Travel with Dale & Margaret

We are at sea today and having a good time relaxing and enjoying ourselves…it’s the weekend, there are no ports to explore, the weather is finally good (a bit too warm…but after Antarctica we are not complaining!).  We had a get together for the Machu Picchu group today — it will be the last one for those passengers getting off in Rio de Janerio (we arrive into Rio on Monday).

Lisa, the assistant cruise director here on the Mariner, has worked hard to collect the stories from us and pictures and videos and such.  They had done a presentation of all of this for the whole ship a week or so after we were back on after our adventure…and now she has burned the memories onto a DVD and given each of us a copy.

She also handed out hard copies of the stories people told and some songs and poems people wrote about the experience.  My favorite poem is by our new friend Nick…we had no idea Nick was such a talented guy!  See his poem below.

Nick and Sherrie enjoying the MP Get Together on the Mariner.

Here is Nick’s poem!

We started the day riding the train
Next to the river all swollen with rain

Little did we know what was in store
We were veteran travelers down to our core

We enjoyed our day, the time really flew
After all — this was Machu Picchu!

Buy alas some troubles were about to occur
The next few days would be difficult — that was for sure

From train station to hotel and line after line
The only thing that was consistent — we always had wine

As the days went on we had new troubles to bear
The biggest one being — no clean underwear

But our spiritis stayed amazingly good
We knew our guide & Regent were doing all they could

Finally the choppers took us away
Even if the US officials wanted some of us to stay!

On to Cusco & Lima we flew
It proved to be hard to get out of Peru

But Gari prevailed using his wit & his charm
It helped he had a credit card hooked to his arm

When we drove up to the ship the welcome was great
Everyone wanted to know the details of our fate

But the best thing we’ll remember when all of this ends
Is how we made so many new friends

Great job Nick!!

We had dinner tonight in the Signatures restaurant — which is the Cordon Bleu reservations-only french restaurant on the ship.  We hadn’t eaten here in a while and we had a great dinner!  Us and some fellow passengers have been talking to John, our head sommelier, about a special wine dinner and he informed us tonight that it will take place tomorrow evening!  We are very excited about this — he is pairing 5 different reserve wines with a 5 course meal.  Regent provides complimentary wine but the reserve wines are better but you have to pay for them…we’ve bought wine many of the nights.   More details on this tomorrow.

MP Get Together Picture Gallery: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Machu-Picchu-Reunion-Feb-20/25178203_K6QnVb#!i=2065149768&k=sWjbFBd

PS: Turns out that this wasn’t the last MP get together.  They had one more to show Marcia and Douglas’ great MP video.  She gave me a copy previously.  They had 70 people show up!  They also gave us all a copy of the ship’s MP video (that had a lot of my pictures and few video clips and included a nice segment on this on the ship produced 65 day video they gave to all the Circle South America cruisers.

Today we went on a tour of Punta del Este, Uruguay which is a beach resort area on a peninsula which is pretty much the Southern-most part of Uruguay.  In a nutshell, it is sort of like the Miami Beach of Argentina and Brazil…without the “cool” factor.

We had high hopes for Punta (as the local’s call it) but, in the end, we came away a bit disappointed.  Our tour was a bus tour of the primary beaches and high end neighborhoods.  And, their are plenty of them including one called Beverly Hills!  Another where one house took up an entire city block and many condo complexes where the lowest price unit is $1 million and the highest over $10 million.  Clearly, there are people in Argentina and Brazil that have some dough to buy vacation homes.  Rents for reasonable sized houses go for around $15,000/month and higher in the prime months of January through March.  This place is packed with vacationers during prime time (which is now).

We decided to skip the museum which, it turns out was quite good with a lot of Dali’s work.  Oh well.  We got off the bus in the shopping area and walked about 12 blocks in the heat to the port.  Margaret didn’t find much and didn’t buy anything but there are plenty of stores here.

In the harbor the fishing boats had come in and there were stands set up right on the water to sell their wares.  There were some kids helping their parents clean fish and shrimps and there were several sea lions hanging out to eat the spoils!  I got some interesting pictures of a few of them.

