Explorer Feb 1-17 Buenos Aires to Santiago Live

[RachelG]

February 2, 2019– Punta del Este, Uruguay

 

The captain had warned us that there might be high winds during the night, but sailing was very smooth, and we slept like logs.  I never sleep better than when on a cruise ship.

 

I awoke bright and early, went upstairs to walk around the top deck for my morning exercise only to find the top deck closed due to high winds.  So I guess we were sailing with the wind which made it not noticeable indoors.  At any rate, it was a bright sunny day with comfortable temps in the 70s despite the strong wind.

 

Punta del Este is an artistic resort town.  Permanent population is only 18,000, but that swells in the summer as people come here for the beach. This is where the famous sculpture of the fingers coming out of the sand is located.  It is a tender port, not my favorite thing, but sometimes necessary.

 

We were to meet for tender disembarkation at 10 am.  There was a huge crowd in the theater, as the 9:30 and 9:45 groups had not been able to disembark yet.  The reason was that we were supposed to local tenders, and the tender they sent was to hold 140 people but only had 40 life jackets.  The captain said no way, so the ships lifeboats were deployed to use as tenders, but that caused a huge delay.

 

At 11, we were finally on our way.  The tender ride, about 25 minutes, was extremely rough as the wind was blowing hard, about 30 mph.  We bumped along, with more than one sea sick passenger, till we arrived at the port.  Our bus was air conditioned and comfortable with a smart guide who spoke excellent English.

 

We drove past scores of high rise condos and apartments which are apparently only occasionally occupied, to the first stop, the Ralli Museum.  This is a great museum, with a huge collection of Dali sculptures, a Chagall exhibit, and an exquisite collection of old world masters.  We only had 45 minutes.  I could have spent all day here.

 

We then drove around a lot, over a crazy roller coaster bridge to a couple of “scenic photo stops”.  I hate these.  Particularly when the wind is blowing at gale force.  Should have been back at the museum.  Eventually after a lot of driving around, we arrived at downtown where we had 1 1/2 hours for lunch.  I had researched and knew where I wanted to go.  The top choice place was totally crowded, so we went to number two.  Great meal with super fresh salad and chicken.  I would definitely go again.

 

After lunch, we walked out to the “hand” sculpture when i got sand blasted while taking a couple of photos, then went to Casa Pueblo which is a house/museum built by a famous Uruguayan artist who was a disciple of Gaudi.  And the whole place looks very Gaudi-ish. Beautifully situated on the coast, but no  straight lines any where.  Lots of cats roaming.  The artist’s son was one of the soccer players on the Uruguay team whose plane crashed over the Andes, and they ended up eating the bodies of their dead comrades to survive.  His son did survive, and the father said he always knew in his soul that his son was still alive.  He was getting ready to mount his own search team when the survivors were found.

 

The whole day, the wind was very high.  George’s hat blew off at least 6 times that I counted, probably more, including one frightening chase across 2 lanes of traffic.  We got back to the port, and it was still blowing strong.  The ride back to the ship was again very bumpy and reboarding was just a little scary.

 

We were running way behind as by the time we were back onboard, it was after 6..  We had reservations at Chartreuse at 6:30, so we had to hurry and change.  But Chartreuse was totally worth it. 

 

We had a perfect table at the very back with a great view.  My beet salad, artichoke  soup, and chicken were outstanding.  George said his escargot was the best ever.  His steak was just ok, probably since our steaks the previous day had been so great, but his apple tart was oh so good.

 

The show was Broadway in Concert, one of my favorites, and this version did not disappoint.  The singers, particularly the ladies, are some of the best, I have encountered onboard.

 

 

 

[gnomie1]

• The famous Uruguayan artist that Rachel referred to was Carlos Paez Vilaro (I apologize, I do not know how to change the text for the proper spelling). When I did a similar cruise, a member of my group had written a story about the survivors of the plane crash and became friendly with the family and I had the honor and privilege of joining them for lunch.  What was suppose to be a 90 minute lunch turned into an all day affair and we ended up speeding to get the last tender. As we were getting ready to leave, I was presented with an amazing piece of art, which was signed and dedicated to me - it is on the wall in my office with a picture of me and Carlos signing the art - reading Rachel's description brought back incredible memories.

gnomie

[RachelG]

8 minutes ago, gnomie1 said:

• The famous Uruguayan artist that Rachel referred to was Carlos Paez Vilaro (I apologize, I do not know how to change the text for the proper spelling). When I did a similar cruise, a member of my group had written a story about the survivors of the plane crash and became friendly with the family and I had the honor and privilege of joining them for lunch.  What was suppose to be a 90 minute lunch turned into an all day affair and we ended up speeding to get the last tender. As we were getting ready to leave, I was presented with an amazing piece of art, which was signed and dedicated to me - it is on the wall in my office with a picture of me and Carlos signing the art - reading Rachel's description brought back incredible memories.

gnomie

That is so cool that you got to meet him. Wow!

