excursion with the Cruise Critic planning committee. All nice people, especially Nelson & Michelle Leung from Cerritos and Ken and Belinda Koo from Hong Kong and Toronto. Had to meet at 6:45 early to catch the first tender to meet tour at 7:30. First time we used our elite privilege to bypass the line and get onto the tender first.

Locals say “U Swai A”, natives say “ U schway A” is the southern most town in the world. Recent fast growth has the city at 70,000 population. 40% of population works for the government and they receive most of their income from Buenos Aires. In order to grow the population, the country pays up to $2000 per month to workers which attracted many from other countries such as Bolivia as well as other parts of Argentina.

Gabrielle was the guide, reminded me of Verne N. I rate the excursion to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park a big dud. Pretty park but nothing different than what you see in California or any state in the northwest. We arrived at a stop on the shore of Lago Roca. There was a very small and crowded post office on a pier at the end of the earth. You can see Chile from the beach and an Argentine flag to remind you where you are. We stopped by at the end of the 17,848 km Pan American highway, Bahia Lapataia, and had a few nature walks along the beaches. One of the major attractions was a beaver dam. Gabrielle explained that beavers were imported to the area by Eva Peron who fancied the beaver fur. Argentina never developed the industry and the beaver population exploded with no natural predators. Now they are a pest destroying the ecology. Maybe the most memorable visual of the day was seeing a local resident swimming in the frigid ocean.

After dinner, we got a glimpse on what we hope to see more of in a couple of days, glaciers.

Romanche glacier with waterfall. Italia is a tidewater glacier. Francia and Panamania were examples of hanging glaciers.

Formal night at dinner was also the anticipated lobster night. Karen ate more than Byron. We skipped the vocalist and instrumentalist show.

 

9 Feb Monday Punta Arenas, Chile

A late departure from Ushuaia resulted in a late arrival here. The cruise critic group met at 7:45 but didn't get on the tender until after 8:45. Bob Quinn organized today's trip.

Punta Arenas is the launch site for many Antarctica excursions. We didn't take one this time but would want to take an Antarctica specific cruise (NatGeo e.g.) sometime in the future.

Javier guided Bob & Phyllis, Steve & Pattie McWilliams from Houston, Gary & Steph, and us to Otway Sound to see Magellans. Walked along long wood pathways to a viewing kiosk and and an elevated viewing stand. Got to see the pinguins actually playing in the water. They were a lot more active than the ones at Puerto Madryn but in much smaller numbers and more separated from the tourists. The nesting area was on a private ranch, similar to the other areas we’ve seen. I can finally say I’ve seen enough penguins for this trip.

90 minute ride back to the city to have lunch at Remezon restaurant and to visit another cemetery and museum. King crab cannelloni, salmon, and squid salad sufficed for lunch since they were out of Chilean sea bass. Visited a replica of Ferdinand Magellan’s ship, the “Nao Victoria” where Byron imitated a Spanish Conquistador. Can't believe the ship was so small to circumnavigate the earth and that it held only about 20 men. Large rocks were used as ballast and moved from forward to aft as required. A replica of the Charles Darwin “Beagle” was also on display. The Punta Arenas city cemetery featured beautiful mausoleums and headstones but was most memorable because of the hundreds of large (15-20’), Juju bean shaped Juniper  trees. The Sarah Braun, one of the most powerful women of 19th century Patagonia, memorial is at this cemetery. We were all so tired by the time we reached the Museo Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello museum, that we cut that visit short to get back to the ship. Javier was enthusiastic but a little difficult to understand.

Dinner was quick and Byron went to the cabin early while Karen and mom saw David Copperfield, singer and comedian, not the magician. Byron finished book 3, Iceberg, by Clive Cussler.

 

10 Feb Tuesday scenic cruising Amalia glacier….NOT

Very heavy seas started at 5am this morning, waves hitting the windows on deck 5 international café. My guess would be 20-25’ swells. Strong waves expected through Wednesday afternoon and limiting speed of the ship to 18 knots. Princess decided to bypass Amalia glacier in order to reach Puerto Montt on schedule. I'm disappointed, Amalia would probably be more interesting.

 

Heard about it for the first time this trip from Stephanie, so we signed up for a special Chef’s dinner tonight. I was worried that my cough would prevent me from attending the dinner but the other passengers and the Princess person didn't seem to mind. I originally thought it was a free event but later realized there was a $95 surcharge each. I was skeptical on how it could be worth the surcharge considering how good the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s are for just $25.