After a bit of a wait we took that long tender ride back to the ship and our home away from home.  I don’t think we will be moving to Uruguay anytime soon.  While it has a lot of positive things it seems just too far away from our comfort zone and our friends.  But it has been nice to learn more about a country that seems to be doing a lot of things right in an era where many have lost their way.

Thanks for keeping up with us!

Picture Gallery for Punta del Este: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Punta-del-Este-Feb-19-2010/25177036_KnnnbJ#!i=2065023200&k=s6jBbwv

Today we took an excursion around Buenos Aires. After the trip to Iguazu yesterday we thought it best to take a more relaxing approach to seeing the area. It is an amazingly large and impressive city.  We were off at 8:30  and saw the highlights of the city from our comfortable coach. They took us to the central city area with many  historical buildings, the Presidential Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral where the “the national hero of Argentina” – General San Martin, who led Argentina in their revolution from Spain in 1821, is buried.

The next stop was the Recoleta Cemetary, where Eva Peron “Evita” is buried. This was a very impressive cemetery (even more so than the one we saw in Punta Arenas). Here there were massive above-ground tombs, many done in Gothic or Roman style, and there were a LOT of them. It was quite a spectacle. Evita is buried in her family’s tomb – and while it wasn’t as spectacular as some of the other tombs it is still widely visited (we had to wait in line for 10 minutes to get to it) and people still leaves flowers in her remembrance.

On our way to our next step they drove us around some residential neighborhoods and then took us to the River Tigre where we boarded a large cruising yacht that took us through the islands that make up the Tigre delta area. The islands were formed from thousands of years of sediment collecting at in this delta area. There are said to be around 5,000 islands but not all of them inhabitable. The primary islands we saw were very nice with a variety of housing types and everyone with a boat dock! There are no bridges connecting the islands so you have to have your own boat or take the boat taxis to get around. They also have a mail boat and even a grocery store boat!

We stopped at a restaurant on one of the islands and had a nice lunch of Argentinean beef and some local wine. After lunch we were back on the boat and heading out to the main waterway by the city and eventually back to the pier close to where our ship was docked. We were lucky the weather was very nice and the water was calm. We were then picked up by another bus and brought to the port area where we climbed it…yes, another bus…and were back on the ship about 8 hours after we left.

Another long day…but there is a lot to see here and we don’t know when we will be back so better to try and get it all in. Tomorrow we are back in Uruguay at the resort city of Punta Del Este.

Buenos Aires Picture Gallery: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Buenos-Aires-Feb-18-2010/25177077_vz2pvH#!i=2065028256&k=rxJPTPs

Today we went to the incredible Iguazu Falls!  We had booked this excursion 3 months ago (before the Machu Picchu situation) and as it got closer we were more than a little hesitant about leaving the ship again to trek to a location requiring buses, airplanes and trains…but we did making sure to pack extra clothes, toothpaste and underwear!  (You never know…)

There were about 100 of us brave souls on this excursion.  We took a 20 minute bus ride to the airport and boarded our charted 737 to Iguazu (pronounced Ig–oo–a–zoo).  We then boarded another bus for a 30 minute transfer to the Sheraton Hotel located on the Argentina side of the Falls.   Iguazu Falls is the result of the Panama River, which creates the border here between Argentina and Brazil, falling off of tremendous cliffs and ledges – some 250 feet in height.

We had a large room reserved for us so we could leave our change of clothes, bags, etc. and where they supplied us with towels to use for our next encounter — taking zodiac jet boats out into the Falls!  They told us we would get “very” wet — actually I think they used the term “soaking” — Margaret and I looked at each other and decided perhaps it was best to let the other guests have that fun and we would entertain ourselves with the view and taking splendid photos of our more adventurous friends!  (We also thought that since Margaret was getting over bronchitis…that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for her to exert herself too much and get soaking wet in the process!).

