The Devil went to Santiago, Chile and all he got was this lousy posting

Stats:

Destination: Santiago, Chile

Number of Days: 3

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 0 Bus/Minivan - 1 Train/Subway - 4 taxi/car - 1

Where we stayed: Greenhouse - $40/night and not worth it, this place had very friendly hosts and a decent breakfast with free Wifi but it definitely could have been cleaner, especially the shared bathroom.

Favorite Restaurant: Gatopardo - amazing set menu, at least some times. For $10 you get a trip to their yummy salad bar, an entree, dessert, a pisco sour (the national drink), coffee or tea and a soda, draft beer or a glass of wine. The pork we had the first day was the best we have had in South America, it had this amazing honey sauce on it. The second day the choices weren't as great, it was either an onion quiche or congrio (eel). So make sure you look at the menu of the day before you go in.

Best of: Good views from the top of the Cerro Santa Lucia looking out over the city and beyond to the mountain tops.

Worst of: The city really has no feeling, good or bad. It's a big city that could exist anywhere in the world and other than the language spoken, you would not know the difference.

Something unexpected: The city was hotter than the beach, and on average always is. The Chileans have a strange dialect of Spanish. They blend words together and drop syllables making it especially difficult for us to understand.

Santiago is the capital of Chile and between here and Valparaiso/Vina del Mar nearly half of the entire population lives. A sprawling concrete jungle complete with an extensive subway and the transit hub for all of Chile. Unlike other places we have visited, Santiago seems to be missing something. It's not beautiful, charming or too cosmopolitan. Nor is it edgy, dangerous or appalling. Perhaps if we spent more time here, we might draw different conclusions, but given first impressions - this city lacks character; it refuses to be labeled or defined.

Our first stop after arriving by bus in the morning from Vina was to find some lunch. Gatapardo ended up being our highlight of Santiago, at least the first lunch there. After stuffing ourselves, we hiked to the top of Santa Lucia for a overlook of the city and to burn a few calories. After wandering around for a while checking out Barrio Lasatarria, one of the slightly more upscale areas with lots of bars and restaurants, we ended up right back at Gatapardo for a happy hour (pisco sours), which here lasts from 6-9pm. May seem late to us, but dinner does not start until 8pm around here and goes until midnight!

We hopped on the subway and rode it all the way till the end of the rails the next morning for a tour of Concho y Toro (Shell and Bull) Bodega. This region of Chile is ideal for wine growing with little rainfall and lots of days of sunshine. The largest wine producer in Chile, Concho y Toro's most familiar label in the States is Del Diablo (The devil) and the facility is first class all the way. The grounds are spectacular and it was a different experience than most of the smaller vineyards we have visited in the States. The aging of the wine is controlled by a computerized inventory system that has a bar code on every barrel of wine giving all its vitals. The highlight of the tour (other than the obvious tastings!) was the original wine cellar. The Devil's wine got it's name when the owner, fed up with the locals breaking in and stealing his wine, made up a rumor that the devil lived in the cellar. Completing the hoax, a silhouette of the devil shines in one of the back corners aided by a well placed red light. Silly story, but it makes for a great name for a bottle of wine and made Concho y Toro what it is today.

Back in the city, we made the rounds of the museums, plazas and government buildings. We checked out the Bella las Artes art museum. Ok, but nothing too special. The special exhibit was underground political comics from the dictatorship years of the 70's and 80's which would have been more interesting had we been able to understand not only Spanish, but the people and politics of the time. We took a stroll through the crowded Plaza de Armes, the heart of downtown, anchored by the massive Cathedral Metropolitana. We also took a stroll through the Constitution Plaza which sits in the shadow of the Presidential Palace, their version of the White House. Oddly enough the rest of the government is in Valparaiso. We finished our stroll through the financial district with poking our heads (well, just Jason) into one of the odd businesses known as Cafes con Piernas (Legs Cafes). While we assume they actually serve coffee, the draw is the strip club atmosphere complete with loud music, dim lights and half naked women. It seemed like the fitting way to end our time in this quirky city we still can't define.

