Week 6 Troublesome Argies

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Geo: -42.77, -65.04

Saturday 18/02/12 Montevideo, Uruguay 29 c Sunny with a refreshing 20 mph wind

Just after 07:00 we sailed into the Rio de la Plata passing the spot where the Graf Spee was scuttled after the first naval battle of WWII.

We spent an enjoyable day wondering around the city marvelling at the architecture of the old buildings, this place must have been fabulous in its heyday, and again it seems that an effort is being made to restore the buildings to their former grandeur.

I managed to find the 25 ton range finder for the bomb aimer and the anchor from the Graf Spee but try as I might I couldn't locate the forward gun turret which is supposed to be displayed along the sea front.


By early lunchtime we were slowly making our way towards the Independence Square having already taking in the Cathedral, the flea market, and Zabala Square. As we approached there was a nice photo opportunity to take a picture of a mounted horseman through the gate of the Citadel of Montevideo, as is usually the case to get the right aspect I need to be in the centre of a two lane road, what the hell in for a penny, I waited for the lights to change darted out whilst there was no traffic but still had to kneel right down to get the shot I wanted. I'd just positioned myself when I heard in a loud Liverpudlian accent "What have I told you son, never, stand in the middle of the road, you'll get yourself killed, now get over here and your Dad'll give you a thick ear."


I was so startled I missed my shot and nearly got run over, but couldn't stop laughing; it was of course my adopted Mum and Dad. All around everyone was staring at us, I imagine those who spoke English couldn't work out the relationship, and the others were just confused, it was just so funny. Wherever we go if we see each other we start up the mother & son act, it's hilarious.

Having visited all the sights we were interested in we made our way back to the ship after calling in the local supermarket for more white wine and peanuts for nibbles. After today we're in Argentinean waters and with all the anti British fever being whipped up by their president and the media the next week or so will be interesting.

Sunday 19/02/12 Buenos Aires, Argentina, 25 c cloudy with intermittent but heavy showers.

Despite the tours having supposed to have left at 08:30 we've still not been granted customs clearance. At 09:30 the Capitan announced that the problem was due to the fact that only half the customs staff had turned up. Eventually we managed to disembark at 11:00, some 3 hrs late. We've three more Argentinean ports of call and if this is the treatment we are to expect things don't look good.

We had pre booked a city sights tour to give us an appreciation of the city and its surrounding districts. We took in the Casa Rosada (Government House) Cathederal, Caminiito ( an artistic quarter full of multicoloured houses, bars, and Tango dancing)the theatre and the mausoleum of Eva Peron, but as usual there's never enough time on a tour but with it being Sunday everybody and their family was out so most of the popular spots were crowded, but it at least enabled us to plan for tomorrow.


Having returned to the ship recharged our batteries both body & cameras we set off again as we'd planned to spend the evening out with Marie-Ann visiting the shopping district before they closed and then going to a Tango theatre for dinner and a show which she had been to before and recommended, especially as between 18:00-19:00 they did happy hour. When we arrived we discovered that the happy hour was no more, despite Marie-Ann having checked the information on the internet and it was still advertised, we then learnt they stopped doing it a year ago! To further complicate matters the Tango show didn't now start until 22:30 and lasted until 00:30 after which we would need to get a taxi back to the port and hope that the shuttle bus from the terminal to the ship would still be running after 00:00. It was just too late and too risky so we opted to go to a restaurant that Marie-Ann recommended.

If you've never been to Uruguay, or Argentina I should explain about the way steak houses and eateries they cook their meat. Firstly you need to know that beef is cheap here and the size of the meat portions are huge (if you think American steaks are large then you're in for a shock). Meat is usually BBQ'd often with the sides of meat being skewered vertically into the floor in a circle some 6' in diameter around a central fire of logs, for logs think tree trunks, literally 12-15” diameter! Or in some places the BBQ consists of a fire bed 8' wide by 4' deep, 3' high, filled with logs and branches, over which is what I can only describe as a rack akin to a giant drain grate, they're enormous, then on top of that they heave sides of meat. It not so much steaks they serve as joints of meat, not here your 8 or 12 oz stake just a slab of meat 8-10” long 3-4” wide and 2-2 ½ thick, go easy on the chips please, needless to say they're well patronised.