 

here are a couple of pics from our day.  

[Catlover54]

I am enjoying your posts, Rachel, including the cat art picture 🙂

 

As for the evening trouser dilemma, I supposed  one option might be to send his one pair out for express same-day cleaning a few times in the mornings during your trip, emphasizing their unique importance to personnel?

 

I have a simple master packing list for travel  ( cold weather or warm weather) I carefully work through slowly for a couple weeks before a trip and am always ready on time and rarely forget anything vital because I spend so much time on it, worried I will forget something I cannot buy in a foreign shop. DH, however, has a complicated color-coded spreadsheet but does not pack until the night before we leave and hates doing it, and thus may forget something important ( like his passport and wallet when he got distracted, necessitating a trip back home from the departure airport!) ,  despite all the high tech.  So I double and triple check with him now what I think he should absolutely have with him from a separate DH list,  to avoid messes.  

 

 

 

 

[RachelG]

Catlover54, that is my dry cleaning backup plan for the pants, just in case.  I too rarely forget anything important, but it is sort of a joke in our family about what George will forget.  Usually it is something like toothbrush, but once it was socks—no socks at all for a 2 week trip.

 

since you liked the cat art, here are a couple of Uruguayan kitties we encountered yesterday at Casa Pueblo.  The second let me pet him.  George had a fit, lest I contract some cat disease that I could carry home to Missy, our cat who he professes to hate.  I told him I was pretty sure I would wash my hands a few times before we get home.

[Gilly]

Rachel, thanks for sharing your day - brought back memories, though thankfully, we didn't have quite the same challenge with the wind as you did.  I love the way the hive mind here is working on the dilemma of George's trousers too - an enterprising menswear retailer in Montevideo or Ushuaia could bring a selection to the pier!  

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Love the kitty photos!

[RachelG]

13 hours ago, Gilly said:

Rachel, thanks for sharing your day - brought back memories, though thankfully, we didn't have quite the same challenge with the wind as you did.  I love the way the hive mind here is working on the dilemma of George's trousers too - an enterprising menswear retailer in Montevideo or Ushuaia could bring a selection to the pier!  

Agree.  A smart businessman could make some money.

 

Travelcat, I knew you would like the cat pics.

 

[RachelG]

February 3, 2019–Montevideo, Uruguay 

 

The wind continued blowing through the night, and we did feel some motion, nothing bad, just enough to remind us we are on a ship.  I awoke early, as soon as the sun came up, to find us already at the dock.  Thankful for no tenders today!  The weather was perfect, bright and sunny with a light breeze and temperatures in the 70s.

 

I went up to the pool deck to check out the surroundings and get George his morning veggie health drink that he has every morning when onboard.  The port was on 3 sides with a wide bay with a narrow mouth to the stern of the ship.  On one side was the dock and also what is probably the majority of the Uruguay navy or coast guard, 7 small ships.  In front was the city, a combination of older ramshackle looking buildings and a few very modern fancy buildings, as well as a huge NCL ship at the pier.  On the 3rd side, the industrial port with big cranes and containers.

 

Our tour for the day was to La Rabida which is a large estancia or ranch.  It used to be a beef cattle operation, but now they have dairy cattle and raise corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat as well.  We drove through the city for a while with the mandatory boring  stops at a couple of government buildings for pictures, then out into the countryside.  The ranch is 3000+ acres.  The fields were currently growing what looked to be a good stand of soybeans and corn.

 

The family greeted us in a large very pleasant tree shaded area.  We could see and smell the meat for later already cooking on the outdoor grill.  We were guided all over to have a look at the fields, dairy barn, etc.  George took off and explored on his own with a couple of the gauchos.  

 

Then we had lunch of grilled sausages, veggies, grilled beef, chicken and pork, potatoes, and a large salad bar.  George and I were disappointed in the beef.  Not up to what we are used to, but this is a dairy operation, so really not the right kind of steer for great meat.  Everything else was delicious.

 

Then those who wanted could milk a cow.  There was one lady in the group who was clearly an expert, and George was pretty good.  

 

Once back at the ship, I walked to get the rest of my steps, then went to find a trivia team.  And we won!  I am proud to say I made a couple of good contributions.

 

I had tried to sign up for Pilates, but they only take 8 people, and by the time I tried, the class was over full.  Also tried to lift weights, but the only free weights I could see were way heavier than what I lift.  I am thinking there may be some lighter ones in the room where the Pilates class was, but class was going on, so I wasn’t able to see.  I will check it out tomorrow.

