The South American and Antarctic experience on the Zaandam

[Manfred B]

Please allow me to supplement the escort service out of Puerto Madryn from our perspective off the Lower Promenade, Deck 3.

[Manfred B]

4 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Thank you scubacruiser and Manfred B for your penguin seeing assessments.  I have already booked Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point and our Cruise lines included excursion is to Punta Trombo.

 

Have either of you been to Puerto Madryn before and gone on an excursion to the Valdez Penninsula for wildlife?

I have not. This was my first visit to Puerto Madryn (indeed to all the sites we visited on this cruise aside from Buenos Aires, where work assignments had me stationed for some time back in the mid 1990s).

[scubacruiserx2]

2 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Thank you scubacruiser and Manfred B for your penguin seeing assessments.  I have already booked Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point and our Cruise lines included excursion is to Punta Trombo.

 

Have either of you been to Puerto Madryn before and gone on an excursion to the Valdez Penninsula for wildlife?

 

Great choice for VP and Patrick Watts . We were in Punta Tombo in 2013 and went to Punta Tombo also . Part of the reason that we opted for a private group this time was that 8 of us waited 45 minutes on the pier the last time while the last couple relaxed and had a casual breakfast .

[scubacruiserx2]

On our last full day at sea we also enjoyed a causal day of eating

 

 

 

 

 

The million dollar view for lunch

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We love this series of photos of a Great Shearwater  that we took walking on the water before taking flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And returning for a fly by

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I wish that I could fly like a bird

[scubacruiserx2]

Soup before broth

 

 

 

 

 

The sunset before Montevideo

 

 

We received several pieces of information :

 

After almost 3 weeks we could pick up our passports .

 

We learned the name of the hotel that HAL booked for us as part of the Signature Experience Package . We were given 2 nights in the hotel and the tour and transfers by HAL after we booked the Neptune Suite 

 

 

We received this letter from the Captain before arriving in Buenos Aires

 

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

2 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We love this series of photos of a Great Shearwater  that we took walking on the water before taking flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And returning for a fly by

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I wish that I could fly like a bird

I especially love the one where both bird and reflection arc towards the other.  Very cool.

[TayanaLorna]

36 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Soup before broth

 

 

 

 

 

The sunset before Montevideo

 

 

We received several pieces of information :

 

After almost 3 weeks we could pick up our passports .

 

We learned the name of the hotel that HAL booked for us as part of the Signature Experience Package . We were given 2 nights in the hotel and the tour and transfers by HAL after we booked the Neptune Suite 

 

 

We received this letter from the Captain before arriving in Buenos Aires

 

 

 

Interesting Captains letter.  With the rampant inflation in Argentina I don't imagine it will get better in a year.  On the other hand Antigua, which we always found very safe, has had a cruise ship passenger stabbing (man) and theft of purse (woman) in the morning too.  

[perfect match]

17 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

We think that he was part of the escort service ( next photos ) . Thy offered diving with the sea lions at this port ,but we know that Orca like diving with sea lions also and so we were out . So peguins it was .

If you and Barry are free this Sunday and would like to go on the Nieuw Statendam they still have verandah suites on our deck at a good price ( $3500) . We need a 3rd diver to book a fast boat in Cozumel . We could book we your provider in Grand Cayman if you would like ( I can't book from the ship because I'm over 65 ) . We would love to see you guys .

 

Pat & Joe

 

 

 

 

Normally, I like to think I show a lot of good old fashioned common sense when choosing the dives I do. Thatsaid, the chance to dive with sea lions AND orcas might prove to be irresistible to me. Yes, I know it's crazy, and I would probably would not do it, but I'm afraid it would be because the water was too cold! I've gotten very spoiled by the warm tropical water I've been diving in since we moved to Florida! 

 

I really wish we could join you on Nieuw Statendam, and diving in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Unfortunately, we have way too much "life stuff" going on that we just can't get away right now. I hope we can manage to cruise together at some point, and I would definitely love to dive with both of you. 

 

We are sailing on Symphony Of The Seas at the end of April. I'm diving in St Thomasfor the first time since the late 1970's. I have wonderful memories of the dives I made there - no pictures, as underwater cameras were nowhere near as good as they are today, and nowhere near as affordable or readily available!I was going to dive in Nassau, too, but the ship excursion is currently scheduled to return to the ship 45 minutes AFTER the ship is scheduled to leave port. Shore excursions assured me they would get the scheduling issue worked out several months ago, but nothing has changed. Since we are only in port 10-4, the dives would be rushed anyway. Instead, I'll drag Barry into the water to do some snorkeling with me. BTW, I was able to book both excursions through the ship even though I'm pretty sure we are just about the same age. That has been true for me on any of the RCCL cruises I've done.

