Post Number 8: Return to Buenos Aires

February 15 – 21

First thing we do is pack away our winter coats…hot times, summer in the city.

Next…we go to check into the apartment that we rented last November from an on-line agency.

Last year, we rented an apartment in the Recoleta and wanted to rent the same one this year but it wasn’t available. So we rented another in the same neighborhood. The location is great – near Vicente Lopez Park and friends,

restaurants, shops, streets with great architecture. Whoever said Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America captured it (or parts of it, anyway) perfectly…

But the apartment is not nearly as nice or comfortable as last years. And, with several not-so-minor issues (inadequate AC, no hot water, no internet connection) we begin the hassles of trying to find another apartment and getting our $$ back from the rental agency – ughhhh!

Lucky for us, our friend Jim offers his apartment while he’s in Brazil, so we stay there for the next few days. At first, we’re pretty cranky, but than decide we’re not going to let the apartment situation get us down. So we get into the city’s rhythm.

We meet friends for lunch at Kansas (an American-style rib place), check out Jumbo supermarket (BA’s equivalent to BJs or Costco), eat pizza at Los Maestros (we were regulars last year and recognize the waitress), and find new “locals”:

the Melody Café for our morning café and toastadas, where we look forward to seeing waitresses Laura and Gabriella. David practices his Spanish with them and they get to ask what the English words are for the food served. It's a great way to start the morning (usually around 11:00 or 12:00) and there are a lot of laughs.

and Pasadena for late night snacks (David orders “migas,” little white bread sandwiches with the crust cut off, like the things my mom made me for lunch when I was in elementary school).

There are “liquidacion” (sale) signs everywhere so we buy a few things, but better than that is window shopping and photographing fabulous gowns that hardly anyone I know would wear.

After 5 days we decide we can’t stay at Jim’s indefinitely so we move into our apartment. Luckily, the hot water is fixed, David has figured out how to get access to the internet, and we buy a floor fan. We spend time outside, either walking the city or sitting in the park, where David studies Spanish, I sketch, read, or listen to my iPod, and we catch up with our friends, who also hang out there.

February 22 – 26

On Sunday we walk down Avenida Posadas, a very upscale street just a couple of blocks from our apartment, to the open market in the Plaza Francia. There are two really nice parks on the way with sculptures and giant trees.

We peruse the many vendor stalls

and head over to the Recoleta Cultural Center to check things out.

I decide I’m going to watch the Oscars that night. We are 6 hours behind WST, so they don’t start here until around midnight. And they are televised in Spanish. David hooks me up via computer, to an English simulcast, but there’s a 45 second delay between the picture and the sound. My brain is on overload by 2:00 so I give up and go to sleep.

On Monday, the AC is fixed – a small step for mankind! This is good, since we have not yet found another apartment. And, in some bizarre way, I’m actually getting used to this one…it’s quiet, the bed is really comfortable, it’s in a great location and the view from our balcony is really nice.

On Wednesday we go to the movies, since Wednesday is 15 peso day (per ticket). Tickets are discounted from their usual 20 pesos ($5.71 currently) per ticket. 44 pesos (about $12) gets you 2 tickets, popcorn and a Pepsi. We decide on Slumdog Millionaire and buy our tickets at a kiosk in the theater; no waiting on line and you choose your seats ahead of time – very civilized.

The movie is in English, with Spanish subtitles, except when they’re speaking in Indian… then there are Spanish subtitles. A little is lost with our limited translation skills, but not so much that we miss the essence of the movie, which we love.

More to come soon...we are almost caught up!

Post Number 7: Puerto Montt

Day 12 – Our last stop is Puerto Montt, Chile. Along with 12 others from the ship, we hire a tour van for 6 hours. But to David, it feels less like a sightseeing excursion and more like one continuous shopping trip. Needless to say, he’s bored and very restless. Luckily, the other guys in the van sympathize with him, make him laugh at the situation and, somehow, he gets through the day. Lucky for me! A bored David is not a pretty sight!

From the port, we drive to Frutillar on Lake Llanquihue (pronounced Yankee Way). Not your typical Chilean town, it was settled by Germans and has a distinct Germanic flavor to it.

Other stops include Puerto Varas and Petrohue Falls, where the handicraft stalls attract the potential buyers among us. On the way to the falls there are so many people that we actually never make it all the way to see them....that however presents a buying opportunity for Carol.

In the distance, we see Volcano Osorno, which is shrowded in mist. It's one of two active volcanoes in the region.





While waiting on line (for over 45 minutes) to board the tender, an unfamiliar "guest" walks by:





On the way to the ship and also as we pull away from the dock many locals come out in their boats to wave good-bye.








Day 13 – At Sea
We spend our final evening with friends:





Day 14 – We arrive at our final destination – Valparaiso, Chile. We disembark and take the bus to Santiago for our flight back to Buenos Aires. David wanted the adventure of taking a local bus …I, on the other hand, wanted “easy”… we end up on an NCL luxury tour bus (at NCL prices). “Easy” won the day!


Next stop BA...Stay tuned.

Post Number 6: Straits of Magellan & Puerto Chacabuco

Day 9 The Straits of Magellan…the sea route immediately south of mainland Chile, a natural passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It’s considered a particularly difficult route to navigate due to the inhospitable climate and the narrowness of the passage – no place for sissies!

It’s 350 miles long and, in places, only 2 miles wide. The ship’s crew warns of rough seas when we enter the Pacific, and they clearly know what they’re talking about. We are told that sea sickness pills are available at the front desk. We think “better safe than sorry” and get 2 apiece. What a mistake!

We take the first pill at 8:00p and another at 7:00a – just as the seas start getting rougher. For the next 8 hours, the seas are, on average, 5-8 feet, with an “occasional” 20 foot swell. But we are so drugged from the pills that, except for meals (can’t miss meals!!), we spend most of our time in our cabin sleeping. At least we never feel sea sick.

Day 10- Leaving the Pacific, we head east and into the Patagonic Channel, the Canal Moraleda, and the Chilean Fjords, which we are told are fabulous – however, soon after entering, it begins to rain. Ghostly shapes of rocky projections appear and disappear in the mist and fog – not much to see so we get together and hang with our friends.

Day 11 – We take the tender into Chacabuco, Chile with Cruise Critic friends Debra and Gene. It's a nice little port with a few local boats and a lot of scenery as you leave town.

Once ashore we hire a driver and spend the day in and around Chacabuco. The temperatures are warming up and there’s intermittent sun and rain – perfect for photographing the rugged and dramatic scenery: waterfalls, canyons, valleys, and more rainbows.

And, of course a stop at the local airport, where the busy controllers let David see all the action from the tower.

See any airplanes?

Before boarding the tender we stop for a moment to shop and make new friends.

Tomorrow: Puerto Montt, Chile