Millions of Penguins!

Back on land in Puerto Madryn, Argentina and yesterday we had an excursion to a penguin reservation. It is a huge piece of land on the coast of Argentina that is home to 800,000-1 million Magellanic Penguins!
Unfortunately, still unable to post pictures, so I'll do my best to paint the scene.
After a 2+ hour ride through Argentina via dusty, bumpy terrain, we arrived at the penguin reserve. We were greeted in the parking lot by two spiffy fellows dressed in black and white. We were briefed on the area and the other fauna we would see: guanaco (relatives of the llama), rabbits, quail, cuis (little rodents) and some really big seagull-looking birds. We were told to stay on the path and if the penguins were nearing, wanting to cross the road, we needed to give way.
It was adorable! They would march (waddle would be a better description) single file across the path to the other side.
No ice or cold temperatures here. The weather was very warm, the terrain dry, rough and short green bushes scattered about. The Magellanic penguins (also known as 'jackass penguins' because of the loud braying sound they make), return to this region every year to mate (with the same partner), give birth and raise their families. In addition, they return to the same nest they made the previous year.
It was absolutely amazing! Everywhere you looked, there were penguins! And you could get so close to them! We were fascinated and watched them play, preen, 'sing', bathe, swim and take care of their babies.
It was really a wonderful experience and hopefully we'll be able to get the pictures and video posted soon.
Today, we are back on the ship, heading to Montevideo, Uruaguay. Time to start packing and getting organized as we disembark in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
It's been a great trip and we are looking forward to getting back to terra firma!

In the Falkland Islands

Good morning! (How nice to hear those words and see signs in English!) We arrived in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands this morning. The sun was shining, the skies blue and a crisp breeze.
We have found the only internet cafe on the island and it is only slightly faster than the computer on the ship...so unfortunately, no pictures again.

We've had a wonderful tour of the island and learned a lot about the history of the islands, the conflict between Argentina (including the still active land mines along the coastal areas), and the beautiful scenery!

Our next order of business is to find the highly-recommended pub for some fish, chips and a pint!

We are at sea again tomorrow, heading for Puerto Madryn (and some penguins).

Ta Ta for now.
Leann & Frank

Glacier Alley

Well, inspite of being off the ship and using the internet, we are unable to post pictures. Keep in mind that we are in Ushuaia, Argentina and AT THE END OF THE WORLD!

After leaving Punta Arenas, we headed south-east for Cape Horn. We were in the fjords most of the day and saw some beautiful glaciers! The blue of the frozen water was the color of cotton candy. And there were several huge glaciers right in a row and fortunately, while we were on the left side of the ship, we were on the ´right´side. We had some amazing views from our room! The weather was a little overcast, but the Captain positioned us as close to the glaciers as he could. Fantastic!

After leaving Glacier Alley, we headed south to begin our journey around Cape Horn. We were scheduled to arrive around 6:00pm. Our entry into open water proved a bit rocky and and windy. We were ready for the adventure and experience, cocktails and cameras in hand with a great view. But alas, the Captain announced that we were about 8 miles from the Cape and after having spoken with the Chilean Navy station at Cape Horn, decided it would be in everyone´s best interest not to round Cape Horn. (Something about 90 MPH winds and 34´waves made him change course.) Guess he hasn´t been through a Florida hurricane before. Oh well. We made the most of it have have some good footage.

Through the night, we traveled a bit more calmly back through the fjords and arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina this morning. What a welcome site! A city with lights all twinkling and activity. Today we´ve taken a tour of the National Park on Tierra del Fuego and stepped on land, literally at the end of the world (before getting to Antarctica).

Still having a good time and are heading to the Falkland Islands overnight and during the day tomorrow.

Will try to post pictures when we can.

Finally some pictures!

Thank you so much for your patience! We are in Puenta Areñas and have found an internet place that is much faster than the connection on the ship. (It's only $1US per half hour, but it's using a Spanish keyboard.)

Anyway, here are some pictures, with brief descriptions since we left Santiago.

We are having a wonderful time, meeting many new people (at eating occasions, on tours, onboard seminars and the laundry room!)

