Live from Viking Octantis - Antarctic Explorer - January 17-29

[Frenchberet]

I’m loving your reports & photos!  We are doing this cruise in a few weeks & I’m over-analyzing my packing.  Did you bring hiking poles or are they part of the gear on loan from Viking?  Anything you wished you packed but didn’t bring?  Any tips?  PS - you both look great in your jackets!  Have a great trip!

[cccole]

Your post #75 is my favorite post so far.  From a whiskey after a disappointment to the celebration of a landing.   Loving all of your posts and looking at Viking for our Antarctic adventure.  Thank you so much,  Cherie 

[Australia08]

13 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

I’m loving your reports & photos!  We are doing this cruise in a few weeks & I’m over-analyzing my packing.  Did you bring hiking poles or are they part of the gear on loan from Viking?  Anything you wished you packed but didn’t bring?  Any tips?  PS - you both look great in your jackets!  Have a great trip!

Honestly, Viking provides you with the nice waterproof jackets, boots and pants. You want to have a warm hat, and a couple of pairs of gloves. As much as they say waterproof on gloves, if you have a couple of activities in a day, it’s nice to change into a really dry pair. The one thing I’m so glad I brought was a pair of biking goggles. I bought them at REÍ. They were just lightly transition lens so they never get very dark, but they kept the spray from the SOB and the zodiacs from getting in my eyes. I have contacts and felt like I had to keep my eyes closed last February when the snow was blowing toward us on the husky rides on the Northern Lights Cruise. I didn’t want that to happen here. They worked great. Of course you want to have some long underwear. I have merino wool and I was never cold, except occasionally my fingertips.  I also bought the waterproof case for my iPhone. I liked it and only occasionally had to take off my gloves to take photos but I talked to some people who didn’t like it. 
I wouldn’t bring a lot of clothes. I tend to wear the same comfortable clothes on my operation activities. Very casual on the ship. I did bring a couple of nicer sweaters to wear in the evenings. 
By the way, Viking provides a very nice pair of binoculars for each cabin—so much more powerful than the small binoculars on Ocean. 
No hiking poles needed. Viking provides great ones. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Australia08

[Frenchberet]

Thank you for the information!  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[Australia08]

January 23 - Lemaire Channel and Hidden Bay

 

We started the morning with an early call from the captain that we were entering the Lemaire Channel.  Mike chose to stay in bed and just look from our stateroom window, but I rushed to dress and head out to the bow to view our entry into the channel.  Of course, Viking was there serving us coffee with Baileys and hot chocolate.  There were a couple of whales to entertain as we entered the channel as well as a seal lying on an ice floe.  The narrow channel made the mountains surrounding quite imposing.  It was a lovely start to the morning. 

 

Entering the Lemaire Channel

 

Wildlife as we transited the Lemaire Channel

 

 

Blue ice and snowy mountains - what could be better?

Exiting the Lemaire Channel

 

[Australia08]

Still January 23

 

Later in the morning, we arrived in Hidden Bay. It would not be a landing site, but we would be able to take zodiac cruises and the SOBs would run.  It was far too choppy for the submersible or the kayaks today. In our briefing for this area, we had seen a photo of the Una Peaks which form the main identifying site of the area.  Of course, with the low lying clouds, we had to really search to the Una Peaks.  We took our very wet zodiac cruise first. We saw some leopard seals on a very high chunk of ice, but honestly, it was easier to see them from the ship (as they drifted by later in the afternoon.  Our zodiac guide took us for close up views of some of the glaciers that looked like they could calve at any moment (of course, he kept us a safe distance away, but the ice is so gigantic, it seemed like we were right underneath). After lunch, we had our SOB ride for the day.  Our guide for this excursion was an expert in icebergs and geology.  He gave us a completely different take on this bay.  The water was getting choppier by the time we headed back to the ship, and Mike was pretty wet by the time we got off the SOB (his side of the boat was really take the spray as we hit the swells).  Luckily, the jackets and waterproof pants that Viking provides are really waterproof so once we got back to the room and hung our jackets in our “drying closet,” a special warming closet in each room, we could warm up pretty quickly. Although it wasn’t a landing day, we got to see another aspect of Antarctica. By the way, perhaps I missed reading carefully, but I was under the impression that we would have an attempted landing each of the six full days in Antarctica. Once we got on the ship, it was already noted that we would have four attempted landings and two cruise days.  It turned out ok, but it wasn’t really what I initially expected.

