The view from our room at the Marriott on Kennedy Blvd. in Santiago, Chile. It reminded us a lot of California.
Our lunch stop between Santiago and Valparaiso.
The gang at Los Hornitos. We had 1st lunch here.
Some of the very California-like landscape between Santiago and Valparaiso along Hwy. 68.
More of the same landscape. These are vineyards. Note the propeller tower on the right.
Amy doing what she does best on car rides, flytrapping.
The cruise terminal in Valparaiso is long and cavernous.
Waiting for our bus number to be called to be taken to the Veendam. Mom is giving me a dose of my own medicine.
On the bus from the cruise terminal to the ship; here you can see some of the damage that Valparaiso suffered in last year's earthquake.
Our home for the next 17 days!
This isn't a great picture except for one thing; notice the waffling of the bow just forward of the anchor space along the front edge of the ship. That damage was sustained on the just completed cruise in 90 ft. waves and 115 mph winds around Cape Horn.
Our stateroom, 232, was an Aft Verandah Suite, was located on deck 9 (the Verandah deck..... ) on the aft port corner.
The area pictured is roughly 200 square feet, not including the verandah, bathroom or closets.
The couch becomes a single bed; this is where Amy slept.
Our whirlpool bath; it's a little stubby but worked well. I just cleared the ceiling while standing.
The vanity in the bathroom.
The reason we selected this stateroom. We had a very large verandah that easily accomodated 5 people along the railing, with room for maybe twice that many. We had great aft and port views from here.
You can see how the verandah wrapped to port and the port-side view we had.
Putting the porch to good use! It just seemed unreal to finally be here after all the anticipation.
I believe this is part of the Chilean Navy, in the background.
Valparaiso from the ms Veendam.
Ready for dinner the first night.
Amy and her grandpa planning our trip for the captain.
Jacob's Ladder in the Atrium of the Veendam.
Captain Rik Krombeen and Cruise Director Patti Honacki preparing to light the Christmas tree in the Atrium. Behind the pianist is Hotel Manager David Wood.
Let the holidays begin!
Underway, as seen from our stateroom verandah.
Our cabin steward, Farid Hasim, was absolutely the best. Coincidently, his 3rd child, Gracia, was born this very morning, which happens to be Amy's birthday. Farid was the very model of graciousness and exemplary service.
From the sports deck of the Veendam, one of my silly sun pictures.
The Veendam's mast coin.
We had swells from the Pacific most of the first night and all the next day.
Looking at the Lido deck pool from the sports deck through the partially opened roof, you can get an idea of the effect of the swells.
Yeah, again. There's just something indescribable about being at sea at sunset.
Pulling in to Puerto Montt on 12/22/10.
The Veendam from Puerto Montt.
Mt. Osorno with Lake Llanquihue (yang-ee-way) in the foreground.
Mt. Osorno again. Lake Llanquihue is incredibly blue.
This is where we stopped to take the previous and following pictures. Bathrooms were US$1. There are llamas in the coral.
Deb at Lake Llanquihue, Mt. Osorno in the background.
This was a really impressive place. One of it's nicknames is Mt. Fugi of South America.
Mt. Osorno is a stratovolcano, standing 8701 ft high, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the southern Andes.
We visited Vicente Perez Rosales National Park and took a short hike to Petrohue Falls. It was certainly worth the walk.
This is the park we visited.
Dad along the trail to the falls.
What a view!
It was absolutely stunning here.
The falls further below us.
A Chilean Park Ranger.
On the drive up Mt. Osorno, the scenic views were breathtaking. That's not the ocean, that Lago Llanquihue!
This was the ski center we stopped at; it's around 3800 ft in elevation. The view was incredible from here.
Deb on Mt. Osorno, with Lago Llanquihue and the Andes in the background.
Rich at the ski center on Mt. Osorno.
Some more of the view from the ski center. We never did see anyone skiing, but this volcanic rock didn't seem very inviting. Must need snow.
Us at the ski center.
Mom and dad.
Deb and Rich.
Some might argue, but I think you can actually see the curvature of the earth from up here (near 1200 m/4000 ft elevation).
As you can tell, I was captivated by this volcano.
We had lunch in this hotel between the ski center on Mt. Osorno and Puerto Varas.
