Sort Live from the Infinity around the horn and back

[abbydancer2003]

Day 16 Sea Day 8 Sunday 3

 

Today was supposedly the Chilean Fjords.  However, we were supposed to transit them from 5:30 am to 8:30 am.  Last night, we talked about setting an alarm, but realized that since sunrise was at 8, we weren’t going to see anything anyway.  So we set the alarm for 8.

 

At 8 it was overcast so basically, Chilean Fjords were a waste.  I will put that it was misleading in my survey.  I think we saw much of them on the way up though, but that was due to an unplanned itinerary change.

 

Since we were up early enough for breakfast, we went to breakfast.  After breakfast, I went to the casino for a bit, and then we met Don and Linda for games.

 

Because we were doing something in the afternoon, we played in the morning.  Due to potential crowds in the buffet, we played at the big table in Cellar Masters (similar to the table at World class that we used on the Silhouette).  

 

After the game, we went back to the room for a while and then went to lunch. I started with the Bibb lettuce salad and then had the turkey gyros.  Once again, good but had to remove the onions.  One day I will remember.  I finished with the poached pear.  

 

After lunch, and spending some time doing nothing, we went to Michael’s club for trivia.  It was hosted by assistant hotel director Lauren.  There were several different topic groups - started with which came first (3 choices), name the Celebrity, from a picture of a landmark name the capital of the country) and a couple of others.  We did OK.  We didn’t win, but were closer than I would have guessed (we had 14 right winning was 15).

 

After that we got dressed for first of two formal nights and went to Rendezvous for a dance set.  The show tonight was a singer from Britain that Beth and I didn’t love on the Solstice, so we went to Michaal’s for a bit and talked to a British family.  It was a couple with one’s mother and their son.  The son loves the same movies that we brought with us so that was fun.  I never saw him again, so he never came over to watch.

 

We ended up going to dinner around 8:35, and sat next to another nice British couple.  The conversation was good.  So good, that I forgot to take any pictures or record what I had, except dessert.

 

I had the mascapone cheesecake.

 

Glen opted for the buttermilk panna cotta. 

 

When we got back to the room, flowers that were on the table had been moved to the floor, and there were no water glasses (we later found them in the cabinet).  Apparently, they were expecting a rough night.  

 

That said, we wanted some water, so I ran up to the buffet and got a couple of plastic glasses. 

 

After that, it was time for movie and bed.

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 17 Sea Day 9 Monday 3 Straight of Magellan

 

Today was sort of a rinse and repeat day - another sea day.  We did wake up in time for breakfast, and we both had omelettes.  (I always ask what the special of the day is. - there is none).

 

After breakfast we took a quick walk.  The scenery was nice

 

I guess the weather is still not great, because the pool is empty.

 

 

We then headed to Michaels to give Than time to do the room, and then headed back up to watch more of the third Hobbit movie.  

 

Around  1 pm, we headed to lunch.  I started with the fried mushrooms from the main, which are always good, and then I decided I wanted a grill cheese sandwich with the onion jam from the luminae burger.  First try was just a cheese sandwich, so they tried again.  It did end up grilled, but on a wheat bread I think, which I don’t love.  On the other hand I didn’t specify, so next time, I’ll ask for white bread.

 

 

We skipped dessert.

 

After lunch we met Don and Linda for games and conversation in the buffet.  We sat in our usual table, which is near the pizza station, but every time the door opened to the back outside bar, it got very cold.  This is not your Caribbean weather itinerary.

 

Following games, we went back to the room to get ready for seeing the Straights.  Soon the mountains at the entrance came into view

 

We saw a rainbow as we entered.

 

 

We headed up to the front of the ship for while and watched whales.  

 

If you look in the top left of the picture, you can see the blow.

 

The clouds were also beautiful

 

 

 

We eventually headed downstairs, and got ready for the evening as the sun went down.  

 

At 7, we headed to the show.  It was a Hollywood cabaret, and when we didn’t even know the first couple of songs, we left.  

 

We went to Michaels, and while we were there, I was talking to Glen about Jason Brown, still skating into the top group without a quad, and how he was now coached by Brian Orser.  A couple near us asked if we were Canadian, since I mentioned Orser (uh, the guy has two silver olympic medals, and coached the 2014 and 2018 mens champion, as well as other leading skaters - I don’t think you need to be Canadian to have heard of him).  It did, however, start a nice conversation.

 

It turns out that they are medical professionals in Ontario.  I mentioned that I had a cousin who was a doctor (long retired) who was a well known hematologist there.  Turns out that there’s an award she won in med school that bears his name, and he presented it to her.  Small world.

 

At around 8:30 we decided it we’d better go to dinner before they close.

 

I started with Summer rolls from Blu.  They were OK.

 

Glen had the cold veggie soup, and wanted to see if it was a gazpacho.  Not really.

 

For my entree I had the rack of pork for the first time.  It was pretty good.

 

 

We both had the vanilla baba for dessert.  

 

We had some very nice chats with some of the staff, which is one advantage of showing up right before they close.  By the time we’re around dessert, there’s almost no-one there, so they have time to talk as they set up for breakfast.

 

After dinner we went back to the room, and watched the first half of the Fellowship of the Ring.  Then bedtime.  We’re finally at Punta Arenas tomorrow.

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Thought I would get a couple more in but on Monday my mom went back to the hospital with her 3rd round of pneumonia in less than 2 years.  She went to the ICU on Wednesday, so a lot of my time has been taken up with that, plus getting her home help for when she's recovering.  

 

As some of you probably saw, we're leaving tomorrow for our next cruise, but I'm almost done writing up my notes from this one, and will be posting everything in the next few days.  Thanks for your understanding.

[abbydancer2003]

Day 18  Punta Arenas - Tuesday 3

Today is Punta Arenas, and the weather is a little better, so the port is on. 

 

We don’t have anything planned, since we’ve been here before, and seeing the replica fort again wasn’t that interesting the first time, so we don’t need to see it again.  

 

Since we didn’t have plans, we decided we could sleep in, but sleep in proved to be 8 am, so we went to breakfast.  We didn’t bring our stuff for shore, because we weren’t in any hurry.  

 

By the time we were ready to leave, they’d stopped using tender tickets.  So we went down and got on a fairly crowded tender.

 

Once on shore, we just walked around for a while.  We did find a park.  This was in the middle.

 

As we wandered, we found a wide street with a park in the middle, running several blocks.  Lots of statues.

 

 

As we walked, we decided we needed to use a restroom and found a restaurant.  They weren’t open yet, but let us use the restroom.  They still weren’t open when we were done, and we didn’t want coffee to go, so we thanked them and left.  

 

Next we saw this nice building.  Apparently it’s an office of the Chilean Air Force and used to be the residence of Alfonso Roux, apparently a famous French Patagonian cattle rancher per Google.

 

 

As we made our way back to the dock we found another small park.  Each square of grass had the name of a different Chilean city.  Here’s one:

 

 

We soon arrived at the port, and noticed two expedition size ships docked there.

 

We immediately got on a tender and were soon back at the ship.  We dropped our stuff and then  stopped at Michael’s for coffee, and I went to Al Baccio for mine and then read the instructor’s written lectures for my final. 

 

After a while we went up to the buffet for lunch it was crowded and the food was OK.

 

Following lunch, I went back to the room to take my final.  While on the Solstice, the IT manager told me that, while the ship had StarLink, it probably won’t work in the southern part of Patagonia.  I’d worked out with the teacher that he’d leave the test open for me until the 31st, where we’d be further north.  