 

The Yellow Star indicates where Hidden Bay is in relation to the Lemaire Channetl

 

 

 

What the Una Peaks look like in good weather

 

The best we could see of the Una Peaks

 

A view from our morning zodiac cruise

 

Our wet afternoon ride on the SOB

Edited January 27, 2023 by Australia08

[Australia08]

Once last comment on January 23

 

After a wonderful dinner in The Restaurant, we attended a cocktail demonstration in the Hide.  I Made from Bali entertained us by demonstrating how to make a Negroni and two cocktails that he had created. The best part - we all got to partake in the results!

 

 

[Australia08]

January 24 - Portal Point

 

Yes!  The day we had been waiting for - a landing on the mainland peninsula of Antarctica!  Portal Point has a rocky/icy approach.  The team had identified a path for us to take that had us climbing up a snow-covered hill that provided beautiful vistas on two sides.  We could look back toward the ship once we reached the top or we could look off the other side of the point.  It was nice to really expend some energy on this landing.  We only saw two penguins, but one in particular, decided it wanted to entertain us, so it came over to cross our path and proceeded to slide all the way down the hill. Then, jumped up and waddled off.  That penguin had quite the group of admiring passengers.  There were two skuas nearby keeping a watchful eye on things. Someone from the ship had brought a banner reading 7th Continent - Antarctica 2023, so we asked to have our picture taken with it too.  After about an hour of roaming around the site and taking lots of photos and videos, we headed back to the ship.  Part way back, another zodiac hailed us - we approached and they asked for a doctor since they had a sick man aboard.  After a few worried looks, the “sick” man suddenly jumped up and started serving us champagne.  It was Omega and I Made, we should have known it was a ruse,  Champagne glasses were passed and macrons were served. What a fun surprise on our way back to the ship!!

 

That evening, we went to Manfredi’s with the bottle of excellent French Bordeaux that had been gifted to us by Omega.  It was a nice way to celebrate a landing on the continent!

 

 

Rocky and icy landing point

 

We’re here!

 

7th Continent under our belts!

 

Ice boulders

 

Our surprise champagne and macrons on the way back to the ship

 

On our way to Manfredi’s - time to toast our continental landing

 

 

[Azulann]

Thank your much for your wonderful running commentary of your unique cruise ! The pictures of the mountains, sea and ice are are spectacular. Glad you re enjoying the ships , drinks , wine and food. 

 I feel like I am journeying with you. Thank you again!

Love the bow tie     btw.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Azulann

[Australia08]

January 25 - Enterprise Island

 

Today was just a zodiac cruise day, but we were very excited to get the message that we would have the opportunity to go out in the sub.  We suited up, went down to the debarkation area, got our seat numbers and our booties, and patiently waited in line. The zodiac with the earlier riders were just started to come on to the ship.  Than the dreaded news. The sub needed to change locations.  Immediately, we were told that our sub adventure was cancelled. We said that we were happy to wait until they found their new position, but we were told that would not be possible.  The thing that upset us the most was that the other groups got to go out that day.  We were the only group that didn’t get to go.  So many times, the expedition leader would call over the public address system that they were halting operations for zodiacs, then just tell everyone to come an hour or half hour later, but that didn’t seem to be possible for this activity.  Needless to say, the six of us involved were very disappointed.  Mike and I headed off to have lunch, but suiting up and going back out to see if we could take a delayed zodiac cruise just didn’t seem worth it.  Mike took an afternoon nap, and I went to the spa.  Later in the evening, we went to a whiskey tasting in The Hide.  They accompanied three different whiskeys with three types of truffles, made on the ship.  Very entertaining and tasty.