As quaint as the hotel was, I was surprised to see how many DirecTV dishes there were in Chile (all set to very low elevations).
There's that volcano again. That's Deb and her dad headed for the bus.
More scenery.
There were street dogs everywhere in Chile and Argentina.
Puerto Varas (also known as City of Roses) is a tourist and vacation resort town on Llanquihue Lake.
Is this wiring to code?
Just a street scene in Puerto Varas.
Gas is expensive here! Note the octane ratings and how diesel is much cheaper than gas, opposite of us.
Deb with Puerto Montt in the background.
Can you spot the volcano?
We decorated our door for Christmas, something I thought more people might do, but few did.
We did get snow.
Slowly making our way.
The scenery as we made our way in to Puerto Chacabuco.
The fjords of Chile here reminded me of the fjords of New Zealand.
The scene from our anchorage at Puerto Chacabuco.
Amy and her grampa in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile.
Looking back at home from Puerto Chacabuco.
There wasn't much to the actual town.
Activity new and old in Puerto Chacabuco.
The Veendam's tenders running people to and from Puerto Chacabuco.
Ellen enjoying her "Fire and Ice Pedicure" Christmas gift at the spa onboard.
Christmas Eve morning found us back out along the fringe of the Pacific Ocean in fog and moderate seas.
The Captain decided to get us out of the Pacific and into some more protected waters later in the day.
I don't know why I take these pictures, other than to try and capture some of the mood and feeling, which I fail rather miserably at.
More dark and moody landscape.
Made for some great napping.
Later in the afternoon, we'd ditched the rolling seas but not the overcast skies and rain.
Dressed for Christmas Eve dinner.
Amy and her daddy dressed for Christmas Eve dinner. Evidently, her daddy doesn't know how to wear a tie with a jacket.
Christmas morning, our first view of ice in the water, on our way to Amalia Glacier. Unfortunately, the operator of the GPS evidently didn't save this file. :(
More ice, always a sign that a glacier is nearby.
As in the fjords of Alaska and New Zealand, there are waterfalls from snow melt everywhere.
Nearing Amalia Glacier. I know the location here because of a short movie I took along with these photos where I mention the name.
The glacier wasn't actively calving, but you can see that it does indeed break away.
Our first glacier sighting on Christmas morning.
Seeing these things is just incredible.
And they really are this blue, the world around.
The full monty.
We took so many pictures and it still feels like we didn't capture the majesty.
Rich and Deb at Amalia Glacier on Christmas morning.
Amy and her mom, Christmas morning.
A closeup of the far right edge of the glacial area.
We watched for calving, but didn't see it happening.
It was eerily quiet here this Christmas morning, as I'm sure it is every morning.
I'll take this view over a Christmas tree any time.
It's just incredible how you can actually see the "flow" of the ice.
Our Christmas morning window view!
Still taking pictures as we begin to move away.
Finally some sunlight on Christmas morning.
It seemed like you could reach out and touch the scenery sometimes.
A ship we encountered along the way.
The gang taking the view in with cameras.
This gives you some perspective of the emensity of the glaciers.
You can see the flow of another glacier in the background.
A very dirty grounded iceberg to the right of the glacier.
You can just see the grounded iceberg to the extreme right of this shot.
Here's another look at it.
It still seems incredible.
So much water!
One last look as we leave it behind.
Christmas morning breakfast served in our stateroom.
Amy enjoying a private joke.
Mom and dad on Christmas morning. We watched all the glaciers from our verandah this morning, before Santa came for a visit.
Amy with Santa in the Theatre at Sea, where he gave gifts to all the kids on the cruise.
One of the big kids who Santa visited.
Mom and dad on Christmas, dressed for our formal dinner. The ship's tree in the atrium is the backdrop.
Our first sighting of a penguin. This was one of the critters that nightly graced our beds; one of Farid's many talents.
Amy.
Our docking in Punta Arenas included these.
It seemed likely that the ship could have pulled the dock out to sea if she wished.
Punta Arenas from our verandah.
On the dock at Punta Arenas, Chile.
Excursion buses lined up on the dock beside the Veendam.
A quick shot of the constant maintenance that goes on. Every port we stopped at we saw cleaning and painting occuring.
There wasn't much to see once we got out of Punta Arenas beyond endless grass, few trees (it's very windy as a general rule here) and cattle.