 

It worked just fine, and I allowed 2.5 hours for the exam, although I knew it wouldn’t take that long.  There were 25 multiple choice, and 5 essays (you pick 2 essays).  It took me about an hour and half and I got 23/25 on the multiple choice.  Because this is a community college class, I always get 100% on the written work, so I’m not too worried.  (Probably also why he gave me extra time).

 

After that, we decided to take a walk around, and we watched as they folded up the tender platform, lowered the rescue boat, and raised the tenders.  It was interesting.  The sky was also interesting as we watched.

 

 

After that, it was still tea time at Michaels, so we went there.  I also called my sister to see how mom is doing (getting better).  I also confirmed that the David Meltzer award that Natalie (person we met yesterday) got was indeed our cousin.

 

After that, we went back to the room and watched a little more of  the Fellowship of the Ring, and dressed for dinner.

 

The dance band was playing, so we danced for a bit and then went to the show.  Tonights show was a Juggler.  He was good, but only did three things at once.  Glen, who juggles, said the performer was only about 1-2 levels above what he could do.  Apparently his father was known for juggling cigar boxes.  The show was OK.

 

As we left the show, there were a lot of people walking so we headed to Michaels for a bit and chatted with concierge Milca.  Next stop was Rendezvous for a few dances, and then dinner.

 

Tonight I started with the burrata and eggplant.  It was good.

 

 

Next course was the prosciutto wrapped chicken.  Also good.

 

 

And I finished with one of my all time favorites, bananas foster.

 

During dinner we chatted with a couple who were on our Puerto Montt tour.  

 

After dinner, we watched the end of the movie and  the fan credits through my name.  Glen thought it was funny.

 

After that, bedtime.  Tomorrow is Ushuaia, and we have nothing planned.  It will be our 4th visit there.

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 18 - Ushuaia  2 - Wednesday 3.  

 

We did manage to sleep until 9 this morning, so no breakfast today.  

 

Our plan was to walk around and go to a pharmacy (to replace my almost run out Tums) and to buy a small baby gift for our butler Maria, as she’s leaving in Montevideo to have her baby.  

 

Since we were in no particular hurry and had done a good tour of Ushuaia on the last cruise, we headed to Al Baccio for coffee and pastries, and to wait out the rush to get on shore.  By about 10:15 it looked like it was easy, so we headed out.

 

The first thing that struck me was how much more snow there was than last week.

 

 

Our plan was to find a baby store.  Glen looked up some, and we took off, up some of the hills.  First place we found was actually a bookstore, so that wouldn’t work.  So upward and onward we went.  Next location was a neighborhood (not a nice one) but no stores.   So we continued walking.  Next baby store was a clothing store, so at the point we gave up on a baby store, and decided to go to one of the shopping streets and maybe find something.  The last resort will be a stuffed penguin or something.  

 

At the point, we found a pharmacy.  We went in and showed them the picture of Tums on my phone.  They mentioned several things, most of which were once a day, like peptide or Prilosec, which we have.  We ended up getting what we thought was a similar product, but it turns out it was more like Alka Seltzer.  Oh well, maybe the ship has some (they do).

 

We headed towards town, and found one of the streets with lots of stores.  We went into what looked like a general toy store and stationary store.  In the toy section we hit pay dirt and found a baby section.  We found a cute little teething ring and so got that for her. 

 

After that, we walked back to the ship. The whole thing took about 2 hours.

 

First stop was back to Al Baccio for coffee and hot chocolate for Glen.

 

Next we dropped our stuff back in the room and headed to the buffet for lunch.  It was fairly crowded, but we did run into Linda and Don and talked with them for a bit.  We also talked to Luana, our assistant waiter.  Today she was tasked with hand sanitizer squirt duty.

 

After lunch we went back to the room, and hung out for the rest of the afternoon.  Tonight we have the early (6pm) dinner at Le Petit Chef with Don and Linda.  While there, I called my sister and talked to her for a while, since the cellular (with Verizon Travel pass) works a little better than wifi calling.  I also watched them unload a container ship.

 

At about 5:55 we headed to the mid stairs elevators. It took a little while for a not full elevator to come (I think it was around all aboard time, so lots of people, and we arrived just after 6.

 

Oddly, they’d already seated Don and Linda at a table for two.  Since we’d booked together, and planned to eat together, it was a little odd.

 

So they moved us to a table for 4.  

 

The bar person was Skai, one of the bartenders in Michael’s.  Apparently she’s the bar person for Q’sine at night.

 

The restaurant wasn’t very crowded, and the show started.

 

This is the 4th version of Le Petit Chef, and in this one, he’s teaching the guest how to be a chef.  Each course represents a subject.

 

We start with the History of Food.

 

It wasn’t particularly coherent, but there were a lot of full plate images.

 

 

And apparently they moved tomatoes across the sea.

 

 

And made tomato dishes.

 

 

After that, they served the tomato tart.  Looks exactly like the one above.  It was pretty good.

 

 

 

Next course was Art.  No art class would be complete without a color wheel.

 

 

Or images of art by famous artists.

 

 

I’d call this paint splash and tomato.

 

 

 

And another tomato picture.

 

 

(Translation:  It’s not an apple)

 

The final result of the art lesson was a shimp and cucumber salad.  It was good, but the shrimp were a little fishy for me.

 

The next course was love.  First thing was going back in time.

 

 

 

We see the young chef with his grandmother, making a beef dish.

 

 

The finished product was short ribs with horseradish and mushrooms.  Best dish by far, and one of the better short rib dishes I’ve had on X.

 

 

The last chapter was technique.  But first a lecture.

 

 

 

 

One important part of technique is the flavor profile.

 

 

But before we get to the actual dessert, we got some reviews.  Here’s a sample.

 

 

That was actually pretty amusing, and I wish I’d taken pictures of all the funny ones.

 

 

The final course was a strawberry Napoleon.  Pretty good.

 

The mean finished with fireworks.  (Also a diploma image).

 

Dinner was over by 8, so we we did a bit of dancing and enjoyed the sunset.

 

 

 

Next stop Puerto Madryn, but first a couple of sea days.

 

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 20 - Cape Horn - sea day 10 Thursday 3

 

Today is our second Cape Horn day, and because of the itinerary it’s early AM.  

 

We weren’t necessarily planning to get up for it, but we were up before we left the area, so we went upstairs.  And we got the morning view of the cape.

 

After that, and some pictures, we went to breakfast in Luminae.  I’m still waiting to hear the special of the day (they don’t have any).

 

Next stop was the casino, but not open.  I met and spoke with the manager, who told me the daily got it wrong, and it wouldn’t open for a couple of hours.

 

I had an errand to do at guest services, so I asked if I could talk with Silvia, the front desk manager.  She was in the retreat on our two 2021 Summit cruises, and is a friend.  She came out and we had a nice talk.

 

Next stop was the Elite wine tasting.  We arrived and were told to pick a table.  We found one with other people, and sat down.  This is what you get:

 

 

A server or sommelier very briefly described each wine, and told us how you’re supposed to drink it.  Overall, pretty underwhelming (my friend said wasn’t worth the price, even at free).  Princess does a much better job of this, with an entertaining presentation of the five wines, and waiters pouring each one.  You also get a little cheese and crackers.

 

Next stop was lunch, and I started, as usual with a salad, in this case the wedge  salad. 