 

Dinner at 6:30 at Pacific Rim.  This is George’s favorite restaurant onboard.  I like it, but not my favorite.  At any rate,it was excellent.  George and I shared starters, with the pot stickers being my favorite.  Then he had the lobster tempura while I had the shrimp.  Both were excellent.  

 

We were hurrying to finish because George wanted to go to the super bowl party in the theater.  They had everything decorated up, with crime scene tape down the middle to split the Patriots fans from the Rams.  They had all sorts of food, but we had already eaten way too much,so just watched for a while.

 

[gnomie1]

Curious minds want to know - was there any difference between the number of passengers on the Rams side vs the Patriot's side of the theater? I do not believe that anyone has reported the breakdown of  geographical locations of the passengers - was it mostly an American crowd or did others join in?

 

Am assuming that you left the (boring) game earlier since they are only in the 2nd qtr.

 

gnomie

 

 

 

 

[RachelG]

Ranch pics

[RachelG]

9 minutes ago, gnomie1 said:

Curious minds want to know - was there any difference between the number of passengers on the Rams side vs the Patriot's side of the theater? I do not believe that anyone has reported the breakdown of  geographical locations of the passengers - was it mostly an American crowd or did others join in?

 

Am assuming that you left the (boring) game earlier since they are only in the 2nd qtr.

 

gnomie

 

 

 

 

Game was boring.  It was about 50/50 as far as fans though.  Most people there were from US.  We noticed everyone in the restaurant eating early were American, with many people only ordering 1 course.  Lots of people from UK and Europe coming in to eat when we were leaving.

Edited February 4, 2019 by RachelG

[Travelcat2]

42 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Game was boring.  It was about 50/50 as far as fans though.  Most people there were from US.  We noticed everyone in the restaurant eating early were American, with many people only ordering 1 course.  Lots of people from UK and Europe coming in to eat when we were leaving.

 

What you posted about Super Bowl makes sense since most of the world could care less about "American Football" (and I agree with them). Have to laugh about the people in the U.S. that are obsessed with "American Football".  True football (aka soccer) is much more interesting in most of the world.  I found this afternoon to be a great time to go shopping since so many people are at parties, getting drunk, etc.  

 

In any case, definitely enjoying your posts.  Any further comments about the new Asst. C.D.?  It seems that Regent has several new ones.  Also, who is the Captain on your cruise?

 

Keep enjoying every moment.

[gnomie1]

While it is

47 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

What you posted about Super Bowl makes sense since most of the world could care less about "American Football" (and I agree with them). Have to laugh about the people in the U.S. that are obsessed with "American Football".  True football (aka soccer) is much more interesting in most of the world.  I found this afternoon to be a great time to go shopping since so many people are at parties, getting drunk, etc.  

 

In any case, definitely enjoying your posts.  Any further comments about the new Asst. C.D.?  It seems that Regent has several new ones.  Also, who is the Captain on your cruise?

 

Keep enjoying every moment.

While it is true that football (a/k/a soccer in the US) is much more popular worldwide compared to American football, there is still an international audience for the game. The NFL has been playing in London for the past ten years and the games sell out in two days, nine months in advance, with only 3% of the attendees being American or expats. Just by coincidence, I have been in London for many of the game days and the city goes NUTS. They have been playing in Wembly stadium with attendance in excess of 80,000 people. A couple of years ago I was at Fortnum and Mason and they had a special display of biscuits /teas made specially for the games - I bought a bunch of stuff as fun gifts for friends and colleagues.

 

gnomie

[Hambagahle]

So who won???   Haven't heard anything about it on the radio this morning...

[WesW]

Gerry, Patriots won in lowest scoring super bowl game in history, 13-3.  Was tied 3-3 going into the third quarter. Rachel said what the sports pundits say, this game was boring except for the defensive side.  Today's WSJ's sports columnist Jason Gay said: "Patriots won the Snoozer Bowl for the Ages."

[RachelG]

Jackie, the captain is Rosario Vasta.  We have not sailed with him before, but so far so good.  I am cautiously optimistic about Port Stanley, and I am quite sure a lot of captains would have thought the seas were too rough to tender at Punta Del Este.  It was a challenge for sure, but all went well, and I am glad we were able to go ashore.

 

GM is Massimo Armani.  Lorraine is CD as previously mentioned.  Haven’t seen the assistant CD again, but he has two shows scheduled. Social hostess is Caron Moran.  Have not previously met her either.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Rachel - we are not familiar with either Rosario Basta* or Carol Moran.  It will be good to see Massimo. and Lorraine.  If you happen to be speaking to them, please let them know that Jackie and Dennis are excited that we will see them February 17th!  Thanks much.

