February 20 - A few photos from Montevideo

 I've been missing for a couple of days but it's been so busy here that at night I've been too tired to write or try to upload any photos.  I need a vacation from the vacation I guess.

So here are a couple of photos from my day in Montevideo two days ago.  They're boring but you can see that I was really there.

Just look at all the lovely grapes waiting to be harvested. They tasted incredibly sweet.

Of the two we went to I liked this winery best.

The food we had to eat in between wines

This intrigues me and I don't know the answer.  In the harbor in Montevideo near where we were docked is an area full of derelict ships.  These are only a few of them.  I remember them from the last times I was here.  I don't know what the story is but I'm guessing the owners don't have the money to get rid of them so they'll stay there rusting forever.

February 20  -  Montevideo, Uruguay and the Tango

This morning we arrived back on the South American continent.  It is a gorgeous, sunny and quite warm day here.  After the last few weeks it’s going to take some getting used to.

A little about the city. Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay and has nearly half the population of the country living here.  It is situated on the Rio de la Plata (Silver River in Spanish). The name Montevideo means “I see a hill” in Spanish and the story is that a sailor on Magellan’s voyage to circumnavigate the globe spotted a hill here and shouted that he saw what it turns out is the only hill around. The city and country have been at various times under Spanish, Portuguese, British and Brazilian control. The country finally became independent in 1825.  It was one of the earlier countries in the world to grant women the right to vote in the early 1900’s.

This evening we had a Tango show with local dancers.  Here’s some interesting trivia for you. The second most recorded song in the world (according to Soledad) is a tango called “La Cumparsita.” Coincidentally I used to play that as a kid on my accordion.  It was composed by a 17-year-old lad from Uruguay in 1917 and may be perhaps the best-known tango ever written. In fact, UNESCO has declared it a world cultural treasure. 

It's late now and I have to add something about tonight.  One of my new friends  saved me a seat in the front row next to the dance floor for the tango show.  There were four dancers, a trio of musicians, and a singer who sang tango songs.  They were all very good. Perhaps you can guess what happened.  Near the end of the show the four dancers got people in the audience to dance the tango with them.  One of the men tried to get several women and they wouldn’t do it. When he came to me I must have had an out of body moment because I went on to the dance floor with him. I did it! All I needed was a rose between my teeth to complete the experience. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that in front of 350 people before, but I had such a good time. I’m going to have to check around and see if anyone captured my moment. If I find a photo, I may even post it.

Here’s what I did the rest of the day which was much less exciting. I took a tour which was supposed to explore the Uruguayan wine culture.  What we actually did was visit two wineries and have wine tastings. We went to a vineyard named Spinoglio whose wine I really enjoyed and to one called Bouza whose wines I didn’t really care for very much. The former had a lovely pavilion and we had a nice breeze blowing. To complement the wines  presented we each had a plate with fruit, nuts, cheese, bread and cold cuts. I forgot to mention that it’s late summer here so the grapes are ready to be harvested. At the first winery there were a lot of boxes with already picked grapes sitting at the ends of the rows of vines. At Spinoglio all the grapes are picked by hand. There was large circular vat where the grapes are thrown in to be pressed.  All I could think of was Lucy stomping  the grapes. They don’t have people stomping them.

At the second winery there was a collection of antique cars including a  model of the first car ever made.  Here too we had a platter of cheeses, cold cuts, and olives with some delicious breads.  The bread was my favorite thing at that winery. The cars were pretty spectacular too. After our tastings we drove back into the city to get back on the ship.  It was close to 2 PM and getting pretty warm and I have an appointment for a manicure at 4 PM so I’m back for good today.

Our guide Soledad spoke better English than I do and was very interesting. She told us about their education and health care and retirement systems. They sounded pretty good, but alternatively they have very high taxes here. They have income tax, a health care tax, a retirement tax (like our Social Security tax) and even a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 22%!  She told us that they don’t have big income differentials between different classes in Uruguay as are found in some other South American countries.  That may be true, but on our way back into the city we passed some pretty bad slum neighborhoods and I saw people checking out the trash in garbage cans.  Once again I thought that perhaps it would be good for every young American to come and live here for a while to get a greater appreciation of the many good things about our country. 

