Granny's 2008 Adventure

[Iamboatman]

Hi Granny. Love your posts. I have a food question about the long, long trip you are on. As you pointed out there are many people on board that are no spring chickens. My non-spring-chicken parents are on a low sodium diet. Are the chefs taking that into account? Thanks.

 

Low sodium diets are easily, and regularly, taken care of. The menus, which have/are being revamped, have a wide variety of items including low sodium selections. If there is something requested that needs to be prepared it should not be a problem...just let the waiter know.

[GrannyLorr]

February 1st 2008

We have a couple of very ~interesting~ days here on board the Pride!

First though, I want to just report on our last “Club Cocktail Reception” held a few days ago now. Two lots of our friends were receiving their 100 day and 200 day pins so we attended (we still have a few days to go!!) It was announced that 90% of the passengers onboard were Club Members! That’s quite a recommendation for new cruisers! They had also calculated how many sailing days we had between us all, and it came to over 50 years! There was one couple received their 800 day and of course MissA and the La Salles with around 3.5 years each!

Two days ago we set off through the Chilean Fjords to see a glacier that apparently comes right down to the sea. About an hour before we were due to get there, it was announced that we wouldn’t be continuing because the weather conditions had worsened. We were in our suite at the time, so were able to watch out the window as we turned around. The view that the Captain must have got from the bridge was quite scary….thick fog ahead and of course the channels are quite narrow. Not long after, he came to speak to us at Trivia, and told us it was because of the bad winds that he had to abort the sightseeing tour. We could have made it to the glacier, but then the channel is much narrower, and with the high winds he wouldn’t have been able to turn the ship around.

We also have two Chilean pilots onboard to help make the decisions.

Our next adventure was to take the ship through the Kirk Narrows, but again that was aborted because of the winds. Seems the Kirk Narrows are narrower narrows than the Whyte Narrows (sp?)….so off we went to try those ones! This time we had success, and sailed through….it certainly was quite narrow for a ship….those big monsters couldn’t get to see this part of the World! I have a few photos so will post them in my photo albums when I get home.

Later that day we arrived at Puerto Natales……we had heard that last year the ship couldn’t get in here so the tour of the National Park had to be cancelled. This year it was still in doubt that we would get in…..the port was closed!! We just sailed around a lot then I suppose we anchored somewhere for the night……I was asleep by then so am not sure just what happened. Early next morning Captain Dexter again tried to dock, but it wasn’t possible, so we had to anchor again….at least the tours weren’t being cancelled, we just had to tender in instead of docking.

As usual when tendering we had to meet in the Magellan Lounge, and when we got there Captain Dexter was “almost” sprawled on the bench seat just outside the Lounge….I asked if I could take his photo looking like that, so he sprawled a bit more! He did look a wee bit on the tired side. I think he was on that seat making sure we all disappeared for the day so he could go and have a snooze! There were 4 bus loads going out to the Torres Del Paine National Park so he would have had plenty of peace and quiet.

Again we had a great guide, most of the guides in Chile have been very good. The drive was only on paved roads for a very short distance then onto gravel roads for the rest of the day. The gravel road was quite good, just a couple of sections of corrugations, where false teeth and limbs would have fallen off. I noticed a lot of the crew dressed in their own clothes getting on the buses. It’s always nice to see them get a day off to go sightseeing. They travel the World and don’t really get to see much, apart from our plates and glasses! Well they were able to see something this time, but they were also there to WORK! As we were driving along, out came the doughnuts and Danish, which were served complete with napkins of course……and doesn’t everyone need coffee laced with Baileys or Kahlua as they sit on a bus? The trip back “home” was the time for the chocolate chip cookies…….

We were extremely lucky with the weather.

The tour was quite expensive, $225 each, and there was every chance that the clouds or fog could come in and we would see nothing. The clouds held off all the time we were sightseeing and we all managed lots of good photos. At one stop there was a fox begging for food….very sad to see a wild animal like that, all because humans have fed it in the past, now it expects everyone to feed it…..really makes you feel guilty that you cant sneak it some food. We have the same problem in Australia with people feeding the dingoes…..that’s when they get dangerous.

I had been hoping to at least see a couple of the wild llamas, the guanacos, but didn’t expect to see hundreds of them! Didn’t get any really good photos as they all seemed to turn their backs on my camera! A couple of people called out “EMUS” as we were driving along, but of course they were rheas. I didn’t see them….also didn’t see a puma, don’t suppose there are too many of them walking along the roadside! We saw a few condors but not close enough for photos.

