thefouramigosblog

Another early morning rise. I am not sure why this is so difficult except that we have been luxuriating in the slow-to-start mornings. But sometimes we have to suffer through this if we want to see a port. Our view this morning was much nicer than yesterday in San Antonio.

We met our tour guide Sergio at the terminal. The company is Turismo Cochiguaz.

On the way to our transport, we saw pirate ships in the harbor.

Our trip today was to the Elqui Valley. On our way, we drove past the Puclaro Dam and through the Puclaro tunnel through the mountain.

The native indians called the Elqui Valley the trumpet of the Andes. Along the way we saw many vineyards. However, water is very scarce here.

Papaya is known as the tears of the Indian princess. The area has 320 days of clear skies making it an ideal location for astrology.

Our stop to lookout over the Elqui Valley.

Incas taught the newer tribes how to cultivate and farm the land using a diagonal approach on the hillsides.

We stopped at Aba Pisquera to learn how they make Pisco, an amber or yellow colored alcohol beverage made in Chili. It is made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof drink and it was developed in the 1700s. It is very strong around 30-50 proof.

We next visited Vicuna, the city where Gabriela Mistral won the 1945 Nobel Prize for literature. She was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

We visited the Immaculate conception church in Vicuna. The ceiling was painted by a Chilean college student.

The Bell Tower located around the city square was built in the 1800s and was the city hall.

We went for lunch at Entre Cordillera. The owner showed us how they cook with solar.

I had a salad, rice and steak and Bruce had rice and chicken.

La Serana is the second oldest city in Chili, founded in the 1500s. This was our last stop on our tour. We visited the Cathedral De San Bartolome De La Serena which was built in the 1800s.

Santo Domingo Church was built in the 1600s.

The last photo op was the lighthouse which isn’t a lighthouse. Those of us who have seen many of the real things, were not impressed.

And I can’t end today without some of the beautiful street art!

And we made it to the ship without a minute to spare!

#entrecordillera#catedraldedanbartolomedelaserena#laserena#vicuna#elquivalley#pulcarodam#gabrielamistral#tours#ship#santodomingochurch#coquimbo#southamerica#turismocochiguaz

We signed up for a tour going to Santiago with a guy named Steve, who I chatted with on Cruise Critic. I usually like CC tours because there are fewer people, so it’s more personal, and they are usually half the price.

We woke early to meet our group at the terminal building. 12 people were on time and we waited 45 minutes for the other couple, who never showed.

Sergio was our guide for the day and works for Tac Turismo a local tour company.

We had a 1-1/2 hour ride to Santiago and our first stop was a gas station where I found the cutest dog! She posed for me. How precious!

Our first stop was Santa Lucia and Castillo Hidalgo, which is a castle-like structure built in the early 1800’s. Entrance is free and worth a visit.

The steps were quite a hike up but we kept hearing the view was worth it! In the distance you can see the Andes Mountains.

The terrace is called Caupolican Terraza and there is a statue of Caupolican who was a great warrior of the Mapuche people who fought against the Spanish conquistadors.

Our next stop was the Plaza de Armas where we saw the Mayors House, the central post office and museums.

And of course the Cathedral Metropolitana.

We just caught the end of a local dance pair on the plaza dressed in native costume!

There were many historic buildings and it was a quick trip. I wish I had more time to get a feel for this city!

We also caught a demonstration in front of the Government building.

I did have the opportunity to find some street art!

And of course a visit to any city would not be right without a visit to a bakery!

So all in all a good day – not quite enough time to catch the real flavor of a place but just enough to peak my interest!

We are back on the ship, watching the sunset! Life is Grand!

#chile#santiago#sanantonio#plazadesarmas#governmentbuilding#hidalgocastle#caupolican#mapuche#santalucia

It’s our last tender port so we decided to sleep in and miss the crowds. We arrived in Puerto Montt, Chili at 8 am. The port was not very exciting to look at from our balcony because cloud covered the volcanoes in the distance.

We were going to eat breakfast at the buffet but it stopped serving at 10:30 just as we arrived. One of the things I don’t like about Holland America is that they don’t leave a section open so latecomers like us can get a bite. Well quickly we regrouped, collected out stuff and off the ship we went.