 

 

For the entree I selected a mushroom pasta,

 

 

And finished with  the ricotta cheesecake.  It’s pretty.

 

 

And it does look like a cheesecake.

 

After lunch, I went to the casino for a while.  They have fairly limited hours on this cruise, due to a lot of time in territorial waters.

 

I went back to the room, and we were relaxing when Glen got a text from our refrigerator that the door was open.  Huh?  We’re both a hemisphere away.

 

Fortunately, my sister was at my mom/s (mom still in rehab so my sister was helping out) and we’d left her access to our condo.  So I texted and asked her to check it out.

 

Glen said maybe she should call the police to go with her, but I pointed out it would be a half hour before she got there.

 

We didn’t hear quickly, so we went to the officer thing in Michael’s club.  We met several officers, and did get a picture with the captain.  

 

After that we went back to the room for a while to watch MSNBC, since there was interesting news today.

 

In the middle of watching, we got a text from my sister that she checked, and our cleaning lady was there cleaning out the refrigerator. (Thursday is not her usual day).  Apparently they scared each other.  We’ll get a good laugh out of this sometime.

 

Once that was all set, we headed to dinner.  We started with a regular amuse bouche (A savory macaroon)

 

 

We then got s surprise.  Last cruise, I casually asked the staff if they could do a greek dinner, since I know they can do Indian or Philippine food so, since officers are Greek, maybe they can do that too.  It turns out they can and they did that for us tonight.

 

We started with a very nice greek salad.

 

 

 

For the main, they made a moussaka for us.

 

 

And for dessert, we had an egg custard with phylo on top.

 

 

After dinner and a bit of wandering, we headed back to the room, watched a bit more TV and went to bed.  We have another sea day tomorrow as we head out of Patagonia.

 

 

 

 

[PTCruizer]

16 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I casually asked the staff if they could do a greek dinner, since I know they can do Indian or Philippine food so, since officers are Greek, maybe they can do that too.  It turns out they can and they did that for us tonight.

Well I wish I had known this on our cruise! It looks fabulous. 

[abbydancer2003]

7 hours ago, PTCruizer said:

Well I wish I had known this on our cruise! It looks fabulous. 

I think I asked at breakfast or lunch on the first cruise.  It took until the second for them to do it.

[abbydancer2003]

Day 21 - Sea day 11 - Friday 3

 

Today was the second sea day in a row.  The sea days are broken up pretty well on these cruises.  There are no more than 2 in a row, I think.

 

We did get up in time for breakfast.  At the Captain’s morning announcement he said that there was a storm with wind coming into Puerto Madryn and the stop was iffy.  Not what I wanted to hear, since we had a private tour booked, and we’d paid for. It in advance.

 

After breakfast we decided to finally attend one of Celia’s shows.  This was about how she got to where she is, and she is a good presenter.  We did have to leave early because I had the slot pull (for real today).  

 

On the way to the casino, we stopped at Michael’s Club to pick up our passports, which we hadn’t seen in over 2 weeks.  While we were there, we cleared up a minor misunderstanding with Jairo,   At the officers event, he’d noticed us talking to the Johna, the retreat manager, and her making a phone call.  We reassured him that it was about seeing if Silvia was available, and nothing whatsoever to do with the service in the lounge.  

 

After that, it was the slot pull.  About 20 people showed up and paid their 15.00.  Linda picked a machine, and we determined that at the level we were playing at, each person would get 12 spins.  I was appointed the assistant counter.

 

The machine we picked had some bonus stuff, such as open a vault as it was a cash themed machine.  Most of us lost a little bit but two people did really well, and we ended up each getting 19 back and Jo, the person who won the most, got an additional 14 dollars.  Overall a fun time.  Of course I went back to the casino and lost 2 of the 4 dollars I won.

 

I had so much fun that I actually volunteered to do one for my April cruise. We’ll see how it goes.

 

After that, lunch time.  Penultimate lunch on this trip, so of course we went to Luminae.  I started with the burrata salad.

 

 

For the main, I had a tried and true filet

 

And for dessert, once again I had the delicious berry pavlova.

 

 

Since this was a sea day, we met Linda and Don for Splendor and Flux.  

 

And, since casino days are now numbered, I went back there for a bit.  After that, we did our typical late afternoon thing, and watched a movie.  We watched the first part of Return of the King.  Goal is to finish all 6 Lord of the Ring movies before we have to put out the luggage.

 

After dressing for dinner, we decided to go to the show, which was Broken Strings.  Glen’s never seen it.  The production was good, but it’s still not a great show.

 

To avoid walking back through the ship with a crowd, we ducked into Michael’s club for a pre dinner drink.  This time, I had them make me a very nice sangria.  Turns out there is a Michael’s club menu, and the sangria was a modification of one of their drinks.

 

Sometime after 8, we headed to Luminae.  Tonight was a regular dinner off the menu.  I started with a chicory apple salad, the main menu chicken Kiev (still not sure how to pronounce the dish now).   For dessert I had the green tea cake with peach mousse.  The mousse is especially good.

 

 

Glen had ordered the beef sirloin, and there were two pieces of meat that were well done on the outside, and almost raw in the middle.  He brought it to Crass’s attention who then brought out the chefs to talk to us.  We think they were seared on a hot grill for too long and then not long enough on the cooler grill to cook it through.  I’m not sure anything will happen, because the steaks haven’t been cooked enough throughout the cruise.

 

We have to be up reasonably early tomorrow if our stop happens, so we decided to watch the rest of the first half of Return of the King and then go to bed.  Turns out it ran longer than we thought, but oh well.  Hopefully tomorrow happens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 22 - Puerto Madryn 2 - Saturday  4

 

This was our second (and sadder, since it’s the return, and means the cruise is coming to a close) visit to Puerto Madryn.  This is the only port we have things booked both times.

 

Today we will visit the EL Pedal ranch and penguin Reserve for lunch and penguins (but not penguins for lunch)

 

We got an early storm update.  The ship will be docking, but at 8 instead of 7.  We’ll leave later.

 

We did get breakfast delivered at 7, even though it turned out we didn’t need to.  We ate it and got ready.

 

It was after 9 when the ship docked, and the all aboard was pushed from 3:30 to 5:30.  We headed to Michael’s and about 9:15 I noticed people getting off, so we got in line.  Quite coincidentally, two other couples who were on the tour with us arrived right after we did.  The line was a bit long, but we were rerouted to a front gangplank with no wait.

 

Around 9:50 we arrived at the pier entrance and found the company with no problem.  All 6 of us were sent off to a bus.  Rodrigo (or Johnny) as guide.    He was happy that we were the first bus.

 

He told us it would be about an hour to the lighthouse, then we’d backtrack a bit to the ranch and penguin reserve.  

 

As we drove, we did stop for pictures of animals, pretty much same ones as before.

 

After town, the road became gravel and muddy.  About halfway there, the van got stuck in the mud.  (Apparently, like Falklands it happens from time to time).  One bus passed us with no rope (does beg the question of why they don’t all carry rope), but the second bus to show up did, and pulled us out.  

 

So, two excursion, both with bus issues.  What are the odds?  Is it us?  Or the couple who was with us in both?  Or neither?

 

We were then on our way to the Lighthouse.  We were also followed by a couple of the ranch employees (the Gauchos) in a 4 wheel drive truck, that could help again.

 

The lighthouse appears to no longer be used, but there are gorgeous views from there.

