To Everything, Tern, Tern, Tern

Couldn't help the title of the post since that song has been stuck in my head and I've seen a lot of terns (and other seabirds) lately.

I'm typing this in Ushuaia, Argentina.  I'll be updating posts since we left Montevideo and headed toward the Falklands and Antarctica since I haven't had internet since then.  Here goes...

It was toasty in Montevideo.  Think of a hot, sweaty August day at Disney World in August and you have the idea.  One day and around 365 miles later, it was 30 degrees colder.  Clearly, while it is summer in the southern hemisphere, we're heading far south of the equator.

Before leaving Montevideo, we had the obligatory muster drill.  It involves having everyone go to their life boat (also called tenders), getting checked in and then getting instructions on how to put on our life jackets and what we should do in an emergency (follow instructions and don't panic.)

The entire embarkation process in Ft. Lauderdale, including the muster drill, was less than pleasant or organized.  I'm happy to report that this muster drill was only 20 minutes and we lucked out and happened to be standing on the port side in the shade.  No one in my group passed out so that's an improvement.

Most passengers had been to Montevideo.  Actually, most passengers on this cruise have been to every cruise destination in the world.  I think of myself as a frequent traveler.  I've flown over 2,000,000 miles.  I've cruised over 200 days.  I get around.  But compared to my fellow passengers, I'm a newbie.  I met a woman yesterday who was wearing her HAL President's Club pin.  You have to sail 1,400 days to get to that level.  She's about my age.  I've heard some fascinating stories about destinations and adventures I've only dreamed about.

The buzz on board over the last few days was that Rio is geographically beautiful.  Montevideo is small, welcoming and felt safe and that Buenos Aires deserves its title of "Paris of South America."  Personally, I'd rank them BA first, Montevideo second and Rio third.  If you're more a crowds/beach/party kind of person, you might prefer Rio to Montevideo.  Everyone I've informally polled agrees that Buenos Aires tops the list, hands down.

As always, I looked forward to two sea days as we headed toward the Falkland Islands and Antarctica.  This trip reminds me that it takes me a couple of weeks to really settle in to the cruising lifestyle.  I mean that after a couple of weeks I get rid of the ants in my pants.  I relish sitting on my bed for an hour, just looking out at the sea without FOMO.  (Fear Of Missing Out)

Here are some observations from the two days at sea.

• CruiseCritic.com is a great website with lots of helpful information and they're happy to sell you a cruise.  I took advantage of one of their free services - Roll Calls.  If you're going on a cruise you can look up your sailing and join a discussion group of others you'll be traveling with.  I mostly just stalked the group but a lot of people worked together to set up non-HAL shore excursions.
  
  A couple of women who started the group did a HUGE amount of work to make sure we got to meet each other and enjoy our cruise.  One created a 100+ page document that not only lists helpful information about the cruise (formal/theme nights, itinerary, port weather and highlights, and bios of each passenger in the CruiseCritic Roll Call, along with photos.  That's how I found out there's a couple on board from the Orlando suburb next to mine.
  
  In addition to the helpful booklet, these ladies have organized a variety of activities (meet and greets, slot pulls, etc) for while we're on the ship.  They gave us a schedule, coordinate it with HAL so we have places to meet and refreshments, provided name tags for us and deliver reminders to each cabin.  They're not paid, they just do it for fun.  I'm very grateful.
  
  That's a long intro to say that I went to my first CruiseCritic Meet and Greet the day at sea after Montevideo.  I got my name tag and met some nice and interesting people, including the couple from Longwood who live five miles from my house.
  
  Highlight for me though, was spotting a whale.  The first live critter I'd seen in three weeks of cruising, unless you count the hundreds of jelly fish that surrounded the ship while we were in port in Montevideo.
  
  I let out a yell and everyone rushed over to see a whale, a couple of hundred yards to the starboard side of the ship, occasionally breaching as we sailed past.  Then someone yelled "dolphins!".  I don't know what they were but there were dozens of large critters swimming and leaping next to us.  To me they looked like porpoise.  I now know they were penguins.
  
• There is information available on the ship giving our position, weather, etc.  I find it interesting and just a bit scary that as we sailed off the coast of Argentina, the water depth was over 14,000 feet.
  
• A lot of people were very annoyed when rumors spread that we wouldn't be the only cruise ship in port in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands).  The Celebrity Eclipse, whose size "eclipses" us, has over 3,000 passengers.  That means tendering to a small dock takes much longer and once on shore, the small island will be inundated with people.  I don't know why HAL chose not to adjust our itinerary to avoid this but they didn't.
  
• I did more eavesdropping.  One guy, a Canadian, was talking about his "deckal".  I had no idea what he meant.  Neither did the person he was talking to.  I figured out he was referring to what American's call a "deeeecal" or decal.  Some day I hope to learn to speak fluent Canadian, eh?
  