Fortunately the restaurant Marie-Ann recommended was a bit more conservative, but the steaks were still 6” long by 3” wide and 2” thick, wrapped in bacon, and covered in melted cheese, and accompanied by deep fried circular potatoes (spherical chips no less) follows by a wonderful bottle of Argentinian Malbec, absolutely one of the best steaks I've ever had, and without doubt one of the most memorable meals.

Too full to walk anywhere, we hailed a taxi and asked him to drive us around the city to see all the buildings and monuments lit up, following the obligatory photo stops we returned to the cruise terminal where the fare came to a more than reasonable £9. On the way towards the stairs we passed the theatre entrance where there was a local group entertaining the passengers, singing, and dancing the Tango so we lingered a little longer before finally going to bed too tired to stop even for a drink.

Monday 20/02/12 Buenos Aires, Argentina, 25 c cloudy

Today we made an early start catching a free shuttle bus into the centre of BA. The young guide who directed us to the shuttle was very pleasant; she told us how much she loved England, and Scotland having been there some five years previously. She went on to say that she wasn't happy with their president and like a lot of her generation thought the current action was wrong and they felt no aggression towards the English, just the opposite in fact. For my part I told her that we had no aggressive tendencies towards their country or its people and like them we just wanted to live a peaceful existence without trouble or bloodshed. I was quite surprised by her openness and how she felt and during the course of our short stay it was something we heard more and more.

We'd only just got off the bus and turned a corner when Linda noticed an old church tucked away in a side street between much higher hotels on either side. It turned out to be the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament and although small, inside it was absolutely stunning, the windows, paintings, alter, and nave were beautiful, and here it was tucked away off the tourist route even though it was a gem, what a good start to the day.


I'd noticed the previous day what I suspected was the memorial to the dead of the Falklands war and wanted to try and find it as it's not listed on any of the three city maps I've got, after only 5 minutes we turned on to the main road and there it was. The memorial is a small low curved wall in pink stone with the plaques detailing the names of the dead, at the front were two sailors dressed in white standing guard, and at the front of the memorial was an enormous flag pole with the national flag fluttering way above the trees. Having paid my respects and taken a couple of photos we left before it got too busy.


Following on from yesterdays tour we returned to Casa Rosada but now we had the time to look around the rear of the building with its statue of Christopher Columbus as well as the fountains, and take in the adjacent ministry of defence, before returning back to the front of the Casa Rosada for more photos as well as being able to look inside.

A return trip to the cathedral was rewarded with fewer people this time compared to yesterday, and it was nice to be relaxed about how much time we spent there rather than have to keep checking our watches. The rest of the day was spent shopping and photographing the obelisk, Lady Bridge, and numerous other monuments and views before finally walking back to the ship in time for a well deserved shower, a meal, and an early night.


Just as we finished our meal the Captain announced that in an attempt to get away on time at 19:00 he had requested the pilot two hours earlier so that with the delays being incurred we'd still be away on time. A good plan you might think, however the port authorities then announced a strike of the tug boat captains so we wouldn't be able to leave until 02:00. The captain said it wasn't a problem as the tugs weren't needed anyway he could manage with the bow thrusters, oh no you can't came the response it's mandatory to use the tugs, check mate to the Argies. We're now stuck in port effectively their hostages.

Tuesday 21/02/12 At sea 24 c high seas and cloudy

Well we finally got underway around 02:30 I say around because there wasn't a sailaway party and I didn't stay up. Over breakfast the captain announced that all things being equal he's confident that we'll reach Puerto Madryn our next Argentinian port as scheduled on Thursday. Hopefully we'll not be met with the same harassing tactics we had in BA otherwise they'll probably have to cancel some tours.

The Ironic part about all this is yes it inconveniences us, but if we either miss a port as a result of lost time, have to reduce the time spent ashore, or cancel planned excursions it's their people who are missing out on the spending power of 600+ people in the short term, for the larger ships it would be 3000+ people. Long term it could mean all P&Os and other English cruise lines either reducing or missing Argentinian ports off their schedules, talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Wednesday 22/02/12 At sea 22 c high seas and wind s as we're in the roaring 40s

Well despite my reservations about the Captain I'll say this he's making every attempt to get back on schedule, we're in what I call big seas where there are big gaps between the deep troughs and highs but despite that we're going like the clappers, although the ships continually pitching it's not too bad.