 

 

We couldn’t really stay long because it was very windy, and the wind was blowing sand into my (and other people’s) eyes.

 

We then drove back and around the area we got stuck (I was told at lunch that later buses skipped the lighthouse because of the mud).  We took a side road, and soon arrived at the ranch. We stopped there to use the restrooms.  While there, we got a look at the spit where the lamb was roasting.

 

 

It didn’t look like there was a lot of meat on the animals, but it sure smelled good.

 

After we’d all used the two stall restroom, we headed further down the road to the penguin reserve.

 

 

As we walked, Rodrigo explained that this was the end of the season, and many penguins had already left for their winter home in Brazil.   The ones that are left are finishing their molting and then will leave.  

 

Once again, I won’t show you every picture - I have about 100.

 

First, here’s a group of three.

 

 

Notice how scruffy they look?  They’re shedding their summer feathers for the winter ones for the swim in the cold ocean.  

 

We also saw the burrows with penguins in them. 

 

 

Of course we’d been told not to approach and also how to tell if they are preparing to bite.  If you notice them turning their heads right and left it means they’re triangulating how to strike.  If you see that, back slowly away.

 

The walkway led to the beach, and the closer we got, the more penguins there were. 

 

 

And some were on the beach.

 

 

And a few more.

 

 

After about 90 minutes, we headed back to the ranch for lunch.  On the way, Rodrigo said that the ship had called the ranch and said that all aboard has been pushed to 6:30, so plenty of time.  I guess that was because there was also one bus that was a Celebrity excursion.  I think the only difference was the price.

 

We arrived at the ranch and were seated at a big table for our group.  There were salads in big metal bowls waiting - a green salad, a carrot salad and cold potatoes.  All good.

 

 

 

After that, we were served a very good empanada, followed by a chorizo sausage.  I don’t like them at home (Mexican style) but here, they’re very good.  After that, the lamb was served.  It was very good, but there was a lot of bone in it.

 

Finally we were served a fruit cup.  On a table there was coffee and tea, as well as some small welsh cakes, which were very good and similar to the honey cake I have from Madeira.  

 

It was close to 4pm when we (now last bus) finally left.  I hope Johnny was right about the time.

 

We stopped once to look at an Armadillo, and the driver got out of the bus to bring a small one onboard to show us.  It was obviously a very scared little animal, and left souvenirs. I’ll spare you pictures of that.

 

 

Along the drive, we passed the Celebrity bus from ranch, which was sort of comforting.

 

We arrived at the pier around 5:23, which is cutting it a bit close, assuming it’s still a 5:30 departure.  Rodrigo said we could look around town if we wanted, but we headed straight to the ship.

 

As we were walking down the pier, we heard the ship’s horn going.  We got to the ship at about 5:31, but as we were approaching we did see lines to board, so I figured that they weren’t going to pull the gangway at 5:30 exactly (the Celebrity bus passed us going back after drop off as we were about midway down the pier).

 

We were by no means the last people to board, but as we were in the security line we head the announcement about securing the lines, etc.  We actually left around 6.  (I did send them email saying it was a great tour but the ship didn’t in fact wait until 6:30, so the guide shouldn’t have said that).   All I can figure is maybe what they were told is that ship could wait until 6:30 if the Celebrity bus was late.

 

We went back to the room and washed the bottoms of our shoes, since there was probably some penguin poo, and maybe armadillo as well.

 

We got a text that Linda and Don were up in the constellation lounge (Sky lounge on S class), so we headed up there to watch the end of sailaway.  

 

After that, I went back to the room and actually watched one of their movies - Spoiler Alert - based on a book by former TV guide writer Michael Asello about his late boyfriend.  It was OK, but maybe not good enough to have seen in a theater.

 

 

After that, we went to dinner, since it was around 8:30.  I started with the lamb meatballs in tzaziki with dates and onion marmalade.  The lamb was Ok but the rest were good.

 

 

For my entree, I chose the vegetarian pot pie from main dining.  It was also OK.  Might have been nicer with chicken.

 

 

I also had the eclair from main dining for dessert.  Other than enlist chocolate frosting it was good.

 

After dinner we headed back to the room and then called it an early night.  Tomorrow is the last sea day of the cruise, and our last lunch and dinner in Luminae.

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 23 - Sea Day 12 Sunday 4 

 

Today is the last sea day of the cruises.  We celebrated by sleeping in.  

 

We called Maria for coffee, but that was mostly because we have our little baby gift to give her, and she’s leaving tomorrow.

 

However, our order was delivered by someone else, since she was busy.  We did ask her to stop by, and she did.  I think she liked the little gift, and we set up having her friend me on Facebook once she left the ship.

 

After coffee, we went to Michael’s and set up for a while.  I got some extra luggage tags, and decided to drop them.  On my way, I ran into San & Kathleen on the stairs, going to the area between Guest Services and Shore Ex to practice dancing.  They invited us to join them.  

 

So I went back to Michael’s, got Glen and we headed down.  There is a nice open area there with no seating.  We practiced for about 30 minutes, but then they decided to go to lunch (they go early on this cruise).  

 

So I went back over to guest services to see if Silvia was around to meet Glen.  She was and we chatted for about 30 minutes

 

 

Silvia is in the middle.

 

We then stopped back at the room to drop our stuff, and headed out to lunch.  Last lunch of the cruise.

 

I started with cream of mushroom soup from the main dining, and it was good.

 

 

My main was  the filet from Luminae, and it was good as always.

 

 

And of course I finished with the white chocolate mousse, and here it is again from a different angle.

 

 

After lunch we joined Linda and Don for an afternoon show where Alejandro interviews the captain.  They wanted to go because the captain is leaving after this cruise, and there will be a new captain for their trip to Brazil.

 

It was sort of funny.  I know some people think Alejandro is hilarious (and the daily says he is).  Personally, I think he is funny, but not half as funny as he thinks he is.  The show had it’s moments, and was sort of funny.  Your mileage may vary.

 

After the show we went to the Constellation Lounge for a quick drink. 

 

Next was the room to finish Return of the King.  We have to pack the DVD stuff tomorrow. 

 

After dressing for the last Evening Chic aka formal night, we went to Rendezvous to do a dance set.

 

Next was our last dinner in Luminae.  Tonight I tried the blue cheese soufflé from the main dining room.  It was good, but very rich.  We both had the rack of lamb which was good as always.  Today, I finished with the raspberry vacherin from the DB menu.  They haven’t had raspberries since we boarded over 3 weeks ago.

 

 

After dinner, I did my last casino visit. 

 

Tomorrow is our last full day of the cruises.

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 24  -Montevideo 2 Monday 4

 

We didn’t need to get up particularly early, but we did do it in time for breakfast at Luminae.  Today was my one modified Eggs Benedict of the trip.

 

After breakfast, we headed to Michael’s.  We are supposed to arrive in Montevideo around 10 (no delay from the late day in Puerto Madryn - it was always 10), so we figured we’d wait for the crowd to disperse, since we have no specific plans.

 

Around 11, we decided it would be easy to exit.  We did notice we were alongside a building, and we’d never seen that before, so we were a bit confused as to if we were at the same port.  

 

Once we were off the ship, we figured out that we were docked at a 90 degree angle from where we usually were.  We were the only ship today, so I guess that’s the preferred dock.

 

We walked out and headed the the Port Market.  It turns out it’s mostly restaurants and food venues.  We did run into Chelsey there, buying an empanada.  She later told us the food wasn’t that good.  It only took a few minutes, so we headed up the street.  