 

Whiskey tasting in The Hide

[Australia08]

January 26 - Mikkelsen Harbour/D’Hainaut Island

 

Today was the last possible day to have a landing.  It looked a bit doubtful.  As a matter of fact, the Expedition Leader said that we would delay for about an hour to see if conditions might improve.  As passengers began to talk with one another, we all just assumed that it wouldn’t happen.  But, lo and behold, the announcement came about 30 minutes later that we could commence landings.  We went down a bit early for our ride over to the island.  We were worried that they might have to stop landings and didn’t want to miss out.  Due to ice conditions and rock formations, we had to swing in quite an arc to reach the landing spot.  On the way, we saw a leopard seal on an ice floe (we’d seen leopard seals like this several times - they must love riding that ice!). Our guide, radioed to ask permission to get a bit closer to the seal and was.granted permission so we got a pretty good look at it.  Then it was on to the island.  Mikkelsen Harbour is lined with ice cliffs and D’Hainaut Island has an Argentine refuge hut, but it best known for its Gentoo Penguins colony.  There are also some relics from the earlier whaling era - particularly, the remnants of a whaler’s waterboat.  This is a boat that was taken to shore and filled with snow, melted, and used in the processing of the whale-meat and blubber.  There were lots of whale bones at the site as well.  Skuas were flying overhead and perched on nearby rocks waiting for an opportunity to steal some of the penguin eggs.  Many penguins were nesting on the hillside.  We were told that the nesting is taking place much later this season.  While there were some chicks already, most were still at the nesting stage.  I did see an Arctic Sheathbill flying nearby, too.  While I was thrilled to have another landing, this site was less impressive, mainly because there was such a small area for us to walk so it felt like it was more like being at a zoo.  I liked the other landing areas more because we had the chance to hike more, which seemed more like an Antarctic experience.  Perhaps, they gave us a smaller area to walk so they could get us on and off the island faster, but it didnt feel very “expeditionary.”

 

Back to ship for lunch.  Then I headed to the Calderium (hot tub) on the back of the ship.  I had spied this area when I first boarded and decided I’d love to sit there in the cold with a beautiful view while still feeling warm.  I couldn’t talk Mike into my great idea, but I wasn’t deterred.  I loved it!  It was after lunch so no one was in the Acquavit Bar except Ardel, the bartender, and he made me a coffee with Tia Maria and Jamaican Rum to help keep me warm. I was all by myself on the back of the ship, soaking in the warm water, and soaking in the marvelous views!  After spending about 45 minutes in the Calderium, hitting the cold air to dry off made me decide to head to the Nordic spa to enjoy the thermal beds. It was a great afternoon.

 

In the evening it was off to Manfredi’s to enjoy yet one more bottle of wine gifted by our friend, the Beverage Manager, Omega.  This time it was a South African Cabernet from Stellenbosch.  

 

We usually ended each evening of the cruise in the Explorers Bar with new friends and expedition staff members.  Several of the expedition staff would come to relax, but also answer a lot of the questions that we had from the day.  One of the Viking staff who had helped to create the expedition concept for Viking was on this cruise and he gave us lots of insight into the challenges of Antarctic expeditions.  Of course, all of these people were just fun to generally chat with, too 

 

Our final landing

 

Gentoo penguins all around

 

 

 

Gentoo penguins on the hillside behind us

 

The whaling waterboat surrounded by lots of whale bones

Edited January 31, 2023 by Australia08

[Frenchberet]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time!  Thank you for taking the time to report.  Great photos!

[Australia08]

January 27 - Crossing the Drake Passage

 

I had prepared to spend the day watching movies, lying on my bed.  No need - the Drake was a lake coming back.  Blue skies everywhere!  We ate, visited with friends, went to a few lectures, and played backgammon on the electronic game tables.  I hadn’t made a dinner reservation because I assumed that I would be uncomfortable on the way back.  We stopped by the Restaurant and there was no problem adding a 7:30 reservation. Overall, the Restaurant had nice menus, but there was never a memorable meal.  We just like sitting at a nice table being served.