I did mention somewhere in this blog that I thought the situation with Chris and Sue would deteriorate due to their unwillingness to reciprocate when organising drinks in each other's rooms or when buying a round. Well apparently Chas and Marie Ann bought all the rounds during the evening of my birthday as well as providing the drinks at their cabin, with Chris & Sue just accepting drinks all night without so much as an offer to stand a round, so they've decided that in future they'll not be invited to our little pre diner get togethers, and if they're sat with us in the evening we'll just buy for rounds for the five of us, not nice but inevitable.

In addition to the problem with Chris and Sue it appears that they've had a major row over the last couple of days (once or twice Chris has made apologies for Sue's absence at the table saying he doesn't know where she is) but now they seem to be spending time apart and Sue's spending most of her time with another guy from the dancing class. When we've asked about her whereabouts the response is “I don't know she's doing her own thing” in a very offhand way; it all happens at sea.

Just as we were getting changed for the evening meal I spotted a breaking news announcement on the Sky news ticker tape at the bottom of the TV screen reporting a major train crash in Buenos Aires killing 49 with up to 600 injured and yet it didn't feature as a news item in itself, Marie Ann also saw the newsflash but nobody else seemed to know anything about it.

After the evening meal the Captain warned us that the weather was going to deteriorate and that he'd have to reduce speed, but still hoped to arrive at port near enough on time.

Well what a night we never slept a wink, the ship was pitching like mad and you could tell from the moment it descended into a trough to the moment it crested the wave with the almighty slamming down of the ship back into the water these were very large waves with enormous troughs and peaks all accompanied by the sound of the ship booming as it crested another wave. No matter how I tried I'd find myself gently being drawn to the bottom of the bed with the motion of the ship, I lost count of how many times my feet were hanging over the end of the bed, if it wasn't that then the ship would do an almighty roll and off we'd go rolling from one side of the bed to the other. I must have been semi comatose when the fridge door opened and all my cans of beer rolled out, so I had to get up and sort it out, what was the time, 02:15 oh it's going to be a long night I thought. Despite all that while I lay there I couldn't help but think of Chris & Sue right at the front of the ship, not only was the motion of the ship much much worse were they were, but the noise of the ship's bow slamming back into the water must be like trying to sleep inside a drum, in the middle of a Monsters of Rock festival.

Thursday 23/02/12 Puerto Madryn 23c Sunny with blue skies.

Well we arrived only an hour later than planned, and this time had no problems with customs clearing the ship for disembarkation, had there been any delays the full day excursions would have had to be abandoned.

This is the stepping off point for Patagonia and its amazing flora and fauna, a regular haunt of Orca's and all sorts of whales depending on the time of year. The organised excursions didn't do much for us so we decided to walk the 2-3 miles along the seafront to the point of the bay to visit the monumento al Indio, the statue commemorates the Tehuelche Indians who helped the first 153 Welsh settlers to survive in 1865. Just on the shoreline you can see the caves they hacked out of the rock where they lived for a couple of years in order to survive.

All along the seafront there are pieces of art work, dead trees which rather than being felled have been worked and turned into sculptures, statues, and monuments including one to the 323 sailors who lost their lives with the sinking of the General Belgrano 2nd May 1982 during the war over the Falklands.


Everywhere we went the Argentinian flag was flying at half mast, presumably because of the train accident reported yesterday, yet when we got back to the ship hardly anyone had heard of the accident, and it wasn't being reported on either Sky or the BBC world news, really strange for such a tragic accident.

We had no problems leaving port with all procedures being actioned by the port authorities as normal, thank goodness.

Claire's son Jack who just happened to be the second officer on watch last night joined us for dinner and told us that during last night's storm at its peak we had seas of 5-6 m and winds of storm force 11 for over an hour. Such was the height of the waves that at times they crashed over the bridge which is on the eighth deck, scary stuff when it's pitch black outside!

Friday 23/02/12 At Sea 14c overcast with high seas

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Comments

[Martin Frewer]

Thanks for the mail. What a day, even against all the amazing sights you're seeing, your 60th will remain an unforgetable day stand-out day forever. Glad to hear your both having a great time. By the way, while fascinated with your tick of
a short eared owl 500 miles offshore, I did, if you remember, ask you to keep a look out for an Albatross, not quite the same thing!