Our ship

Cormorant birds and sea lions at the top (brown).

The Andes in Chile

Today we flew 3 more hours to Ushuaia.  From there they loaded us on buses and drove us through part of Pantagonia, which was really cool.  We could see Chile, and as I write this we can look out the window and still see Chile.  Lunch on a catamaran and then we FINALLY got to board the ship.  Having a fabulous time.  Cabin is the biggest we ever had on a ship.  Around midnight tonight we enter the Drakes Passage.  Many people wearing patches (scopolamine)All day tomorrow on the passage so may not post an entry because not much will be happening.  Average high in summer 55F, average low in winter 32F.

We met some other people on our cruise and made friends with 2 couples from Australia and one couple from Nashville, TN.  So far we have only met people from Canada, Australia and the US.   We took a bus tour which lasted all afternoon.  The bus was luxurious and they really go out of their way to cater to the “touristas.”  Buenos Aires is a mixture of old and new, rich and poor, like most cities.  The difference is that the  poor are really, really poor.  We saw a cemetery where Evita Peron’s name is on it but she ‘s not buried there.  She is beneath a street in an unknown location.  Half the people loved her and the other half despised her.   Historically, the Presidente names his wife as Vice Presidente and if he dies first she becomes the Presidente.  That is how the current lady got the job.  Inflation is out of control so they like dollars.  If you have a family member buried in the cemetery (pictures below) and the family fails to pay the annual tax, the city evicts the “residents” and auctions off the spot!  Not sure what they do with the body but there are many mausoleums vacant!  Yikes!

Argeninian women are mostly thin and beautiful.  Everyone eats this elado with dulce la leche which is ice cream (extra rich) topped with a caramel cream (extra extra rich).  So we figure if we eat lots of that we will get skinny too!  NOT!   The men are not so beautiful, rather scruffy and unkempt and carry purses otherwise called European shoulder bags.

We did see Argentinian Tango dancing today and it is graceful and beautiful.

Cemetery view

Cemetery had many rows like this.

Another mausoleum.

More cemetery stuff.

One of the original crypts. Note plants growing out of it.

Finally out of the cemetery and riding around admiring architecture!

So tomorrow we are off to Ushuaia, which is the lowest point on the continent.  Three hours flying there and then a catarmaran ride and lunch before boarding the ship.  Thanks to Dr. Iverson and Kerry, this is where we don our Scopalamine patches in preparation for crossing Drakes Passage which takes 2 days

Office of the Presidente (Christine) we are not sure of her last name. This is their equivalent to our White House called the Pink House or Casa Rosada.

Just a 3D Fresco on a building I liked.

Buildings made of Tin, Poor part of town called La Boca.

Statues on balconies quite common for some reason. Middle character supposedly Evita Peron waving at her subjects below.

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Well, after what seemed like the longest flight in the world (really only 10 hours from Houston) we are really here and really tired!   We got kind of rushed at the airport and really rushed in an insane taxi ride to the hotel.  Traffic signs and speed limits are but guidelines here and Carol said she only made it by not looking.  But somehow we got to the hotel and then slept for a few hours since we got no sleep on the red eye flight.

Actually Carol slept while Jeff and his no Spanish speaking self went looking for a bank to get Argentine pesos.   That was truly exciting and after visiting two banks I figured that banks don’t exchange dollars for pesos but exchange houses do.  With fifteen minutes left before closing time I got the mission accomplished and then collapsed in bed.

When we both got up we went to the Buenos Aires Hard Rock Cafe and had a nice meal and got some really cool T shirts.

Everyone here is real nice but outside the hotel English is not widely spoken – so carry the dictionary and get a few chuckles from the locals but we get where we want to go and have’t been arrested yet.

Tomorrow we meet our group and go on a tour so we should take more pictures.  The one today is of some nice fresh flowers in the lobby.

We are really having fun so far and haven’t even seen any penguins yet

Photo from the lobby of our hotel