 

January 28 - Re-entering the Beagle Channel on our way to Ushuaia

 

We continued with the smooth seas and blue skies today.  Once we re-entered the Beagle Channel, we had lots of beautiful scenery to admire.  One of the naturalists called us out in the afternoon to see Emperor penguins as we passed one of the islands they inhabited.  It was a bit far away to see them very well, even with binoculars, but it was apparent that there were hundreds of them scattered on the shore.  We arrived in Ushuaia late in the afternoon. We stayed on the ship in the evening, but went out to have a quick walk around town after 10:00.  Lots of the crew were heading in to restaurants and bars since this is the only stop where they have the opportunity to get off the ship on this itinerary.  The town was very busy this late in the evening since Argentineans don’t eat until after 9:00 pm.  it was interesting to see the restaurants all full at this hour.

 

January 29 - Off the ship and back to Buenos Aires

 

We had to vacate our rooms by 8:00 am, and we were off the ship by 9:00.  Our flight to BA left at 11:30.  We flew home on a small regional jet - with 1 seat/ 2 seats arrangement.  We actually had more legroom than we had on Jet Smart going to Ushuaia.  The interesting thing is we had to stop in Treslew to refuel.  We didnt have to get off the plane, but it added about 45 minutes to our flight time.  We arrived in Buenos Aires AEP by 4:00 pm and arrived at our hotel in Palermo by 5:00.  Our hotel Jardin Escondido was a former residence of Francis Ford Coppola.  It only has 7 rooms, each named after a famous Argentinean writer.  Our room was the Cortázar room with a small balcony looking onto Calle Gorriti.  It was like staying at your rich uncle’s vacation house.  The young man who was managing the property in the evenings was fun to talk with - Argentinean art, history, politics.  We got a good recommendation from him for a nice nearby restaurant where we could get small plates to share and, of course, a bottle of Malbec.  The food was delicious and not a full restaurant meal at 9:30 pm.  Exactly what we wanted!

 

The Living Room at Jardin Escondido

 

Terrace 1

 

Between terraces

 

Terrace 2

[Australia08]

We’ve been home for 3 days now so it’s time for me to write a summary of how we spent our time after the cruise.  

 

Monday, January 30 - Buenos Aires

 

As mentioned in my previous post, we stayed at the Coppola Jardin Escondido.  We started the morning with a beautiful breakfast on the upper terrace.  We had the upper terrace all to ourselves.

 

 

Then it was off for a full day tour of the city.  I had booked this originally since Mike had never been to Buenos Aires before our short stay prior to the cruise.  We had spent almost all of our time in San Telmo so this would provide an expanded view of the city.  We drove by many of the French style palaces in Palermo Chico, most now are embassies, admiring the magnificent parks along the way.  Then it was on to Recoleta Cemetery, the resting place of Eva Perón and other notable former citizens. Our guide gave us a complete history of this famous cemetery that dates back to the colonia era.

 

The labyrinth of mausoleums at Recoleta Cemetery

 

 

The mausoleum of the Duarte family - where Eva Perón lies

 

We revisited downtown to hear more history regarding the Casa Rosada, the Cabildo, and the Metropolitan Cathedral.  

 

The white kerchiefs that form part of the plaza at Plaza de Mayo - I hadn’t noticed this on our earlier visit, but it marks the place where the mothers of the young people who disappeared during the military regime of the early 1980s still gather to protest today

 

We followed that up with another visit to the San Telmo antique stores and public market.  After San Telmo, we headed to La Boca, the working class neighborhood, shaped by primarily Italian immigrants who came to Argentina during the last quarter of the 19th century.  The street here are filled with color and street art.  

 

 

We went to a local bodegón style restaurant just off Calle Caminito for empanadas, salad, and of course, grilled steak.

 

The grilling area at the entrance to the restaurant where we ate at La Boca

 

The rule seems to be that one always has at least one empanada during the meal and 

. . . And a steak must be included, too (salad, vegetables, sauces, and desserts, too).

