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Showing posts from December 31, 2008

Country #79: Montevideo: the last port of call

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Sightseeing made simple. Original jewelry by Cristina Schroeder The Solis Theater, opened in 1856. The final port of call and in all likelihood the subject of the last post of 2008 was country #79, Uruguay. More specifically, we stopped in the capital city, Montevideo. Like Valparaiso, this was once an important port city that lost its prominence once the Panama Canal was completed and trade ships could bypass it altogether. As a result, the once impressive Art Deco, colonial and neoclassical buildings have fallen into disrepair and the streets, at least on this Saturday afternoon, appeared eerily quiet. The only signs of life were a result of having two cruise ships in port, both the tourists they off-loaded and the multitude of police officers assigned to protect them. Some wise soul at the Montevideo tourism office came up a walking tour brochure, which a battalion of representatives cheerily handed out at the port, and also calculated every possible way in

Puerto Madryn and the Valdez Peninsula

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Port of call #6, Puerto Madryn was the one that made me scream "I'm going on this cruise!". While mulling over the idea of a South American cruise, I did a quick google search on "Puerto Madryn, attractions" and the result was pages and pages of photos showcasing whales, orcas, elephant seals, guanacos and of course, penguins. After that, there was no room for debate. I kept picturing the elephant seal from "Happy Feet" and for some reason, felt that I had to, had to, had to see these creatures for myself. With that thought firmly in mind, I booked (a) the cruise and (b) a tour with Nestor of CuyonCo to the Peninsula Valdez . The peninsula, about an hour's drive from Puerto Madryn and a UNESCO world heritage sight, is home to all the aforementioned wildlife and is thus, quite understandably, a big eco-tourism destination. People come from all over to stay in Puerto Piramidas and watch southern right whales frolic in the Golfo Nuevo and the Gol