We then walked from the Sheraton down to the Falls…it was about a 1/2 mile downhill.  Those electing to go on the Zodiac had another 1/4 mile or so walk down some steep and slippery rock steps (about 100 in all) to get to the water and then over to the dock area.  I went down the steps so I could take some photos and then made my way back up.  Margaret stayed at the top of the steps at another lookout/view area that was close enough to the Falls that the spray would get you soaked if you stood close enough!  By the time I made it back up the stairs I was soaked…not just from the spray, but from sweating!  It was 90+ degrees and 90+ percent humidity.  We were lucky it was partly cloudy this morning because that kept the temperatures down…our guide told us it had been over 100 for the past 3 weeks!

The group of us that didn’t take the Zodiac walked along a really nice path that had fantastic panoramic vistas.  At one lookout point we saw our group down below loading into the boat and we were able to take videos and pictures of them (check out the photo gallery for these and other pictures).

We then walked the 1/2 mile or so back to the Sheraton — uphill — for lunch.  The buffet lunch was good and we all had time to catch our breath and fill our stomachs (you have to eat every 2 hours or so when you are on a cruise ship…you body comes to expect it!).

Throughout lunch I noticed the sky was clearing and it was becoming gloriously blue with white puffy clouds.  Our next adventure was to walk from the Sheraton to the train station (another 1/2 mile or so) and then board the narrow gauge train for a short ride to the park entrance where we would see the “Devils Throat”!  It was getting REALLY hot and we had to wait a bit for the train…we wondered how some of the older folks could handle this heat and the multiple 1/2 mile walks…but they seemed to be doing OK.  We bought some water and a Popsicle and tried to cool off a bit as we waited for the train.  While we waited we met some rather friendly “Coatimundi’s” which is a member of the raccoon family…these guys were pretty tame and actually poked their rather long noses into our bags looking for food!  Check out the photo gallery for pictures of these rascals!

The train ride itself was fairly short and when we arrived at the station we found out we had another 1/2 mile walk to get to the top of the falls where the lookout area is for the Devil’s Throat. The walk was on a metal catwalk structure that went over the multiple arms of the river that would eventually become the Falls.   We understood, upon reaching Devil’s Throat, how it got this name — it was an incredible site.  The Devil’s Throat look-out area is at the very top of the Falls so you are standing right where the water makes it’s plunge down a 250+ foot drop.  Spontaneous rainbows would appear and disappear magically…it was quite a sight.  We have been to Niagara Falls…and this must be at least 5-10 times more water and twice as high..it was fantastic!

We stayed there for 15 minutes or so and then began our 1/2 mile walk back to the train.  At this point the sun was glaring and we were pretty close to our threshold…and this is from 2 people who are, on average — 20-30 years younger than a lot of the people on this adventure!  Back at the train station we waited (again) for the train and finally made it back to the area where we were to catch our buses (after another 1/4 mile walk!).

The bus ride to the airport was only 15 minutes or so and we were on our chartered flight on time and winging our way back to Buenos Aries.  The flight only lasted 1 hour & 40 minutes so it wasn’t too bad.  Before we knew it we were back on another bus at the airport and another 20 minutes to the cruise terminal.

All in all it was a great day and we saw a lot.  If you want to learn more about Iguazu Falls click on this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

The hardest thing to believe was at the end of the day (Margaret and I were both exhausted) a bunch of our fellow travelers decided they hadn’t had enough and decided (after all of that) to take a bus into Buenos Aires and catch a Tango show!!  Incredible!  We ended up having dinner on the ship at La Veranda and then went to the Observation Lounge so Margaret could work on perfecting her “Green-teani” recipe!

Iguazu Falls Picture Gallery 1: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Iguazu-Falls-Feb-17-2010/25172758_PF6gRC#!i=2064514059&k=qdLZ4vf

Today we went to Juanico Familia Deicas Vineyards in Montevideo, Uruguay. This is our first (and only) wine tasting off of the ship. We had signed up for another one (in Chile) that we missed due to the “Machu Picchu Adventure” (as it is now referred to…). We have heard and tasted good things about South American wines – but we don’t have a lot of experience so we thought this excursion would be interesting.