Having got our feel for the city, we packed our bags and headed back into Argentina. Next stop, Mendoza!

To see more photos of Santiago, click here.

One Completo with a ton of Mayo and a side of Amor! Vina del Mar & Valparaiso

Stats:

Destination: Vina del Mar & Valparaiso, Chile

Number of Days: 4

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 1 Train/Subway - 3 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Hotel Florencia - $40 Nice and quiet part of town. Not too far from the beach either.

Favorite Restaurant: Nothing really stood out but La Flur de Chile (The Flower of Chile) was pretty good with their set lunch, schop (draft beer) and cheap copa de vino tinto (glass of red wine)

Best of: The sun peaked through our last day there, so we were able to enjoy the sunset on the beach with a glass of red wine (in plastic McDonald ice cream cups, but who cares)

Worst of: Not sure why, but tagging (graffiti) is so prolific here and no one seems to bother cleaning it up. Just makes the place look like a ghetto.

Random Side Notes: Chile is apparently a country for lovers and lovers of mayonnaise (mayonnaisa in Spanish). Couples here can barely keep their hands off one another. On the other side they smother, and we do mean smother, their food in mayonnaise (see "The Completo" below) This photo shows an incomplete section of mayonnaise in the local grocery store. It's at least twice as long as pictured. And Americans are the ones with poor eating habits...ok we still have that but the Chileans are making a run for it!

All good things must come to an end and after half heartedly trying to get back on the boat for another pass around the bottom (without Antarctica) we waved goodbye to the Star Princess and new friends, Ady and Javier, and hit the road again.

The ship docked in Valparaiso, but we opted to head to the slightly quieter town of Vina del Mar just up the coastline. Actually, the two cities are practically the same. Connected by the same subway system and you can see one city from the other making it easy to travel back and forth. Combined with Santiago, these three cities make up nearly half of the Chilean population, just to give you an idea of how rural most of Chile is.

We spent most of our time in Vina del Mar and preferred the atmosphere there a little better than Valparaiso (below). The town serves as the most popular beach resort in the country and it is geared toward weekend getaways from Santiago with a plethora of bars and restaurants right on the beach as well as the country's only Casino. We stopped in one afternoon and wasted a dollar each or so. The center of the older part of town is anchored by a huge hill and houses the rich and famous Chileans. There are several castles (think more modern than mediaeval) but are all privately owned. The outside is still impressive and the views they have of the ocean are something special. Most of the coastline is made up of huge rocks and the waves here are impressive. The entire coastline of Vina del Mar is lined with a boardwalk as we spent a fair amount of time walking up and down the boardwalk watching the make-out sessions, soaking in some rays and watching the waves crash into the rocks resulting in a sometimes impressive show. When the rocks gave way to the sand, a lot of people sunbathed, but not many dared go in given the strength of the waves and the temperature. Even the sand carvers were out looking for a few tips for their hard earned work.

We took the first night off and walked to the mall where we took in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (in English, and a very interesting and entertaining movie) with real popcorn! Speaking of food, we also "indulged" in a gastronomic nightmare known to locals as the "Completo" It's a hotdog toped with guacamole, tomatoes, mustard and about two pounds of mayonnaise. We scraped off most of the mayo and still could not stomach this thing. My stomach is churning just thinking about it.

Changing subjects, Vina del Mar is also home to the only Moah (Easter Island statue) in Chile not on Easter Island (Chile owns Easter Island). We spent our last morning checking out the Museum which had an interesting display on the island as well as the mainland culture and history. After our history lesson, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sitting on the beach, checking out the mall again, and catching another beautiful sunset complete with our glasses of wine.

Not to be outdone by it's neighbor to the north, Valparaiso is a stunning town in it's own right but in a different way. Instead of the beaches and boardwalks, Valpo has the colorful neighborhoods that run up the side of the hill seemingly stretching out forever. The higher parts of town can be walked to, but it is more of an experience to ride one of the 17 funiculars (Ascensors, or big elevators) to the top for about a quarter. We took a day to check out a couple of the neighborhoods, strolling into the artistic shops that abound here. Apparently, the artistic feeling does not end with canvases and paper. The town is literally covered in graffiti (ok if done sparingly) and tagging (never good). On the walls, on the sidewalks, on the streets...it's everywhere! I guess it gives the town a little character, and perhaps that's why it exists everywhere, but I personally think it's overboard.