 

Since it was the same street we’d walked up previously, we made a right turn and walked to the water walk.  This was a new part of the walk for us, so we found this memorial.

 

We eventually headed inland.  We tried a parallel street to the one that we walked last time, but soon realized that there wasn’t anything interesting, so we went back to the main Street.

 

As we walked, we noticed an internal courtyard.  There were a couple of people going in, and they noticed our interest, so they invited us in to see it.   They were able to explain that it was originally the first theater in Montevideo on one side and the first hotel for couples on the other.

 

 

 

They were very friendly and we appreciated the look and history.

 

After that we walked back to the ship.  On the way to the gangway, we saw them loading new drinks.

 

 

Once onboard, we dropped our stuff in the room and headed up to the buffet for lunch.  We did a light lunch, and then went to Michael’s for one last tea time.  

 

After that, it was time to go back to the room to do most of our packing.  

 

Tonight we were joining Linda and Don for his birthday dinner in Tuscan.  The reservation was a little earlier than we’d normally do, but they are good company and have become good friends.

 

We had two bottles of wine that were given to us, so we grabbed those, figuring we’d give them to Don as they’re on for the next cruise as well, and headed to Rendezvous.  The dance band was playing so we danced a little and then headed to Tuscan.

 

They were seated at a table for 4 near the entrance, and so we joined them.  The sommelier opened one of our bottles.

 

We started with the antipasti board for 4.  Always good when there’s more than two people.

 

 

My starter was the creamy burrata salad - as you can see tomato, cheese and some croutons.

 

 

 

 

Linda chose a very pretty lasagne for her main.

 

 

 

I had a ribeye with house steak sauce and gorgonzola sauce, both on the side.  I also had polenta fries and some spinach.

 

 

For dessert, I had the limoncello cheesecake.

 

 

We finished dinner around 9, and then I headed to the shops.  Earlier, I’d seen a small Kipling backpack that could be used as a shoulder strap bag.  It’s a little bigger than the bag I currently use for travel, and so I thought I’d get one at the end.  They only had a light blue one and a coral one left, and I think we had just enough OBC for the light blue one (coral was a little less, but I didn’t like the color).  So I got that.  

 

And it was then time to go back upstairs and put out the luggage.  We watched a little TV and went to bed early, since we have to be out by 8.

 

It was a great couple of cruises, and we still have one adventure left on this trip.

 

 

 

 

 

[LIMPIT]

On 4/2/2023 at 10:57 PM, asnaleah said:

I did not know we can order from Blu in Luminae. We are often offered the MDR menu, but not Blu. Thanks for the info! 

Same, we just returned on B2B on Silhouette eating in Luminea, and we we’re always offered MDR Menu, never Blu ! 

[abbydancer2003]

2 hours ago, LIMPIT said:

Same, we just returned on B2B on Silhouette eating in Luminea, and we we’re always offered MDR Menu, never Blu ! 

On the Silhouette, which is an S class ship, Blu is not co-located with Luminae and the main dining room.  So they don't offer it.  On M class it's right above Luminae, and shares the 2 story kitchen.

[abbydancer2003]

Day 25 - Buenos Aires 4 - Disembarkation Tuesday 4

 

They are kicking us off the ship today.

 

Since we have to be out of the room by 8 and we didn’t go to Luminae for dinner last night, we decided to go to breakfast to say goodbye.  

 

We were up at 7, and out of the room by 7:45.  After bidding our very good room steward goodbye, we headed to Luminae and enjoyed our last breakfast there for about 3 weeks.  We said our goodbyes to all, including Maria, who stopped by.  For breakfast I had a single pancake.  It was good.

 

 

We then went to Michael’s.  We’d told our ride to meet us at 10, and they said it would be between 10 and 10:15, so we figured it’s better to wait in Michaels than the terminal.

 

However, at 9:30 Jairo said that they’d called all boarding groups and we needed to leave.  So he escorted us to the gangway.

 

This is the first time we’ve disembarked here.  In 2010, the terminal wasn’t built yet (it was a container port warehouse) and in 2019 we did a ship excursion to the airport.  So this was new.

 

At the exit, Silvia was there directing people onto buses, so we gave her a goodbye hug and headed onto a bus. 

 

We disembarked at the terminal, and quickly found our luggage.  We then joined a short line for baggage X-ray.  They only did one of our bags - Glen’s, and then we were out of the terminal in the pickup area.  There were a lot of people there, but to our surprise, a driver was there with a sign for us.  We walked to his car, and were on our way quickly.  Our contact, David, confirmed that all was well with the pickup and that Carlos was taking us to the hotel.

 

We arrived at the hotel around 10, and our room, which we’d seen on the Marriott app was a suite, was not ready yet.  

 

We decided to go to the bar and get a coffee.  We sat there for a while, and still no room.  The lounge didn’t open until 2pm so we couldn’t go there.

 

At 1pm, since there was still no room, we checked our backpacks with the concierge, and went out to change some more money for the Iguazu trip.

 

We thought maybe we’d get some lunch, but we couldn’t find a restaurant between the hotel and the money change place, so we went back, and at 2 headed to the lounge.

 

We were told that they’d call the lounge when the room was ready,  We had the concierge there put CNN on, and we watched that while snacking.

 

Originally we were going to do dinner with Sam & Kathleen at a cafe, but they decided they’d had a big lunch and were skipping dinner.  

 

I started looking at restaurants and noticed that El Mirasol at Puerto Madero was open continuously from lunch time, so I thought we’d go there early because we have to leave for the airport tomorrow at 5:30 am.

 

At 3:45 I went down to ask the concierges about making a 6:30 reservation.  While there, I checked on the room and it was ready.  So much for them calling.

 

Our room is nice, it’s a 1 bedroom suite, with a separate living room.  Too bad we won’t be here long enough to enjoy it.

 

At around 6, we headed to the Puerto Madero area.  We’ve been there before, so finding the restaurant was easy.

 

Since people here eat late, the restaurant was pretty empty.  We started with a bread service and it came with a spinach croquette.  Doesn’t look good but it was pretty good.

 

 

Next up with the current favorite appetizer of everyone Provoletta - ie grilled cheese.  This was the star of the night.

 

 

We split a ribeye steak.  Most steaks here start around 14 ounces, so splitting is a good thing,

 

 

We also thought we were ordering sides when we ordered a lettuce salad and green beans, but it turned out that there long list of sides were simply veggies to put in a single salad.  As far as I can tell, there are no side orders for steaks.

 

For dessert, I had a dulche de leche crepe.  It wasn’t quite as good as Ferver, but it was very hot and still very good.

 

Following dinner, we went back to the hotel.  On the way back we had this gorgeous view.

 

 

Once in the room, we packed everything we could up (we’re just bringing our little sports bag and checking everything else with the hotel), watched a bit of TV and went to bed.  Tomorrow is very early!

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 26 - BA to Iguazu - Brazil

 

Our flight this morning is at 8:50, out of EZE.  I think it’s because the flight is on an A330, which is a wide body plane.  We were told we needed to leave at 5:30, in case of traffic.  How much traffic there is at 5:30 I don’t know. 

 

So at 4:30 we were up, and at 5:10 we gave the hotel our 3 checked big bags to store.  All we have is the small Sportsac bag we use for the last night of the cruise.  