 

Following lunch, we drove through Puerto Madero, where the Hilton was located.  This area of warehouses and silos were remodeled and redesigned to create this new residential and tourist district.  I wish I had taken the time when we were staying at the Hilton earlier in the trip to walk in the opposite direction of downtown since within two blocks of the hotel, there are beautiful bike/hike paths along the river - so peaceful within this urban environment.  After we left Puerto Madero, we visited a few more iconic Buenos Aires parks and  headed back to the hotel.  We went out for a long walk through the neighborhood, had snacks for dinner since our late lunch had been so huge and called it a night since we had an early morning flight the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Australia08

[Australia08]

Tuesday, January 31 - Iguazu National Park (Argentina)

 

Even though our flight was delayed by about 2 hours, it still seemed like an early morning departure for us.  We flew from the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu Cataratas Del Iguazu International Airport.  We were met there by a guide who took us immediately to the hotel to leave our bags before heading into the park on the Argentinean side.  We stayed at the Gran Melia, right on the edge of the park. It’s a beautiful hotel - our room had a wonderful terrace with distant views of the Devil’s Throat.  

 

 

We spent the next three or four hours exploring all the open trails, getting soaked twice by brief downpours (hey, we are in a rainforest!), and getting acquainted with the toucans that seemed to be everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the hotel to shower and enjoy the rooftop bar before we headed into town to take part in what is termed “The Argentine Experience.”  This is a  3 hour culinary experience with meal and wine. It is hosted by a delightful group who met us with cocktails, taught us to make our own Malbec based cocktail, served with delicious appetizers.  Then it was on to learning how to crimp our own empanadas.  They provided the rolled dough, filling and instructions and we crimped away.  They took our empanadas to the kitchen then and baked them.  Of course, as I’ve mentioned before, no meal in Argentina seems to be complete without their famous grilled steak accompanied this time with a variety of roasted vegetables.  For dessert, we made our own alfajores, then learned how to properly prepare mate.  By the way, during the meal we could drink as much Torrentes, Bonarda, and Malbec (Argentina’s iconic wines) as we wanted.

 

 

 

 

 

What a fun evening!  We shared this experience with a couple from Australia who had been hiking in Chile and had just arrived in Argentina, and with two young women from London who were traveling through Central and South America.  

 

When we headed back to the hotel, we headed straight out to the terrace and were amazed by the sound of the falls and the star-filled skies.  

[cliffg]

Thanks so much for this posting! We are on the same expedition next week (18 Feb) and you gave us a great preview of what's to come. It sounds (and looks, from your photos) even better than I anticipated.

I do have one question of you...........where did you book the Iconic Buenos Aires walking food tour that you did in Buenos Aires? How long was it? We are just going to be in BA the one day prior to flying to Ushuaia, arriving mid-morning. Do you think we'd have time to do the tour? Thanks again for your great post!

[Australia08]

Wednesday, February 1 - Iguaçu Falls, Brazilian Side

 

After a nice buffet breakfast at the Gran Melia, it was time to head across the border to Brazil. We met our guide from yesterday who drove us across the border, dropped off our bags at the Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas, and started us off on the walkway along the Brazilian side of the falls.  I think starting with the Argentinean side is a good way to do it.  That side is beautiful, but the views from the Brazilian side never stop.  As we walked further down the walkway, I just couldn’t stop snapping photos and yet none of my photos do the falls justice because you just can’t show the entirety of the experience.  After yesterday’s drenching, we decided to bring our rain jackets along.  While it was misty on the lower walkway that leads into the river, it was never all that wet.  After spending about 3 hours exploring the falls, we headed back to our hotel for lunch.  I just can’t say enough about the casual elegance of the Belmond.  We were pampered beyond belief.  And the grounds are stunning.  The hotel is right inside the National Park so in the evening when the visitors leave at 6:00 pm, the area is ours alone until 9:00 am the next morning. Of course, one has to be careful since jaguars and pumas are present in the park.  The hotel grounds are carefully monitored, but going off the hotel grounds is discouraged after dark.  No problem there.  We didn’t want to come face to face with a jaguar and the hotel had too many ways to keep us occupied!  We had a falls view room (although to be honest, with 275 waterfalls at Iguaçu, we only had a great view of one of them). Their turndown service in the evening made us feel like royalty!

