Wednesday 18th-21st Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Instead of doing an itemized daily itinerary on our stay in Rio, I am going to just write about some of the highlights of what we did, while we were there for the 4 days. I have gone over the process of disembarking from cruise ships on several blog entries. Basically, it is the same for all cruise lines as they systematically must get all passengers and their luggage off the ship in one morning so that the rooms can be cleaned for the next group of passengers coming aboard that afternoon. Times for each group (early to catch flights, later for people on excursions, very late for people like us, with no time specific activity scheduled) is given to us the night before, but so far the time has ... read more

Thursday, December 12th--At sea, sailing toward Montevideo, Uruguay Got up late and did the usual activities for us on a “down” at-sea day. We are constantly surprised (not sure why??) at the many ways that the cruise ships make extra money besides the previously discussed assessed gratuity of $25 per stateroom, per day, to offset their employee wages. As soon as there is a day at sea, the tables come out around the pool for the sale of T-shirts at 2 for $20, and handbags, scarves and watches for $10. As you know, there are art auctions, it seems almost daily. Who goes on a cruise to buy art?? How do you get the fine art pictures home?? Then there is the jewelry. Same thing as far as we are concerned; however, they must sell enough ... read more

December 8th, Sunday Glacier Alley and Ushuaia, Argentinaon the island of Terra del Fuego. Surprisingly clear blue skies and the water so calm it looks like glass. From Puerto Arenas the ship sailed via the Strait of Magellan around and to the huge island of Tierra del Fuego—part belonging to Chile and the other half to Argentina. Along the way, we passed what has been named Glacier Alley--this area is covered by ice sheets and glaciers. We spent the morning sitting in the Crow’s Nest watching one glacier after another pass by the window. The treeless, snow-covered mountain chains, one peak after another, have a glacier sitting in each valley between the mountain ridges. About 11:30 we docked at the city of Ushuaia, Argentina. This is the largest community close to Antarctica and is ... read more

SAILING ALONG THE CHILEAN FJORDS THROUGH CANAL SARMIENTO AND THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. Thursday and Friday December 5 and 6, 2013 Very overcast, rainy and foggy, both days. We got up late this morning since we rocked all night and we were tired from the motion of the ship plus an outside door kept banging again with every sway. If you look at a map of the country of Chile, from roughly the 40th parallel south, or down ½ of the country, you will notice that there are hundreds of islands large and small that make up the coastline. Between these islands and the very narrow mainland are a series of channels and straits that allow marine travel protected from the rough Pacific Ocean currents and winds. These islands were formed from the clashing of tectonic ... read more

Castro and the churches on the island of Chiloe--Tuesday, December 3, 2013 We got up early this morning, since we needed to meet for the tour at 7:45. We had booked a ship excursion since we couldn’t find a private tour that was as comprehensive. As we crossed the Lido pool area on our way to breakfast, we realized that elves had visited the ship while we slept and decorated for Christmas with a tree, Santas, swags, and wreaths. Our ship was anchored way out in the bay and it was obviously we would need to tender into the dock to catch the bus. As we came into the dock, we could see Black-headed Swans swimming in the bay and we were told that the seagulls flying overhead were Brown-hooded Gulls. It was quite obvious that ... read more