• In my cabin there is a large mirror that backs the desk and faces the couch, where I spend a fair amount of time.  Sometimes naked.  I need to put more mirrors in my house.They provide a stark reminder to stay away from the desserts.
  
  If you've been lying awake at night worrying about what I might miss from being away from home for 25 days, here's the answer:  not much.  My friends, of course.  And I'd love to have an electric kettle in my cabin but can't because of fire danger.  I also keep forgetting to charge my toothbrush since I'm used to always keeping it plugged in at home.  But that's about it.  At this point I'd be content floating around the world forever.
  
• Every day, I laugh out loud because I'm just overflowing with happiness.  I feel well, I have absolutely nothing to worry about and people are going out of their way to take care of me.
  
  I love strolling in to the dining room, being seated near a window with a view (imagine having every meal with an ocean view) and having charming young men wait on me. 
  
  Then, I get a big smile when I go back to my cabin after my two hard working cabins stewards have made up the room.
  
  I smile again when I sit in one of the venues with live music.  I love to watch people ballroom dancing in the afternoons.  One woman in particular just glows as she dances.  It is clearly something she is passionate about and the dance hosts make sure to keep her on the floor.  I'm guessing she's in her mid-80's.
  
• We've had a couple of days of moderately rough seas.  Nothing dangerous and only slightly rougher than I prefer it.  I did sit down rather abruptly yesterday when the ship zigged and I zagged.  Luckily the chair was sturdy and the only damage done was a large and colorful bruise on my thigh.  Another sign that it was rough was at Guest Services where they had Saltines and green apples out.  Luckily I rarely get seasick.  The vertigo when I go on land after time at sea is another issue.
  

One final thought.  I've heard a lot of people say "It doesn't matter what kind of cabin I have since I never spend any time there."  That is NOT true for me.  I paid the extra to have an ocean view cabin because I do like to spend time there, alone.  I read, sit on the bed and watch the ocean, nap, play computer games, watch tv and then watch the waves some more.  I love the privacy and quiet.  Don't get me wrong, I'm out and about quite a bit but I'm not a joiner and love having a retreat when I've had enough social time.  And I find the older I get, the less social time I prefer.

Friday, January 24, 2020 - Buenos Aires - Day 21

I'm having a delightful day in Buenos Aires.  Took a taxi to do some shopping and touring with Enrique - a great local guy.  He didn't speak English so he also got to help me with my Spanish.

I've been having phone issues today, so very limited internet.  I'll try to get this post all finished and labeled tonight so I can post when we get to Montevideo tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience!

A very early good morning from near Montevideo where we'll be docking today.  But first, reflections on Buenos Aires.

I got off and met a man named Enrique who agreed to drive me around for four hours for $80.  I suspect it would have been more if Enrique spoke English.  And if I'd negotiated.  But the price for me was less than a shore excursion with the freedom to do exactly what I wanted.  And Enrique was happy.  A win/win.

Luckily, Enrique was patient with my Spanish and we got along fine.  Even more than my lack of knowledge of irregular verbs, we both found our accents a challenge at first.  I learned to speak Spanish living on the Arizona/Mexico border, then a few years ago studying in Guatemala.  In Argentina and Uruguay they sound more like Castilian Spanish.  For example I say "yo", they say "jo".  We made it work.

First stop - an ATM.  Not sure why but had problems getting money out so need to take care of that. 

Next, the San Telmo Mercado.  By then it was 10:30 a.m. but most shops in the market were still closed.  Luckily, I found a seltzer bottle, which was what I was looking for. 

Our next stop - Carrefours Super Mercado - a grocery store.  I wanted to get some dulce de leche and didn't want to pay the tourist prices at the shops in San Telmo or the port terminal.  Happily, I bought the Carrefours store brand for about a $1 and it is delicious.  If they sold that stuff in my grocery store, I'd be in trouble.  If you're wondering what to do with dulce de leche - anything.  Eat it with a spoon.  Dip meringue cookies in it.  But it on a baked pie shell then fill the shell with vanilla pudding and bananas.  Dip a banana in it.  Yeah, I'd take dulce de leche over chocolate any day.

When I walked in the store, I felt like I was at home.  I'd been in the store several times before (on previous visits to BA, I rented an apartment and did some of my own cooking).  The music, the smells brought back a rush of memories from earlier trips and also from stores in other countries where I've lived.  I had a huge smile as I shopped.

I picked up the dulce de leche for about 1/4 of the price of the tourist places (store brand and delicious) and also got some candy for the crew.  And the big score - cotton balls.  They're not exactly balls but it's cotton batting that will be great for taking off my finger nail polish.  Total bill - about $10.

I wanted to to the Puente de la Mujer - Woman's Bridge, in Puerto Madero.  I first saw it in 2001 when it was new.  Now, the area beyond the bridge, which used to be bare land, is covered with high rise buildings. 