Self-portrait with the city and port of Punta Areñas behind us.

Onboard cooking demonstration with Exec. Chef Alexis (French) and Chef Roberto (Italian). Not quite the action of 'Iron Chef', but a lot of fun and jovial banter between the two. Plus the samples were great!



Sunrise over the harbor at Punta Areñas, early Sunday morning. The second picture is of the local cemetary. The cypress trees are meticulously manicured! The Chilean people are very proud of their heritage and ancestors.

Oh my! This yacht was anchored near our ship. No helicopter pad, but it did have a large motorboat, sail boat, lifeboat, smaller motorboat, and a Zodiac! Now that's traveling in style!



Saturday morning: Crusing the Chilean fjords toward Amalia Glacier. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and it was very foggy, but the glacier was spectacular!
Pictures from left to right: (1) approaching the iceflow. (2)In the middle of the iceflow. (3)Approaching Amalia Glacier with mini-icebergs. (4)The blue is the virgin ice.

(This is what happens when you don't follow the channel markers in the fjords.)

The pool/hottubs on the ship.

Various views of the fjords along the Chilean coast and the countryside in Puerto Chacabuco.




Castle on the coast of Vina del Mar, near Santiago. Sea lions hanging out on the rocks in Vina del Mar.

A view of the ship from the land and a picture of a small portion of the Chilean Armada. (This coast is well-protected!)

Having fun and learning so much about South America! Hasta Luego!

"The Perfect Storm"

We've been at sea for well over 24 hours and the weather has been quite a trip! Some rain, but not too bad, but the seas were 16 feet and the winds were above 30-40 miles per hour. Needless to say, the ship has been tossing and turning!
We've tried to spend as much of the day around the ship - slot machines, Spanish lessons, eating, highlights of the ports we are going to visit in the next few days.
We are hoping to see many glaciers and icebergs tomorrw and hopefully we'll be able to post some pictures.
Sounds like the evening's entertainment is going to be cancelled due to the rolling of the ship. And since we are at sea for the next day, it may be tough to get into the computer lab, but we'll try.
Until next time....

Puerto Montt, Chile

Early Wednesday morning, we were awakened to the strong smell of smoke. It was hard to figure how someone could burn coffee, but none the less, it was pretty bad.
Fortunately, the Cruise Director announced that the town we were approaching (Puerto Montt) and there were some fires burning there. The smoke was pretty bad, but we ventured into town for our tour.
We learned they have a green plant/shrub that is not native to Chile, but has taken over the area (kind of like Kudzu did in the south). The only way to kill it is to pour certain chemicals or burn the plants. Well, they chose the burning option and unfortunately, this area hasn't seen rain in more than 30 days and so the fires got out of control. And we were on the wrong side of the breeze.
We enjoyed the tour of the small towns and learned that one area (Frutillar) was originally settled by Germans. Lots of 'gingerbread houses', German food and beer - all with a Spanish flair.
Back on the boat and dinner with new friends from California and out of the smoke.
Adios!

Update since last post

Our apologies for the long time since our last post. We have been enjoying the trip thus far and have seen some beautiful cities and towns.
We continue to head south along the western side of the Chilean coast. Being in the Pacific, the waters have been rather rough. We're going to start calling this the 'rock and roll' cruise because quite a number of the passengers are as old as rocks (and move at the same pace) and we roll throughout the corridors. :o) Fortunately, we are now inside the fjords and the waters are calmer.
We continue to meet many nice people (passengers and crew) on the cruise and have done well with our eating strategy (eat 1/3 and switch).
Unfortunately, the internet connection on the ship is only slightly faster than the US Postal Service so it has been difficult to post pictures, but we will keep trying. And when we are 'at sea', everyone is either in the computer lab or doing laundry. (Like I said, we are meeting many nice people.) :)

Touring the Chilean Coast and boarding the Ship

A quick post to tell you about our excursion to the Chilean coast on Sunday. Vina del Mar is the place where all the Santiago people go for the weekend and/or the summer. (Pictures to follow, hopefully.) It is very charming and a lot like the French or Italian coast. Many people enjoying the beach, sun and water (inspite of the water being very cold). We had a yummy seafood lunch and then onto the port city of Valparaiso. Quite a contrast from Vina del Mar! But familiar in that it reminded us of Tampa with the cruise ships and cargo containers, etc.