There was one area we stopped for a walk to a waterfall….as soon as I heard “45 minute walk” I decided the bus was a good place to stay! Most went on the walk and a lot said they almost got blown over the edge…the wind was so strong….I’m glad I stayed at the bus. I think JaneBP chickened out too! We were in the first two buses, just as the third and fourth bus arrived, it started to rain and the wind was much worse, so we had even chosen the best bus!

We were then taken to a restaurant for lunch….of course……first drink? Yep…Pisco sour. Lunch was a big hunk of lamb…..rather delicious! We sat eating and watching the mountains disappear under the clouds and fog. It didn’t matter; we had all finished with the photography part! Professor Willis was on the tour, and he said he had been there 4 times……this was the best viewing he had ever had!

On the way back to the ship we stopped at a souvenir shop…….I didn’t see anything I wanted so went back to the bus……I should learn not to leave John in a shop alone….no, he didn’t come out with anything expensive like jewellery….just a postcard, said it was for the grandkids……ANTARCTICA???? Well that’s not on my itinerary………

By the time we got back to the dock, it had started raining quite a bit, and was really cold and miserable…..we stayed in the bus until there was room on the tenders, so didn’t get too wet. I just hate the climb up all the stairs from the tender to the Magellan Lounge, but as we walked into the Lounge, we were greeted by all the crew, the Stewardess’ with the “Welcome Home” banner, hot chocolate laced with Baileys and served in champagne glasses, hot towels, trays full of chocolate truffles and lots of other canapés! Just what we needed….more food! Must say the hot chocolate was really delicious……should order that for breakfast!

As we left the Magellan Lounge, the Purser called John over to wish him a happy birthday….so he knew something was up. I had arranged for the invitations to go out a couple of days ago. Andreas came up to me while John wasn’t looking and said he would have a nice table for us!

We met our friends in the Club at 7pm and John even received prezzies! Certainly wasn’t expecting that! He got a BBQ apron with the recipe for Pisco sours on the front, will come in very handy when we get home. Also got a hat from Puerto Montt, one of the ladies had knitted him a bookmark while on the bus yesterday,( we had been joking about how many bookmarks we were collecting from trivia) and stuck a penguin pin on it, some of the Canadians gave him a Canadian Pin, and said he could be an honorary one without having a lobotomy…….that was because a couple of days ago they asked how you could become an Australian citizen….John told them that first you had to have a frontal lobotomy!

We then went down to dinner and were escorted to the Captains table! Candles and good flower arrangement and all! Captain Dexter didn’t attend though….must have still been snoozing. At the end of the meal out came the chocolate birthday cake, and I think half the Restaurant sang happy birthday.

Had a late night for a change, went to the show which was the new Ass CD Nick. Everyone really enjoyed his show…..great voice. Spoke to the beautiful Izabella after the show and she has her final concert tonight so another rather late night. Nightcaps in the Club ended the night. Back in our suite and on the table was a birthday card from the Officers and Crew, plus a bottle of Australian wine….and a lovely note from our Stewardess, Chantelle. The note was surrounded by rose petals.

So ended the old boys big day…………

Now we get to today……Friday I think?

This morning Captain Dexter announced that we would be going through some more narrows, then he was off to try to find us some more glaciers to look at. We came to the narrows at Trivia time, but it was quite miserable and grey so didn’t bother going outside too much. Oh yes….and do I hear you asking who won trivia? Today? And also last time we played? Well let me just say, it wasn’t Jane’s team!!! Anyone want to buy any bookmarks?

We were supposed to get to the glaciers around 4pm and Captain Dexter said he would sail around a bit for about an hour so we could all get a good look. Around 3.30pm there was an announcement that a distress signal had been received so we were off to rescue someone. Up to the Observation Lounge armed with cameras, and we could see a small fishing boat……our rescue boat went over and brought two men back. There still looked to be other men still on the fishing boat, but no announcement has been made so don’t have any other details at the moment. There were many comments made that the fishermen could smell afternoon tea, so came aboard for that. I did hear that “someone” had taken a photo and immediately emailed it to CNN….not sure how true that is…..everyone is trying to outdo Norms pirates pics!!

Eventually got to the glacier and we hovered around for a while, but it was a quick dash outside, a couple of photos, then back in for tea and scones! There were a lot of small icebergs around, but nowhere near where we were.

So ends the last few days of excitement……..tomorrow we will be in Punta Arenas, and we are off to see penguins! Will report again after the trip.

Until next time,

Bye from Granny.

[Seabourn-nail]

Thank you Lorraine, you really outdid yourself! What a long post. It almost feels like we are sailing with you! But I think I prefer the slightly warmer cruises. However, you will be on the Pride long enough to have enough of that too, lucky you! By the way congratulations with John's birthday.

Could you please give my regards to Izabella? Did she bring her own clothes this time? It is so funny, you're sailing with professor Willis (Roy) and Izabella and they both borrowed our clothes on different sailings, because they had not received their luggage. Izabella even performed in some of mine! We had a fitting session in my suite.

