When you look at a map of South America, you will see that Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and Punta del Este all lie on the Rio de Plata, a very wide-mouthed river between Argentina and Uruguay. The travel between these cities takes all night because the ship kind of wanders in circles in the ocean to…

After the long and tiring day yesterday, we decided to do a short and fun tour today: a culinary walk in Buenos Aires. We got a real treat with this tour as we got to sleep in! Our tour didn’t start until 10:30 (the tours usually start at the 8:00) so we had a leisurely…

After a long day of touring, I regretted the fact that we had signed up for another excursion in the evening to a Tango Show and a dinner. We had attended a cultural show in China as well as a Flamenco Show in Spain. I had rather low expectations for this evening’s entertainment, but I…

After our visit to Plaza de Mayo, it was time for a refreshment. We drove a very short distance to Cafe Tortoni. Cafe Tortoni was opened in 1858 and was named Tortoni after the Parisian café of the same name where the elite of the Parissiense culture gathered in the 19th century. This cafe in…

Also located at the Plaza De Mayo is the Metropolitan Cathedral. It is the main Catholic Church in Buenos Aires. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and the primatial church of Argentina. Now it is most famous for it’s most recent Archbishop/Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Located in the right aisle…

We arrived in Buenos Aires about 7:00 am and left on our tour of the city about 9:00. We would have started earlier but our buses were stuck in traffic (sound familiar?) We began our tour in the north of the city in the Recoleta district. We saw several parks and our first memorial to…

After a couple of relaxing sea days, we arrived at the city of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay and 90 degree heat. It’s a very modern city and has miles and miles of public beaches. However what appears to be the Atlantic Ocean is actually the Rio de la Plata river flowing from the interior…

Our first stop after Antarctica was the city of Stanley in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas, if you’re Argentinian). For hundreds of years both Britain and Argentina have claimed the Islands as their territory. In 1982 Argentina invaded the islands. The British, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, fought back and ultimately reclaimed the islands…

During the sea day getting to the Antarctic, cruising the Antarctic, and the trip north from the Antarctic, there have been lectures and entertainers and, of course, watercolor classes. Here are some examples of my art projects. Each one is based on a photo taken by Ron or me. The man is the manager of…

During our cruise we saw 3 varieties of seals: Fur, Crabeater, and Leopard. Contrary to their name these seals all make krill the bulk of their diet. All varieties have a single pup per year. The females mate almost immediately after giving birth but can hold the fertilized egg in suspended animation for a few…