Then we headed to Palermo to see "La Flor" (The Flower) which is a beautiful statue of a stainless steel flower which opens then closes throughout the day.

Next to Recoleta, still one of the most beautiful (and expensive) neighborhoods in Buenos Aires.  I'd decided instead of getting a steak, I'd prefer some empanadas for lunch. 

Enrique raved about the food at the place he took me.  He described each type of empanada - beef, spicy beef, chicken and vegetable.  He said I shouldn't get the spicy beef because it was too hot.  Much too spicy to be eaten.  He'd taken one bite once and it burned his mouth.  Challenge accepted.  I got a spicy beef, vegetable (which turned out to be onion, spinach and a bit of cheese), and chicken.

I had the vegetable one for lunch.  Dinner in my cabin was the spicy beef and chicken.  All were delicious.  And the spice level?  Poor Enrique, he did not grow up near by Mexican border like I did, raised by parents who put pickled jalapeno peppers on the table at every meal along with the salt and peppers.  I order the hottest levels at Indian and Thai restaurants.

The filling was medium spice level at most.  And delicious.  It had some green olives in it and a variety of spices.  It actually tasted similar to the picadillo I make at home, just not as spicy.

After more touring around the city it was back to the ship.  Enrique gave me his phone number and I'll definitely call him when I go back to Buenos Aires.  And I definitely will go back.  If you haven't put this beautiful, vibrant city on your bucket list, I recommend you do.

Now, the photos.  Sadly, I was having technical problems.  I thought I'd deleted all the earlier photos from my phone after saving on an external hard drive but seems there were hidden files that were waiting to be uploaded to Google Photos.  So, a lot of the photos I took "disappeared".  I'm hopeful that the random photos that I couldn't find may be on my Google drive, once I get internet.

My fourth seltzer bottle, which cost about $30.  Not an antique.  I have three others, each slightly different, some older, one from each visit to Buenos Aires.

The excellent empanadas.  They are baked, not fried, although that version is also available.  I paid less than $4 for all three.  

For safety reasons no one is allowed to walk through the port.  Instead there is this free shuttle bus.  The port workers were very patient with us older tourists slowing down their commute to work.

BA is a mix of modern high rises and historic architecture.

No, it's not the Beatles.  Traffic was light because this is vacation season and many people are out of town to escape the heat.  It was a humid 90 degrees.

I'd love to live in one of these apartments.  I can't afford to live in one of these apartments.  

A typical street in Recoleta.

I took this photo looking into a bar/restaurant in Recoleta.  Warm, cozy style, typical of BA.

This is where Enrique assured me I would get the best empanadas in the city.  They've been doing it for more than 50 years.  

In addition to the dine-in option, the take out counter was doing a brisk business - and they had been open for five minutes.

There are many monuments and statues throughout the city.  Most dedicated to military events and political figures.

We drove past the Alvear Palace Hotel in Recoleta.  Very formal, very elegant and very expensive.  I had high tea there one afternoon on a previous visit.  I recommend it but bring your credit card.

I opted not to stop for each statue.  I only had a day.

There are parks all over the city.  And lots of large shade trees on wide boulevards.  

When I was first in BA I was intrigued by the professional dog walkers.  This guy was trying to herd at least 12 dogs.  Enrique said that it is only legal to walk four at a time and this guy risked a big fine but it was never enforced.  In this case, the dogs definitely seemed to be in charge.  They do have dog parks there, just like in the USA.

We circled this statue twice after I declined the offer of getting out and crossing multiple lanes of traffic to get a better photo.  It's Enrique's favorite.

La Flor, which is huge, beautiful and moves, opening during the day and closing at night.

I'm sending this photo to National Geographic.  Awesome thumb, eh?  Oh, and a museum.

Another dog walker.

And another!

Next year I'm hoping to see the statue in Georgia (country, not the state) of a similar statue - but it is a man and woman who start out standing apart but then come together throughout the day to form one person.

This boat is a tourist attraction in Puerto Madero.

My first trip to BA was 2001.  Those buildings weren't there then.

These brick buildings in Puerto Madero are old factories that have been restored and turned into shops and restaurants.

The river and the start of the Woman's Bridge.

If you're worried about not liking Argentine food, relax.  In this row of buildings you will find McDonalds, Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Fridays and, of course, Starbucks.

Puente de la Mujer.  Woman's Bridge.  Built in 2001.  It seems the name came because the streets in the area are named after women.

That's the rather unique bridge.

Entrance to the car park for the shops/restaurants.

This is across the street from Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, a neighborhood known for tango and antiques.  Sadly, still not safe to walk there at night.

A street in San Telmo.

This is Plaza Dorrego.  Vendors, chairs and tables to enjoy a coffee or drink.