We saw a harbor seal on the way into port but unfortunately was unable to take a photo.

We decided to walk to the artisan’s market where they sell everything from hats to fish.

The boats in the harbor were very colorful!

I also spent a bit of time photographing street art!

We stopped at a little restaurant, La Surana, for our breakfast. We both had crepes. Mine had fruit and Bruce had ice cream.

Now Bruce’s tea was a funny story. He ordered black tea with milk. So they brought him a cup of hot milk and a tea bag. So he thought that was it. He started steeping the tea in the hot milk when they came with hot water. He said it tasted like a cup of warm milk.

They really brighten up their sewer caps in Puerto Montt.

It was a fun few hours in Puerto Montt. We could have taken tours to volcanoes or waterfalls as well as checked out other parts of the city. But our few hours out and about in the markets stopping for a pastry was perfect for us!

I learned about alpaca and what it is and what it’s not. Unfortunately most of the stuff the vendors were selling was acrylic and possibly made in China. I learned that alpaca feels cool, that it doesn’t hold odors and it is fairly heavy. We did find a few local craftspeople and bought a few gifts from them.

Now we are back on the ship ready to set sail. It was a very relaxing day in Puerto Montt.

#chile#puertomontt#alpaca#streetart#lasurana

Today we woke early to watch as our ship sailed to the largest glacier in South America. It’s named Glacier Pio XI after a Pope. It is also known as Bruggen Glacier.

The morning started out dark, cold and rainy. Bruce and I nestled in our cabin drinking tea and coffee as the skies began to lighten.

The views were breathtaking as we sailed through Icey Channel.

I could only stand out on our balcony for short periods of time. It was very windy, gusting at 40 mph.

We braved the bow of the ship earlier because we didn’t know if we’d get a good view of the glacier. But again we only spent a short time due to rain, cold and wind.

The light and dark water were the fresh water and seawater respectively. We approached the Glacier Pio XI.

We were very close and the captain turned the ship so both port and starboard sides had views from their balconies.

The interesting thing about this glacier is that it is growing rather than receding. From 2000 to 2016 it grew 1.8 kilometers. This may be attributed to the fact that the Patagonia region is unspoiled by pollution from cars, industry, etc which may contribute to the recession of all other glaciers around the world.

Traveling away from the glacier we were surrounded by mountains. During the Ice Age, this entire region was covered in ice.

We spent a good part of the day in the Crow’s Nest on Deck 10 of the Holland America Oosterdam, where we could hear commentary by Ed, our Cruise Director. It’s also where they have the coffee bar!

We continued our sail through the Grappler Channel.

We continue to travel down different picturesque channels.

We traveled a narrow channel into the Paso del Abismo channel. I think the Captain said that at the tightest spot it is 200 meters across making it a tight squeeze for the ship.

Here you can see the pass we are going through – the Captain and crew received a huge round of applause after we passed through.

There were some magnificent waterfalls along the way!

What a beautiful day!

#chili#fjords#glaciers#iceychannel#pioXI#bruggerglacier#pasodelabismo#hollandamerica#oosterdam

It’s a strange name, Ushuaia, which means deep bay.. It is located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and as the world’s southernmost city, it’s often referred to as “The End of the World.”

The city is over 135 years old and has a population of 82,615.

We arrived in port at noon after spending a spectacular morning cruising through the Beagle Channel.

The port had several smaller expedition ships that go to Antarctica, but we took a different course than other large cruise ships.

The city is surrounded by impressive mountains.

We walked a little way into town and saw the monumento antiguos pobladores.

I also found a bit of street art!

We booked a tour with Terramar Turismo. It included the End Of The World Train and Tierra del Fuego National Park. The ship offered this for $219 per person and our tour was $130 per person with 18 people max. We had 11. A very good size.

They were so cute how could you not book a tour!

Our tour guide Anita was excellent. She was very informative and easy to understand! Our bus took us to the train depot!

This train has an interesting history. It was originally 25 kilometers and began operating in the 1800s transporting prisoners and supplies. Ushuaia was a penal colony.