I’ll post some photos of the wineries another day because it’s late and I have to get up early for a tour in Buenos Aires. It’s the home of the tango; so who knows, I may have an opportunity to practice my newfound dancing skills. Olé!!

February 19 - The International Dance Group

Yesterday as we sailed NNE on our way to Montevideo I did not much of anything constructive.  At trivia, the staff made a math error tallying our score and they announced that we were the winners for the day.  We all looked stunned (because we knew we weren’t) and they checked the numbers and found a 100-point error. Our moment of glory was fleeting. Before I forget, the answer to the trivia question about what you fear if you have alektorophobia is fear of chickens. That's very useful information for most of us, isn't it?

Two of our entertainers who are leaving in Montevideo performed at last night’s show.  They are both sensational and very nice people. I’ve had dinner with both of them and they were great company.  I don’t know how they manage to survive with the schedules they keep.  The female singer is spending close to 40 weeks on the road this year. The ones I’ve dined with told me that they are trying to catch up for the nearly two years when their income and livelihood was cut off completely.

After dinner we went down to the club as usual and our group has grown!  We sat with the Spanish speaking contingent.  There was the couple from Mexico that shared my Land Rover in Stanley.  The other two couples were from Barcelona.  The two women from Barcelona had both spent time in Williamsburg when they were students.  At the tables next to us the Aussies showed up and then a couple of South Africans arrived.  For the first time the dance floor was crowded.  I’m sure it was funny watching us because we were doing lots of rocking so we’d all go quick, quick, quick to one side or another like a flock of land bound birds moving in unison.  My Spanish is coming back to me as I try to make conversation with my new friends.

This morning I awoke to a beautiful, sunny day.  We still have some seas, but after all we are on a ship at sea.  The temperature is also much warmer.  It’s actually very comfortable when not in the wind.  I have a feeling that in a couple of weeks when we go up the Amazon we’re going to be wishing we had weather like we’re having today.

I forgot one thing I did yesterday. The expedition team photographer had a photo sharing event and he air-dropped some of his best shots from South Georgia and the Falklands.  He takes great photos and here are a few.

Grytvitken

Penguin chicks aren't nearly as cute as their parents!

Try to imagine the sounds and the smells from so many penguins.

Looks like he's having a good snooze.

Feeding time

These two are either hungry or upset.  I don't know which.

Another cute guy

February 18 - The Sad Story of Kyle of East Falkland

You might be able to tell I have time on my hands today as this segment of the cruise winds down.

By now you know that I like to talk to everyone about everything and I love hearing little vignettes of their lives. Here’s one from the other day when I took my trip across the bogs on East Falkland.  I have to set the stage first though.  The Falklands and the inhabitants thereof are as British as they can be. They stand for God, the Union Jack, and the King.  Years ago Al and I stopped in a pub in Stanley and we could have been in a pub anywhere in Britain, up to and including warm beer.  I learned this tale from Kersey, my driver the other day, when we passed by a cross surrounded by a pile of empty Budweiser cans along the side of the road.

Kyle was a popular 24-year-old man known to all the residents of the island (the population is only around 3500).  He was a farmer but also a good sailor too.  There was some kind of mishap out on the water so Kyle and his cousin went out to try and help.  The engine of their little boat got tangled in some kelp and as they tried to free it the wind came up, the boat flipped, and Kyle drowned. The islanders were devastated because things like that don’t often happen in such a small community and he was, as I said, a well-liked guy.  A cross was placed at the side of the road very close to the bay where he was lost.  The islanders wanted to pay some kind of tribute to him and they talked about what to do.  One of the farmers said that the thing Kyle would like best was if they all drank a Bud in his honor.  So his friends gathered around the white cross, all drank a can of Budweiser, and then piled the empty cans around the cross in memory of him.  Now as we tourists from far away places come to visit the bogs and penguins, if we happen to notice the cross and beer cans along the way, we can learn of Kyle’s sad passing and the joyful tribute his fellow islanders paid him. Isn’t it ironic that they did it with beer from the colonies and not some good British ale?

