Final Day

Since our flight is not leaving until 11:00 pm, we had time to tour most of the day.  We struck out into the main part of town, attempting to visit the Presidential Palace.  I guess the President didn't hear we were coming because she decided to stay at home today which meant it is not open to the public.  The museum was also closed because it's Monday.

We did find the shopping street, Florida, bustling with activity.  There trip had not had many shopping opportunities, so it seems fitting to get a little retail therapy in our last few hours here.  While not formal,  the BAers seem to have a pretty good fashion sense which translates to some nice clothing shops.  Adjacent to Florida Street is a large mall similar to what you might find at home.  Still decorated for Christmas, we were treated to  large tree adorned with Swarvaaski crystal stars that was quite stunning.  After browsing around the shops and grabbing lunch in the food court (they serve charcoal cooked steaks here, so pretty good fare) we headed back to our hotel for one more shower before departing for the airport.

We had been warned that BA traffic can be horrific, so we left with plenty (7 hours enough for you???) time to relax before our flight.  Because Argentina airport security is a little more lax than what we have in the US, additional screening will be done before boarding our flight.

Some advice if you're planning a trip to BA.  First, bring lots of US cash since you can get a much better exchange rate (12 pesos to the dollar versus the standard 8)  at the 'blue' locations (your hotel can direct you) which can make your trip much more reasonable.  Bring fashionable but not fancy closthes with you.  It's hot in the summer, so dress to keep cool and bring plenty of sunscreen.  Despite being told how unsafe it can be, we did not find it to be any worse than other large cities.  Try the beef - it's what they're known for.  Likewise, try the mate just to say you did.  Build in an afternoon siesta.  Some of the shops close in the afternoon and the city doesn't really get into full swing until after 9 pm.  Plan on 2 hours for any meal with table service.

Most of all, enjoy this bustling southern city.  The people are friendly, the skies are blue and the exchange rate makes it a very reasonable vacation.

Next: Who knows, but if I'm on the road, there's sure to be a blog.

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Sunday Market and an Afternoon Barbecue

Sundays, San Telmo is the sight for an Antique fair plus adjacent markets lining the streets leading to the square.  These are real antiques, not some junk you find sometimes in US street markets, and it kept us busy for a couple of hours.  We really didn't have time to explore the side streets.  This would have to wait for another visit. There were booths specializing in gaucho items, artwork, silver work, jewelry, etc.  It was really the place to be this sunny day.

This afternoon we had an in-home experience for lunch.  There's a website, EatWith, where people advertise for dinners prepared in native fashion.  We choose one that focused on outdoor grilling.  I think we all were a little interested to see what this might be like.  Our dinner was prepared by two young men, one a chef and the other a software engineer.  The house was in Palermo and had a bachelor pad vibe, perhaps not where we would have picked based on the appearance, but fun none the less.  We were shown to the rooftop where our meal was being prepared in a brick grill that is common place in homes in the area.  Several types of meat, some we don't often find like beef kidneys, were already on the grill roasting slowly and hardwood charcoal.

Our first taste was chorizo with chimichuri sauce and fresh baked bread.  It was delicious!  Susequent meats came off the grill and were passed along with potato salad, corn on the cob, beet salad and rip tomatoes, lettuce and carrots.  Also on the grill were eggplant, garlic and onions.  It was a lot of food but was tasty.  They prepare their grilled meats very simply.  Many families gather on Sundays and spend the afternoon and early evening gathered around the grill.  It seems like a great tradition.

We also got to try the local tea, Mate, which is very herbal and slightly bitter.  The mate is place in a gourd with a special spoon that the hot water is sipped through.  More hot water is added and it is passed around to anyone wanting a taste.  it is all about care taken to prepare and share it that makes it special.

All this meat meant we were ready for a little siesta before any evening activities.  It was a hot, sunny day so some in our group laid around the pool, while others refreshed with my new favorite, lemonade made with fresh mint, ginger and little or no sugar.  I vow to make this a regular at home.  

We found ourselves still quite full even at 8:00, so we walked to a local pub for a beer and light snack to top off our evening.

Tomorrow: Last day and final thoughts

Japanese Gardens and a Little Art

We had a much cooler start to the morning, so walking to look at the parks was a pleasant affair.  It was early on Saturday, so the streets had not yet filled with weekend activities.  Nothing seems to open before 10, so we had a chance to people watch while waiting for our first destination to open their gates.

