From Argentina to Uruguay, then back to Argentina

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Wednesday 28^thJanuary: Puerto Madryn, Chubut Province, Argentina



In July 1865, a clipper named “Mimosa” entered the natural harbour of Golfo Nuevo, bringing 150 Welsh immigrants to Argentina. They found some natural caves on the south eastern shore of the harbour, in which they made their homes; the caves are still there. They named the place “Porth Madryn”, after the name of the estate of Madryn in Wales, owned at the time by Sir Love Jones-Parry, the Baron of Madryn. Spanish settlers soon followed and in the 20^th Century, more still from several different European countries. Puerto Madryn, as it is now called, is very European in style. The architecture of many of the buildings reflects the English style and many of the houses look Bavarian in character. The beach culture, however, is entirely Spanish. It is the first place that we have visited so far, since leaving home, where one can sit by a little chiringuito on the beach for a beer and maybe some tapas. We really felt at home! We also found that the coffee is as good as in Spain as well; a real bonus for us! Puerto Madryn is a very pleasant city, elegant, clean, with lovely manicured gardens and parks, and the beach is beautiful.



Argentina is a big, diverse country: second largest in South America and eighth largest in the world. Wildlife biologists and conservationists come to this region of Patagonia, from around the world, to see the world's largest nesting colonies of Magellenic penguins, and also because more than half of the world´s population of Southern Right Whales frequent these coastal waters, which are also home to major colonies of seals, sea lions, sea birds and elephant seals.



We had a good day ashore in Puerto Madryn. The first thing we did when we got ashore was to head for the nearest bank to get some Argentinian pesos. We had 40,000 Chilean pesos (about 60 euros) which we wanted to change. We had planned to change the pesos in Ushuaia, but we were unable to go ashore there, and the ship would only exchange money for dollars. We had to use dollars in Stanley, instead of pounds, crazy because at home we do have sterling, and the exchange rate was extortionate! The Banco Santander in Puerto Madryn told us that they did not exchange money, to try the Banco Nacional (there are no money exchange kiosks here). So we found our way to the Banco Nacional, only to discover that they didn´t change money up either. Fortunately, one of the young bank clerks, working at the next counter, overheard us asking about money exchange and said that someone called Pedro might be able to help us, because he was Chilean and was off on holiday the very next day, to Chile, so maybe he would buy our Chilean pesos from us. So, we were ushered through to the back of the bank to meet Pedro. It turned out that Pedro was the bank manager! Lovely guy, who was sat at his big desk on his big leather swivel chair, surrounded by pictures of his wife and kids. He got out his wallet, took out his personal card, left us sitting in his office while he went to the ATM, got us some Argentinian pesos, at the current rate which he looked up with us, on his computer, and we swapped our money over! How lucky was that! Thanks Pedro! Have a very good holiday!



We walked from town out to the “Punta de Cuevas” to see the Welsh caves and also to visit the Eco Centre. Marvellous place, full of information about the whales. We stood on the point a long time, but today we were unlucky and didn´t see any Right Whales. After the Eco Centre, we returned to town, a round trip of about five miles, so we were a bit tired, since it was hot and sunny (about 26 degrees); so we headed for a chiringuito on the beach. They served ice cold bottles of beer, but they were litre bottles! Rather large, so we got one beer and two glasses! It was really nice to be chilling on a beach again. We got back to the ship with half an hour to spare, but some people were very late. The last ones, who were 45 minutes late (the ship´s hooter was blowing) were met with shouts of “Run!” “Run!” raining down on them from the port-side balconies and then cheered aboard to applause. The ship´s crew didn´t look too happy, but nobody was left behind!



Friday 30^th January 2015: Montevideo, Uruguay



Yesterday was our last full day at sea, to enjoy the ship. It was sunny but a cold Atlantic breeze kept the temperatures down to below sunbathing weather for us (but not for many). The four swimming pools on this ship, however, are heated, as are the ten Jacuzzis, so we enjoyed the water, the restaurants and the entertainment. One bonus was seeing dolphins, jumping and also swimming in sequence just below the surface alongside the ship. We have certainly seen plenty of wildlife on this voyage, which has made it really special.



Today we entered Uruguay, visiting the capital, Montevideo, on the estuary of the Rio de la Plata (The River Plate). Rio de la Plata translates as the Silver River, not the River Plate, which is yet more “Spanglish”. It is not silver, however, it is a very dirty brown and it is actually the huge estuary of the Rio Parana. The Spanish called it the Silver River because they believed that they would be transporting a lot of silver down to the Atlantic and on to Spain.



“Monte vejo eu!” (“I see a hill”) shouted a Portuguese sailor, on sighting land, and thus Montevideo was named. It was the Spanish who went there first, in 1516, but finding no gold or silver, they lost interest. The Portuguese then settled the area, then along came many other Europeans. For two centuries they fought over the region, then the Spanish, who won the battles, formally claimed Montevideo in 1726.



It is a beautiful city, small, compact and elegant. We walked all around the old town, visiting the main squares, the Plaza de la Constitución and the Plaza de Independencia. Then we returned to the ship to swim and sunbath for the last time, before packing ready for disembarkation tomorrow. We shall dock in Buenos Aires at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, back in Argentina; we shall be back in Uruguay later on, next week or the week after.



Cruise summary: we have travelled 4,064 nautical miles in two weeks, which is 4,673.6 miles or 7,526.53 kilometres. During these two weeks, we have navigated the narrow channels of coastal Patagonia, with its fiords, lakes and glaciers, we have rounded Cape Horn and seen penguins, sea lions, whales, dolphins and numerous different birds including sea eagles. We have worn everything we possess, due to great changes in climate, depending on our latitude. These two weeks have been unforgettable and we shall treasure the memories forever.

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Photos

Ship´s graveyard, from our balcony
Not the best introduction to the lovely city of Montevideo!

Leaving Uruguay
Ships of the Uruguayan Armada