The Ushuaia prison operated as such until 1947. With the closure of the prison, the train stopped operating a few years later. In 1994 it reopened for tourists. Of course, the three locomotives are replicas of the original ones and are all steam locomotives.

On the route we saw beautiful mountains, what appeared to be wild horses and a waterfall.

The train departs from The End of the World station, a former prison embankment, and ends at the Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Our conductor spoke in Spanish and English.

We arrived at the National Park and spent a few hours taking short hikes and seeing beautiful lakes.

We took a short loop hike on a boardwalk

It started raining a little and the weather was growing colder. Along the way, we saw camp sites and geese.

Some of the area looked so much like the coast of Maine although the mountains here would tower over Cadillac Mountain.

I had asked Anita if she could stop so I could take a photo of the End of the World golf course. This is the last golf course at the bottom of the earth.

It was time to head back to the ship. It wasn’t a day of churches and pastries but it was very enjoyable. On our last leg back I saw a church in the distance!

Now we will have a couple of sea days cruising some beautiful channels!

#ushuaia#endoftheworldtrain#tierradelfuegonationalpark#terramarturisimo#tours#horses#prisontrain#lake

I’m not much of a morning person but since we were lucky to be on the port side of the ship where we could see the glaciers, I figured it was worth getting up. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Our coffee and tea arrived at 6:15 but it was still dark and hard to see anything outside. So I snooze a few more minutes waiting for Ed, our cruise director to start narrating.

The first thing we saw was Mount Darwin.

The light is just peeking out. Our first glacier was Romanche.

Next was Alemania.

The next was Francia.

The next was the largest Italia. This glacier went all the way down to the water.

And the last was Holanda.

As you can see, they were named after countries.

Just some more photos of our scenic cruise down Beagle Channel.

A little bit of sunrise.

A whale sighting!

And a bit of tail!

And we are now awake!

#beaglechannel#glaciers#whale#Mountdarwin#

We never know what to do when we hit a port; take a ship excursion or just wing it.

For the most part, I’ve been very disappointed with ship excursions. From the onset, you wait in large groups with your little sticker and in precision exit the ship. It’s not that I’m morally or emotionally opposed, it’s just not me. Yes, it’s safer. If the bus breaks down, the ship will wait for you. If you are on your own, you are how they say “shit out of luck.

This morning the sun was shining bright but it was brisk out on our balcony. Punta Arenas is only a short tender ride away.

So we set out to see churches and bakeries. What happens beyond that always adds to our day!

We finally made it off the ship and onto the tender before 11. No crowds to deal with which is how I like it.

The tender was half full which made for a comfortable ride.

We stopped inside the visitors center before setting off on our walk about town.

There were many statues around Punta Arenas. Unfortunately, my Spanish isn’t fluent enough to read the signs.

So our first stop after a 5k walk was the Cementerio Municipal. But on the way, we were passing a church and of course, I just had to stop.

We sat for a few minutes to say our prayers then moved on in the direction of the cemetery. It was $5 each to get into the cemetery. A funeral was taking place so lots of people and some beautiful music.

There were some very interesting trees! The first photo reminded us of the “Shining” sans the snow.

After the cemetery, we stopped at a cute little coffee shop, Briciole Dolce. I had a cappuccino and Bruce had a latte. I had an apple strudel and he ate a donut.

In the Plaza De Armas, there’s a statue of Ferdinand Magellen.

Surrounding the plaza are many old buildings including the Palacio Sara Braun. She was a Chilean businesswoman who was involved in many charities and was known for her benevolence. This was her home but is now a museum and a restaurant.

Here are some other buildings surrounding the park .

And of course, we walked past a couple of other churches but didn’t go inside them.

And now we are back on the ship having coffee with friends. I’m ready to enjoy escargot tonight!

#chile#puntaarenas#church#tender#port#cemetery#sarabraun#cementeriomunicipal#palaciosarabraun#magellanmonument#bricioledolce#plazadearmas

Today we visited the Falkland Islands landing in Stanley. There were 2 cruise ships in port. Ours, the Holland America Oosterdam, and the Sapphire Princess. With two ships converging on this southern city, and I mean Antarctica southern, our numbers were higher than the Falklands population.

