Review of our 69 day cruise to South America with pics

[tartanexile81]

 

An usual sight! We saw this abandoned ship in the middle of a remote fjord.

 

 

At times it was quite cold ... (and I'm not very good at selfies)

 

 

but most of the time we had great weather. Such a beautiful cruising day.

 

 

This was the only other passenger ship we saw in the fjords.

[GOLFINCHICK]

Thank you so much for your review so far, I know how much work goes into these after trying to do one 2 months ago (gave up after finding it impossible to upload photos!!!)

We are considering doing a round trip from Sydney and the more we read the more excited we are getting. Looking forward to the remainder of your review.

[tartanexile81]

So between admiring all that amazing scenery we had ports of call.

 

PUNTA ARENAS

We had initially intended to visit Otway Sound to see the penguins but boy as we glad we didn't because everybody who went that day (7th February) was extremely disappointed by how few penguins could be seen. I think what made this even worse was that those of us who'd been to Punta Tombo had been so excited at how many penguins we had seen.

 

We had a tour booked for the afternoon but went down first thing when we heard that the same tour was taking place in the morning. We asked if there were places but were told again by the grumpy shore tours staff that there weren't. However we heard from some of our friends that there ahd only been 11 people on that tour on a coach for 35 and with the same number of guides as we had for a group of 34 in the afternoon. Also we had another battle about getting on a tender but thanks again to Smiley Kat, the Deputy CD we were able to get off without having to wait for all the tours to go.

 

To be honest Punta Arenas isn't really interesting. The terminal is quite a small building but bustling and on the port side has a 'sculpture' of a whale and juts outside on the street there is an interesting antique clock.

 

 

 

We then walked along to the left to the indoor Craft Market but unfortunately hardly anything was open (at 10:00) so we didn't bu anything. After that we walked from the port straight ahead to have a look at the Statue to Bernardo O'Higgins, Behind it was an avenue of topiary trees which was quite attractive. The area around this though was a bit run down so we headed into the main square Plaza Manoz Gamero with the Magellan statue. To get there we turned back towards the port then took the first street to the left, Veintiuno de Mayo. This square is really the only thing worth seeing in the town and those who did the city tour would heartily agree with this. Around the square are very attractive buildings such as the Cathedral and Regional Museum, a quirky tourist information kiosk and of course the statue in the middle. However the highlight for us was the little handicraft stalls all around the square and the buskers entertaining us.

 

After a coffee, we headed back to the port to meet the other from our ship's tour. We had decided after all the great food we needed to get some exercise sow e booked a trek from the Andino Ski centre. We were a bit surprised when we saw the coach which was truly and antique and I swear we thought we were going to have to get out and push!! It made its way slowly up the mountain coughing, spluttering and stopping frequently. Really it shouldn't have been used. We eventually got to the ski resort, Club Andino, and jumped on the t-bar lift to take us up to the top of the mountain. We had fabulous views on the way up and when we got to the top we had great views right out over the Straits of Magellan. It was certainly cold and pretty windy but once we set off walking we were sheltered by the trees. The walk was incredibly steep at times and it was fairly difficult ground to walk on with so many tree roots and little streams. Nevertheless we enjoyed it so much as it was really different to anything else we did on this cruise. We enjoyed looking at all the local plants and wildlife and chatting to all the other people we hadn't me before. We're in a couple of walking groups at home so this was right up our street. We had a hot drink and a slice of local cake back at the ski resort before heading back down on the dreaded coach.

 

 

 

Earlier in the day I realised I had left my special hat and gloves in one of the souvenir shops and although there was little time before we sailed I ran (literally) back to the shop where I thought I'd left them and sure enough they were there. I was very relieved.

Edited April 15, 2015 by tartanexile81

[tartanexile81]

Thank you so much for your review so far, I know how much work goes into these after trying to do one 2 months ago (gave up after finding it impossible to upload photos!!!)

We are considering doing a round trip from Sydney and the more we read the more excited we are getting. Looking forward to the remainder of your review.

 

It's certainly taking me much longer than I expected but it will be a great record for us. I'd forgotten how to upload the photos and it is a rigmarole but I think I've got the hang of it now.

 

I'd say go for it if you're considering South America. We're so glad we did it. :)

[Lovincruisin1321]

 

 

 

 

 

It is taking me a long time to write this and upload the photos so I'm sorry if the review comes along slowly but I will do my best!