 

Gerry - who cares?  Actually, don't want to go on about this topic but I suspect that American football will disappear in the future as most parents are afraid for the health of their children.  Being bashed around is not good for the body or the brain.  American football rates so far below "real" football (aka soccer) that it is amazing.  "Football" has 4 billion followers and is #1 in the world.  American football is 11th - following cricket, basketball, baseball, etc.  For those that question this, here is a link that took many important things into consideration when putting out their list https://www.totalsportek.com/most-popular-sports/ (at least it beat table tennis).

 

Hoping that we can get back to this cruise - one that many of us are interested in.

 

P.S.  Rachel, so glad I rechecked my spellchecker as the system decided that the Captain's name was "Rosario Pasta"

Edited February 4, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Hambagahle]

I agree Jackie - who cares.  But we DO care about Rachel’s great reports from the cruise (and Captain Pasta?)...

[seaknots]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

P.S.  Rachel, so glad I rechecked my spellchecker as the system decided that the Captain's name was "Rosario Pasta"

 

pasta probably better than basta

maybe stick with vasta in future

 

[RachelG]

Captain Pasta, now that is funny.

[RachelG]

February 4, 2019–at sea

 

Our first sea day.  Bright sunny, if a little windy, with temps in the 70s.  What does one do on a sea day? Whatever one wants.  There was a long list of scheduled events.  Everything from exercise classes to lectures to wine tasting, cooking classes, needlepoint, various games, trivia, teatime, dance classes, tournaments in the casino.

 

We usually just goof off on these days.  George likes to sleep in.  I was up early for an hour of walking on the walking track.  It was pleasant, and the time passed quickly.

 

At 11 am, the cruise critic meet and greet was held in the voyager lounge.  It was very well attended, and those who didn’t show up missed out.  It was fun to put names to faces and real names.  Lorraine and Massimo were both there. There were good little finger snacks and drinks.

 

We had lunch in Chartreuse, the first time that I have eaten lunch there.  On seadays, the specialty restaurants take turns being open at lunch.  Today was Prime 7 and Chartreuse.  There was a big line outside Prime 7, but we were immediately seated in Chartreuse.  It was delicious.  

 

Only one little issue.  I ordered a salad nicoise as my starter.  I have had salad nicoise many times on Regent, and the tuna was always cooked.  There was no little * beside it on the menu, like they place when something contains raw or undercooked seafood or eggs.  In fact, several other things on the menu did have the *.  They brought it out, and it was basically a big square of raw tuna, looking like steak tartare except made of tuna.  I don’t eat raw fish or seafood at all, and 85% of the dish was totally raw tuna.  I hate to waste food, but no way could I eat this.  So had to send it back, and got a delicious goat cheese dish instead which I followed with (cooked) salmon.  George had chicken, and it was a huge portion, basically an entire half a chicken.

 

In the afternoon,  i worked on my cross-stitch while George exercised.  Trivia was much more difficult today.  We came in second with 10 right answers.  Two of the ones that we missed I actually knew.  I should have been more forceful.  The winning team only had 11 right.

 

It was the captain’s reception night, formal optional.  We did not go to the reception, but instead headed to Compass Rose at 6:30.  Excellent dinner and service.  Most men were wearing at least sports coats, majority had suits and ties, a few tuxes.  Ladies all nicely and appropriately dressed.  I enjoy the formal nights as it just takes the occasion up a notch.

 

After dinner, George (AKA Mr Romance) wanted to walk out on the top deck.  I am pretty sure he thought the wind would blow up the skirt of my chiffon dress, and he would have a good laugh.  Wind had died down, so he was disappointed.  But it was pretty romantic as we were the only ones out.

 

The entertainment tonight was a comedian.  He was pretty funny, and best of all, not nasty at all. His was more of a dry comedy which not everyone gets, but is sometimes hilarious.

[RachelG]

Since we were just on the ship today, I will post a couple of pics from Chartreuse of the floor (which I think is absolutely stunning) and the ceiling.

[briar14]

Rachel, thank you for your posts and pictures. I am really enjoying them! I am keeping my fingers crossed for a successful Falklands visit for you and George.

[Travelcat2]

Loved your description of "Mr. Romance"💓

 

It is good to hear how most passengers were dressed for Formal Optional night.  Dennis is packing his tux but I don't think that I'll have room for my gown.  Time will tell.  Maybe I'll wear a long skirt and sparkly top!?

 

We will be attending our first Meet and Greet that we signed up for (generally just pop in to see who is there).  It should be interesting - especially since our cruise is not full and there are a lot of passengers from PBS that may not be interested in such an event.  It will be nice to have time to chat with Lorraine and Massimo!