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
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!
