Adventure of the month

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...

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...

Two generations of Gentoo penguins A small group of King Penguins. This is one of two churches with a whale bone arch, the other is in Yorkshire, England. A comically penguin-shaped tourist posing near the Newspaper offices. A Memorial to those who lost their lives during the Falkland War. Our fourth port of call was in the heavily-disputed British Falkland Islands. Or the heavily-disputed Argentinian Islas Malvinas . It depends who asks. Personally, I can't say that I formed an opinion one way or another. On one hand, they are undoubtedly within Argentina's maritime border. On the other hand, at no time during the islands' history did they belong to Argentina. It is one of those situations where it is easy to be swayed by either side of argument. Luckily, I was not there to choose sides. I was there to see penguins. Lots and lots of glorious penguins. In order to this, I had to do the one thing th...

The fourth port of call, our first in Argentina (country #78) was at the end of the world, or at least that is what the tourist office is eager to get across. Most maps simply refer to it as " Ushuaia ". Either way, it is the southernmost city in the world. Or not. Chileans will tell you that Punta Arenas, which is further north but has a population of 130,000 is the southernmost city while Ushuaia , with its measly 60,000 inhabitants, is merely a very southern town. Seeing as we hit both places, I can confidently say that I have been in the southernmost city and leave it at that. Prior to the cruise, I had made reservations for a boat ride across the Beagle Channel on a vessel named the M/N Barracuda . Therefore, it struck me as peculiar when we were disembarking from the cruise ship and I saw a docked boat that appeared to have been brought over by Magellan himself, looking as if it was about to sink any minute and bearing the name Barracuda. I rationalized that this m...

Our route. Map courtesy of NCL.com The one and only towel creation that ever manifest itself in our room. Other guests ended up with entire menageries. Passing through the Patagonic Channels. The first of many glaciers. Cruising through the Beagle Channel, something I would later do in a tour boat like the one pictured. The legendary Cape Horn. On the day we rounded Cape Horn, we had a ceremony where the Captain baptised us as honorary "Horneans" with ice cold water. Why I agreed to participate, I have no clue. Our room was an inside cabin, therefore channel 22, showing the view from a mounted camera became our official "window". Yup, I agreed to pour champagne into a pyramid of glasses aboard a moving ship. Not sure what I was thinking there, either. I can see how it is possible to interpret my running tally, where I am keeping score pitting myself against NCL when it comes to shore excursions, a...