 

We got a call at 5:20 that the driver was there.  So off to EZE.  We kept trying to tell the driver it was a domestic flight, but the company we are using doesn’t hire English speaking drivers.  Google translate wasn’t much help either.

 

Once we got to the airport, I noticed he was taking us to the international terminal.  I handed him our confirmation from the airline and when he saw that, we drove around to the domestic terminal. Since it was only 6am, it wasn’t a big deal.  Also I noticed that it would have been an easy walk.

 

We went to the counter and got our boarding passes.  We weren’t checking the small bag.  We went through security right away. Security was very easy as we didn’t have to take anything out or off.  That said, maybe going right through was a mistake.

 

The terminal was small, a 4 gate area with one store, one counter service food place, and a coffee cart.  And it was packed.  Turns out there are 6 gates with two a little further away.

 

We had roughly 2.5 hours until our flight.  It took a while to find somewhere to sit, but we finally found a couple of chairs at the gate next to ours.  I took off to investigate.  It turns out that between 6 and 8 there were about 6 or 7 delayed flights, so everyone there should have been gone. After about an hour, flights started boarding, and the terminal emptied out.

 

At some point, the line for the coffee place got shorter, so I got a latte.  

 

At about 8am they started boarding our flight.  We were in group four, so we had a wait.  Sam and Kathleen went by us, so I’m glad they made the flight.  They were in group two.  I thought it was because they checked in earlier, but on the return I learned that Aerolinas Argentinas boards back to front, and we were in row 15.  (About the 4th row of coach).

 

The airport is interesting.  The domestic terminal is below the international terminal.  The main gates were above us.  So, it was a bus ride out of the area to somewhere on the tarmac, with stairs to the plane.  The shuttles were packed.  

 

 

In spite of shuttling enough people out to fill a wide body jet, we were on time.  They did a beverage service on this just under 2 hour flight.  My guess on the A330 plane is that this is a long weekend and lots of people going up to Iguazu for it, so they could fill the plane.  The flight was also moved from from the Domestic Airport to the international one, probably because they need the runways of the bigger airport.

 

In any case they offered a beverage service and the flight was on time.  

 

We didn’t check a bag, so we went out of baggage claim and found the exit, where Edson, our TBL (tours by locals) guide was waiting.  We’d booked a 3 day tour with him  - Brazil falls one day, Argentina the next, including round trip airport transportation.  After introductions, I went back into the terminal to wait for Sam & Kathleen, as they’d checked a box with their walking sticks.  Eventually we all met up.

 

We learned that Edson had to have a driver, because, since he’s Brazilian, he can’t pick us up at an airport in Argentina.  So he’d hired a driver to take us to our hotel in Puerto Iguazu, and Edson would meet us there.

 

That worked, and about 30 minutes later, we were dropped off in the town of Puerto Iguazu.  The place that Sam found was called Marin Apartments, and the entrance was between two shops.  The door was locked.  It turns out these really are apartments and not a hotel.  After a few minutes the manager showed up and let us in.  On the second floor were apartments A & B.  Sam had A, we have B.  They are small one bedroom places with one bathroom, a small kitchen area and a living room.  The shower is electric.  We have access to some of his streaming accounts.  We got keys to both the room and the front door, and the instructions were to leave the keys inside.  Juan, the manager, gave us a map of the area, and some recommendations for where to find dinner, groceries etc.

 

He also asked when we were checking out.  Something happened with my Expedia account and I ended up with just one night there, whereas Sam & Kathleen have two.  I ended up booking a different hotel down the street for the second night.  I said we’d be check out early tomorrow, and on Friday S&K will check out at 10am, which is the official check out time, since our flight isn’t until early afternoon.  

 

The apartment was OK, but we learned the next morning that the only hot water was the electric shower, which was very inconvenient to use.  In hindsight, we should have stayed at the Grand Melia in the park, which would  not have been ridiculously expensive if we’d booked it when we booked the trip.  

 

After settling in, we went to the street and found Edson.  His car was a bit bigger than the one we’d come from in the airport, so would be fine for park visits.  Before we left, Edson reminded us that we needed passports and vaccine cards.  We had ours, Sam got theirs and we headed to Brazil.

 

We ended up not needing our vaccine cards, but, when we got to the border, we did have to show the passports.  There was a small wait and then we were in Brazil.  It could have been worse.

 

 

Soon left in Edsons slightly bigger car.  Went to Brazilian border, so had to bring passport (duh) and vaccine card (didn’t need those).  Bit of a wait but could be worse.  

 

We didn’t actually have to stop on the Brazil side, unless we wanted our passports stamped.  We opted not to, and we were soon at the Brazilian national park.  We stopped at the visitors center and bought our tickets and then went to the snack bar for lunch.  It was typical snack bar fare, but because I got a burger combo I got a little stuffed coati.

 

After lunch, we went back to the car, and drove up into the hills.  We parked, and then walked to the start of a trail.  First thing we saw was this:

 

WOW!

 

We then continued along the trail and I wondered why since we’d seen the falls.  Then we saw this:

 

 

Ok, maybe more than one.

 

Continuing …

 

 

And yet, we weren’t done.

 

We also saw lots of my little stuffed coati.

 

 

 

This continued for quite a wile.  Walk along the trail, see something wow.

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes we got close.

 

 

This was, I think the top fo the falls where what we are seeing is in Brazil - most of the falls you see from Brazil are in Argentina.

 

By the time we got there, we’d walked quite a ways, and a lot of descent.  At this end point, we could either take an elevator up or take stairs.  I said I could do the stairs as long as we went slowly.  Along the way we met a family who were petting and feeding the  <<name>>.  Glen said apparently they didn’t read the part how the animals get rabies from vampire bats.  Nor did the read the part about not feeding and interacting with them.  Wild animals are not pets, people.

 

At the top of the stairs, the was another visitors center (also one at the bottom of the elevator), so Edson had us wait for him to get the car.  Which was good, since I wasn’t fond of the idea of walking back up the trail.

 

Overall the walk took a little over 2 hours.

 

On the way back, we stopped at a hotel in the Brazilian side of the park to see the lobby.  It looked like a Regency era British hotel.  Very pretty.

 

After that Edson took us back to our “hotel”.  We agreed to meet at 7am, because tomorrow will be busy at the Argentine park due to the holiday weekend.

 

We agreed to meet Sam and Kathleen to go find dinner at about 6:30 (it was 6 by this time).

 

At 6:30 we met and decided to go to dinner at a restaurant that Juan, the manager had recommended.  It’s along the river at a place where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet.  We took the map and started walking.  We walked along the river for a while, and eventually came to  the area he was talking about.  There was, of course, the now common location sign.  This one changed colors.

 

 

 

We also saw a Ferris wheel on the Brazil side.

 

 

 

And we saw a bridge between Brazil and Paraguay.  Glen said he thinks, based on google maps that it’s under construction.

 

 

That’s Brazil on the right, Paraguay on the left, and we’re in Argentina.

 

At this area, just past the sign, there was a large plaza.  The restaurant we were looking for was underneath the plaza, and there were small stands of people selling things lining the plaza.  

 

The restaurant is called El Hito.  The food was good. Glen and I split a Caesar salad.  It had chicken in it, which I now think is standard for Argentina.  I had a steak with malbec sauce and scalloped potatoes.  It was excellent.

 

 

Over all the food was good and the restaurant nice.  After dinner, I pulled out google maps and found a more direct and definitely flatter walk back.  It was easy and about 1.5 kilometers.  We found some nice looking bars along the way.