 

 

 

 

 

The coati - a raccoon type animal found in the park

 

 

Butterflies were everywhere but they move fast so taking pictures of them is difficult.

 

 

The Belmond Das Cataratas - we stayed two nights - I wish we’d stayed a week!

 

Lunch at the Ipe Restaurant at the Belmond - of course we had caipirinhas!

 

The view from one of the windows looking out on the grounds at the Belmond

 

[Australia08]

23 minutes ago, cliffg said:

Thanks so much for this posting! We are on the same expedition next week (18 Feb) and you gave us a great preview of what's to come. It sounds (and looks, from your photos) even better than I anticipated.

I do have one question of you...........where did you book the Iconic Buenos Aires walking food tour that you did in Buenos Aires? How long was it? We are just going to be in BA the one day prior to flying to Ushuaia, arriving mid-morning. Do you think we'd have time to do the tour? Thanks again for your great post!

I booked it online prior to our trip (based on someone else’s recommendation). You can see all their tours by going to their website iconicbuenosaires dot com.     The tour company is run by Elisabet and Barbara.  Our tour was with Barbara, but I emailed to set things up with Elisabet. When I emailed them, they just had me bring US dollars to pay the day of the tour.  The name of the tour was Foody Buenos Aires.  We started the tour at 12:30 and ended about 4 or 4:30. You could always contact them to see if you could start just a bit later if you feel it might be too rushed.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Australia08

[cliffg]

Thanks so much!!!

[mom0f3]

4 hours ago, Australia08 said:

Tuesday, January 31 - Iguazu National Park (Argentina)

 

Even though our flight was delayed by about 2 hours, it still seemed like an early morning departure for us.  We flew from the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu Cataratas Del Iguazu International Airport.  We were met there by a guide who took us immediately to the hotel to leave our bags before heading into the park on the Argentinean side.  We stayed at the Gran Melia, right on the edge of the park. It’s a beautiful hotel - our room had a wonderful terrace with distant views of the Devil’s Throat.  

 

 

We spent the next three or four hours exploring all the open trails, getting soaked twice by brief downpours (hey, we are in a rainforest!), and getting acquainted with the toucans that seemed to be everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the hotel to shower and enjoy the rooftop bar before we headed into town to take part in what is termed “The Argentine Experience.”  This is a  3 hour culinary experience with meal and wine. It is hosted by a delightful group who met us with cocktails, taught us to make our own Malbec based cocktail, served with delicious appetizers.  Then it was on to learning how to crimp our own empanadas.  They provided the rolled dough, filling and instructions and we crimped away.  They took our empanadas to the kitchen then and baked them.  Of course, as I’ve mentioned before, no meal in Argentina seems to be complete without their famous grilled steak accompanied this time with a variety of roasted vegetables.  For dessert, we made our own alfajores, then learned how to properly prepare mate.  By the way, during the meal we could drink as much Torrentes, Bonarda, and Malbec (Argentina’s iconic wines) as we wanted.

 

 

 

 

 

What a fun evening!  We shared this experience with a couple from Australia who had been hiking in Chile and had just arrived in Argentina, and with two young women from London who were traveling through Central and South America.  

 

When we headed back to the hotel, we headed straight out to the terrace and were amazed by the sound of the falls and the star-filled skies.  

We did the Argentine Experience (sounds the same as yours) in Buenos Aires pre-covid.   One if our most fun experiences!  I highly recommend it.  

[Australia08]

Thursday, February 2 - Iguaçu Falls, Brazil

 

Another great day at the Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas.  We had a lovely breakfast by the pool, then headed outside the park to take our helicopter ride of the falls.  It is definitely one of the shorter helicopter rides we’ve ever taken, but it was exhilarating!  It finally gave us a sense of the big picture of the whole falls, although to be honest, I still couldn’t get a photo to show it.  It was so much fun.  We went on the ride with a woman from Australia who had just finished an Antarctic expedition.  I can’t remember the name of the expedition group, but she was about our age.  Her expedition also went to South Georgia Island and the Falklands then to Antarctica.   She said they were able to make 2 “landings” a day besides additional zodiac cruises.  She said the ship only had about 150 passengers.  We were jealous!

