86 Countries and Still Counting: February 11, 2020 - San Antonio Chile

Ok, I usually put how many days I've been on the ship in the title, but I've lost track. I only know it's Tuesday because the rug in the elevator says so.

In the last week or so we went to Ushuaia Argentina (loved it!) where I hired a taxi to give me a tour and take me to the grocery store. He complimented my bad Spanish and was a great guide. A lovely town surrounded by mountains and sea. 150,000 people. And too freaking cold. It was a beautiful summer's day, which meant some locals were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Not me because it was 43 degrees and 45 MPH winds. I was dressed for winter and my delicate self was still freezing. Can't imagine what winter is like.

The day before Ushuaia we sailed around Cape Horn, the most southerly point of South America. I confess I was a bit disappointed. I imagined that the bottom of the continent would be like, attached to the continent. Technically it is part of S. America but it is an island, which enabled us to cruise complete around it. The entire southern tip of South America, along with the western coast is a maze of islands. And stunningly beautiful. Cliffs climbing straight from the ocean, reaching thousands of feet. Some bare rock, some covered in trees which look like they're glued on to the steep rocks.

The big takeaway for me from Ushuaia was the flowers. Lupins I get because of their cold tolerance. But there were beautiful, HUGE roses everywhere.

Another thing to note about Ushuaia is that there are 75% men and 25% women. Just saying. I might reconsider my views on cold weather.

One other thing. Every time I say Ushuaia, I sound drunk. It does require a bit of slurring to say it properly.

After leaving Ushuaia we cruised up the Beagle Canal (that makes me laugh but I don't know why - I'd struggle if I moved to Ushuaia because they also have Beagle Beer and the Beagle Hotel, which also make me giggle). It was stunningly beautiful and made me excited about the scenic cruising planned for a couple of days later.

The next day was Puerto Montt, which spell check insists on spelling Monty, which does sound much friendlier. I'm all about the sea days and two consecutive days in port is too much so I stayed on board. Plus it was a tender. Instead I hung out on the Sea Deck (aft, deck 8) enjoying the nice weather and a conversation with Mary, someone I hadn't met before.

One of the things I'm enjoying about this trip is that the passengers are generally very well traveled and very interesting. Mary and I started talking after I heard her mention her daughter was in the Peace Corps in Thailand (20 + years ago). Mary has lived and taught for Department of Defense in places like England and Iceland and Hong Kong. It was a pleasant relaxing day.

The next day was supposed to be scenic cruising but in order to meet the timeline to get to San Antonio we had to head to open sea and fast cruising. Disappointing but I had a pedicure scheduled so was happy.

It was the best pedicure ever. As I was just settling in to the massage chair, I saw a whale flapping its tail against the water. That continued for about 5 minutes. As the pedicure progressed, I spotted a pod of 3 whales doing more tail slapping. Amazing. It cost 3 times more than at home but I've never seen a whale during a pedicure in Lake Mary. Worth every penny.

I'm now in San Antonio, Chile, our last stop in South America. This is the gateway to wine country and Santiago. I spent a couple of weeks recently in Santiago and while it's a lovely city, had no desire to spend the time or money to go back. Instead, I'm spending the chilly, drizzly day downloading books to Mr. Kindle and catching up on WIFI stuff.

Tomorrow we head west to Easter Island, Pitcairn Island, Papeete, Cook Islands and Tonga as we cross the South Pacific. Very sad not to be stopping in Samoa. That would have been a real treat.

I may not be able to upload many photos from the next ports but will do my best. In the meantime, here are some photos from Ushuaia and the views along the Chilean southern coast.

Since the ship wasn't doing the scenic cruising, I did a bit of cruising of my own past the desserts in the Lido. Three times a day this part of the ship is stocked with pastries and desserts. Next to the lady who cheerfully hands out ice cream all day.