Some of the sheep of the area. They are very dirty and don't seem to get shorn often. To the extreme left is part of the huge mound of dirt from South America's largest coal mine.
Wild rhea along Otway Sound. In the background are cattle.
The entrance to Otway Sound penguin colony, from inside the gate. Behind and to the right is the coal mine's slag heap.
To the penguins!
The walkway to the penguins.
There were burrows all along these dunes.
Magellan penguins and burrows, Otway Sound and the Andes in the background.
"I suppose you must wonder why I called you all here today."
Coming to see the people.
Checking to see if anyone is home.
Follow the leader.
Checking to see if anybody's home, again.
He looks a bit upset.
How many penguins can you see?
I think they had fleas.
Looking for just the right rock.
Maybe he left it over there.
Still scratching.
It seemed to be catching.
Looking back at the entrance and the coal mine slag heap.
Napping on the verandah.
More than you ever wanted to know about Otway Sound penguins.
Duh dunt, duh dunt, duh dunt....
Maybe they have sand fleas.
Snoozing after a swim.
And of all things, a skunk!
In a bus somewhere near Punta Arenas, Chile on our way to see penguins on Otway Sound. It was very dusty along the gravel road that the bus rattled down to get to the rookery and back. When we got back to the ship, I was covered in dust.
Not a great picture, but I wanted to capture the boat you see. It's a replica of one of Magellan's ships from his famous expedition.
Back home in Punta Arenas, Chile.
The Veendam is a Dutch-flagged vessel; here is the stern mast flag flying 2 decks above our verandah.
Getting ready to sail away from Punta Arenas meant more than the normal preparations.
The tugboat that saw us out of Punta Arenas.
Still in the Chilean Fjords near Monte Darwin, we enter the Avenue of the Glaciers.
Chilean Fjords
Looking up some of the side channels you could see glaciers in the far distance.
Just more awesome morning scenery.
Glacial ice in the mountains.
A retreating glacier.
More morning inspiration.
Just never can capture that all-encompassing shot. I love the waterfalls and the green and the ice and the mountains.
Our routine was to wake to the sun a half hour or so before our breakfasts were to be delivered and glory in the scenery.
Glaciers lurked around every channel and eddy.
LaManche Glacier
Even the rocks had colors.
Alemain, or Germany, Glacier.
An irresistible view.
Francia, or French, Glacier.
Italia, or Italian, Glacier.
You can almost see it tumbling down the mountainside.
Hollandia, or Holland, Glacier. It's cold and wet out now.
Isn't this a happy looking bunch? More glacier watching from inside.
Glacier-watching inside!
One of the couple of rainbows we saw along the trip.
Roger and Ellen idling the day away in the Explorations Lounge.
Ushuaia's bay and old, now regional, airport.
Ushuaia's mountainous skyline.
The infamous Clelia II was still in port under repair from it's battering in the Drake Passage.
Another shot of Clelia II.
Street dogs were everywhere here.
An alpine-like view of Ushuaia.... from the bus. I don't remember what the wooden pole is about now.
Another picture of the wooden post; it's a Rotary International thing.
They do like their flags here.
The gang's..... almost all here!
Rich near the Beagle Channel.
Looking across the Beagle Channel.
Some of the beautiful scenery of the Tierra del Fuego National Park.
We saw lots of campers in the park.
"Who.... me?"
A giant, bearded troll awaits you at the end of the Pan-American Hwy.
Deb at the end of the Pan-American Highway near Ushuaia, Argentina.
At a gorgeous campground in the park.
The only fauna we saw in Argentina.
I found the moss interestingly hairy.
A pair of hawks.
More hairy moss.
Ushuaia street scene.
Not sure, but there was some connection between Evita and Ushuaia.
Wanna bet what the next picture is of?
End of the World, the ms Veendam in Ushuaia.
More Ushuaian skyline.
One of the Antarctic expedition vessels that takes cruises to Antarctica.
The Archimedes, reputedly owned by Bill Gates, among other gliterati.
A nice perspective of the Veendam's size. Forground ship is a 60 passenger ferry.
This enormous dog was making the rounds of stores like a collector for the mafia.
Here he's chasing someone trying to skip on a payment, or maybe he just has some food.