 

Fantastic photography! Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[WesternTrader]

 

 

The Argentinians really don't like us Brits :D.

 

 

 

Lovely photos - thank you

Thanks also for the tips about the dollar exchange and the map - that can go on the shopping list!

Did you experience any anti-British behaviour (especially after the Top Gear Christmas Special fiasco you mentioned!)? Was your guide in BA OK? We have 3 days pre-cruise in the city and it would be good to be prepared :-)

Thanks again

[tartanexile81]

Thanks for your comment WesternTrader.

 

The only place we thought we met anti-British feeling was coincidentally(well, maybe not!) in Ushuaia. Before we ate in Andino's, we went to another restaurant recommended by our tour guide. When we went in we were laft standing by the door for a few minutes even though it wasn't busy. We walked across to speak to the guy at the bar and asked if he spoke English to which he just shrugged and said a bit. We then asked if he had a table for two and he just pointed in the general direction of some tables handing us a menu in Spanish. My Spanish wasn't good enough to choose from this menu so I went over again and asked if he had a menu in English. This was met with a sigh and another shrug so we just said don't bother and walked out.

 

Our private guides in BA were both Americans living there. Narrative Tango is run by a professional tango dancer, Cyrene, from the USA and BuenosTours tend to use native English speakers as their guides so Jack is also an American living in Buenos Aires, as a semi-pro basketball player. The guides on our ship's tours were great - really warm and friendly thankfully.

 

We saw a protest outside the Pink House and it was Anti-American as well as anti-austerity / Anti-government, and Jack said this was because the USA had called in a loan. Apart from that we were treated with courtesy and politeness

Edited April 16, 2015 by tartanexile81

[WesternTrader]

Thanks for the prompt response tartanexlie

 

We haven't firmed up our plans for Ushuaia yet, but it's good to hear that you were well treated in BA - though I will check with my TA to enquire about the tour guide we have booked there. I guess (as in many countries) the tourist $ helps smooth the way - though your experience in Ushuaia would appear to contradict that theory!

 

Thanks again - I'm really hooked now and checking for updates daily (no pressure!)

[jarand]

Thank you so much for posting. We are in the early planning stages, and this was so helpful!

[tartanexile81]

We had two days fantastic cruising en route to Puerto Chacabuco. We took various detours from the Magellan Channel to see the Montana and Amantia Glaciers. It was unfortunate if you were on first sitting as we always seemed to see interesting things at that hour - like the glaciers but on other nights we saw a huge pod of dolphins, a flight of pelicans almost in front of our balcony and a whale swimming along beside us as we were getting ready fro second sitting! We left the Trinidad Channel and entered the Pacific during the first night and it was very bouncey, the worst seas we had all cruise. The following day, the scenery was tamer and seas calmer as we cruised up and down the Fallos and Messier Channels before re-emerging again in the Pacific then in again for Puerto Chacabuco

 

Our day in Puerto Chacabuco was wet and a bit windy windy. There was a lengthy delay at the start because the port authorities were so late getting on board. We saw them arrive by boat when we were in the tours' lounge ready to depart, and that was about 20 minutes after the scheduled start of our tour. We eventually got clearance over an hour later than expected and were ashore by 9:00a.m. for our trip was to Coyhaique via the Rio Simpson National Park. Having read the excellent reviews on this board, we had really wanted to do the private tour operate by en Patagonia but she has a minimum of 14 guests and with no roll call we could only manage 4. Still the ship's tour was pretty good. Our first stop was at the National Park Centre with great views as the mountains soared over us. It had stopped raining but the clouds were still pretty ominous but somehow that seemed to add to the atmosphere.

 

 

After some stops for dramatic photos, we arrived at Coyhaique which is the largest town in the area. As we had a decent length of time there so we had a good walk around. There was a wide range of shops - not the sort we might find on our large towns here but the kind of places locals from a wide area around come to in Chile. There were also a few good places to have a snack just by the main square where we were dropped off and there were also lots of kiosks selling original souvenirs, crafted by hand. We bought an applique wall hanging from the lady who designed and made them and she put it in a paper bag which she had also made and stitched herself.