The Japanese Gardens are a peaceful haven from the bustling city surrounding it.  Lilly pads fill the tranquil lake that serves as the center point for the gardens.  Koi that grown to enormous proportions, swan among the boulders looking for a fish food offering.  Bridges connect wandering paths.  Over a hundred plant specimens that survived the atomic bomb in Japan were transferred her and are thriving.  Some of the trees would have required several full grown men to encircle them.  What a beautiful gift to the Buenos Aires citizens.

Next was a visit to the Malba Museum.  The majority of the works currently being shown are by Antonio Birni.  This mixed media art was quite vivid, using industrial products to enhance the people and animals portrayed.  While very unusual, I found myself attracted to his works, fascinated by his creativity.  The exhibit is part of a continuing partnership with the Houston Museum of Art which was started in 2005.

With the weather still pleasant, we strolled back to our hotel.  The streets had filled with shoppers and bistros were feeding the awaking weekenders.  We stopped at purchased one of their best known products, empanadas to snack on while walking to The Mine.  An afternoon siesta seemed in order.

Dinner was at a "closed door" restaurant - basically a house where a chef prepares dinner for those guests that reserve ahead of time.  Casa Coupage specializes in tasting wine from Argentina paired with a tasting menu.  I chose the full tasting menu along with a sample of 5 wines (plus Proseco). The food was outstanding as well as the wines.  Santiago, one of the owners and a sommelier, led us through the wines, explaining the regions and subtle differences in the choices he made for us.

By this point, it was approaching midnight, so we all returned to our hotel a little better educated on the Argentinian wines and very full.

Tomorrow: The Sunday Market

Evita and All That Jazz

After an early morning thunderstorm, our group set out on our first full day adventure.  Again the humidity was imposing and we quickly became moist from sweat.  My normally straight hair had turned into a mass of curls.  We walked through several parks with beautiful, stately trees that had obviously resided in the city for decades.  Many of them were in bloom, this being the height of summer.

Lunch turned into a two hour affair which put us back on the street at the hottest part of the day.  We soldiered on, our final destination being Cemetery La Recoleta.  This may be the most elaberate cemetery I've ever visited.  Towering marble and granite structures serve as the final resting place to some of the most important families of Argentina.  Most had doors with glass so you could peer inside to the caskets adorned with fresh flowers.  They often went deep into the ground to accommodate generations.  The ironwork affixed to crypts was quite exquisite with many having bronze sculptures.

Did I mention that Eva Peron is laid to rest here?  Flowers are placed in the door as tributes to this woman who stole millions from the citizens only to relocate to Spain.  However, this shady past obviously hasn't tarnished her reputation here has witnessed by the throngs gathered around her tomb.

We walked to the church next door.  While not huge, it was a beautiful church with gilded statutes and soaring ceilings.  There were a number of people escaping the heat in the cool sanctuary.  We caught a cab to our hotel with its awaiting refreshing showers.

Argentina is know for its beef and tonight we were going to one of the best steak places in town, Don Julio.  The sidewalks were crowded with people waiting for the delights waiting inside.  A open coal grill cooked our beef to perfection and also seared our cheese appetizer, imparting a smoky flavor that formed a crust revealing a melted interior.  To top it off, we enjoyed figs stuffed with walnuts that had been cooked in a slightly sweet wine sauce. What a great start to our BA sojourn.

Tomorrow: Enjoying the city parks

into the Heat

Today turned into a long day of travel.  After eating a final shipboard breakfast, we were released to roam Ushuaia until flight time.  Having shopped in all the shops on our way in, we killed time wandering the streets, getting in some much needed exercise, until a slow-paced lunch killed just the right amount of time.  The airport and subsequent flight was filled with fellow shipmates including some of our expedition leaders.  Despite everything we had heard about Aerolineas, our flight was on time and our luggage arrived safely.

Back in the sweltering heat of Buenos Aires, we quickly missed the icebergs of a few days earlier. Trying to save a buck, not always a good idea, we caught a 'cab' into the city. Unmarked, the driver seemed a candidate for both weight reduction surgery coupled with a heart transplant.  He wheezed the entire trip, cigarette hanging out the window, running through tollbooths without paying the fares, and driving well in excess of the speed limit.  By the grace of God we arrived safely at our hotel only to have David realize he had left his jacket in the cab. The 'cheap' ride wasn't.