Now that’s a little bit of life in the Falklands that most of us will never hear.  Listening to Kersey tell me about it I found it very touching that she and the other farmers who lead what I think of as a pretty hard life would gather in a desolate place to drink a beer to toast their friend.

February 18 - The Ozzies have awakened

We have two days at sea before we reach Montevideo. The lectures are winding down since we’ve been to the main attractions for this leg of the voyage. So I’m going to write about things that I think are interesting. You may not, but oh, well, you can skip over them.

It’s a broad generalization but I’ll make it anyway.  Some of the most fun-loving people in the world are from the Land Down Under.  Over the years Al and I met some of the most wonderful people from Australia. We have a pretty big contingent from there on the ship and I’ve had dinner with a couple of them, including some solo travelers, at the hosted tables I’ve sat at and when we’ve talked I’ve told them they should come and party and dance with us in the evening after the show. To my surprise they found the club last night and we had a blast.  They literally kicked off their shoes and took to the dance floor.  Many of them are leaving in Buenos Aires, but there are a few who are staying and will join the fun.  There’s something about the Australians. They are down to earth and unpretentious. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. I may take my phone with me one evening and get one of the bar stewards to take a photo of we  (or is it us) wild women.

I said we’ll be in Montevideo in two days and it’s a good thing because we’re coming to a crisis point.  We’re running out of provisions!  The berry situation is critical.  There’s no mint for mojitos, and the limes are getting sad.  Whatever will we do?  Seriously, I am amazed at how  well  the ship is able to  keep the proper supplies available and fresh.  We haven’t taken on a single thing since San Antonio on January 27.  Apparently we were supposed to pick some things up in Punta Arenas, but they weren’t there.  In Montevideo we’ve got eight containers of supplies waiting for us.  We even adjusted our departure time yesterday from New Island to give us more time to load up in Uruguay.  We’ve been discussing for the last few nights at dinner how they can keep lettuce and other greens so fresh for so long.  I know they have great refrigeration, but I sure couldn’t keep lettuce looking edible for more than three weeks.  Seabourn does a remarkable job.

The crew is doing their weekly safety drill so all activities have stopped which is why I’m writing now.  I could be studying for trivia learning important things like the names of all kinds of phobias;  phobias are a favorite question to be asked.  I’ll end this rambling post with a question we had the other day.  What is ALEKTOROPHOBIA the fear of?  Nobody in the room got it right.

February 17 - More New Island, courtesy of my friends

My friends came back from their trip ashore and they told me it was good I didn’t go. I  have to explain that I have acquired what may be an irrational fear of falling and breaking something significant.  I feel vindicated about not making the trip since one of my friends did slip and fall (thankfully she didn’t break anything but she did get a scrape).  Anyway, the climb up the hill was not really on a path; it was up some rocks and they told me it wasn’t easy, especially in clunky boots. 

They did see some cute things though and they shared their photos with me.  The attraction was albatross nests and chicks. I heard a lecture about albatrosses and it’s worth recounting a little of what I learned.  Albatrosses can go for a year without touching land.  They dive down to the water to eat fish and squid and they drink sea water. They have some kind of special gland that allows them to extract the salt and expel it through their beak.  What they do most of the time is more gliding than flying. They are able to lock their elbow joints and have sort of a fixed wing so they can just let the wind keep them aloft and propelled.  They live for a very long time. An albatross was tagged at Midway Atoll in the Pacific in 1956. She was a mature female at the time and as of 2018 she was still raising chicks.  That makes her more than 62 years old!

The albatross builds a circular nest for its eggs to hatch and chicks to grow.  If you look at the photos I’m uploading from my friends you’ll see that each chick is on his own little nest. So here they are.

These chicks have some penguin friends hanging out with them.

This guy decided to wake up to have his photo taken.

Feeding time for this one

These two look like they're kissing.

Lunch today was a real treat.  We had the return of a Seabourn tradition which was suspended because of Covid and just recently came back, the Galley Market Lunch. The galley is open for guests to come through and feast on things at lots of different stations.  We had to wash our hands before entering and I couldn't take my camera through, so I just got a shot of the entrance.  Have you ever seen so much spotless, streak-free stainless steel?