 

After the helicopter ride, we took along walk along the falls walkways, this time spending more time watching for birds, butterflies, spiders, and other animals.  At the end of the walkways, where you take a scenic elevator up to the top of te falls, we headed to a park restaurant that had been suggested by one of our guides.  It was a buffet, but it concentrated on Brazilian foods so we just sampled away.  After that, we walked back to the hotel, even though we could have hopped on one of the park buses.  We needed to work off a bit of that food.  I’m not much of a lounger at hotel pools, but I couldn’t resist the Belmond pool.  They heat it just enough so that it is not super cold to enter, but cool enough to feel great after seating in the afternoon heat.  Of course, we had to enjoy another caipirinha.  

 

That evening, we went to the beautiful Bar Taroba and had a “Devil’s Throat” cocktail.  As the sun began to set, we headed to the Itaipu Restaurant, the hotel’s main restaurant.  A perfect end to the day!

 

Sunrise photo from our room at the Belmond

 

Photo taken from our helicopter ride over the falls

Another helicopter view over the falls

A final helicopter view looking down at the Belmond

 

Back to the falls walkway to look for birds and butterflies

 

Bird watching

 

More bird watching

 

Trying to capture photos of butterflies

 

This one just wouldn’t open her wings

 

Such artistic designs

 

I spent way too much time trying to get these photos!

 

We weren’t alone at the pool

 

The Devil’s Throat Cocktail at Bar Taroba

 

A sunset shot before we went to dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Australia08

[Australia08]

 

Friday, February 3 - On to Rio de Janeiro

 

It was sad to leave the Belmond Hotel this morning.  Can’t wait to return.  Since the Devil’s Throat walkway is still being rebuilt, we have a reason to return.  We headed to the airport in Fox do Iguaçu and took a Latam flight to Rio, via São Paulo.  When we arrived in São Paulo to change planes, we learned that our Rio flight had been cancelled.  No problem.  We were able to get in the priority line (since Latam now has a partnership with Delta our tickets were automatically marked Sky Priority) and since there are hourly shuttles to Rio from São Paulo, we only had a little over an hour wait and Latam even gave us vouchers for lunch while we waited.  When we arrived in Rio, we went directly to our hotel, the Miramar Hotel on Copacabana Beach.  It had been a busy travel day, so we headed to the rooftop bar that had great views of the beach and Sugar Loaf.

 

View from our hotel room in Rio

 

The view at the rooftop bar of the Miramar Hotel when we first sat down.

 

I really do love a caipirinha!

 

The view as the sun set

[Australia08]

Saturday, February 4 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

We had a great breakfast at the Miramar before our guide picked us up for our half day Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain half day tour.  We started the tour driving along Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon beaches to the base of Morro do Corcovado to catch the cog-wheel train up to view the Christ the Redeemer statue more closely.  We were definitely glad we had the guide who moved us to special lines for tour guides and special lines for priority (Brazil is serious about giving priority to anyone over 60 years of age whether they have mobility problems or not).  Even with the long lines, we quickly visited both of these iconic locations.  After taking the tram rides up to Sugar Loaf, we had planned to see the National Cathedral, which has very unusual architecture and stained glass, but a Saturday downtown concert had all the streets blocked.  Our guide quickly suggested a visit to an unusual street art stairway in an area of downtown which he could access.  The ceramic artist was Jorge Selaron, who began decorating 215 steps leading up to the Convent of Santa Teresa with ceramic tiles in 1990.  Lots of people from around the world began to send him tiles from their regions.  The stairs were amazing, and actually and nice bookend to the beginning of our trip in Valparaiso, Chile with all of its street art.  