Feeling satisfied that we had gotten our day at the beach, we took off the next morning for Santiago!

To see more pictures of Vina del Mar click here!

For Valparaiso click here!

Cruisin' Around - Some random cruise pics!

We realize that "cruising" goes against the rules of independent travel. It takes out some of the spirit of adventure. It's easy, organized and a little more structured than some of us prefer. You don't have to worry about cold showers, the discotheque next door blaring Whitney Houston's "I will always love you" over and over until 2 in the morning or getting stuck with the dorm room above the Chinese restaurant which happens to smell like you are sleeping in a vat of fried oil (not that we have ever had to :-)). You don't have to worry about how many times the kitchen has used the same bucket of dishwater to "clean" with, fight the cats and dogs off of your meal, and you will certainly never order french toast for breakfast and get "fish" toast. It feels a little like cheating. The experience is vastly different and we both agree that you miss a little of the local feel when traveling by cruise ship.

I do, however, write this to point out their value to the budget minded as well. To have been able to see the Falkland Islands would have been the cost of the cruise in just flights alone. Getting to Antarctica in any other form would have been 4 times the cost. Even the cost of buses and flights to Ushuaia would have been time consuming and expensive. The cruise allowed us to go to all these places and stay close to our budget. Throw in the fact that it allowed us to take a break and have a "vacation" from our admittedly extended vacation, to travel in comfort, be entertained and eat well while doing so, they are certainly worth a look for all types of travelers.

We had 7 days at sea on this cruise (not including Antarctica, Cape Horn & the Beagle Channel). Here are some of the things we did:

• Attended the cruise critic get togethers and tried on crazy penguin hats in anticipation of spotting penguins!

• Gambled the night away! Jason won bingo once winning $250 (minus $80 to play) and $150 in the casino (down to $40) so $200 to the good! As usual, Tracy lost $10 and called it quits.

• Saw beautiful sunsets!

• Attended lectures on ice breaking, wildlife and Antarctic living conditions!
• Celebrated a birthday (Ady's 29th)!

• Danced the night away in the discotheque!

• Kicked butt playing and winning games like Jenga, Guitar Hero & a scavenger hunt (complete with celebratory champagne)!

• Viewed pricey works of art and considered adding to our collection of "prints"!

• Ate way too much (our favorites were lobster & crab)! We're paying for it now with our expanded waist lines...

• Attended fun musical shows, tango classes & Gaucho performances!

• And finally, made new friends!

After enjoying our last few days at sea we arrived safely in Valparaiso, Chile on March 2nd. We transferred over to Vina del Mar and began getting used to the "norms" of independent travel once again! We're currently debating taking another cruise across the Atlantic...it must be something in the free water.

Phew...boy those penguins stink! Up close & personal in Magdalena Island - Punta Arenas, Chile

Stats:

Destination: Punta Arena, Chile

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 2 Bus/Minivan - 2 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: We were able to get up close to 60,000-75,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island!

Worst of: You don't want to get down wind of a bunch of penguins (or sea lions)...they STINK!

Tracy:

It's not every day you get the chance to walk next to 100,000 penguins and when you get an opportunity like that you should jump at it! We did and I'm really glad because it was incredible to see so many of these creatures up close and personal. We were invited onto a small tour by some acquaintances from cruise critic and this allowed us to spend more time at the site and for less money than the ship was charging.

They are fascinating creatures, we both love to watch them in their burrows, waddling out to greet their friends, diving into the water or taking a stroll down the beach!

Of all 130,000-150,000 penguins, this was was my absolute favorite!

After our penguin adventure we stopped at a local sea lion colony as well! Naturally, their favorite meal is penguin so when you see one, the other is sure to be around.

As a final treat we were given coffee with pisco (the local grape brandy) to help warm us up on the long boat ride back! After chatting for a bit with the crew they asked me if I wanted to sit with the captain and drive the boat! Luckily, we made it back safely!