Another dog, this one worked as a doorman.
Argentine coast guard cutter.
This ship was disgorging scores of the boxes you see in the foreground. They are packed with fish caught and processed on board, flash frozen and ready for your grocer in a couple of days.
Ellen and Roger after the day in Ushuaia.
Back home for the day.
The long walk back to our stateroom.
From the retreat on the Lido deck, I spied a Davis Instruments weather station, very popular with amateur weather enthusiasts. I operate an Oregon Scientific weather station, the choice of cheap weather enthusiasts.
A closeup of the anemometer, rain gauge, thermo-hygrometer (inside the solar radiation shield under the black rain gauge) and either solar battery recharging unit or UV monitor.
So long, Ushuaia!
Damage from the previous voyage's Drake passage still visible at the bow of the ship (remember the buckling in the hull picture from early on?); a forboding of things to come?
Nearing Cape Horn.
It was really, really early when we passed Cape Horn!
The "Stella Australis" conducting zodiac tours of Cape Horn.
The church and monument are just visible on Cape Horn. The Captain told us that he'd never been able to navigate so close to it before but the waters were incredibly calm and there was no fog this morning, unlike most every other morning.
We got uncommonly close to Cape Horn.
The monuments on Cape Horn with the Chilean pilots' boat in the foreground.
We dropped our Chilean pilots off in a zodiac which then took them to the smaller of the two ships you can see in the distance and then headed into the Drake Passage bound for Antarctica.
A chilly, but very clear and calm, morning at Cape Horn.
Rich with Cape Horn in the background.
Leaving Cape Horn heading south for Antarctica.
About halfway between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, we had fairly smooth seas and many seabirds accompanying us, as well as a thickening fog. We continued on in a shroud of foggy haze all the rest of the way to Antarctica.
The sea/sky line faded to an indistiguishable blur not far from us and you really could not make out an horizon at all.
As we entered the Antarctic waters the fog had become thick and relentess.
We traversed the Drake Passage in a veil of fog for over a day. When the fog finally began to lift, it was as if we'd been transported to a different world, this one made of the various states of water and stone.
Our first ice sighting wasn't as spectacular as we'd imagined, but there was much more to come.
The fog finally began to lift off its bed on the sea, revealing a hint of the ice covered world of Antarctica.
Deb happily smiles at finally getting to see something besides water of the wet kind.
See, it's not so cold down here!
Old man of the sea...
Still inside and in bed, Amy wasn't so impressed with Antarctica.
The 3 Stooges? 3 Musketeers? New Mt. Rushmore? Who knows what's caught our collective 5 eyes here....
This area defies easy description.
Looking like a bear unhappily awakened from hibernation, Amy makes an apperarance outside in the snow! Meanwhile, I seem to have something dastardly in mind.
Even the water seems blue-er-er here.
Roger and Ellen toasting their 7th continent!
It got cold quickly.
Pretty in Pink.... in Antarctica?
Happy, happy, happy!
We cruised right into a snowstorm here that obscured everything we were just looking at.
It snowed large flaky wet snow heavily for a few minutes.
You'd think we'd never seen snow before..... (I don't think that's bird poop!)
Really? Pictures of snowflakes on railings?
Icebergs!
Penguins!
Penguins
We watched this channel a lot. Note the sunset time. It never really got completely dark while we were here.
Tuxedo convention!
Like any beach on a warm, sunny day... only this is Antarctica!
There's a sail boat in the area just left of center.
There it is, center of photo.
The sail boat again. I really like the ice formations in the foreground and backgound.
Another of the sail boat and the ice formations.
The tracks on the snow on the right are from penguins.
Penguin conga-line!
Sometimes it seems so unreal that we were here.
Ants... er, penguins!
A grinch cave!
I found it pleasantly comfortable in tee shirt and jacket.
I don't think Deb found it quite as "balmy" as I did, though.
"How do you work these things?" We spent a lot of time on our verandah enjoying the scenery, a cost well worth it here.
At the bottom of the world. Notice the wind speed.
Surprisingly, we had quite a bit of company down here.
Entering the Lemaire Channel, aka Kodak Way
Even in the chilly, windy morning, Kodak Way (Lemaire Channel) atracts a crowd. The bridge of the ms Veendam.
A slightly different view of heading into Lemaire Channel.