Well….it was worth it. Probably the best eating experience ever. First, the attentiveness, the head Maître de and the Executive chef, a sous chef assisted by 4+ other servers spend their entire 4 hour evening making you feel special. Second, the food variety, quality, and dining experience. We were initially led into the food preparation area to witness the efficiency on how to serve 3000 picky passengers. The Executive chef explains the operation of ~250 dining staff and the care and quality of the food preparation. They had a standup eating area ready for us in the kitchen resplendent with an ice carving and cute fruit carved table setting centerpieces. Here they served us the first five appetizers, all specially prepared for just the eight of us at the seating. Each uniquely presented, whether in a miniature soup bowl, a character topped serving container, or a hot lava stone. Appetizers included blue crab with mango salsa, white tomato soup, scallops, caviar, and a miniature duck burger. Of course accompanied with champagne. We continued the experience in the dining room with an additional shrimp pumpkin risotto appetizer and a blended ice Bloody Mary palate cleanser. The entrée was a ménage a trois of lobster, the most tender filet, and rack of lamb. They paired the risotto and entrée with a white and red wine to complement the dishes. I could tell that my capacity for ultra rich food was being reached at this point. The Executive chef and maître de remained with us and explained the creation of each dish. Lastly a trio of deserts completed the dining, a mango/passion fruit mousse cake, a goat cheesecake, and a variety of truffles. The last couple of deserts broke everyone's decadence meter. The final conclusion to this awesome night was a presentation of the Princess Courses cookbook signed by the Executive  and chef, photos of everyone as a group and by couple with the maître de and chef, and a commemorative menu of the nights dishes and a Valentine's red rose stem for the women. I still can't believe how much effort was involved to make this a one of a kind experience.

Dined with Tom and Nancy from Miami, Jim and Josephine from Delaware?, and Peter from Sweden and travel partner Linda. Later we heard that the Executive chef personally prepares many of the dishes for the Chefs and MFP (most frequent passenger) dinners only.

 

11 Feb Wednesday sea day

Cruised through the Beagle Channel and its many Islands.

Got up early and camped outside Explorers Lounge. Karen wasn't feeling well and went to rest at 10:00 while Byron and mom went to see the Space Shuttle education at sea presentation. Noticed that there was a lot of coughing everywhere on the ship. Lunch at Horizon then Byron went to Skywalkers and mom went walking around the ship.

A false siren alarm went off in the early afternoon, Byron was in the room and stepped into the hallway to get information. Lots of other passengers started opening doors too. He saw one rather large lady wearing a tight thermal top and what looked like sheer nylons. Not nice. Upon closer examination she was wearing nothing but lace panties……Met up with Gary after the art auction and got ready for dinner. The British Invasion show was clearly the best Princess has to offer. Completed book 4, Act of Treason.

 

12 Feb Thursday Puerto Montt

Sue from cruise critic organized the 20 participant tour. Caught the second tender to shore and found the  GV tour sign easily. Steve/Pattie, Ken/Belinda, Bob/Phyllis was absent, and Gary/Steph were part of the group.

Overall it was a pretty non memorable day trip. Rode the bus a long while to get to a busy but unspectacular Petrohue waterfall. Along the way, we stopped by Frutillar lake district, Puerto Varas town square, and had lunch at Bombon Oriental restaurant.

We met Gail, the G in GV Tours, right outside the port fenced area. Gail is a guy and is from Portland, Oregon. He introduced us to Matias, our guide for the day, who walked us to our nicer than expected bus. Quick stop at a viewing point overlooking the city then on to the Frutillar DeSafio lake front. Nice community with a black sand beach and a beautiful theater/concert hall. It was on the shores of Lake Llanquihue, Chile’s second largest lake that covers 530 square miles. We had an extended stay there while the bus driver tried to loosen the new burning brake pads that were installed just the day before. Never got it fixed but we re boarded and headed to Puerto Varas town square. The park in the center of town square had two men playing music with traditional Chilean bamboo flutes. There was also a very large paper mâché heart that reminded me that we are close to Valentines Day.

As we hugged the shoreline leaving the town we got our first clear look at Mt Osorno, a conical volcano that resembles Mt Fuji, which wears a perpetual snow cap. The 40 minute drive to our lunch restaurant brought us ever closer to the mountain peak.

Bombon Oriental restaurant served us a delicious salmon filet with a lemon margarita like drink. Here we met Veronica, the V in GV. After lunch a 10 mile drive brought us to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, Chile's oldest. The main attraction was Petrohue falls which was very disappointing. There were at least a thousand people there and a long  line for tickets to see the ten foot high falls which led to a pretty emerald colored pool. The picture of the day was the waterfall with a back drop of Mt Orsono. Matias couldn't believe the number of people there but we luckily bypassed the long ticket line due to Matias’ familiarity with the park attendants.