We're staying in Palermo Soho, a hip, cool slightly edgy part of the city. Mine Hotel, a cute little boutique hotel, will be our home base for the next four nights.  The area is alive with bars, shops and restaurants.  It has a 'cool kids' kind of vibe although the the weather was anything but.  The humidity was weighty, even more so considering where we started the day.

We met the rest of our geoup and walked to a corner cafe for hamburgers and beer.  Afterwards, two of  us walked to Cuban Bar to have a mojito before bedtime. So glad to be back in a city, although I do miss our penguin buddies.

Tomorrow: A walk through the city

Final Days at Sea

After a rough, fitful night’s sleep, we awoke to calmer seas although nothing close to the calm we had on our voyage across the Drake a few days earlier.  After breakfast, David and I both enjoyed massages to help work out some of the kinks that had developed over the past few days of travels.  We had a little time before lunch to turn in any pictures we wanted to submit to the photo contest.  Looking back over our pictures we were awed by the incredible animal life and scenery we had encountered over our 9 outings. 

In the afternoon, the crew offered a series of lectures.  We learned about seals, where they had evolved from (bears), where they live, the different types, etc..  We were also treated to a lecture on the ships of Cape Horn from our historian, John Harrison.  His grandfather had been a sailor in this region, so he had a personal reason for researching the subjects.  I gained a great deal of respect for those brave men who risked all for the sake of commerce and exploration. This evening, we were entertained by Jeopardy, Antarctic Edition.

While the lectures are very interesting, it seems like the rocking of the boat, along with the effects of the seasickness meds, are making everyone very sleepy.  Some stay in their rooms to nap away the two day voyage back while others attempt the lectures but still succumb to the need to nod off.  Quietly napping on the couches was much preferred to the few who made a little louder production of it, snoring from their chairs.

The meals, also, had become a little too familiar.  While well prepared and generally tasty, we had partaken in sea bass, stir-fried vegies and cabbage salads once too often for my liking.  I needed something a little spicier and would try to get the moment we got back on land.

Our final day was spent mostly on housekeeping – turning in boots, filling out comment cards, settling our shipboard accounts and distributing tips. For not having many shopping opportunities, we certainly had a difficult time getting our suitcases closed one final time. The seas were relatively calm, so our activities on the ship fell into the pace we had come to expect.

Our final dinner turned into an evening of reminiscing and partaking in some nice wines with friends we had made during the trip.  We found everyone to be very well traveled and interesting.  There were several teachers, also on a quest for knowledge I suppose, retirees, and a fair number of young singles up for an adventure.  It truly is a trip of a lifetime and highly recommend it to anyone with a sense of adventure.

Next: Our Adventure in Buenos Aires Begins

Farewell 7th Continent

This is our final day of shore landings before heading back to Ushuaia.  Our first stop was at Danco where there’s a colony of Gentoo penguins (and one loan Adelie).  This particular area gets a lot of snow so they are a couple of weeks behind in chick hatching.  The parents are still sitting on their eggs, 2 in most cases, awaiting the arrival of their chicks.  We sat near the colony and watched all the rock stealing shenanigans going on.  One particular penguin and a quite nice next of rocks that the other penguins were taken stones from much to her/his dismay.  When both parents are near the nest, one can watch out for the poachers.  Only about half the penguin chicks will survive their first year of life, but once they’ve reached that milestone, their survival rate goes up tremendously.  The average life expectancy is 15 years although many live well into their 30’s.  There’s one female penguin that has been documented at well into her 60’s and still laying eggs.

During the shore landings there are several options other than just hiking up the trails.  You can kayak, cross-country ski, rock climb, paddle board or snow shoe.  Most of these cost extra and you could sign up when you booked your cruise. 

Our zodiac cruise took us near a waterfall coming off of one of the big icebergs in the bay.  It’s the first one that we’ve seen on the trip so I’m not sure are rare it is.  We also ran across a snoozing leopard seal on an iceberg but by this time leopard seals seemed like old hat to us.