Another sea lion to the right.
I know she brushed her hair today....
Kodak Way is often impassable, but our ice pilot took us on a slow, meandering trip through the narrow channel.
Entering Lemaire Channel.
As you can see, we had company in Kodak Way.
Can you imagine Antarctica on this?
A cliff face in Lemaire Channel (Kodak Way).
The appeal of Kodak Way is its narrowness, which also makes it often impassable.
While the channel looks clogged with ice, our ice pilot picked his way slowly and smoothly through.
This was an enormous ice field opening to our port side as we headed SW through Kodak Way.
Looking down Kodak Way.
The ice field to port.
The ice sheet seemed to disappear into the clouds high in the mountains.
The forward deck was busy with sightseers. This gives some perspective of the height of the hills and ice around us in Kodak Way.
The forward deck on the Upper Promenade deck is roughly 70 ft. above sea level.
The textures and layers of the ice is fascinating.
Again, the ice field to port. The weather was always in a state of constant change.
A "growler"; this piece of ice can slice open a ship's hull like a can opener if not carefully avoided.
I really liked watching the sunlight dance across the face of the ice.
All of the mountains seemed to have an attendant cloud at their peaks rather like a bald man wears a hairpiece or hat.
Every few feet, something different to look at. These water channels cutting into the face of the ice were only visible for a few seconds as we quietly passed along Lemaire Channel.
Even here, birds thrive.
Penguins too.
Sea lions too.
More sea lions sleepily sunning themselves.
A third sea lion joins his mates.
The Retreat on the Lido deck. No one seemed interested in the wading pool.
An ice spire. Rain is stalking us in the distance.
It was a bit windy here as you can see by the surface of the water.
Ice clinging to the side of nearly vertical surfaces.
I was here.
So was this guy.
And suddenly, the sky cleared.
Our passage of Kodak Way complete, we continue south along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Today's weather forecast: a bit chilly this morning, with lots of ice.
Our Palmer Station guest scientists during one of their Q&As after a very interesting lecture. They arrived early this morning on zodiacs from the station; they live there for several months over the summer.
Oh, oh... the cards are out!
More penguins.
As you can see, the clouds quickly re-gathered after a quick hiatus.
This picture was taken roughly in the area that was recorded as the furthest south any Holland America cruise ship had travelled, as of December 30, 2010, at latitude 65° 06.6' south.
New Year's Eve 2010 proved to be a cold and foggy day. Temperatures hovered right at freezing all day.
This is sea ice, as opposed to shelf ice. It forms when seawater freezes at the surface.
This is shelf ice. We encountered many of these pieces this day, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
They make great playgrounds for penguins. We are nearing the Argentine research station O'Higgins Base where there is a very large penguin colony.
The iceberg on the right is larger than our ship.
These icebergs are enormous, quite a bit larger than an aircraft carrier.
Penguins playing "king of the hill".
The little guys would run like crazy to the opposite side their icebergs as we approached.
I wonder what they're discussing here.
More company; I think we were docked near this vessel in Ushuaia.
The Argentine research station, O'Higgins Base.
O'Higgins Base. in the water in the foreground are penguins moving. They don't actually "swim" but instead, "fly" through the water. The large icebergs come from the enormous ice shelf seen to the right in the far distance.
Penguins everywhere! The colony has an estimated 50,000 - 70,000 at its peak. From here, we could smell them!
A penguin's iceberg is his castle.
The ice shelf responsible for the gigantic icebergs. The shelf itself has retreated well back over the last decade.
This penguin reminds me of Charlie Brown.
The ice shelf. In the foreground, you might notice nature at her most dangerous playing out.
A very large sea lion "sharing" a flat top iceberg with several penguins.
Wonder who's for lunch?
Apparently, ships were unable to enter this bay a decade ago as the ice shelf occuppied it.
Charlie Brown again.
I think the brave penguins to the left of the sea lion are trying to distract it as the others on the right are considering their escape.
Has the sea lion eaten the brave penguins?
Life and death plays out as the ice shelf in the background prepares to calve a new "flat top".
Two people wave at us from shore in the center of the picture.
Taking pictures of us taking pictures of them! This gives a perspective of the number and size of the penguins.
Our company still with us; they launched zodiacs for the research station.