To see more photos of Punta Arenas please click here!

The end of the world, the beginning of life! Ushuaia, Argentina

Stats:

Destination: Ushuaia, Argentina

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 2 Bus/Minivan - 0 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: Ushuaia provided us with our first glimpse of sea lions in the wild!

Worst of: When you take a cruise you it seems like you never have enough time in port. We were only able to do a few of the many things on our wish list for Ushuaia. We would have loved to have had enough time to take in Tierra del Fuego and the glacier behind town.

The end of the road. Last stop before Antarctica. Or as they say in Ushuaia, "The end of the world, the beginning of life" Although there is the Chilean town of Puerto Williams across the Beagle Channel, Ushuaia belongs to Argentina and currently has the claim as the southernmost city. Given the rivalry of these two neighbors, I can only imagine how many advertisements there are for Chileans to move to Puerto Williams to steal that claim. Despite the debate, there is no disputing that Ushuaia is a tourist Mecca. The city takes full advantage of the novelty of it all, Fin del Mundo (End of the World) souvenirs abound. But that's only the tip of the iceberg, sort of speak. The area boasts a beautiful National Park in Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), arranges nearly all the ice breaker excursions to Antarctica (the boats that cost a minimum of $4000 per person for 10 days) and has a quaint charm of isolation from the rest of the world. There's a scenic train ride, a golf course, and a ski slope; all of course claiming that dubious distinction of the "Southernmost". Oh and did I mention the thousands of sea lions basking in the sun on one of the islands in the picture perfect Beagle Channel? You can even dive here, if you are into that just above freezing, dry suit diving, looking for old ship wrecks, in low visibility sort of thing. The town was once a thriving port serving as a stop on the way to California from New York during the gold rush years. Once the Panama canal opened, the town fell on hard times until the tourism trade put it back on the map. It was also here that Darwin spent several years studying the native tribe here before publishing his book on the origin of man creating the debate that still exists till this day. (All his work in the Galapagos, what he is more well known for, revolved around the evolution of animals; mainly birds. He didn't actually publish his human evolution theory until after coming to Ushuaia.)

We had a tough time trying to decide what to do in Ushuaia. There are so many choices here and we could have spent several days exploring this region. With only one day we decided that we wanted to see more wildlife and so when we arrived in Ushuaia we found a 4 hour catamaran cruise with Canoero Catamarans ($40) into the Beagle Channel that made stops at several islands to see the sea lions, black cormorants and several other types of bird life. The boat also took us around a lighthouse for a very nice photo with the snow covered peaks serving as a backdrop.

After the catamaran cruise we wandered around town, The town has a quaint little village feel that one might expect given it's remoteness. I would classify it as a Swiss ski resort but with lots of boats. After getting caught up on our email (a whole week without it was pretty tough), we picked up a couple of souvenirs from our trip before heading back to the ship.

Next stop, Puenta Arenas and the first stop in Chile!

To see more photos of Ushuaia please click here!

Scenic Cruising in Cape Horn & the Beagle Channel!

Stats:

Destination: Cape Horn & the Beagle Channel

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 0 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: Stunning scenery!

Worst of: The wind was incredibly strong!

Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos) marks the end of the Americas, after this there is nowhere to go except Antarctica and it signaled to us the end of a very rough journey at sea through Drake's Passage with 12 foot waves....lets just say the boat was definitely rocking! We arrived at Cape Horn between 10am and 11am and began to circle around it. The Horn is really a mountain on top of an island and you could certainly see how ships would have a hard time navigating this with the waves and strong winds...and we were there on a calm day! Other than the nostalgia of it, there's not much there. A weather station, an Albatross statue that was too far away and too cloudy to see clearly, and some really cool rock formations formed by the constant pounding of the ocean.