Our final landing after lunch also was our most difficult.  We docked in Orne Harbor early in the after lunch for a continental landing.  The point of interest here is a Chinstrap Penguin rookery up on the top of the ridge.  The wind had picked up and it was spitting a combination of snow and sleet.  The assent was quite steep, so switch backs were built into the snow covered trail laid out by our leaders.  The snow was also a little slushy which made it slippery.  There being nothing to watch at our landing spot, we headed up to the top.  The expedition parkas we had been given at the start of the trip did a great job of keeping us warm and dry.  After taking pictures of both the penguins and the lovely scenery below us, we buttoned up tight, put on our sunglasses and headed back down the windy hillside.  After a bit of sliding we reached the bottom.

By this time, the weather had gotten worse and we were told by the people just completing their Zodiac tour to be prepared to get wet.  That was all it took for the majority of us to decide to skip the cruising and head straight back to the ship.  The brave souls that stuck it out were rewarded by a marvelous sighting of a mother whale and her baby.  A bit soaked, I think they all appreciated being able to get so close one last time.

We raised anchor and started our trip home late afternoon.  It took three hours before officially entering the Drake.  This gave us time for a recap and dinner before the rough seas hit.  I think most took sea sickness remedies and went to bed early.  I must say it was a very bumpy ride most of the night.  I think this is still tame compared to what one can encounter, but it was plenty for me.

Next: A couple of days at sea

Watch Out for that Seal!

This morning, our ship passed through Lamaire Channel which is 5 miles long but gets very narrow at one point with mountains rising up on either side of the passage.  It is often ice filled which can prevent ships from passing through.  We are lucky today and started the journey right behind a National Geographic ship.  The cloud cover was fairly low, so we didn’t get a view of the top of the mountains, but we it was spectacular none the less.

Our first stop this morning is at Peterman Island where we’ll get our first glimpse of Adelie Penguins.  They are further along with raising their young, so we could easily see them under/by their parents.  There were also Gentoos and birds with their young nesting on the same rock by the ocean.  This morning was a time to sit and watch the activity.  The little guys are busy going down their highways, stealing rocks, going out to sea to eat krill and just hang out.  Oh, and they have fairly explosive pooping sessions.  You can definitely tell you’re near a penguin colony by the smell of guano which we all wash and scrub off our boots each time we return to the ship. 

There were a lot of icebergs in this bay, so cruising in the Zodiac’s was beautiful.  We also got our first sighting of Leopard Seals.  These long neck, spotted seals are quit pretty and innocent looking until they open their mouths.  They have giant teeth which they use to grab their prey – penguins.  We also saw sea-ice for the first time.  This is ice that is actually formed on the water so it is flat and thin.  Flipper (our driver this morning) ran us up on one so we could have a closer look.  I can’t mention enough how beautiful the icebergs are with their interesting formations and blue ice.  One we were watching was bobbing very high in the water and looked like it could turn at any moment.  The drivers have to stay fairly far away from them in case they do suddenly flip.

After lunch we were in Iceberg Alley, Planeau.  Our outing was Zodiac’s only, where we were able to cruise around the bay looking at the ice and also looking for seals.  And boy, did we ever find the seals!  It seemed like every other piece of sea ice contained a sleeping Leopard Seal.  They would look up at us as we drove by and stopped to take pictures.

One particular seal decided it might be time to take a swim, so he slithered off the ice and swam between two boats to take a look at us.  Vlad, our driver, had a Gopro on a stick that he put in the water.  The seal seemed to like looking at it.  He practically came into our boat to take a look at us.  After some time taking his picture, we set off across the bay and darn if he didn’t follow us for a while.  It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Today, the crew setup the gangway for the Polar Plunge.  There were 78 brave souls who braved the cold in their swimsuits to jump off the platform with a rope around their middle to experience that cold water up close.  We didn’t have a desire, but our friend took the leap.  I think there was general agreement that it was very cold but they were glad they did it.

Dinner was exceptionally good this evening with lamb chops and seafood pasta being featured.  Flipper joined us and after dinner a group of us gathered around the table to share several bottles of fine wine.  The bar manager, Sixto, suggested we put together a group of 20 to have a wine and cheese tasting on the way back to Ushuaia.

Tomorrow: Our last day of outings before heading home.