You can see the dining room of the "Antarctic Dream" in this photo.
Amy listening to an acupunture lecture in the Explorer's Lounge. Note the hand sanitizer station just beyond her.
More growlers.
In contact with small icebergs.
New Year's Eve snow.
This "flat top" looks like someone cut it purposely into a square.
More snow
See the bird?
A sea lion in the the snow.
Yeah, it's a laying-down penguin.
I love how the horizon is lost in the fog. Where does the water stop and the atmosphere begin?
In the crossing between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Falkland Islands we encountered hurricane force winds and rolling seas that laid many passengers low.
Just another chilly, snowy New Year's Eve afternoon in Antarctica.
The abominable snowman at home.
I made her take this picture.
Jeweled shoes for formal night.
A smiling Amy!
Captain Rik Krombeen and his officers at a Q&A.
We were told that this sort of calm water was pretty unusual in the Falklands and that we had a 50-50 chance of actually stopping here.
Patrick Watts, speaking to the man in the orange polo, organizes terrific tours of the Falkland Islands.
Deb and Amy waiting for assignment to a 4x4.
Our chariot to Volunteer Point was the Toyota 4runner. Me, Deb and Amy squeezed into the back seats, which probably saved us some bruises given the very harsh 2.5 hour ride.
Our ride to the penguins.
Our stop at the end of the road for a potty break.
This is where the road ended and our ride became rough.
A beautiful but isolated farm on the Falkland Islands.
Our caravan included mostly Toyotas with a couple of Land Rovers and 1 Mitsubishi.
You can see our road was where we made it.
Moulting looks uncomfortable.
Deb wanted proof she was here with the penguins.
There were several hundreds of the 3 types of penguins here at Volunteer Point; King (the ones with the yellow spots on their necks), Magellanic and Gentoo (or jackass, for the sound they make, penguins). They can co-habit here because Kings cradle their eggs on their feet, Gentoos build rock nests and Magellanics burrow. The penguins in the foreground are Gentoos.
Gentoos on their nests with chicks.
They are called Jackasses by locals because they a sound very like donkeys braying.
A little guy.
They were very busy ignoring all but the closest of the tourists.
A King Penguin.
A Magellanic and its burrow.
"Hey.... somebody come give me a push!"
"Tell me again why we're in this line?"
In case you didn't believe the first picture with Deb and penguins....
"Wait up!"
I found it most interesting how the penguins and sheep (and horses too) got along.
The ride back to Stanley went swiftly, once we hit gravel roads. The landscape that we saw was quite desolate.
And rocky. The fence has signs warning of landmines.
The sign is a landmine warning as we near Stanley.
Penguins, landmines, wrecked helicopters, the city of Stanley, and in the far distance, the Veendam, make for a long and surreal day.
Back at the dock.
The Veendam's stacks are visible just over the hill as we tender back to the ship.
Another Veendam tender on the way for more passengers.
A zodiac from an expedition ship anchored near the Veendam ferries its passengers back.
ms Veendam at anchor in the Falkland Islands. Many people feel the drydock that added the port cabins (one of which we enjoyed) ruined her lines. I can't say I agree.
While our exact cabin and verandah are on the opposite side of the Veendam, it was just like the one shown here on the starboard side, second deck from the top and wrapped around the side. The verandah was much larger than the other aft verandahs. We enjoyed it very much.
The expedition ship with the zodiacs.
Farewell, Falkland Islands.
Sunset in the south Atlantic off the coast of Argentina.
Last formal night.
We were escorted along the way in various and random places by schools of dolphin. Deb just happened to have her camera this time. These were taken from the Crow's Nest lounge of the Veendam.
Charts of our trip were on display in the Crow's Nest lounge.
For reference only!
Montevideo, Uruguay
Crew is always busy maintaining the ship.
Graffiti was widespread here in Montevideo.
Steve, look familiar?
There seemed to be a strong police presence, reminded me of Madrid in the early 1980s.
The 3 Musketeers again.
Public education seemed to be a theme in much of the graffiti.
The Uruguayan Legislative Palace.
I have no idea what this building was, except that it was unique. If I recall, it's meant to look like a sail.
Ellen taking pictures of something other than the palace.
Amy doesn't like Montevideo, apparently.
The ubiquitous McDonalds.