 

On top of Morro do Corcovado 

 

The tram to Sugar Loaf

 

Sugar Loaf behind us

 

Escadaria Selaron

 

Selaron was know for his ceramic art depicting pregnant African women

 

Tiles were sent to him from around the world

 

 

After we returned to the hotel to retrieve our luggage, it was time to call an old college friend to come pick us up.  He went to engineering university with Mike, but has worked in South America his whole career. He married a Brazilian woman in 1976.  We hadn’t seen our friend since 1996 when we were visiting our foreign exchange student’s family in São Paulo.  At that time, he took the Rio to São Paulo shuttle to come see us for an evening.  It’s been almost 30 years since we’ve been together, but as it usually is with friends made in young adulthood, it seemed like we picked up as though no time had passed.  We spent the next two days with him and his wife in their retirement condo, which is also right on the beach.  

 

While our friends’ condo faced the beach, the side terrace looked out on one of the largest favelas (slums) in Rio.  At night it looked like diamonds covering the mountainside, but one knows that is just an illusion of the reality that life in the favela really is.

 

 

Sunday, February 5 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

This morning, we had a wonderful breakfast filled with my favorite items, pao de queijo, papaya and mango.  Great Brazilian coffee didn't hurt either.  Then it was off to the Museum of Tomorrow, where we viewed a temporary photographic exhibit on the aboriginal groups of the Amazon, then headed upstairs for the permanent exhibits that focused on exploration, reflection, and planning of possibilities for the future.  The museum examines the past, considers current trends, and explores what might happen in the next 50 years.  After a couple of hours here, we headed to Aqua Rio, the city’s aquarium.  Both structures are located in the revitalized port area.

 

Pao de queijo

 

The Museum of Tomorrow

 

A stop for coconut water as we walked from the Museum of Tomorrow to AquaRio

 

More street art in the revitalized port area

 

Inside AquaRio

 

After our morning and early afternoon touring, we headed to our friends’ golf club for a fantastic Buffett (and yes, a couple more caipirinhas.  

 

Monday, February 6 - Rio de Janeiro

 

Today was our last full day in Rio.  We slept late, had another fabulous breakfast, then headed to the beach in front of their condo to walk and watch the hang gliders and paraglides landing. 

 

By late afternoon, our friends said that we just couldn’t leave Brazil without having some grilled meats at their favorite Churrascaría. We had been to one back in 1996, but we were definitely ready to go again.  After choosing salads from a self-service salad bar, a parade of grilled meats are brought table side.  You control when you are ready for more by turning up a two-sided coin to green (sim) when you’re ready for more or red (no) when you need a break. It was a great final dining experience in Brazil.  
 

The beach outside our friends’ condo

 

Hang glider landing 

 

Churrascaría - a taste of Brazil

 

Tuesday, February 7 - Time to head home

 

We flew from Rio, nonstop, to Atlanta on Delta, then on to Newark.  We got in about 9:30 pm so just headed to. Newark hotel since we didn’t want to navigate to our son’s house to retrieve our car until morning.

 

 

Last thoughts - I don’t think I would change much about our trip.  I loved the varied experiences we had.  I was a bit disappointed with the amount of time we had for Antarctic “”landings” versus just zodiac cruising.  I wish Viking had been more transparent about that.  I really loved our Chilean winery experiences and know that we will return there (perhaps a Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise where we can see the Chilean fjords).  I know that I’d like to see Iguaçu Falls again once the Devil’s Throat walkways are rebuilt and we’ll spring for the more expensive helicopter ride that takes you over the dam and power plant.

And one last word about the Viking service crew - restaurant, bar staff, housekeeping - they are absolutely wonderful.  The friendliest group I’ve ever met!

 

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Australia08

[Azulann]

Thank you for taking all the time to write this trip report. I feel like I was traveling with you two  on your wonderful vacation and Viking Cruise.

I love reading  trip reports especially about countries I have not  visited.

 Your  pictures are  beautiful and really added to your  report. 👏

 

[Australia08]

2 hours ago, Azulann said:

Thank you for taking all the time to write this trip report. I feel like I was traveling with you two  on your wonderful vacation and Viking Cruise.

I love reading  trip reports especially about countries I have not  visited.

 Your  pictures are  beautiful and really added to your  report. 👏

 

Thanks so much!  I love reading the trip reports of others, too, so I finally decided to take the time to write a few myself.