 

 

On the way back we stopped at La Cascada Restaurant and had the most delightful selection of Chilean food set out on large tables to sample. We could eat and drink as much as we wanted - Pisco sours. local red and white wines, freshly squeezed juices, empanadas, meat skewers, cheeses, assorted cakes.... you get the picture. The staff were also great and the place was so clean and shiny, and in such an idyllic setting. I'd highly recommend. It was a busy road so although we were then to visit the waterfalls just a couple of hundred yards down the road, our lovely guide Ema guide said it would be much safer to go by coach. We were all impressed by the waterfall (Cascada de la Virgen) and shrine, popular with locals and tourists alike.

 

 

On our way back to the ship the rain started again but it didn't detract from the awe-inspiring beauty of the Aysen area, and this was further enhanced with a rainbow over the Andes. I was sad I couldn't get a photo because of the rain on the window. :(.

 

There is absolutely nothing at the tender port - basically just a few buildings round a shed - so we were very glad we'd booked the tour, which in any case was excellent. We knew nothing about this area other than what we had read on this site but it is certainly well worth a visit.

 

[tartanexile81]

So our next port was Puerto Montt and again we had planned a ship's excursion. The day started with overcast skies and after breakfast which we always took in the MDR, we headed to the Neptune Lounge to await the call for our tour. Breakfasts, and actually the food in general, were very good. There was a central buffet with a very wide range of juices, flavoured waters, cereals muesli and porridge, a big selection of cheese, cold meat and fish, lots of different types of bread and rolls, toast, fruit - dried, fresh and in compote form. In addition there were the usual Full English breakfast items and they could either be taken from the buffet if you were in a rush or ordered from your waiter who also served the tea and coffee.

 

We set off on a good quality coach and drove all along the side of Lake Llanliqhue with views of the volcano Osorno on the other side. Unfortunately due to the overcast skis we only caught occasional glimpses of it and the views weren't so good at our photo stop. The lake ws really lovely with the mountains as the background and we drove all along it to Petrohue Falls. The problem here was that there were just too many coaches and people swarming all around and to be honest after the falls we've seen elsewhere in the world, they weren't that spectacular.

 

 

 

We then travelled back again along the lake for our stop at Puerto Varas. We had no great expectations for this stop other than we expected to see some German influence as they were the first European settlers here. We used to live in Germany so like all things German. It was quite a touristy spot but had so much character and a bit like the resorts you find round the Bodensee or in the Black Forest. We found a great café which was built like a chalet in the Alps and although it was fairly cool we really enjoyed sitting on the balcony watching the world below us and tucking into our Kaffee und Kuchen. There were lots of souvenir shops and I bought some great Chilean Blue Lapis earrings at a fraction of what was being charged on the ship. The main square was surrounded by rose bushes and we enjoyed listening some Chilean buskers in the middle. We also had a browse round the tented craft market by the lake. We had 75 minutes in Puerto Varsa but would have been more than happy to spend the rest of the afternoon there.

 

Edited April 18, 2015 by tartanexile81

[tartanexile81]

We were pleased when we got back to Puerto Montt that there was still time for su to visit the market. From what I'd read on these boards, it can be a bit of a trek from the ship but we were docked very close to it. We turned left out of the port gates and after a walk of about 10 minutes we came to the market. Now if you like things shiny and new, then you will NOT like Angelmo Market but if like us you like the quirky and the unusual you will LOVE it.

 

The craft market is literally on the pavement with the sea behind it as you walk along and there is a real sense of people eking out a living with so many of the knitted and wooden items they have spent the Winter creating on sale. There were of course some stalls selling Taiwan Tat but we avoided them and bought some pretty hand-made baby clothes for my great nephew Aiden born just the day before.

 

 

 

There are more market stalls along towards the end of the promenade, many of which were selling interesting items. We saw lots of fruit and vegetables but our guide had told us that the best of these were exported and the locals had what was left. There were also numerous fish stalls which always make interesting viewing, and various cheese and meats. This was all making us very hungry We met some friends form the ship and they recommended a restaurant that was very popular with locals. It was called Angelmo Typico and it was unlike any restaurant we've ever eaten in before. We're actually fussy about where we eat out at home and would never have gone into a place like this but the food was really fresh salmon with lots of taste and of course we had our usual bottle of local red wine as an accompaniment. The tables were planks of varnished wood, really uneven and it was hard to get a place where you could eat, without your plate slipping down! All part of life's rich tapestry. There was also a busker who was a real character and entertained us with his guitar and harmonica. Cruising for us is going with a sense of adventure, seeing different places and enjoying new experiences and our day in Puerto Montt was just that kind of day.