We slept in a little later hoping to avoid the first rush off the ship. I looked out on our balcony to see a very bleak terrain.

But the sun was shining so that was very promising. The temperatures were in the 50’s with high winds. We had gusts up to 40 miles an hour. We tendered over to the port.

The ship was offering tours of over $200 per person to see the penguins but by the time I was looking at excursions, all were sold out. We found that we could take a shuttle over to Gypsy Cove for $20 each so that’s what we did.

It almost looks like a salt flat. There were people actually in the water.

We walked a long a path with lots of other people and our first encounter was with this little guy or girl. These are Magellan penguins.

A little further on we found a huddle of penguins.

Then we saw a pod of orcas.

Since both of us were not feeling great, we decided not to walk the 5k to the other area to see Gentoo penguins. Maybe our next stop.

We browsed around the town a bit and visited Christ Church. Of course, we said our prayers.

Then we visited the Catholic Church which was a more humble church.

It was a lovely day in the Falklands and we were very lucky to have such nice weather.

Just some random photos of our day in the Falklands.

Now we are getting ready for bed and the wind is whistling through our door! It’s rocking and rolling. I should sleep like a baby!

#penguins#magellan#orca#cruising#hollandamerica#gypsycove#shuttleservice

For two days we wandered around the ship, caught a tango show onboard, won $50 on slots and ate a lot of food.

Unfortunately, Bruce is feeling a bit under the weather; so we are not in full swing. Today, we landed in Uruguay, a little late due to other vessel issues and a medical emergency. The captain said we will stay a little later so we can enjoy Montevideo.

The architecture was interesting; some old and some new. We visited the Cathedral Metropolitan. I love visiting old churches in other countries.

We spent a little time saying some prayers. Then I took some photos. A group of novice priests was visiting the Cathedral.

We stopped at a cafe for treats. The Uruguayan peso is 39 pesos to the dollar. Luckily, I have a currency converter that I use on my phone.

I always found the story of the Uruguayan Rugby Team that crashed in the Andes in 1972 fascinating. A museum was set up, originally only temporary but now a permanent museum. It was very interesting to read about the players and all passengers on the flight.

On our walk back to the ship, we came upon a wall from the old city.

Uruguay was a fascinating place. We wish we had more time!

#uruguay#andes#museum#cathedralmetropolitan#cruising#pesos#tango#

We had a slow start to the day. Enjoyed the luxury of sleeping late and wandered over to a cafe for coffee.

I had croissants and coffee and Bruce had hot chocolate and a pastry with jam filling.

We decided to visit El Ateneo, a bookstore located in a former theatre.

It was built in the early 1900’s as a theatre and in early 2000’s became a beautifully artistic display of literature, CDs and DVD’s.

We browsed around the “library” but found there was limited seating. The cafe which is at the back, actually was the stage, was filled to capacity. Having perused the bookshelves for a while, we decided it was time to move on.

Our next stop was a little cafe for a bottle of water and an empanada.

We wandered down a street in the Recoleto section that was obviously where locals did their food shopping. Meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies and wine. Everything looked so delicious and tempting. I almost wished I had a kitchen to cook in.

And of course, dogs are very popular here and dog walking is a good business. The other day I saw a dog walker with 8 dogs, both big and small!

We sat in the park for awhile, people watching. I feel very relaxed and comfortable in Buenos Aires.

We met some friends for coffee this evening. Many of them have moved here from the US and Europe. Some are what we say in Florida, snowbirds. Summer here which is actually our winter months – October to May. Then they go to Europe.

For dinner I had a Caprese tostado and Bruce had an egg sandwich on a croissant.

This morning we ate at Le Pain Quotidien so I could have another almond croissant.

It’s packing day. We will board the Holland America Oosterdam at 4pm. The ship will be in port until tomorrow evening

Now we are sitting in the lovely garden area at the Park Hyatt. Our driver, Santiago, will pick us up at 3:30 to take us to the port.

We finally made it to the ship – and our cabin. We even have a bathtub!

We had a quick bite in the Lido Market and then went exploring.

After a presentation on Holland Americas 150 years of service, we called it a day!

#hollandsmerica#buenosaires#150years#oosterdam#dogwalkers#eleteneo