After transiting through Cape Horn we entered the Beagle Channel. The Channel is named after Darwin's ship, the HMS Beagle, which was surprising to us. I had always associated the Galapagos with Darwin's work, but it was here, at the end of the world, that Darwin formulated his theory of human evolution by studying the native tribe that lived here. The Channel served as a primary shipping channel until the completion of the Panama canal and today it's serves as the border between Chile and Argentina. These two countries have a lot of border issues with one another and the far southern tip of South America, Cape Horn and some of the many islands at the tip are actually owned by Chile. The Channel was certainly beautiful with the Andes mountains rising high just behind the lush moss covered ground. It was a pleasant but extremely windy journey. The force of the wind was enough to hold you up if you leaned into it.

To see more photos of the Beagle Channel please click here!

Chilling out in the ice continent - Antarctica!

Stats:

Destination: Antarctica

Number of Days: 3 (it was supposed to be 4 days but a storm with 35 foot waves came in so we had to high tail it out - we still felt 12 foot swells while we crossed Drake's passage)

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 0 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: Stunningly beautiful scenery!

Worst of: We were unable to go onto the ice itself as our ship was too large (our ship held 2,300 people and the maximum size allowed for disembarkation on Antarctica was 200). We knew this in advance and still opted to go ahead as the small ships charge a minimum of $4000 per person for 10 days and our cruise was $1000 for 16 days...it was a no brainer for us and worth every single cent.

Saying that the scenery in Antarctica is stunning just doesn't do it justice. In our three short days there we saw more ice than imaginable (Antarctica is 99.8% covered with perpetual ice)! Not only is the continent covered in ice, but there are countless Icebergs and Bergie Bits floating in the water. Icebergs generally are the size of houses or larger and the surface area is only 10% of the total mass, the rest being submerged. Bergie Bits are the actual technical term for icebergs the size of a car or smaller. In either case, the ice breaks off from the Glaciers and takes on a life of their own. The wind and water transform each piece of floating ice into their own unique works of art.

In addition to all of the ice we witnessed penguins porpoise in the water, dolphins and even several whales! There aren't words to describe it all so instead of trying I think it's easier to show you some of our favorite photos!

20-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Elephant island)

*The top photo is a group of penguins porpoising through the water. On the final two shots you will see that the water is two shades of blue. The lighter shade is a top layer of fresh water melt from the glacier (in the middle of the last photo) and the dark blue is salt water.

21-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Iceberg Alley, Admiralty Bay & Esperanza Station)

*Esperanza station (2nd photo) is one of the largest communities on Antarctica and one of the few where people live year round, including families. The first person born on Antarctica was born here. The last photo is a photo of the group of scientists our ship picked up and took to Ushuaia, Argentina.

22-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Gerlach Strait, Neumayer Glacier & Channel)

*The blue ice is the "oldest" ice and the blue color is caused by a compression of the particles over the years.

The ship sailed all the way to the 65th parallel which was the southern most point they were allowed to sail to. Beyond that point, boats are uninsurable and enter waters at their own risk and cost. Had we had spent no less than $4000 each, then we could have went farther and stepped on land, but given the cost differences and the fact that two of those ships ran aground during our time there, we feel pretty good about our choice.

On our last day in Antarctica, the captain informed us that we would have to cut our time a little short on the white continent due to a huge storm coming our way. We were sad to leave a little early, but excited to be able to see Cape Horn and the Beagle Channel in the light of day!

To see more photos of Antarctica please click here! And here! And here!

Our first encounter with penguins! Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (aka Malvinas Islands)

Stats:

Destination: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (aka Malvinas Islands, Argentina)

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 2 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: We were excited to see penguins from the moment we started looking at cruises...they were incredible to watch up close!

Worst of: There were two ships in port the day we arrived so the town was a mad house and the tour we wanted to take to Volunteer Point to see the King penguins was booked up.

The Falkland Islands (as they are officially known as, despite Argentina's claim to the islands they call the Malvinas) has a couple of claims to fame - a small war, wool and penguins. Discovered by the British over 300 years ago, they set up camp for a while until the whaling moved over to the South Georgian Islands. While still uninhabited, Argentina unofficially called it theirs for a little over a 100 years. Then a London businessman came and introduced sheep and wool and a new settlement was started by British settlers. In the early 80's the president of Argentina (considered to be more of a military dictator) decided to play the patriot card and invaded the islands claiming them for Argentina. Great Britain responded and routed the poorly trained troupes off the islands where they are a British Commonwealth till this day. The islands are entirely made up of British descendents (total population around 1700), speak English and consider themselves British so for purposes of this blog I consider them the Falkland Islands, a British Commonwealth.