I hope you will continue to enjoy yourself tremendously!

Captain Dexter seems like a very nice captain. I didn't have the pleasure of sailing with him yet (I think). Not as a captain, but maybe as staff captain.

Marja

[DP]

Hi Granny:

 

Love your posts. I am reliving our circumnavigation cruise from last year. We will be joining you on March 17.

 

We also had Chantelle as our stewardess when we cruised over the holidays. Please say hello to her for us and tell her I think of her everday as Jinx the cat, which was a Christmas gift from her, sits on top of my computer.

 

Diane P

[marazul]

Thanks, Granny! You are the queen of the travelogues.

Have you had to tender at all the ports in this segment?

 

Did your fellow Aussies, Leslie and Ian join the cruise in Valparaiso? Say g'day for me.

[Martita B.]

Granny,

As I just returned back to West Texas from Miss Pam's Legend, Central America cruise I shall read with delight your Pride reports.

Please try to behave 'yoreself.....if you do not, I will receive the word from Miss A. (she calls me from Ports) and I will e-mail a certain fellow aboard ~~clue: initials are M.D. NO, he is not security!:confused: haha (tell Miss A. I will send her an e-mail tomorrow--all is well here)

Soooo happy you and John are having a grand and glorious time! I have very good news as to the Pride March 17th Crossing ~~more later. Just returned and already gearing up ~~plottin' and scheming!

Hug's sent to you and all the Pride Gang ~~:p

Martita B.

[PittsburghJack]

Granny,

Excellent reporting. Mrs. Jack and I are enjoying your travels. Jack

[johnnycruise]

Granny,

 

Maybe you can make a deal to trade in a half-dozen "trivia" bookmarks for a sweatshirt or a blouse! Can't wait to hear about your march with the penguins.

 

Happy Saturday,

 

johnny

[cands]

Lorraine,

Chris and I are just back from a two week cruise around New Zealand aboard HAL's Statendam.

 

I just have to confess that I bought an internet package on the ship and have been keeping up with this thread daily!

 

Our Seabourn cruise is only 8 months away now. It is so wonderful to be able to share your experience. Thanks so much.

 

Steve (and Chris)

[cornyship]

"Seems Chile has the same agricultural type rules as we do in Australia. No food etc allowed to be taken in. We had to place all our bags on the floor and a sniffer dog inspected them all"...

Lorraine, enjoying reading about your adventures. I worked in Chile for a short time and we "agricultural types" are all over. <g>.

Cornelia

[GrannyLorr]

Monday 4th. February.

We have just returned from dinner and are still in shock!! For the first time since we have been on the ship, John and I dined alone (we sat at our usual breakfast table, down in the back corner)……one of our friends came over to speak to us, and the person on the table next to us lost it!! He told our friend to “p***” off and stop intruding on him! Waved his hands around then grabbed our friend’s jacket! As you all know the Restaurant is not a very silent place at night when everyone is in there, and our friend was just talking quietly to us….not as though he was being loud or anything…we just couldn’t believe the behaviour! Problem is this “person” is on for the whole 72 days and he was in such a rage over nothing, I cant believe that he wont blow up again! He has also complained about the Captains announcements at Noon each day, said they are intrusive, and the Captain must be insecure to feel he has to intrude on us all everyday….he has taped a brochure up over the speaker in his room, to deaden the sound……..takes all sorts I suppose…..maybe he has “cabin fever”????

Now back to the good stuff…….oh yeah……The Captain is a chicken!!!

Yesterday we were headed to Cape Horn……the seas were as smooth as a babies bottom, but at that stage we were still in the Beagle Channel. Captain Dexter announced during the day that he didn’t know if we could go around the Horn as the weather reports were pretty bad, but he would see what happens. He also said he would take us down to have a look anyway, even if we had to turn around again. Next announcement was to say we wouldn’t be going as the waves were 8 metres and the winds 70 knots. As one Aussie bloke said, “that’s only 24 feet, that’s nothing…lets go!” Well its good to be King and Captain Dexter got his way…….we kept going for a while and the seas got worse and eventually we turned around to head back to the Beagle Channel. By now the winds must have come in behind us as well as they were 60 knots……didn’t hear the height of the waves but half the time our window on Deck 4 was under water! I loved every minute of it and stood watching out the window all the time……….By now John was back in the bathroom hanging on to the toilet bowl!! I really am going to leave him home next time!

