SOUTH AMERICA – PART 6 

Before leaving on a trip, Elva and I do our research; YouTube is our favourite go-to source for information. On a cruise, we also check to see what shore excursions are being offered, since those also give a good idea of what’s worth seeing. So, for Ushuaia, we decided the best option would be to book an excursion through Viator to ride the Tren del Fin del Mundo (Train at the End of the Earth) and see Tierra del Fuego National Park. Boy, were we wrong! First, Ushuaia, our first landing in Argentina, turned out to be a beautiful city, framed by snow-capped mountains and well worth spending a day exploring on foot. Second, the train ride was one of the worst rip-offs we’ve encountered in all our travels. The lesson is that you can’t win em’ all and that you must turn the page and look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

Tourism is big business here and the city of 80,000 or so looks very prosperous. The view from the harbour is very inviting, unlike many other places we’ve visited. Two ships moored beside us were loading for departures to Antarctica, and we learned that as many as 600 cruise ships call here each year. The stores are high end, as are the hotels and eating establishments. Although Ushuaia is literally the end of the South American continent and the place where the road ends, it doesn’t feel isolated in that way.

Early the next morning, the Oosterdam rounded Cape Horn through the Drake Passage, famous for rough water. We were fortunate to be able to see the headlands on a calm, clear day before heading out into the Atlantic on our way to Islas Malvinas, better known as the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands but, despite several attempts, has never been able to do so. PM Margaret Thatcher sent British warships and troops to the Falklands in 1982 and re-conquered them, albeit with considerable loss of life on both sides.

An interesting footnote to the islands’ history is that they were first colonized by the French in 1764. A group of settlers arrived there from Saint-Malo, calling the place Les Îles Malouines. Among them were survivors of the Acadian deportation, some perhaps my distant relatives. Most stayed only a few years, unable to make a go of it on the harsh, unforgiving landscape.

The weather gods were kind to us the day we stopped at Stanley, capital of the Falklands and only settlement of any size; 2,500 of the islands’ 3,500 permanent residents live there. Before arriving, we’d been told that the chance of being able to land is no better than 50:50. We tendered to shore as soon as we could and found Jimmy Curtis Tours waiting for us on the dock. Our driver, Lynda, soon had us underway, headed for the Volunteer Point penguin colony in an ancient thirty-year-old Land Rover. On our way there, we passed by Port-Louis where the French settlement was located. After the road ended, we four-wheeled over the roughest terrain imaginable for about an hour. Lynda told us she’d been over the track at least 200 times.

Seeing penguins was “bucket list” for Elva and we were treated to quite a spectacle. King penguins, the second largest species, wandered around the beach in groups, not seeming to know or care where they were going. Magellanics surfed and dove in the breakers, coming ashore occasionally. Further inland, we came to the king penguin colony, at least 3,000 strong according to Lynda. Words do not suffice to describe their “cuteness”. The first photo is of a pair of magellanics standing guard outside their burrow and the other two are of king penguins, looking almost human as they waddled along nonchalantly.

As you can see by what Elva is wearing, it was chilly! December 10 is like June 10 where we come from. The islands had had snow last week and this is what the beginning of summer looks like here. The landscape is bleak, reminiscent of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides; there are no trees and very little of the land is suitable for anything other than sheep pasture. Still, the people here seem to love the place and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Sheep farming and tourism are the main economic drivers and islanders seem to be doing very well financially.

After two days at sea, we docked in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, South America’s richest and most stable country by far. The city is home to about 2 million of Uruguay’s 3.7 million people and is very European-looking. The central location of the pier made it easy for us to just walk around, and we spent an enjoyable day exploring on foot. The first photo is of Independence Square with the Salvo Palace in the background and the second is of the old market building, now home to shops and several restaurants serving the country’s specialty, beef.

We “disembarked” on a Sunday after fourteen very enjoyable days on the Oosterdam, a ship we’d love to sail on again, and made our way to our hotel in the center of Buenos Aires, our home for the last five days of this adventure.

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city in Argentina, home to 14 million of the country’s total population of some 47 million. Argentina is classed as a developing country, but it has known some very dark periods, beginning in the 1930s, but has been relatively stable since 1983. The current regime came to power with a promise of budget cuts, and these have resulted in severe inflation and consequent devaluation of the Argentinian Peso. As is the case with Bolivia, everyone wants US dollars

Buenos Aires is a very modern and walkable city, although we were warned to stay away from certain areas. We spent or first day walking from the large square bordered by the Congress Building to the Government House, Casa Rosada, the “Pink House”, the President’s official workplace. The weather was beautiful, nice and warm after several chilly days in the south and on the Falklands. We also spent time in the Metropolitan Cathedral, home church of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, a position held by the current Pope, Jorge Bergoglio, until 2013.