After deciding on taking the cruise, outside of Antarctica, this was the spot we were looking most forward too, simply put - for the penguins. We had hoped to get out to Volunteer point, home of the second largest King Penguin colony in the world. Sometimes booking things last minute has its consequences and with two ships in port on the same day, all the trips were booked so we settled on going out to Gypsy Cove instead to see the Megallanic Penguins instead. These cute little tuxedo wearing creatures were out in big numbers at Gypsy Cove! We got off the ship and were met with an offer to shuttle us out there for a bargain price of $20 round trip (the ship was charging 3X that price). If we had more time we would have walked, it's only a two hour walk along the waterfront. While we were there we gawked at the burrowing Magellanic penguins, sampled diddle-dee berries, posed for pictures in front of our ship and even had a surprise encounter with some dolphins! Here are some of our favorite shots of the trip out to the Cove.

When we arrived back in Port Stanley we strolled around town, checked out the local church (complete with whale bone), and bought more wine from the grocery store in preparation for several days at sea! To finish a perfect day we stopped with our friends, Ady & Javier, at The Globe, a local British pub, for a pint (British ciders for the ladies & local beers for the men)!

To see more photos of the penguins and Port Stanley please click here!

Can you smell what the Uruguayans are cooking? Montevideo, Uruguay

Stats:

Destination: Montevideo, Uruguay

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 0 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: Strolling around the Mercado del Puerto was a feast for the senses with sausages and steaks smoking on grills and creating the most amazing smell!

Worst of: We arrived on a Sunday and all of the museums were closed.

Our cruise was off to a fantastic start! The day after we sailed from Buenos Aires we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. We left the ship and took advantage of a "free" ride to the nearest leather factory...or can you say Tourist Trap? Shockingly we didn't purchase anything, I can't even say we were tempted by the $350-$400 leather jackets...do people actually buy these things? At least we got a free ride into town. We then made our way into the deserted Ciudad Viejo, it being a Sunday there were very few people in town and all of the museums were closed which was a bit disappointing. We made the most of our time wandering around the old city visiting the Plaza Independencia, Mausoleo Artigas, the Teatro Solis (theater), Constitution Square and the Iglesia Matriz.

We followed our noses to the Mercado del Puerto which we feel is the "gem" of Montevideo, at least on a Sunday anyways! Locals and tourists alike were feasting on platters of meat with goblets of wine at their sides while the chefs manned the grills. The aroma of grilled steak was almost too tempting but we resisted as we were still in time for our already paid for lunch on board the Star Princess...sad I know. We consoled ourselves thinking that we will be back in Argentina which is a carnivores paradise! After boarding the ship, grabbing some lunch and sneaking in some much needed pool time we sailed for the Falkland Islands in search of PENGUINS!

To see more photos of Montevideo please click here!

Loading up and checking in for our 16 night cruise!

Stats:

Destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina & Star Princess (international waters)

Number of Days: 1 + 16

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1; Bus/Minivan - Train/Subway - taxi/car - Motorbike -

Where we stayed: In Buenos Aires we stayed at the Florida Hostel Suites (190 pesos/$60) and then we boarded the Star Princess for our 16 night cruise for $1000 per person

Our flight to Buenos Aires went off without a hitch and we spent a day there before we boarded the Star Princess for our 16 day cruise to Antarctica and Cape Horn (that's right...Antarctica here we come)! This was a great deal as most ships going to Antarctica normally charge $4000 to $5000 for a 10 day trip and we had the opportunity to take this cruise on a luxurious ship for significantly less!