 

When we got back to the hotel we said good night because it’s a very early start tomorrow as well.

 

I then took a shower, and found the it quite inconvenient, because the unit was up agains the back wall of the shower and there wasn’t much flow.

 

After that bed, with an amazing day in the books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dlexp]

I am enjoying reading your review! My husband and I were also on this trip, and we talked in Michaels about our plans in Buenos Aires right before you disembarked. Wonderful cruise but I'm still bitter about the Chilean Fjords! 

[abbydancer2003]

14 hours ago, dlexp said:

I am enjoying reading your review! My husband and I were also on this trip, and we talked in Michaels about our plans in Buenos Aires right before you disembarked. Wonderful cruise but I'm still bitter about the Chilean Fjords! 

Me too, but we saw them on the way to Valparaiso.  Which was only because we did Puerto Montt instead of Puenta Arenas.

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 27 - Iguazu Thursday 4

 

Today is the day we visit the Argentine side of the Falls.  People with one day tend to go there, so maybe it’s better than yesterday, but that’s hard to believe.

 

We were meeting Edson at 7, so we were up at 6.  We packed up everything (which honestly wasn’t very much at all, just toiletries and sleepwear, really.

 

At 7 we met Edson and put our backpacks and bag in the trunk of his car.  Sadly it was raining.  We thought the rain would hold off until tomorrow, but it chose not to.

 

Before we headed to the National Park, we stopped at a very nice breakfast place in town.  I had the combo of a cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and two pastries.  I got a sweet roll and a dulce de leche roll.  (I’m really going to miss those when I go home).  As we were ordering, Glen realized that he’d taken the hotel keys with him.  Sam offered to bring them back, this afternoon, but they needed them this morning.  So Edson drove Glen back.  It didn’t take that long fortunately.

 

After our very nice breakfast, we headed to the Park.  It was about halfway back to the airport - I remember passing the entrance on our way in yesterday.

 

Edson once again dropped us in front to buy tickets.  He also suggested we go to the gift shop and buy thin little rain ponchos.  They were inexpensive and seemed to maid of plastic bag material.    

 

Edson soon joined us and we walked into the park.  Apparently on this side, you don’t drive through the park - you take a train.  We walked to the station, and Edson was able to score tickets on the next train.  

 

The Argentine Park has three main areas, all accessible from the train.  The furthest out is called Devil’s Throat, and is a viewing platform of the topmost water falls.  Further down, is a visitors area with two nearby trails - the Upper Circuit and the Lower Circuit, each around 1.5 K or a little over a mile.  Our plan is to do all three.

 

We started with Devils throat since the train from the station goes straight there.

 

WE headed up and were soon on the path.  A note on the paths.  They are all almost all latticed metal.  Which means they are slippery when wet.  

 

We left the train, wand walked the path to Devil’s Throat.  Not sure why it’s called that, but the view is spectacular.

 

 

From there, wee went back to the train and one stop to where you could get to the two walks.  Edson stopped at a map and explained that there are two pats you can walk - the Upper and the Lower circuits.  Each is about a mile to a mile and a half, and brings you different views of the various falls.    We decided to do the lower circuit before lunch.  On our way to the trail were saw the old falling apart hotel, and could see the newer one - the Grand Melia - in the distance.  

 

Soon we found the trail entrances, and  hit the lower walk.  Here are some shots.

 

 

 

 

I think the two the left are the dos heramas falls (two sisters):

 

 

Up above, we could see the top of the upper trail.

 

The lower trail looped around and after about an hour, we arrived back at the area called Jungle Central.  This is where, in addition to the old hotel, there are 3 food venues.  The first is a snack bar, and a full service Padilla.  There’s also a buffet where you are charged by the weather of your plate.  Because they had outside seating, we opted for the buffet.  I had salad, bread, a pork in cream sauce and a chicken dish.  They would have. Been good if they were hot.  We did have a nice time with Sam & Kathleen, though.

 

After lunch, Edson rejoined us, and we did the upper trail.

 

We got some different views of the falls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These last few were taken at the viewing platform at the top of the upper circuit.

 

 

 

Walking back from that final platform, minor disaster struck.  I managed to not catch myself as I slipped and landed on my left knee.  I was able to get up with help, and since that was our last stop we decided it was time to go back.  I was Ok, although I did have to stop for a few moments because I got a bit dizzy from pain.  However, it was clear that nothing was broken or bleeding profusely, so we were good to go on.

 

I was able to stop for a couple of pictures.

 

 

And one of the local wildlife.

 

 

We soon got back on the train to the entrance.  Edson went to get the car while we waited.  He soon picked us up.  We drove back to town, and dropped Sam and Kathleen off at their hotel.  We’d asked Edson about good restaurants in town, and he said the one in our hotel was the best.  I asked S&K if they wanted to come over there, but they said only if they have outside seating.  I said I’d check.  

 

Edson then dropped us at our new hotel - Iguazu Jungle Lodge.  It’s just over 1/2 mile down the road from where we were, but by then it was no longer center of town, and things were further apart.    He waited until we checked in and then said he’d pick us up at 10 tomorrow and then get Sam & Kathleen.  

 

The hotel is built along a hill and backs up to the jungle.  A staff member loaded our bags into the back of a golf cart, and us into the front, and we headed down the hill from the lobby and then up another hill to a block of rooms.  We were on the second floor, with a jungle view.

 

 

 You can see the river in this, about mid picture.

 

We also had a small waterfall.  I couldn’t get a good enough picture, as it was a little hard to spot, but we could hear it with the balcony door open, so that was nice.  This was also a standard hotel room, and very nice and airy.    

 

When we checked in, we were given coupons for welcome drink in the restaurant.  So, once our clothes were slightly dried, we walked back to the restaurant, to get them.  It was a bit of a walk, and my knee hurt a little, but not enough to stop me.  

 

A very nice worker, offered us three flavors of Calpirinha (the national drink of Brazil) in three flavors.  Glen opted for the original, but I chose a passion fruit flavored one, and it was amazing.  We had them in plastic cups so we could take it back to the room.

 

We also asked about outdoor seating, but the outdoor section they’re building is not open yet.  He was also very honest about the fact that it would be busy.

 

So we went back to the room and I emailed Sam.  He said Kathleen didn’t want to eat inside.and we didn’t want to walk the half mile with my knee hurting, so we agreed to dine separately.  I called the restaurant and made a reservation for 8pm. Although they were full, they did say that if you were staying here, you could get in.  After confirming that, I tried to air dry my pants, but no luck, still wet at the bottom.  So we went off to dinner in wet pants.  (We did put on dry socks).

 

The restaurant was busy, but we were seated quickly.  We ordered their version of Provoletti (they called it grilled cheese) which had arugula , mushrooms and tomatoes and was really good.  I had a flank steak with chimichurri and Glen had entrecôte.  His was a little grisly, but very good and mine was excellent.

 

For dessert, we split a “dulce de leche” creme brûlée.  It was more like a dulce de leche pudding with a brûlée’d top.  It was great.

 

 

After dinner we went back to the room, took a nice warm comfortable shower and went to bed with the sound of the waterfall.  

 

It turned out that messing up the hotel reservation was a good thing.

 

Tomorrow back to BA and then our grand adventure will come to a close.

 

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 28 Iguazu to BA. Friday 4

 

Today, we go back to BA to go home tomorrow.  As part of our tour with Edson, he is taking us to the airport.  We really don’t need to be at the airport much before noon, but checkouts are at 10.  

