The Land of Fire

 

Our thirty day cruise was actually two fifteen day cruises. In Santiago, our new best friends, Kevin and Edgar left the ship along with seven or eight hundred other babies that didn’t dare to go around the Horn. OK. maybe they had other things to do. And happily Kevin and Edgar are going to buy property in Fort Myers so we’ll find them again. The other 800, probably not.

Anyway we were under the impression that the ship would be much emptier and we’d get good seats at the windows all the time. Unbeknownst to us, when we were on a wine tour of the coastal valley,about a thousand people got on in Santiago and we have to bob and weave to get to get a seat at all. Interlopers!

As out journey progresses southward, there’s light in the sky until nearly 10pm and there’s an excitement in the air because we all know as that great as the trip has been so far, The best is yet to come. The ice fjords of Chile. The Beagle  channel, going around the Horn, Penguins in the Falkland Island. tango in Buenos Ares! Come on!
If it’s Tuesday, it must be Terre del Fuego! Wow! I’ve always wanted to say that. Well of course that’s ridiculous, who would ever actually want to say exactly that? But as great luck would have it it is Tuesday and I’ve finally  gotten to Terre del Fuego, which actual real people have heard me say that was something I wanted to do. Poetic license.

On our way to the land of fire we went ashore in a couple of Chilean ports after Santiago, Punta Arenas in Patagonia being the largest  about  160,000 souls.

it’s a jumping off town for the environmental tourism of the area. For example the five day trek through the mountains that Amelia and Rico did for their honeymoon. We actually got a burger from a restaurant recommended by those lovebirds. (and it was good!) 

We visited the mansion of a prominent wealthy family the Braun/Menendez  who amassed great fortune from their Portuguese/Russian roots. To see the opulent house in a small town at the bottom of the world makes one realize how little we known about other cultures. The rooms were gorgeously furnished. The paintings, by an artist whose name I can’t remember are reminiscent of John Singer Sargeant. In this town is also one of the

most poignant cemeteries I have ever visited, a great juxtaposition of the wealthy mausoleums and very humble graves with loving memorials to abuelos and other family members.members.

Next port o’ all was Ushuaia (Ooo-shoe -why-aaa) The southern most city in the world, our fist stop in Argentina and part of the legendary Tierra del Fuego! It’s a scenic town on the Beagle Channel and surrounded by the end of the Andes and their drinking water comes for a glacier. 

It happened to be the day that Argentina was in the finals for the World Cup. We were on a shore excursion that included an old fashioned train ride to the “end of the word” (don’t worry we didn’t fall off.) While at a stop to look at a waterfall, oh yes and to buy some canned photos that they took of everyone while boarding the train, but I digress.  Suddenly the conductor jumps out onto the platform and is yelling excitedly. Now I’m a world traveler, I’ve been to Wild West City in Andover New Jersey, I figured out right away that there were train robbers on board. But no, no gunslinger was necessary to save us. Argentina had scored a goal. Or as they say in South America, a gooooooooooooooal!!! We overaged Americans tried to look  appropriately excited, but really we we’re hoping they would get the train rolling again.

But I’m joking, it was fun to see the enthusiasm. Now the final, Argentina vs. France will be only two days we’re scheduled to fly home. Apparently the entire country will go into celebration mode if and when they win. So we’ll see if the planes are departing or not. I’m sure it’s nice in Buenos Aires at Christmas.

We’ll be in across the river in Montevideo   

Got to stop blogging, it’s cutting into my hot tub time. (forgive tense inconsistencies or any other grammatical quirks- blame the Southern Hemisphere.)

Next installment - the really fun stuff!

Finally! South America

The Big Cruise 2022

 Nearly everyone in the world knows that Svend surprised me with a 30 day cruise around South America for the 31st anniversary of my 39th birthday! I was hoping for some new slippers, but oh well. Anyway after a slightly harrowing prelude we are sitting on the deck of the Oosterdam, one of Holland America’s “small” ships with 1800 passengers .

A little over a week ago, we left the Dorchester domain and headed toward sunny Florida. Still in Massachusetts, we blew out a tire in the 5th wheel which caused a 2 hour delay and mucho dineros of course, but fortunately no harm done. A few hours later we made the incredible rookie mistake of paying attention to the Google map witch who convinced us to cross the Hudson over the George Washington Bridge. Now if we hadn’t lived in New Jersey for 20 years we could possibly forgiven for being so stupid, but no. Our punishment was another couple of hours of delay laced with sudden downpours just to add to the fun.

We did manage to have a lovely mishap free visit with the South Carolina relatives on the journey, after which we busted a back window of the truck by backing up the camper at a sharp angle (which is not supposed to happen but it did.)

My personal favorite disaster happen a couple of days later when I tripped on a brick path and fell on my face, rattled my brains and worse, scratched my glasses just days before the great embarkation! There was no way my double stigmatization prescription could be replaced. Oh well, shockingly I had thought to bring an older pair of glasses, not quite the right prescription and only slightly scratched. Happy ending,

Actually a few good things happened that week. We made it to the cozy neighborhood of Kerrville Circle where a lot of downright good people happen to live. Of course my bother and sister-in-law are among them as well as the generous JIm and Deb who hosted the neighborhood Friendsgiving. We were very thankful by that point. Jim and Deb are  also hosting the Taj McHaul (aka the camper) until our return which we appreciate very much.

OK spoiler alert, we made it to the ship without any further misadventures. Our good friends Elsie and Walt drove us over Alligator Alley to Miami in plenty of time to set sail. No luggage fell into the briny, we didn’t have Covid, the engine didn’t fail. Boy we we relieved to see the lines cast off so we could relax,

Six days later and we now are cruising through the Panama Canal, a true modern wonder. This is my second trip and Svend’s hundredth maybe? We’ve spent three days at sea and one day in Aruba in which I finally have swam in the Caribbean Sea. Seems strange that I’ve never been to the Caribbean, it was a beautiful beach!

All of you cruisers certainly must know that a day at sea does not mean a day of rest. We’ve been to lectures and shows, pools saunas and hot tubs of course, trying to exercise and walk, trying not to eat and drink too much with varying levels of success. I now know everything about The Spanish Galleons, The influence of the Dutch in the new world and the Panama Canal. I will be happy to bore you will all the details when we meet. In addition to the lectures we have seen a comedy show, an excellent string quartet, A four part harmonizing group (one of my soft spots) and an 80’s tribute band. One barely has time to lounge around, but we do manage to squeeze it in.

We’re zoning in on future lifelong friendships, as you all know Svend can chat with anyone in various languages. Naturally we have met the prerequisite Danes and Swedes that one meets wherever in the world one travels (Great Wall of China for example) anyway one particular couple are not just Danes but they live in the next town from Egon and Farfar and we have mutual acquaintances. Of course! And another couple from Florida who seem very promising.

OK week one - my adoring fans have asked for a blog and here it is. Hopefully I won’t emulate my favorite animal the sloth ( who no doubt are lazing around the very trees I’m gazing at right now as we glide through Lake Gatun on the way to the next set of locks…