SA Cruise
I know, I know! I haven't posted for a long time. And even though this is by now very dated, here is my report on our SA trip.
We departed from LAX on LAN Chile for Lima, Peru and then on to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was lucky, sort of. I requested an emergency exit seat because of the extra leg room. But the seating diagram at the ticket counter didn’t show the bulkhead for the lavatory.
Our lay-over at Lima dispelled any notion that I might have had about Peru being a third world nation. Now, I must admit that an airport terminal probably doesn't represent the entire country. The terminal was as modern and as clean as any I have seen in a long time. They even had WiFi.
Another unexpected surprise: Lima was very humid. I then realized that Lima was nearly at sea-level and fairly close to the ocean. I had erroneously thought that it was high in the Andes.
We finally were awakened in preparation to land in Buenos Aires. IT was now about 9:00 am local time. The weather was so overcast that it was a wonder that we found the airport at all. I think the pilot could land the airplane by Braille.
We rode from the airport to our hotel by bus. Now, since the hotel rooms would not be ready until after 3:00 pm we were treated to an extended bus tour about the city. Now this was after a total of 13 to 14 hours in transit by air. We seemed to pass through the seediest part of the city, seeing one dingy apartment building after another. I never saw just a house.
Argentina is noted for it's beef and probably has the world's highest per capita beef consumption. We went to a recommended restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. I must say that the sirloin was exquisite. It must have been one of the most tender and tasty steaks I have ever tasted. It was served topped with a fried egg. I think I just received my cholesterol quota for the entire trip. I hope my cardiologist doesn't read this.
The evening was topped off with a stroll through the shopping district. People thronged the area.
The next morning it rained and we stayed under shelter. We waited for the bus to take us to the ship. The bus trip covered about two miles and lasted about two hours. The bus had a lavatory, but the door was 'conveniently' locked. Apparently they don't want to go to the expense to clean the johns for such a short distance as one that can be covered in two hours.
They didn't warn us about drinking the coffee.
We finally reached the port. Relief at last! Now we were treated another two hours of chaotic standing in line. Some of the chaos was self inflicted by members of our own group. Some was also because another ship, owned by the same company, had nearly the identical itinerary. If this experience were well known Princess would sell a lot fewer cruises.
Our first port call was Montevideo, Uruguay. We had decided to walk the city. As it had happened, President Bush was scheduled to visit that night and that had disrupted our visit. The leftists had planned major protests and the police had barricades set throughout the downtown area. Graffiti was everywhere about assassinating the President. Dianne was afraid we would never be able to return to our ship.
Two days at sea brought us to the huge port of Stanley in the Falkland Islands (pop about 2,500). We saw at least 7 penguins.
Another day at sea brought us to sail around Cape Horn, the southern most point of South America. The seas were calm, much to the disappointment to the adventurers among us.
The next morning we arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. It is also the jumping off place for expeditions to Antarctica. There were many restaurants in town that had a form of barbecue. They were cooking lamb, chicken, and sausage. The one we selected was an all you can eat buffet. What an adventure! Dianne said that it was the best lamb she had ever had. Even though I usually don't care for lamb, I had to agree.
Someone had told Dianne that a mountain that we would be sailing past was the mountain that is seen as the Paramount logo. Subsequent information indicates to the contarary.
The next day we visited Punta Arenas, Chile located on the Straits of Magellan. We decided to take a tour to see the penguins. After we paid the fare we learned that the driver would not depart until the van was full. Some of the early fares were about to riot because they had booked another tour that was scheduled to depart about the time we would normally return, only if we were to depart immediately. But we still had four seats to fill. Upon arrival at the rookery we discovered that the fare did not include entry into the rookery. We did make it back on time for the next tour.
Two more days at sea brought us to Puerto Montt, Chile. We passed through some Chilean fjords and approached to within about 300 yards of a glacier. It's hard to imagine how a ship that size could turn around is such a small area. Puerto Montt is located in what is known as the Chilean lakes district. Some of the lakes are about the size of Tahoe and are surrounded by volcanoes. The sky was overcast so we never saw the entire volcano. The area was settled by Germans in the late 1800's. We visited a national park with waterfalls, and then on the way back we sampled some wonderful German fruit dish.
Another day at sea brought us to Valparaiso, Chile where we left the ship. We then rod a bus to our hotel in Santiago and toured Valparaiso and Santiago along the way. The next day we were free to explore the city on our own. --and then to the airport for the grueling trip home. LAN somehow decided that Dianne and I didn't want to sit together. It seem that LAN gives preference to those that pay the full price fare. Negotiations with fellow passengers allowed us to sit together in spite of the lack of agreement from the cabin attendants.