 

 

[tartanexile81]

A map of where we went

 

 

A pavement vendor making and selling trinkets. Love the umbrella display

 

 

A stall-holder cracking open Rock Oysters with an old hammer

 

 

That evening, this flight of pelicans passed our balcony

 

[tartanexile81]

Onwards and upwards! When I started doing this I didn't actually think through how long it would take me! It seems endless so if anybody is actually following it, thank you! I will keep going but my housework is being forgotten! I lead a pretty busy life and have had to hand over planning for our next cruise to my OH! Still he's never done it before so maybe he'll realise how much efforts needs to be put in and appreciate more what I do.

 

So we arrived in Arica. We had planned to have a lazy day here so did very little. We got off the ship just after 9:30 and picked up a brochure from the tourist info desk just by the ship which contained a guided tour round the town. It was a lovely bright clear day and we had expected the watehr to have improved by this stage and so it proved to be. The sea-front area is well-maintained and there is a small craft market in the square just as you leave the port. There isn't a great deal to see in the town but lots of shops especially pharmacies. This amazed us all the way round South America. There are SO many pharmacies, it is a wonder they all stay in business.

 

 

There used to be a railway station in Arica and from there trains used to cross the highest railway in South America to La Paz

 

 

 

Arica is an oasis surrounded by desert

 

We found various small markets (with even more stall selling toiletries!) and it seemed the further you were from the sea, the more the gloss of the sea front buildings diminished.

 

Following the map we'd got from Tourist Info, I found the road then path leading up to shrine above the city but as my husband couldn't do the climb I resisted the temptation to climb up to the top of the Morro Rock. We then wended our way back down into the town passing the lovely little church and back to the port.

 

View from the shrine

 

[tartanexile81]

Sadly the once thriving market is sadly almost deserted now but the lemons I bought were delicious and the cats (and their kittens) were so cute

 

 

 

The pretty church and the town square

 

 

We spent the afternoon on the Laucho Beach. It is about 1km away from the port, a straight walk along to the right. We had an enjoyable lunch in the café on the beach. The seas around Arica are famous for their surf and many championships have been held here.

 

 

Arica is still essentially a fishing port and we passed the boats at sailaway. We also had great local entertainment on the quay just before we sailed away and I have to say Fred Olsen did a great job arranging this in so many ports.

 

[tartanexile81]

Now I don't know how I did this but somehow I've got Valparaiso (pronounced Val - par - a -eeso)by locals I discovered) and Arica in the wrong order. So the day before we arrived in Arica we visited Valparaiso..........

 

We left the ship at 9:10 to get the shuttle to the terminal. As usual we were told we couldn't leave till all the torus had gone but the tour we had booked started at 10:00 and as we didn't know how long it would take us to get to the stating point, we ended up just getting onto the coach and although they tried to get everybody off who wasn't on a tour, we stood our ground along with another couple.

 

It's a long way from the ship to the terminal: if you can imagine the ship is docked pretty much in the main square but you have to travel all through the port on the shuttle for about 10 minutes so you end up quite a way from the main square. We had planned to walk back to the city but when we realised it was a fair distance we decided to take the train. There is a station just to the left as you leave the port and it is called Estacion Baron. You buy your ticket on the same side of the track, then wait for the barrier to lift and the staff to give the signal before you cross to the other side. We did have some trouble getting ourselves understood as we wanted to buy a pass to cover the journeys we intended to do. The best thing to be would be to write it down and just hand it to the clerk in the kiosk. We got off at Puerto and as we got off we could almost touch our ship!

 

We had arranged to do a walking tour with Tours4Tips which came highly recommended on TripAdvisor. there were various nationalities and 4 tours were heading out - 3 in English and 1 in Spanish. On our tour there was us two and another British lady from our ship, a US crew member waiting to join her Princess ship, four Germans, three Danes. Our guide was an English student and she spoke excellent English. she was a bit loud fro our taste but didn't stint with her time and answered our questions endlessly. the tour was really thorough and was well worth the $20 we each gave her. It included 2 rides on funiculars and a tram ride, all of which added to the experience. Valparaiso is a World Heritage Site and the sort of unusual city we enjoy visiting. It is very hilly but the funiculars make it easy and even my husband who has a health condition which means he struggles walking uphill managed it well. When we think of Valparaiso now we will always think colour because it is a vibrant city with so many interesting streets, views and stairways, and of course murals many painted by well known artists.