 

At about 9, we got packed up (fairly easy with one small bag - the electronics take the longest actually) and called the lobby for a pickup.  The golf cart soon arrived.  He dropped us at the restaurant, and then took the bags to the lobby.    

 

There was a breakfast buffet which was pretty good and pretty standard.  After breakfast, I headed to the restroom and when I came out, Glen was gone.  A couple minutes later he came to get me and said Edson was in the lobby.  The bags were in the car and we headed back to town to pick up Sam and Kathleen.  They joined us just after 10, and we headed to a different place for coffee, since we didn’t have to go to the airport for an hour.

 

As we drove to pick up S&K, I realized the distance was a little further than I thought, so I was glad we stayed in, especially since my knee still hurts.

 

Edson dropped us and then went to get gas for the car.  The restaurant was a bit confusing - as there was a cashier, a number system and then a second counter for latte, etc.  Eventually I figured it out and managed to get an expresso.  I gave it to Glen and tried again.  Edson came back and helped me get a latte.  Kathleen had hot chocolate, but Sam gave up and got something from the Subway across the street.

 

They told us about their dinner, and I was even more glad we did what we did.  Apparently they had a good meal at one of the nearby cafes with outdoor seating, but there were kids trying to sell things and dogs trying to get their food, and apparently somebody tried to steal Sam’s Diet Pepsi.  Overall, we made the right choice.

 

We stayed there chatting until about 11:30, and then went to the airport.  It took about 1/2 hour.  Fortunately, Edson could drop us off.    We bid him a fond farewell (he’d been a great guide) and entered the airport.  Once again, not very busy, We quickly got our boarding passes, went through security and settled to wait by the gate.  We were once again in group 4, so I figured out that Aerolinus Argentinas boards back to front.

 

The flight was onetime and completely uneventful.  We were in row 5 with an empty middle seat so it was pleasant.

 

Once arriving at AEP, we exited and, after a restroom stop, headed out to the meeting point where there were, as usual, many people with signs.  We didn’t see a sign with my name on, but Carlos, our driver from the ship to the hotel, found us.  It was nice to see him again. 

 

We went to his car, and while driving to the hotel, he used google translate on his phone to point out some sights to us.

 

We arrived at the hotel around 3:45 and this time our one bedroom suite was available. (This one was a little bigger and had 1.5 bathrooms.  At least we have time to enjoy it.)

 

 We retrieved our luggage, and headed up.  Since we hadn’t had lunch, we went to the lounge, and had a snack.  We spoke with Sam & Kathleen a bit.  We didn’t want too much to eat, because we’d booked a second dinner tour with Josephine and Nacho (remember our empanada lesson before the cruse?)

 

After the lounge we got ready to go to dinner.  At about 7:30 we went down to the lobby and ordered an Uber.  It took a bit, but not as long as before the cruise.  We ended up arriving a couple minutes after 8pm.

 

It was nice to see them again, and dinner started right away.  The dinner we booked was supposed to start with empanadas, then chorizo with brie, steak and dulce de leche flan.  In communicating, she did mention she might tweak the dessert.

 

When we sat down there was beet hummus and bread for it.  The first true course was not empanadas but gnocchi with sound dried tomatoes.

 

 

It was very good.

 

The next course was the chorizo with brie and the greens with it was kale, so we had fun discussion of how to make kale less bitter.  (I massage it to break it down).

 

The main course was ribeye with either a wine sauce or a lemon ginger sauce.  I had the wine sauce and Glen had the lemon ginger sauce.  Both good.

 

 

 

 

 

And for dessert, she stuck with the flan, which was great.  We had that course in her living room. 

 

 

We stayed and talked with them until well after 11, and then called an Uber.  The Uber arrived almost immediately, and we bid Josephine a fond farewell and headed off.  The Uber ride back was very fast.

 

After that back to the room.  Tomorrow we go home.

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

Day 29/30 - BA to Frankfort to SF - Saturday 5/Sunday 5

 

The breakfast buffet closes at 11, so we set an alarm for 10.  Of course we were up by 8, so we got dressed and went to breakfast.  Today, I asked for an omelette, since the eggs they offer on the buffet are very runny.  It took a little while but I got it.  It was good.  Wish I’d known about that the first time.

 

After that, back to the room to finish packing.  Before we go, a picture of the view from our room.

 

 

Our ride was coming at 12:30, and it was only 11:40, So, I decided to go for a walk.  I did manage to find some Alfajore cookies (Dulce de leche filled cookies).  I bought a small box of 6.  The store was next door to Starbucks, so I looked for a local Starbucks card, but they didn’t have any.

 

After that I went back to the room, and 10 minutes later there was a call from the driver (about 12:15).  He said not to rush.    So at about 12:20 we headed down, and met our driver, Diego.  He spoke English so we had some nice conversations on the way to the airport.  He pointed out a few things such as the Congress building and new Shantytowns.  Overall, a very pleasant drive.

 

We arrived at the airport around 1 and the Lufthansa counters were open.  After checking our luggage, we went through security.  They were patting down everyone and it was a pain.  Next stop after security was immigration.(We did that coming in the first time and when leaving on the cruise, but never getting off the cruise).  That caused no problem and they agent who did the immigration just kept saying “bye bye”.  Maybe that’s the only English she knows.

 

We walked through the duty-free shops, found the lounge and hung out there for a while.  I did take a walk through the terminal, and found this cute play structure.

 

 

 

At 3:50 boarding began.  We walked to the gate and ended up at the line for group 3.  (We’re in group 2).  We asked, and we were in the wrong gate area.  We were at the official gate - gate 9, but group 1 and 2 were at gate 8.  In any case, we were on quickly and went to the upstairs, since it was a 747.  Glen said this might be the last time we fly a 747, since they’re starting to be decommissioned.

 

Before take off, I enjoyed a mango orange juice, and I added a bit of champagne to make a mimosa I guess.  It was nice.

 

I settled in and watched A Man Called Otto.  It was quite good.  I had dinner, and then half watched a Harry Potter movie and tried to sleep.  At some point, the flight attendants gave us chocolate bunnies.

 

 

Several hours later we arrived in Frankfort.  We were at an A gate and our next flight was United out of a Z gate.  Getting to Z involved a lot of walking, a train to the Z terminal and a secondary security screening.  We eventually found the Z gates, and the lounge.  We had about an hour before boarding, so we stopped in the lounge for a bit.

 

When it was time to go we headed towards our gate.  On the way, we had to stop for a document check for US flights.  

 

Once on the plane we settled in.  The flight was supposed to leave at 1:30.  At 1:15 the captain said they were just finalizing paperwork and we’d be on our way.  1:30 came and went.  Apparently there was a minor mechanical issue.  A lens cover had fallen off something in the landing gear.  After several “leaving soon” we finally left 2.5 hours late. 

 

The flight was uneventful, other than everything was served on one tray, including the nuts they give you at the beginning of the flight.  We barely saw the flight attendants until breakfast.  I did try to sleep some.

 

Customs in SF was quick, our bags came quickly and other than some crazy guy in the parking van (we were picking up our car left by my sister) swearing at us the whole way, it was easy.  We got home about 8, left my mom a message and went to bed.  

 

And with that, I’m done.  I thank you all for your patience and for following along with me.  I’m now on the Summit and blogging that.

 

Thank you.