We don’t usually ride the Hop-On-Hop-Off buses in cities we visit but we made an exception in Buenos Aires, and we’re glad we did. We got off at five or six of the twenty-four stops and got our money’s worth. In the same way a cruise does, the stops gave us an idea of where we’d like to return. There’s a lot going on the La Boca neighbourhood, home to some colourful characters, real and imagined, and birthplace of the tango. And Buenos Aires has more park space and public art than any city we’ve seen in our travels.

We continued to explore Buenos Aires on our fourth day there with a three-hour guided walking tour of the Retiro and Recoleta neighbourhoods. It was excellent! During the guided tour, we learned more about the country’s economic woes. Runaway inflation is a recurring phenomenon in Argentina, the result of bad decisions by successive governments.

In passing, our guide told us about El Ateneo, a former theatre saved from demolition by a company that transformed it into a four-storey bookstore, according to National Geographic, the most beautiful in the world. We had coffee and tea there, just enjoying the atmosphere, but it set us back $11.50, double what it would cost back home, and left us wondering how ordinary Argentinians are able to make a go of it. Homelessness is rampant on the streets, protests are frequent, and petty crime has risen to alarming levels, threatening the future of the tourist industry. A woman staying in our hotel was mugged just a few blocks away. But the beauty of the bookstore made us forget all that.

As is my habit, I’ll end the blog series for this trip with a few observations:

1. On this trip, I used the Airalo app for the first time. Free wifi is not readily available in South America. Airalo provides a way to buy mobile data in virtually any country in the world. I had to upgrade my iPhone to a version that’s eSIM-compatible, but I needed to replace my ancient iPhone 8 anyway. I twice bought 5GB on a 30-day plan for $55. Set up is not too difficult and the whole process is easier than buying and installing a SIM card for each country. Also, I will use WhatsApp more often, now that I’m familiar with its features.
2. We visited five countries on this trip. All have different currencies. The Argentinian currency is worth 715 to $1 Canadian; the Bolivian = 5 per $CDN; the Chilean = 707 per $CDN; the Columbian = 3,190 per $CDN; and the Uruguayan = 30 per $CDN. It’s hard to keep straight. The trick is to exchange enough $US to meet your needs for the local currencies and hope for the best. Unfortunately, we had to burn through more $US than we planned to in Bolivia since many places did not take VISA. On Rapa Nui, we had to make an emergency trip to an ATM since our hotel’s credit card machine did not work at all.
3. Use Uber instead of a taxi. You know how much your ride will cost before you order the car. Rides are available 24-7 and usually arrive within 5 minutes. The app has your credit card information and charges it directly, so you don’t need any cash. No negotiating with a cranky taxi driver who doesn’t understand English and no risk of credit card fraud. After your ride, you get an email asking you to rate the driver and to tip on the app if you wish.
4. We encountered very few people in South America who could carry on a conversation in English. This was frustrating at the best of times and downright annoying when we needed help. The biggest surprise was in Cartagena, a popular tourist destination, where we had a hell of a time communicating. Google Translate saved us on many occasions and I wouldn’t travel without it.
5. We’re both in our eighth decade and, although not slowing down that much, we tire more easily when things get hectic. For example, on this trip, we had 20 “moving days”. A moving day involves packing, carrying and unpacking suitcases and backpacks. Airports and hotels with no elevator get tiresome after awhile. The next time we travel, we’ll certainly keep this in mind, and it reminded us of why we like cruising so much.
6. We hadn’t been on a Holland America cruise since the fall of 2019. We’d heard that the level of service had declined post-COVID but that certainly was not our experience. We felt at home, our room was spacious and well laid out, and the food was excellent.
7. If anyone were to ask me where I’d like to travel next, I’d tell them someplace tourists from China have yet to discover. That those places are becoming fewer and farther between makes me rather sad.

 

SOUTH AMERICA – PART 5

After five days on Rapa Nui, we laid over in Santiago for a day and spent our second visit there just hanging around downtown mostly, watching the frantic Saturday traffic on pedestrian streets and on Plaza de Armas. We did check out one tourist attraction, San Cristobal, a hill located in the center of the city that affords a nice view from all angles. We wandered around the summit and dropped into the beautiful church there, listening to prayers and watching nuns assembled for the occasion take cellphone photos and videos of the altar and one another! As Jos Denis was fond of saying: « C’est ça la société d’aujourd’hui! ».

Next morning, we headed to San Antonio by Flixbus. By 1:00, we were in our cabin aboard the Oosterdam, cruise #7 for us on the Holland America line. After a full month on the go, we were glad to finally unpack our suitcases and get some serious laundry done. The ship is certainly a step up from other ones we’ve sailed on; it’s bigger, has more amenities, and our room is the nicest inside cabin we’ve had so far. We felt at home right away! The photo below shows Santa’s Village. All the buildings are made of gingerbread, and it smells heavenly!