The galley staff have a line of stations going all through the galley where we can fill our plates with whatever strikes our fancy. The problem is filling your plate and then finding more that you have to try further along the line. No worries! We can go back as often as we like, the only limit being how much we can eat.  To give you an idea of the offerings today here we go.  There was a salad station (the healthy stuff) that also included smoked salmon, pickled herring, and crab-stuffed avocado.  There was a pasta station where the chef would cook you whatever kind of pasta you like with whatever sauce you like. We had roast suckling pig, prime rib, and roast chicken.  Then came a section with beef stroganoff, weiner schnitzel, bratwursts and sauerkraut, fried chicken and several things I can't remember plus vegetables, potatoes cooked different ways and several types of rice dishes.  Next was a station with king crab, lobster tails, and big prawns. There was a sushi bar, a cheese station, which included fruits and crackers, and a bread station.  Last but not least was a big selection of desserts, everything from strawberries flambéed in Grand Marnier to baked Alaska, cakes, puddings and cookies.  As we entered the restaurant we were offered a limoncello spritz - limoncello, prosecco, and soda water with a twist of lemon.  It was similar to an Aperol Spritz and it was delicious.  I knew I would be going to the galley lunch so I skipped breakfast.  Good thing!  I think most of us on the ship will be eating light dinners tonight.

After everyone has passed through the line at least once, the galley staff, servers and bar stewards who have been taking such good care of us paraded through the dining room so we could applaud them.  They do a remarkable job.

February 17 - New Island, Falklands

Actually the title is not quite right.  I’m on the ship and we’re lying off New Island.  Today is the last of the zodiac days for this segment of the cruise and I decided to stay on the ship.  It’s another water landing and I didn’t like wading in the horrid boots on shifting sand.  Iggy described the outing last night and after hearing it I decided it wasn’t for me.  After wading ashore we were to walk about 1 km, climb a hill to about 1600 feet of elevation (all this in our clunky boots), to see some albatross nests. I’m sure it’s wonderful but not for me. If I get some nice photos from friends, I’ll post them for you to see.

My last couple of posts haven’t been very exciting but I feel that I’ve learned a lot.  I want to write a little more about the bogs I rode through yesterday.  East Island, and I gather most of the Falkland islands, are covered with peat, which is decayed organic matter. Scattered around are lots of rocks and boulders.  My driver Kersey told us that at her farm they use dried peat for all their heating and cooking.  They have electricity but most of their fuel consumption is supplied by peat which they cut and dry on their own land.  To travel across the bogs the leader of our caravan was what I can best describe as similar to a scout for wagon trains that went west in the 19th century US.  The leader was a woman named Linda who can apparently “read” the bogs and figure out “tracks” across them where the vehicles probably won’t get stuck. We took one track out to the penguin place and then a different one back. Neither was marked in any way and apparently the tracks are never quite the same from day to day.

Stanley, the main town, has grown tremendously since I last saw it 15 years ago. There are actually two little housing developments that have sprung up next to the old town.  There are no trees on the islands so the housing is all pre-fab.  It’s built in the UK, shipped, and then assembled like a Lego set.  Incidentally, everything except for some beef and motton, and a few root vegetables has to be shipped in.  As a result, things are very expensive. Kersey said she has had a craving for kiwis (I mentioned she’s pregnant). Four kiwis cost her £ 5, that’s a little over $6.

This is the Anglicsn csthedral in Stanley that we passed on our way back into town.  That arch is made of whale jawbones.

I found this photo when I was looking through yesterday's photos.  The terrain around those three guys is what we drove through for hours and what looks like solid grassland is really peat bogs which are mucky, black muddy messes that the wheels sink into.

I was also curious about how people get off the island or what happens in a medical emergency.  They have a hospital which can handle many routine things, but for anything out of the ordinary people have to be med-evaced.  There are 2 British military flights to the UK weekly on which 15 seats are usually reserved for civilian use. Those seats aren’t free though. It costs £ 2500 ($3100) for a round trip.  Aside from those, there is one flight per week on the Chilean airline Latam to Santiago.  That flight was suspended during Covid and just recently resumed.  Interestingly, the Falklands didn’t have any Covid cases at all until April, 2022, because they are so isolated.