 

Hope you have a great time on Nieuw Statendam.  I am planning to try her out at some point since we enjoyed Koningsdam so much. 

[caneable]

18 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We love this series of photos of a Great Shearwater  that we took walking on the water before taking flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And returning for a fly by

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I wish that I could fly like a bird

 

Think we’ll settle for being able to photograph like a scubacruiser!  Thoroughly enjoyed your posts here.  Currently sat in departure lounge, Manchester International (UK) waiting for flight to Buenos Aires via London Heathrow.  Thanks for all the great prompts for life on the balcony around the Horn.

[scubacruiserx2]

23 minutes ago, caneable said:

 

Think we’ll settle for being able to photograph like a scubacruiser!  Thoroughly enjoyed your posts here.  Currently sat in departure lounge, Manchester International (UK) waiting for flight to Buenos Aires via London Heathrow.  Thanks for all the great prompts for life on the balcony around the Horn.

Thanks caneable. Take lots of photos and have a great trip. Problem with looking at all the photos, you start thinking about another cruise. Hence, we booked a last minute anniversary cruise for next week. 

[scubacruiserx2]

17 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Interesting Captains letter.  With the rampant inflation in Argentina I don't imagine it will get better in a year.  On the other hand Antigua, which we always found very safe, has had a cruise ship passenger stabbing (man) and theft of purse (woman) in the morning too.  

 

 Very sad. Unfortunately it happens too often. Sometimes you don't realize it until you begin to travel.

It is mainly in the big cities.

As far as Argentina goes, it is fairly safe and as with  any place, you need to be aware of you surroundings and not be flashy. (We don't usually travel with much jewelry. we try to conceal our cameras until needed). 

 

After hearing our Captains warning, our guide said "you can go out, but do not walk at night" and  when taking  pictures across from our hotel  a local stopped  and said " it is not good to be in park with cameras". Take precautions and you will have a wonderful time. Most people are friendly and will help, just some "bad eggs".

[scubacruiserx2]

9 hours ago, perfect match said:

 

Normally, I like to think I show a lot of good old fashioned common sense when choosing the dives I do. Thatsaid, the chance to dive with sea lions AND orcas might prove to be irresistible to me. Yes, I know it's crazy, and I would probably would not do it, but I'm afraid it would be because the water was too cold! I've gotten very spoiled by the warm tropical water I've been diving in since we moved to Florida! 

 

I really wish we could join you on Nieuw Statendam, and diving in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Unfortunately, we have way too much "life stuff" going on that we just can't get away right now. I hope we can manage to cruise together at some point, and I would definitely love to dive with both of you. 

 

We are sailing on Symphony Of The Seas at the end of April. I'm diving in St Thomasfor the first time since the late 1970's. I have wonderful memories of the dives I made there - no pictures, as underwater cameras were nowhere near as good as they are today, and nowhere near as affordable or readily available!I was going to dive in Nassau, too, but the ship excursion is currently scheduled to return to the ship 45 minutes AFTER the ship is scheduled to leave port. Shore excursions assured me they would get the scheduling issue worked out several months ago, but nothing has changed. Since we are only in port 10-4, the dives would be rushed anyway. Instead, I'll drag Barry into the water to do some snorkeling with me. BTW, I was able to book both excursions through the ship even though I'm pretty sure we are just about the same age. That has been true for me on any of the RCCL cruises I've done.

 

Hope you have a great time on Nieuw Statendam.  I am planning to try her out at some point since we enjoyed Koningsdam so much. 

 

Yes, the water is too cold for us. And having visions of National Geo. of the seal being tossed back and forth by the Orcas - we look too much like a sea lion in our wetsuits and witnessing the fate of a few penguins is not inviting.

 

Life happens. We do hope to meet up with you and Barry one day(cruise).

We have dove in St. Thomas .

The issue seems to be with the Grand Cayman operator the ship uses.   We had the same problem a few years ago when on a Princess in Grand Cayman.We took your advice and booked with Diver's Down. Thank you.

We are looking forward to cruising on  the Nieuw Statendam.