The Oosterdam sailed southward to our first stop, Puerto Montt, a port city about the same size as Charlottetown. We tendered ashore and made our way to the tourist information desk where a helpful guide told us where to find an ATM and how to get to our car rental location by taxi. One hour later, we were on our way to the lake district and Petrohué Falls, skirting the southern shore of Lago Lanquihue as we went. The falls may not be the biggest or the highest we’ve seen but the setting is absolutely spectacular. The photo below shows the falls with the enormous Orsono Volcano in the background. Depending on your perspective, either Orsono looks like Mt. Fuji, or Fuji looks like Orsano.

Leaving the National Park, we drove the scenic road around the rest of the lake, stopping for a bite in the pretty town of Puerto Octay. Much of this part of Chile was settled in the 1800s by German immigrants, and you can tell by the style of the older commercial buildings, houses, and farmsteads. The rolling countryside is characterized by very rich pastureland and large herds of beef cattle. I must also mention that the forests are spectacular. We dropped our Suzuki off around 2:00, having seen all that was on our list and more. The day cost us about $120 CDN, including taxi, car rental, highway tolls, park entrance fee, parking, and lunch. A similar Holland America excursion would have set us back $560! It was one of those days when everything went right. The Canadiens even won a rare game in overtime on a goal by Captain Nick Suzuki!

Our next port of call was Puerto Chacabuco, a tiny town with a population of about 1,200. As one gentleman I walked with to catch the local bus to nearby Puerto Aysen remarked: “I suppose they have to stop somewhere!”. As experienced cruisers, we’ve gotten used to ports like these that have not much to offer except a good walk. It was raining when we arrived and raining when we left but we had a good day, nonetheless. As often happens, the smaller ports are the most welcoming. The local military band was playing a few tunes – very well I might add – outside the tiny but functional cruise terminal. We walked to the center of town and took a local bus to nearby Puerto Aysen, population 28,000. It cost $6 return for the two of us and we felt sorry for passengers who paid big bucks for tours on a miserable day. Others may have gotten cheated by unscrupulous taxi drivers who always hang around port entrances looking for victims. I got a haircut and caught up on some work using the terminal’s excellent wifi. Not a bad day for all!

We spent almost two full days cruising the Chilean fjords between Puerto Chacabuco and Punta Arenas. The mountainous terrain on both sides of the vessel reminded us of Norway. Others have said it’s a lot like a West Coast cruise in British Columbia and Alaska. On the morning of the second day, we started seeing more snow on the mountains as we sailed further south. The Oosterdam slowed so that we could get a closeup view of the Brujo Glacier, shown in the second photo below.

We sailed south until the Oosterdam entered the Strait of Magellan, arriving early in the morning at Punta Arenas, Chile’s most southerly city with a population of 130,000 or so. We’d rented a car and walked to Europcar to pick it up. We had time to take a short walk in the Magellanes National Reserve before heading southwest on the main road. We didn’t go all the way to where it ends but we did get a good idea of what the coastline looks south of the city. Back in Punta Arenas, we walked part of the pretty seaside promenade which features statues and artwork. From there, we drove to the cemetery, a can’t-miss attraction with some of the most impressive mausoleums you’ll see anywhere. The photo below shows two of them.

I wanted to see the replica of Hernando de Magellanes’ (Ferdinand Magellan’s) ship, the nao Victoria, the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world. Five ships left Seville, Spain in August of 1519 and sailed south across the Atlantic. It took them three years to complete the voyage and only the Victoria made it home. The replica is to scale, and one is free to wander around, including below decks. I can’t imagine how over 40 men could survive in such tight quarters. Next to the Victoria is a replica of the H.M.S. Beagle, the ship Charles Darwin sailed on in 1831. His observations during the voyage led him to develop his theory of evolution.

Both men’s stories were important to me in my formative years; Magellan because he was the first to sail around the world and Darwin because he helped me appreciate the folly of the Catholic Church’s creation story. Even at 7 years old, I couldn’t get my head around the idea that the universe was created in six days! Tracing Magellan’s journey on the school map in Wellington made me dream of travelling to far-flung destinations although, in truth, I never imagined I’d make it this far.

Punta Arenas turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s clean and modern and the people are very friendly. For reference, December 7 here is like June 7 in the Northern Hemisphere weatherwise. As for latitude, Puerto Montt is about as far from the South Pole as Charlottetown is from the North Pole, and Punta Arenas is as far south as Hopedale in Labrador and Grande Prairie in Alberta are north. The days here are very long, with sunrise before 6:00 sunset well after 10:00. The photos below show one of many shipwrecks along the coast near Punta Arenas and the lovely, wooded walk we took in the Magellan National Reserve.

Between Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, we sailed through that part of the Beagle Channel called “Glacier Alley”. It was a foggy morning, but the views were nonetheless impressive.