We arrived home withour further incident.
We departed from LAX on LAN Chile for Lima, Peru and then on to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was lucky, sort of. I requested an emergency exit seat because of the extra leg room. But the seating diagram at the ticket counter didn’t show the bulkhead for the lavatory.
Our lay-over at Lima dispelled any notion that I might have had about Peru being a third world nation. Now, I must admit that an airport terminal probably doesn't represent the entire country. The terminal was as modern and as clean as any I have seen in a long time. They even had WiFi.
Another unexpected surprise: Lima was very humid. I then realized that Lima was nearly at sea-level and fairly close to the ocean. I had erroneously thought that it was high in the Andes.
We finally were awakened in preparation to land in Buenos Aires. IT was now about 9:00 am local time. The weather was so overcast that it was a wonder that we found the airport at all. I think the pilot could land the airplane by Braille.
We rode from the airport to our hotel by bus. Now, since the hotel rooms would not be ready until after 3:00 pm we were treated to an extended bus tour about the city. Now this was after a total of 13 to 14 hours in transit by air. We seemed to pass through the seediest part of the city, seeing one dingy apartment building after another. I never saw just a house.
Argentina is noted for it's beef and probably has the world's highest per capita beef consumption. We went to a recommended restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. I must say that the sirloin was exquisite. It must have been one of the most tender and tasty steaks I have ever tasted. It was served topped with a fried egg. I think I just received my cholesterol quota for the entire trip. I hope my cardiologist doesn't read this.
The evening was topped off with a stroll through the shopping district. People thronged the area.
The next morning it rained and we stayed under shelter. We waited for the bus to take us to the ship. The bus trip covered about two miles and lasted about two hours. The bus had a lavatory, but the door was 'conveniently' locked. Apparently they don't want to go to the expense to clean the johns for such a short distance as one that can be covered in two hours.
They didn't warn us about drinking the coffee.
We finally reached the port. Relief at last! Now we were treated another two hours of chaotic standing in line. Some of the chaos was self inflicted by members of our own group. Some was also because another ship, owned by the same company, had nearly the identical itinerary. If this experience were well known Princess would sell a lot fewer cruises.
Our first port call was Montevideo, Uruguay. We had decided to walk the city. As it had happened, President Bush was scheduled to visit that night and that had disrupted our visit. The leftists had planned major protests and the police had barricades set throughout the downtown area. Graffiti was everywhere about assassinating the President. Dianne was afraid we would never be able to return to our ship.
Two days at sea brought us to the huge port of Stanley in the Falkland Islands (pop about 2,500). We saw at least 7 penguins.
Another day at sea brought us to sail around Cape Horn, the southern most point of South America. The seas were calm, much to the disappointment to the adventurers among us.
The next morning we arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. It is also the jumping off place for expeditions to Antarctica. There were many restaurants in town that had a form of barbecue. They were cooking lamb, chicken, and sausage. The one we selected was an all you can eat buffet. What an adventure! Dianne said that it was the best lamb she had ever had. Even though I usually don't care for lamb, I had to agree.
Someone had told Dianne that a mountain that we would be sailing past was the mountain that is seen as the Paramount logo. Subsequent information indicates to the contarary.
The next day we visited Punta Arenas, Chile located on the Straits of Magellan. We decided to take a tour to see the penguins. After we paid the fare we learned that the driver would not depart until the van was full. Some of the early fares were about to riot because they had booked another tour that was scheduled to depart about the time we would normally return, only if we were to depart immediately. But we still had four seats to fill. Upon arrival at the rookery we discovered that the fare did not include entry into the rookery. We did make it back on time for the next tour.
Two more days at sea brought us to Puerto Montt, Chile. We passed through some Chilean fjords and approached to within about 300 yards of a glacier. It's hard to imagine how a ship that size could turn around is such a small area. Puerto Montt is located in what is known as the Chilean lakes district. Some of the lakes are about the size of Tahoe and are surrounded by volcanoes. The sky was overcast so we never saw the entire volcano. The area was settled by Germans in the late 1800's. We visited a national park with waterfalls, and then on the way back we sampled some wonderful German fruit dish.
Another day at sea brought us to Valparaiso, Chile where we left the ship. We then rod a bus to our hotel in Santiago and toured Valparaiso and Santiago along the way. The next day we were free to explore the city on our own. --and then to the airport for the grueling trip home. LAN somehow decided that Dianne and I didn't want to sit together. It seem that LAN gives preference to those that pay the full price fare. Negotiations with fellow passengers allowed us to sit together in spite of the lack of agreement from the cabin attendants.
We arrived home withour further incident.
Comments