Due to the delay at Frutillar, we were running late so we skipped shopping at Puerto Varas and headed back to the ship. Disappointed that we didn't get to stop at Emerald Lake.

The evening show was spectacular, Hawley Magic is a fantastic illusionist and magician that appeared in the finals of “America’s Got Talent” one year.

 

13 Feb Friday sea day

Early in the Horizon Court, one of the waiters was serving orange juice and he started singing Hawaii Five O. I was wearing my film crew T. 20 minutes later he was still telling me his top 10 places to live if he moved from the Philippines, his favorite TV shows growing up, and started introducing me to other stewards. As I gracefully excused myself, another passenger asked if I worked on the show. He was a tour guide who explained how he modified the opening intro to Hawaii Five O to show pictures of places he takes people to with the same theme song.

Sat in the Piazza this morning, watched Valentine card making and the Culinary demonstration. Karen went to the medical office for antibiotics and cough syrup. We started packing and discovered that we had too much room in the suitcases. We packed fluffy coming over to make sure we could bring back souvenirs and we did too good a job. Karen was a sicky all day and even missed dinner. Mom was coughing now too.

 

14 Feb Saturday Valparaiso/Santiago, Chile

Got an early disembarkation time with the rest of the tour group and had to ride a shuttle bus at least a couple of miles just to get to the port terminal. The ship was docked at a working port surrounded by containers.

Found Felipe, tour guide for South Excursions, easy enough and got on the road by 9. Ironically, our first stop at Plaza Sotomayor was back near the ship but just outside the dock area. Saw the memorial for Arturo Prat, naval hero, who sacrificed himself and 12 brave men for his country. Surrounding the square was the Hotel Reina Victoria, the Justice building, and the Naval building. The center of the square was preparing for a sport celebration, probably for bike riding since there were many riders on the blockaded streets. Also noticed stray dogs everywhere.

Nearby we rode the funicular, an old 1900s chairlift that took us up the hill to a slummy artsy area, Cerro Alegre, this area along with Cerro Concepcion hill is a UNESCO world heritage site. This area is old and dirty but the buildings are decorated with many colorful murals. With all of the European influences in architecture, Valparaiso is the declared the cultural capital of Chile.

Back on the bus for stops at the flower clock and the Museo Fonck where a moai from Easter island is displayed. Overall, I found Valparaiso the most interesting city we’ve visited this trip.

Lunch at Entre Manas consisted of freshly fried, delicious Pino, Pollo, Camarones Ricotta, and Carne empanadas.

Indomita winery is in a beautiful area about halfway between Valparaiso and Santiago. Paused for wine tasting and a relaxing interlude.

As we entered Santiago city, we drove on O’Higgins Blvd, the main street in all of Chile named after the founder/Liberator of Chile who is of Irish heritage. He was Chile’s first president in 1810 and is equivalent to San Martin, liberator of Argentina. Along O’higgins blvd we passed the Presidential Palace, Chile University, San Francisco church, oldest in Chile, National Archives, Catholica University, Plaza Baquedano, the main center of the city, Plaza Italia, and Las Condes, the wealthy business district.

The bus dropped off the Leungs, the Koos, then the Camires at their hotels before dropping us off and heading to the airport with the Fullertons. One disappointment of the day was not being able to see the Andes due to heavy cloud cover.

The HGI is a new very nice hotel but located in a god awful industrial area near the airport with no access to anything. Next time definitely stay in the city.

 

15 Feb Sunday back at home

Our flight home had a stop over in Panama City. Copa is a nice airlines. We flew new B737-300s that had personalized entertainment centers for each seat with a 10” screen and a usb charging port. Reminder for the future, Copa does not allow non Spanish speaking passengers in exit rows.

Looking back at the last 17 days, I did not enjoy this cruise as much as the Grand Mediterranean cruise in 2013. Many of the ports of call were uninteresting except for viewing penguin habitats. Most were flat, barren, with few sights to attract tourists. Too many city tours with nothing to see but city buildings and didn't need to see as many cemeteries.

When we were at the Indomito winery I heard someone refer to the ship as the Cough Princess since there were so many sick people on board. I am convinced that the ship spread the virus or bacteria, just happy that it wasn't a worse disease.

Language wasn't a problem but we encountered more people and places that did not understand English than any other cruise. A lot of German and Spanish speaking passengers on board and we needed help ordering food at the few restaurants we visited on land. All ship announcements were made in English and Spanish.