 

All the guides wear these Where's Wally t-shirts and here is our guide on one of the painted stairways and the funicular is on the right so you have a choice.

 

 

 

One of the great murals in Valparaiso. this one was painted by the well-known graffiti artist Charquipunk

 

 

This street reminded us of Georgian houses in Brighton, especially in places like Brighton and we loved the colours

 

 

The iconic piano staircase. The design was painted over just before we arrived but locals are busy restoring it

 

 

I have so many great photos of this interesting city, it's a shame CC only allows 4.

 

We ended up at cafe where we were served a Pisco and our guide gave us very clear instructions on how to get to Vina Del mar which we were visiting in the afternoon. Great tour, great value

Edited April 18, 2015 by tartanexile81

[tartanexile81]

Vina del Mar was a huge contrast to Valparaiso, but a perfect way to spend an afternoon on such a lovely sunny day.

 

We took the bus from the seafront in Valparaiso as advised by our guide. It was a bit of a hairy ride at fairly high speed with few stops but at the price we paid (about $2) we couldn't complain. The guide had told us which stop to get off at and the driver kindly told us when we got there. It was right beside the Floral Clock on the sea front so it was very easy to get our bearings from there.

 

This is really similar to the Floral Clock in Princes Street Gardens Edinburgh

 

 

We wanted to have lunch but there weren't many places to eat along the sea-front. Chez Gerald offered a full lunch rather than the snack we wanted but we enjoyed it all the same. It was very formal but with a cool, calm interior and good food so we'd recommend it

 

Vina del Mar is really modern seaside town compared to Valparaiso and obviously a popular resort to visit for Chileans

 

 

And to finish with, a view over colourful Valparaiso and another fantastic mural. We had thought of heading to Santiago for the day but we're so glad we decided to explore the local area instead. Thanks everybody fro the advice.

 

 

[J-D]

Onwards and upwards! When I started doing this I didn't actually think through how long it would take me! It seems endless so if anybody is actually following it, thank you! I will keep going but my housework is being forgotten! I lead a pretty busy life and have had to hand over planning for our next cruise to my OH! Still he's never done it before so maybe he'll realise how much efforts needs to be put in and appreciate more what I do.

 

I, for one, am still following along, very interested to see the photos and commentary. We have visited quite a few of the same ports, and enjoy seeing them through your eyes (and camera). Thank you for your effort!

 

John

[tartanexile81]

I, for one, am still following along, very interested to see the photos and commentary. We have visited quite a few of the same ports, and enjoy seeing them through your eyes (and camera). Thank you for your effort!

 

John

 

It's a pleasure John. I am enjoying writing it and remembering all the amazing things we did, but it is definitely distracting me from other things I SHOULD be doing :) It was an exceptionally long cruise but when you spend more than a week crossing the Atlantic each ways it's always going to be much longer than a regular cruise

 

Anybody else following this? Anybody got any questions?

Edited April 19, 2015 by tartanexile81

[wally_bushy]

It's a pleasure John. I am enjoying writing it and remembering all the amazing things we did, but it is definitely distracting me from other things I SHOULD be doing :) It was an exceptionally long cruise but when you spend more than a week crossing the Atlantic each ways it's always going to be much longer than a regular cruise

 

Anybody else following this? Anybody got any questions?

 

We are still following and enjoying your post.

It is on our list and I spoke with a couple yesterday who did a similar trip.

Keep it coming:)

Steve

[ski ww]

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise. Have enjoyed your write up & pictures. Brings back memories of our circumnavigation of S.A. a few years back.

Allan

[karoo]

Great review- I am enjoying reading and following it.

[tartanexile81]

Thank you for your kind comments.