The tour departed around 10:15 this morning and we did a quick overview of the city of Montevideo before heading out to the vineyard. The countryside is beautiful, although today we had a bit of rain, but all in all it was an easy ride out to Juanico. Because of the rain we stayed on the coach and they drove us through the vineyards showing off their beautiful grapes – some of which were being harvested as we watched!

The wine cellar would be competition to Napa!              Mike and Cheryl toast to a good time!

We were then taken into the main building, given a glass of their sparkling wine, and shown through their wine cellar. Through our explorations of the area I ran into a group of Sommeliers and wine stewards and stewardesses from the Mariner! They had come for a wine tasting (and some wine purchasing) as well and were having a great time watching the locals cook up some beef on the BBQ. We had heard that the Uruguayan beef is some of the best organic beef in the world…so we were hoping to get a taste of it as well! Inside we sat at some very rustic tables – the table tops were actual slices of trees!  Very interesting.

We tasted 5 wines and all of them were pretty good – some better than others of course. The wines consisted of:

– Sparkling Wine
– Chardonnay/Viognier
– Tannat
– Merlot
– Meritage

They did serve us some food…but none of the beef that we saw cooking outside on the BBQ…we were very disappointed…but, they did make up for it by giving us a special show.

The ship’s head sommelier on the Mariner says hello!    This guy has been manning the Uruguayan BBQ for many years.

Two couples came out and did the Tango for us! It was sort of weird because at first the 2 men were dancing together – we found out that it was traditionally men who did the Tango…at houses of ill repute, while they waited their turn…so to speak.  After a while the rules loosened up or guys just started thinking it was sort of strange to have to dance suggestive dances with another guy, and now the Tango is done with a man and a female partner (a much better combination in my opinion!).  The dancing was very nice albeit, how we say in America, “sexy” even involving throwing the woman over his head, lots of contact below the belt and so on.  Apparently, when the guys were dancing together in the “old” days, they thought it was taboo to have contact on the upper body, including making eye contact, but OK to touch below the belt.  Go figure.  After the professional couples danced they came out into the group and brought some of our fellow Regent travelers out onto the dance floor to do regular ballroom type dancing. Neither Margaret or I went, but some of our friends did and it looked like they had a good time!

The professionals show us their stuff.                              Marcia and Jean-Michel enjoy Janico wine.

After this finished we were back on the bus and were brought back to the downtown area where the bus dropped us off for some shopping. We walked around the shopping area a bit but Margaret had a conference call so we had to go back to the ship. I did get a chance to sample (finally!) some Uruguayan beef when I saw some of our friends, Mary and Pete, at one of the restaurants and was able to get a bite of some of the food they were eating – it was very good! Tomorrow we are off early to fly to the Iguaza Falls…this will be quite an experience I am certain…we are hoping it will be less of an adventure than the one we got at Machu Picchu – but we will pack extra underwear just in case ☺.

Pictures coming when we get back from the Falls.  I got them all edited just now but have to get to bed.  I took the D200 today and it was dark at the beginning of the day.  I accidentally left the camera on ISO 800 all day so I wasn’t terribly happy with the picture quality.  However, I still got WAY too many pictures that I liked (about 100) so it took a while to process them all.  That’s part of the learning process.  I’ve done that twice now and hopefully, won’t do it again.  Tomorrow’s going to be one full day!  Stay tuned.

PS:  We are going to be going to Tonga with the kids on a bareboat catamaran charter mid-April.  There was a cyclone there yesterday with, get this, 140 mph winds.  No one was killed which is good news.  Don’t know if there was damage to the “cats” at Sunsail but we’ll be finding out shortly.  We don’t need that kind of excitement after Machu Picchu. (PS: I have now decided to NOT go to Tonga due to a number of reasons.  Instead, the much safer choice of British Virgin Islands).

Montevideo Picture Gallery 1: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Montevideo-Feb-16-2010/25172516_jstgbL#!i=2064490536&k=WP3d84v