We used our day in Buenos Aires to wander around Florida Street, purchase a pair of formal worthy pants for Jason as well as wine & laundry detergent to bring on board the ship. We also used the time to do an early check in for the cruise and to enjoy one of Argentina's specialties...wine & steak! We stopped into La Chacra for dinner and had a nice tenderloin steak with a bottle of local Malbec, it was the perfect way to end our short stay in Buenos Aires. We were definitely sad to leave such a beautiful city so early, but we will be back soon enough!

Here are a few photos of our ship, the Star Princess!

Our itinerary:

Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

14-Feb-09 - Board Star Princess in BA

15-Feb-09 - Montevideo, Uruguay

16-Feb-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

17-Feb-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

18-Feb-09 - Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

19-Feb-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

20-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Elephant island)

21-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Admiralty Bay & Esperanza Station)

22-Feb-09 - Antarctic Peninsula (Gerlach Strait, Neumayer Glacier & Channel)

23-Feb-09 - Originally Antarctic Peninsula (Deception Island) but due to bad weather - At Sea in Drake's Passage

24-Feb-09 - Cruising Cape Horn & Beagle Channel

25-Feb-09 - Ushuaia, Argentina

26-Feb-09 - Punta Arenas, Chile

27-Feb-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

28-Feb-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

1-Mar-09 - At Sea - Star Princess

2-Mar-09 - Depart Star Princess - Valparaiso/Vina del Mar

Total Nautical Miles: 4803 nautical miles

Saying goodbye to Buenos Aires we started our journey of 4803 nautical miles to Valparaiso! First stop, Montevideo, Uruguay!

A bit of time in Bogota, Colombia

Stats:

Destination: Bogota, Colombia

Number of Days: 2

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 0 Bus/Minivan - 1 Train/Subway - 3 taxi/car - 5 Horseback - 0

Where we stayed: Villa Colonial off of 57th (40,000 cp - $18)

Favorite Restaurant: Cafe de Lis by the Museo de Oro - Awesome vegetarian meal of the day for 6100 cp ($3) including a soup, an entree, a fruit juice drink and dessert. This place has something for everyone. There are four floors, the first is a deli with sandwiches, coffee and desserts, the second a fancy executive floor with the seafood comida del dia (15,000 cp), the third with the meat comida del dia (10,000 cp) and the 4th with the vegetarian one (6,100 cp).

Best of: Bogota boasts the most well known and impressive gold museum in the region. Don't miss it!

Worst of: It was a tie between being "accidently" bumped into in downtown Bogota (keep your wits about you here and definitely don't carry much cash) and the over priced tourist trap of a restaurant at the top of the hill (beautiful view but you pay dearly for it with your wallet).

We took the direct bus from Villa de Leyva (20,000 cp - $9) which took about 4.5 hours to get into Bogota. Upon arriving Andres helped us find a hotel in a nice area so we checked in and headed out to meet our American friends Lisa, Robinn & Claude for dinner once again! The next morning we woke up bright and early and took the TransMilenio into La Candelaria ($.75/ride). We wandered around the historic district and took in a few of the sites. We started with the Plaza Bolivar which sits in the historic district then walked by the Presidential palace to Iglesia de Santa Clara. This church has been converted to a museum and its walls are covered in paintings, statues and altarpieces from the 17th and 18th century.

From there we visited Iglesia de Caldelaria, aka the candy cane church, then walked to the gold museum, Museo de Oro. The Museo de Oro houses 34,000 gold pieces from major cultures in Colombia and is considered one of the most important gold museums in the world.

After a coffee break (we love our Colombian Tinto) we started walking and ran into our American friends again...what a small world! We went to the Bottero Museum together which houses over 200 paintings, drawings and sculptures by Bottero as well as an impressive collection of works by Picasso, Dali, Matisse, Monet and Chagall.

That night we celebrated our final night in Bogota in Cerro de Monserrate with beautiful views of Bogota and a way over priced meal (or rather, pricey drinks and appetizers). After dinner the staff at the restaurant gave us a bottle of aquardiamente, the local "fire water". We promptly polished it off! What a way to end our time in Colombia...we are already looking forward to going back!

The next day we flew to Buenos Aires to catch our 16 day cruise around the tip of South America including Antarctica!

To see more photos from Bogota please click here!