 

Well our next port as shown on our itinerary was General San Martin. I have to say it took a lot of research to find out what there is to do here because General San Martin is quite a hero across South America and there are so many places which bear his name. Eventually however I discovered it is the deep sea port near Paracas and that cruise ships used to dock at Pisco, a little bit further North. In fact our shore talk guy didn't seem to know that and in his presentations told us about Pisco. (as in the drink of the same name!). He had been doing this cruise for a few years now and basically just churned out the same old slides.

 

As I don't fly and my husband has a lung condition, neither of us could go. Our first view of the port was of the desert all around it. It is in an isolated position, about 25 minutes from the nearest town and there is NOTHING within walking distance. There is nothing to see except sand and the workings of the port although in the port there were a few stalls selling local souvenirs and even at that early hour they were open. and people were buying.

 

Our research had shown that there were 2 real options for this port: the first was a visit to the Nature Reserve and the other was to the Ballestas Islands and on balance we were keen to see sea-lions so we decided to go to the Ballestas Islands. Good decision!! We booked this tour with Secrets Of Peru and communications with Amarilis were excellent and she even welcomed us on the jetty when we got into town. The only blip was that 4 other people from our ship were booked on the same tour and when we got to the meeting point, it transpired they had booked for 8:30 a.m. and we were 9:00 so they had been waiting for us.

 

There was of course a shuttle into town, but we were so glad we booked a private car to take us into town because en route our driver took us on a detour across to a beach at the other side of the peninsula and it was truly amazing as we flew across a very rough road with desert stretching out endlessly either side of us to get to Playa Roja. We spent a while here taking photos and admiring the solitude but there were one or two local fishermen and their boats here.

 

 

We the headed towards town, first of all along the sandy track before re-joining the main road. We were taken to the Aquarium where all the tour buses parked and there's also a café and toilets we could use. From here, it was a gentle stroll along the pedestrian promenade to the jetty. Amarilis ensured we didn't have to wait in the long queue and we headed to the front and wait just a few minutes for our boat to be prepared.

 

We enjoyed an exhilarating ride on the boat to the islands passing our ship en-route and our boat also took us right up for a great view of the phe-historic geoglyph, the Paracas Candelabra. It was so intriguing to see this and wonder why on earth it had been created.

 

 

As we approached the Ballestas Islands we were wowed by the amazing rock formations but as we got closer we could see the multitude of wildlife all around. There was an amazing number of birds of all types as well as thousands and thousands of breeding sea-lions. They were spread along the various small beaches around the islands and no sand could be seen because of the numbers of sea-lions. They ranged in age from a couple of days old to fully grown adults. Our pilot did an outstanding job in getting us as close to possible of the creatures including sea spiders, turkey vultures, Peruvian Tern, Pelicans and Humboldt Penguins to name just a few. Although there was a smell from the guano (bird poo!) which is collected from time to time, we were so enthralled by what we saw that we never even noticed the smell.

 

 

The boat then flew back over the waves, slowing down only slightly from time to time to allow us further views of sea-lions swimming by. Paracas is essentially a fishing port and as we approached the pier again we saw lots of boats ready to sail.

 

 

Our companions elected to go back to the ship for lunch (can't understand why anyone would want to do that in a port where there's a big choice of restaurants and a great atmosphere in a place you'll probably you'll never visit again). We wandered round the stalls buying some bits and pieces including a Peru t-shirt with the ubiquitous logo - had to have one. By then we were ready for lunch and we wanted to eat somewhere the locals go. We found a great little place in a quieter street and at another table we found a couple from the ship whom we had met previously and were minded like us and looked for places away from the main tourist spots. It was really difficult to read the Spanish menu but we managed to work out that there was a local style seafood risotto which I thoroughly enjoyed and local fish chosen by my husband, accompanied of course by local beer and Pisco Sours

 

After a walk along the beach at the opposite end of the promenade we took the shuttle back to the ship. This really is an amazing, not-to-be-missed port and I would highly recommend visiting the Islas Ballestas. This whole thing was such a surprise: having struggled to get information to start with, we loved every minute. Our tour with Secrets of Peru cost a total of $40 including transfers and the ship charged £90 ($135) for a 3 hour trip to the Ballestas Islands just going there and back with the detour.

[tartanexile81]

The sea-front in Paracas

 

 

The beautiful Ballestas Islands

 

A family on the rocks

 

 

Sea-lion families on the beach

 

[ski ww]

Loved the great pictures & the write up.

Allan