[scubacruiserx2]

I have not been able to upload any photos all day to Photobucket . When they start working again we will show our visit to Montevideo . Until then we'll show our last visit there in 2013 .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 In Montevideo we found our friend from Ushuaia , the ADIA cara had already docked

 

 

 

 

We had decided to DIY in Montevideo with our friends Daniel and Sarah. We were greeted by some people on quay offering a free ride to a leather factory located at Plaza Independencia which is where we began our walking tour. This is approximately the route that we walked

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Rambla+25+de+Agosto+de+1825,+Montevideo,+Uruguay/Plaza+Independencia,+Montevideo,+Uruguay/@-34.9066725,-56.2071423,17z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x959f7f86f802f14f:0x6d4311eddfba1dce!2m2!1d-56.2102738!2d-34.9045535!3m4!1m2!1d-56.2078219!2d-34.9084601!3s0x959f7f81746446d1:0x6f208fc05c903e1f!1m5!1m1!1s0x959f802b0e1d1f07:0x7d9cac3abf570af3!2m2!1d-56.1997193!2d-34.9069929!3e2

 

 

After leaving the shop , we saw this statue of Artigas "the father of Uruguayan nationhood"

 

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Gervasio_Artigas

 

 

 

At the end of the square is this beautiful building , Palacio Salvo

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was at the Plaza Constitution where a flea market was being set up. They had some interesting antiques with good prices , but we were very limited weight in the amount of weight that we could carry on the upcoming flights.

 

 

 

 

As we walked a little farther down the Sarandi pedestrian mall we saw a lot of excitement going on. I couldn't resist videoing this happy couple's big moment !!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

We loved some of the colorful graffiti that we saw during the walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[perfect match]

15 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Yes, the water is too cold for us. And having visions of National Geo. of the seal being tossed back and forth by the Orcas - we look too much like a sea lion in our wetsuits and witnessing the fate of a few penguins is not inviting.

 

Life happens. We do hope to meet up with you and Barry one day(cruise).

We have dove in St. Thomas .

The issue seems to be with the Grand Cayman operator the ship uses.   We had the same problem a few years ago when on a Princess in Grand Cayman.We took your advice and booked with Diver's Down. Thank you.

We are looking forward to cruising on  the Nieuw Statendam.

 

Your last minute anniversary cruise sounds like a great idea to me! Hope you have a wonderful anniversary!

 

I've had some great diving with Divers Down. I hope they your experience with them is as positive as mine have been. Please let me know how it goes.

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

4 hours ago, perfect match said:

 

Your last minute anniversary cruise sounds like a great idea to me! Hope you have a wonderful anniversary!

 

I've had some great diving with Divers Down. I hope they your experience with them is as positive as mine have been. Please let me know how it goes.

 

 

We will

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Many of the shops on the street that we walked by , and went into , had a distinctly European feel. Except for all of the Coke signs that we saw everywhere !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a solo Pepsi sign at the Beatles BAR

 

 

 

 

We wandered into the Estancia del Puerto at 11:30 am , and the place was empty

 

 

 

 

 

And found what we really wanted - Asado on the Parrilla !!

 

 

 

 

 

The grilling process is better appreciated in this video clip :

 

 

 

 

We found a table and ordered drinks , steak and chorizo . We were enjoying our drinks and our friend's company when we noticed that the place was filling up - Fast . Soon , our lunch arrived and the smell was incredible !! After tasting we realized that we had found meat heaven . It was more than just a lunch. It is the Quintessential dining experience of South America.

 

 

As you can see in this video - We were not alone !

 

 

 

Before we knew it , it was time to reboard the Zaandam. And set sail for Buenos Aires .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We had a beautiful but limited view sunrise coming into Montevideo

 

 

The top deck for the big picture 

 

 

 

 

A lot of ship traffic

 

 

 

 

Following the Sun

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Into Montevideo

 

 

Here comes our Ubur

 

 

A graveyard of ships

 

 

Palacio Salvo

 

 

Uruguay Naval barricks

 

 

 

 

A magic feather - it could fly !

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

We had a quite , casual breakfast before going ashore

 

 

 

 

Pat tried the Japanese breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

As we came ashore we thought that it would be interesting to revisit some of the places that we went to in 2013

 

 

First the 2013 photo followed by the 2019

 

 

 

 

[/URL]

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

 

 

I love the name of this beer and we both wanted to try one with lunch

 

 

 

We ate at this place in 2013 at almost the same table ( It was air conditioned on a very warm day )

 

 

 

 

 

They were all out of Patricia beer so we split  a 3/4 L of this

 

 

 

I had beef tenderloin brochette with onion , pepper and bacon

 

 

And she had rack of lamb - 6 chops

 

 

So yummy ! And of course we shared .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Goodbye everyone , we are headed to the  NS for a weeks cruise .