Paul S Bryers, December 26, 2019

We spent our final day in BA, December 23, just strolling around….

And then a bit of pool time….

On December 24, we flew over the Andes to Santiago, Chile – some great views (credit to Chris for the glacier photo).

On arrival at our hotel, we were surprised to see that our and other hotels, as well as all businesses, had metal shutters in place to protect from protesters. We knew about the ongoing protests against wealth inequality, of course, but had not realized the scale. While the protesters’ cause is very understandable it was sad to see the damage and graffiti everywhere..

Christmas Day was very quiet and we just walked around the city center a bit – big police presence but all seemed safe. Popped into a mass which had great singing…

Had our Christmas Day drinks and dinner at the W – terrific views.

Today, December 26, we transferred over to the Sheraton to meet the Hurtigruten staff – very organized! We had a bit of pool time this afternoon and are now excited about our flight to Punta Arenes tomorrow to start the Hurtigruten Antartica cruise.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 22, 2019

After an early departure from the cruise ship at Buenos Aires, most of the rest of the day was spent recovering at the hotel from the fun time we had over the last 18 days cruising. Le Patios de San Telmo are very nice accommodations and well located – lovely out door spaces and there is a sculpture of a horse with its head coming out of its arse, which is unusual.

We had recovered enough by night time to go out and have a drink at The Oldest, a pub run by Joaquin in the Belgrano area.

We then went on to meet some friends from the cruise at Positano (https://positanolirica.com.ar), where you have dinner and are entertained by opera singers (very good), tango dancers and a comedian in drag. Great time had by all!

The following day we did a hop on/off bus tour (blue and red routes, 3.5 hours) which was interesting to get an overview of the city, but a bit tedious in places.

Following the bus tour we went for light bites and wine at San Telmo Market – delicious and noisy.

Finally, we had dinner at La Poesia Bar (http://www.losnotables.com.ar/cafe-la-poesia/) which did excellent trout and salmon.

Today we took a 5 hour tour which included a boat trip along the coastal waters of Buenos Aires’ Rio de la Plata and up the smaller rivers to Le Tigre – these smaller rivers have houses along the banks only accessible by boat.

Not sure yet where dinner will be tonight or what we will do with our final day in BA tomorrow.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 19, 2019

After the crowds of Salvador and Rio, Montevideo was a pleasant change. A very walkable city (indeed, the main city starts at the port) with some interesting architecture but overall a bit dilapidated. The gates to the old city looked a bit forlorn at Independence Plaza. Got the feeling that the renovation of the city was very much a slow work in progress..

Plenty of street art/graffiti and street performers, as well as stalls selling all sorts.

The main cathedral was, as usual, very beautiful. The floors were quite stunning.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 18, 2019

It has been 20 years since we were last in Rio – on that occasion for 2 weeks which included New Year’s Eve 1999 on Copacabana Beach, along with 2 million other folks. This was a far quicker trip but we still managed to see some new bits of Rio.

We opted for a Princess Cruises tour on our first day, which lasted for about 5 hours. We started by going straight up Sugarloaf on the cable car.

It was a prefect day for views.

We did a brief drive by of Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches – not stopping this time….Pity as we enjoyed last time…

We were then off to see the Cathedral – imposing modern concrete building. Inspired by Inca temples..

On the following day, we took a metro from right outside the dock to downtown Rio. The murals at the dock were excellent, and many of the buildings downtown had been very well renovated, especially the Municipal Theater and some of the larger churches.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Rio and head out for 2 days at sea and then Montevideo.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 13, 2019

Salvador is located in the Bay of All Saints and is quite imposing from the bay, with its modern towers built on the lower land and the old city high on a ridge.

As you approach the cruise dock, the many churches in the old city become evident.

The bay is the largest in any tropical waters and light houses are evident to protect the huge ships passing through from the many sandbanks.

There are not many sandy beaches and those there are tend to be small.

You can get up to the old city via the Lacerda Elevator or via road. The public elevator was built in the late 1860s.

The old city is very colorful and vibrant and plenty locals want to have their photo taken with you, for a $ or so.

Some of the churches are very decorative inside – did someone say “gold”?

From a safety perspective, the old city seemed safe enough to walk around in but it is probably sensible to be on a guided tour as they coordinate with local law enforcement.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 11, 2019

Our 5th of 6 straight days at sea. Time goes remarkably quickly. This is the first day we have seen anything else – a few large ships in the distance, a couple of small fishing boats and gannets diving for flying fish.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 6, 2019

As evidenced by the red man, The Government of Martinique wants to be certain none of their citizens gets run over by a cruise liner. Very sensible.

On landing, we grabbed a taxi and driver to take us around the northern part of the island for 4 hours. He introduced us to this guy – I can’t remember who he is but I’m sure he was a lovely colonial-type chap.

Next up was a nice church with, so I thought, a quite clever reflection in the glass building opposite.

We then went up into the rain forest and saw some lovely waterfalls and flora.

Then past the cloud covered volcano and back down towards the coast.

Finally, a dip in the pool and a lovely sunset as we head off for 6 days at sea on our way to Salvador, Brazil.

By Paul S. Bryers, December 5, 2019

After 2 full days at sea it was good to see St Kitts and Nevis, the latter topped by cloud.

Once anchored, we were tendered into Basseterre on St Kitts and had a stroll around.

There was no J Marks in town but a nice church and a wee dog.

By Paul S Bryers, December 2, 2019

And so begins our 6 week trip:

• 18 days cruising Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires (BA), Argentina;
• 4 days sightseeing in BA;
• 2 days investigating Santiago, Chile
• 17 days cruising tip of S America, Antarctic Peninsular and Falkland Islands;
• 2 days re-investigating Santiago.

The Coral Princess, which will take us to BA, seems like a lovely ship.

We have not cruised with Princess before but are lucky to have a good friend, Michael, who works for them and he sped us onboard.

It has been a few years since we left FLL on a cruise, but it is always great to depart from our home town and the port was pretty busy.

Anyway, we are now on our way…

….with the first port of call being St Kitts on December 5th.

By Paul S Bryers, September 2016

You must do this if you get the chance. For around US $300 buy a Gran (1st Class) ticket and travel the 718 km from Aomori to Tokyo in 3 hrs and 27 mins on Japan’s fastest and newest bullet train. Airline-like business class seats, tasty snack and endless soft/alcoholic drinks.