We've done very well with our Spanish, but will soon be out of practice when we get on the ship surrounded by English-speaking passengers.

It's 5:00pm on Monday and we are aboard the ship. We've been able to get logged onto the computers and get our email fix (using an American keyboard). Tomorrow is an 'at sea' day so we'll have a chance to explore the ship more and perhaps post some pictures.

Adios!

La Segunda Dia in Santiago- Mas Vino!

It is Saturday (Sabado) in Chile, the skies are clear and it is warm! Prior to our departure, we had been trying Chilean wines and had scheduled a tour of the Cholchagua Valley (very similar to Napa Valley) and stops at 3 wineries.

We were ready to go at 7am as it was about a 2+ hour drive from Santiago. Fortunately, we had the same driver, Jorge, as we did the day before, but a different guide, Marcello. We travelled through the country-side, south from Santiago, to get to the wine region. The climate in this area is perfect for growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. Along the way, there were many apple and peach orchards, sunflowers, kiwi farms, strawberry fields and so much more.

Our first stop was at Casa Silva. We felt pretty special as it was only the 2 of us that were guided around the vineyard and winery. We enjoyed sampling a few wines and then onto the next winery.

The winery at Vina Emilinda was absolutely beautiful! This was the first truely organic winery we had ever been exposed to. No chemicals or pesticides, no machines, not fertilizers. They have the best employees - the llamas eat the grass between the rows of grapes and the chicken eat the bugs that could potentially harm the vines. Not only do they work for free, they don´t talk back! It was really a fun experience and the wine was very good too!

Our last stop was a big winery Vin Manent. We had lunch, which consisted of some typical Chilean food (salad with shrimp and oranges, cold tomato soup, spinach ravioli stuffed with cheese in a tomato sauce, grilled steak over onions and cherries steeped in wine and for dessert, sorbet and creme brulee). After a tour of the vineyards via a horse drawn wagon, we toured the winery and sampled a very young and rustic red wine. From there we were taken back to the restaurant to sample the wines. (We didn´t think these wines were a good as the ones from the smaller wineries, but the food was good!)

After a 2 hour drive back to the hotel, we were ready to relax and have a bite to eat. This time we wanted to try the typical Chilean beer. And so we did, with some light sandwiches.

Tomorrow, we will explore the coast of Chile and perhaps some good seafood!

(Technical difficulties are preventing the posting of more pictures. Hopefully better luck tomorrow.)

¡Hola! from Santiago Chile

Hello! We arrived in Santiago, Chile early Friday morning, after an overnight flight from Miami. We were very lucky that our room was available because we really wanted showers and a long nap before our tour of the city later that afternoon.

Our guide met us at the hotel and took us on a very interesting and informative tour of Santiago. It is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains on either side (the Andes to the east and the coastal range to the west). Georgina wanted to take us to the highest point in the city which is a mountain where a statue of the Virgin Mary stands. Unfortunately, she is surrounded by very tall cell phone towers. In addition, she introduced us to a typical Chilean refreshment - Huesillo. (It is made of peaches that have been dried whole and rehydrated in sugar water. The peaches are served in a glass with a scoop of hydrated wheat and topped with the cold sweet liquid.) It was a very refreshing treat as the temperature was about 85 degrees and quite sunny.

For dinner, we ventured outside the hotel and walked about 3 blocks (maybe half a mile) to a restaurant at the entrance to the National Park. We enjoyed another typical Chilean beverage called Pisco Sour. It tastes a lot like a margarita, but a good bit stronger!

After dinner and a brisk walk back to the hotel, it was about 11PM and we needed to turn in as our guide for the next day´s tour was picking us up at 7AM. (That is 5AM EST!)

Buenos Noches!

Great ads..and the game was pretty good too!

We had a fun evening across the canal at Ray & Lily's for Superbowl. We enjoyed great food, creative ads and oh yes, a great football game!

In case you missed the ads, or want to see your favorites again, here you go: http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads

Enjoy!