We saw several of these throughout the city. They seemed to be collecting something from the trash left at the curb all around the city.
Stepping out!
We were watched closely wherever we went.
Need any rope for your nets?
We saw lots of street dogs and street people here. According to our guide, the recession hit "Hawaiians" very hard. At least, that's what it sounded like, although he really said "Uruguayans". He was very proud of his country, but not arrogantly so, and his english really was very good.
Middle-class neighborhoods reminded me of the same in South Africa with their bristling fences and security measures.
Beautiful woodwork.
A rare sight in secular Uruguay is a church, but this one is quite old.
This was a gorgeous casting called the "Monumento a la Diligencia".
Amy purchasing some artwork at the market near the "Monumento a la Diligencia".
A statue in honor of the native peoples of the Buenos Aires area, these are the last surviving family of natives.
The sign on the wall says "Presidencia"; this is where Uruguay's President lives.
The Esso station just up the street from the president's home. I wonder if he drops in for late night snacks?
Firewood and fruit stand.
The famous football stadium in Uruguay was built for the first world cup in 1930.
Estadio Centenario in Parque Batlle
"Monumento La Carreta" near the stadium. If I recall correctly, this is one of the largest single cast monuments in existence.
Wounded British soldiers were brought here from the Falkand Islands during the fighting with Argentina.
Your local dentist, sponsored by Colgate toothpaste?
New muscle creme?
Our tour guide was very informative.
An old beach hotel being renovated to re-open as a casino and spa.
Looking back at Montevideo from Plaza de la Armada (Navy Park) in the suburb of Punta Gorda.
At the Plaza de la Armada.
Having just a few days ago been in the Antarctic, we found Montevideo quite warm.
The beaches here were warm and inviting.
An interesting feature here were the curbside gas stations.
Quite a coastline.
This is part of a memorial to the Jewish holocaust victims of WW II.
Naval headquarters.
The anchor of the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee scuttled by her captain to avoid capture by British and New Zealand warships that had damaged her in December 1939. The Graf Spee had docked for repairs in neutral Montevideo, Uruguay to make repairs but was forced to leave within 72 hours by international law.
The MSC Empress was also in port along with the ms Veendam.
Roger and his Uruguayan beer.
So long, Montevideo!
Master Chef's Dinner menu, a celebration done on the last night of the cruise.
The celebration begins. The first in line is our waiter.
Yes, I'm a slob, and after roughly 17 dinners our waiter knew it.
Everyone, including passengers, are encouraged to participate. It's a fun final celebration of a wonderful cruise.
Our waiter's helper is facing us in the blue tunic. Both our waiter and helper provided us with excellent service.
The tug that docked us in Beunos Aires early on the last morning. In the distance is the MSC Opera also docking here.
The MSC Opera preparing to port in Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires, Argentina from the cruise terminal.
MSC Opera backing in to her parking spot. We (ms Veendam) occuppied the other side of the seemingly narrow slip.
Stuck in traffic after we said farewell to the Veendam.
A market just off the cruise terminal.
We saw several dog walkers around the city as well as several gangs of street dogs.
This is a flower sculpture that opens in the morning and tracks the sun across the sky all day, closing back up in the evening as the sun sets.
Another dog walker.
It's either a children's monument or a grandparents monument, I don't remember which now.
I refused to stand under this.
The cemetery were Eva Peron (Evita) is interred.
The cemetery reminded me a great deal of those seen in New Orleans.
Been around for awhile.
Eva is buried in her family plot - the Duarte's.
A number of cats kept the dead company.
I think I'll look for another phonebooth.
A posse of boxers.
A young girl's tomb. The guide wasn't sure if they buried the dog with her.
The world's broadest boulevard, or so we were told.
This was the old symbol of Buenos Aires. The flower monument has now replaced it as the symbol of the city.
May 25th, 1810, holds some significance here.
The balcony where Eva Peron cried, or something, is at the lower left.
Eva's balcony at the Casa Rosa.
The guy on the left must have had a hard night.
This is a walking bridge that represents the Tango - the national dance of Argentina.
As it was going to be a very long day (and overnight flight home), I napped whenever possible (not to mention that I wasn't feeling too well.) This is at the tango show and dinner we went to during the long day before our flight home.
We did it!