We had to cancel our dinner invitation with the Cruise Director……..at one stage I left John in his favourite position in the bathroom and dragged myself up the stairs to the Observation Lounge. That was quite a challenge, but I made it, and there was only me and two Aussie blokes up there. Unfortunately I couldn’t get any decent pics. There were a lot of disappointed people on board including us, as we will never get the chance of going around The Horn again. It was only the day before that the monster Star Princess couldn’t get into Ushuaia, but we didn’t have any problem there. Well as they say in the Classics “thems the breaks”.

Today we were in Ushaia, Argentina and did the tour called “Train to the end of the World”. It was only a half day tour and we really enjoyed it. First stop was the old prison, and then we went to catch the train. I believe we only actually went about 7kms on the train, but it was very slow, so of course we had to stop halfway for hot chocolate and cake! Back to the town and we tried to do a bit of shopping but didn’t find anything I liked. I think a few people were heading to Sterns! We have had two Sterns representatives on board for a couple of weeks, and got lots of brochures from them.

Now I need to go back a couple of days to Saturday when we were in Punta Arenas, Chile. This was where we were going to see the penguins. First I have to say we were disappointed…and we have told Carol Frey how we think the tours should be improved….no idea if they listen though.

There had been a lot of discussion in here before we left on our cruise, about the penguin trip. One complaint written in here was the terrible smell….well I can honestly say we didn’t smell a thing. I was expecting a smell because of what I had read, but it didn’t concern us as animals are like husbands, sometimes cuddly and always smelly!! So that was not a problem at all.

There wasn’t even really a problem with the distance you had to walk to see the penguins…….the problem was the time you had to do it in! When we got off the bus we were given 1 hour 15 minutes. I remember Keith saying the penguins are really close and you don’t have to walk far to see any….well that wasn’t the case on Saturday…it was at least 20 minutes before we saw any, and closer to 30 minutes before we got to the main part……allowing another 30 minutes to get back to the bus, that gave us the grand total of 15 minutes to watch penguins. As we said to Carol, if they are offering a “wildlife” trip…people need time to watch the wildlife……not rush down, snap a couple of pics and rush back……everyone was puffing when they got back to the bus. The track is circular, but we certainly didn’t have time to do the whole thing, only could do half. Lots did the whole track but they really couldn’t have seen much. Of course the place was also very busy as the Star Princess people were also there, so dozens of coaches were there before us.

Our suggestion was that they run two tours….one just the 4 hour for people who do just want a quick look so they can say “been there saw that”……and another at least 6 hours for those who want to “watch” the penguins………my suggestion would be to do this trip on a private tour…..no idea how much they cost, but at least you could choose how much time you wanted to spend. Having traveled half the World to see penguins we were really disappointed……did manage some good pics, but would have liked a lot more!

Well JaneBP left the ship today, she was off on an overland tour to Buenos Aires (only one going). We now have 4 sea days, so 4 trivia days to get way in front of Janes team! We are going to set up a dinner date when she gets back as we haven’t really had any time to gossip about you all yet!

Marja, by the time I read your post about Izabella, she had already left the ship, so couldn’t give her your message. She did have her own clothes this time though….she could have borrowed mine otherwise….they would have gone around her 10 times!!

DP, I will pass your message onto Chantelle tomorrow……

Marazul….haven’t come across a Leslie and Ian as yet. We haven’t tendered at all Ports….think about 3…the rest were Docked.

Cands…..I am really flattered that you bothered to read my ramblings while on “ ~an unnamed cruise ship~” Not too much longer before you will be enjoying becoming cargo on Seabourn!

Cornelia, good to see you post in here…..the sniffer dogs weren’t the cute little beagles, they were labs….cute dogs though.

Just some info for you all, Cornelia was the person who first introduced me to the internet, way before it ever arrived in Australia! We had been snail mail pen pals for years, and she had told me about this thing called “internet”….had no idea what she was talking about……visited her in Philly and saw it in action……been addicted every since!

Martha I have just sent you an email……see you in March!!

Well that’s it again….I am off to enjoy 4 relaxing sea days!

Until next time

Bye from Granny.

[PittsburghJack]

Granny,

Another excellent post. Poor John.....................and for as many times I've been to sea, I've never (knock wood) become ill. They tell me it's a terrible feeling.

Too bad about your penguins........maybe next time! Keep up the good work Reporter Granny and we wish John well.:) Jack & Mrs. Jack

 

PS Maybe the gentleman in the restaurant forgot his medication.;)

[Martita B.]

Granny

Wouldn't Captain be "Master Rooster Dexter?":D Please do not tell him I mentioned this ~~~he could bar me for life aboard his vessel!:eek: I'm happy he chose not to continue a'round the Horn.

 

Who is security aboard? Is it Liam or David? The man that had the "fit" in the dining room should be disciplined ~~his behavior is NOT the Seabourn way ~~~~:cool: What a shame that your dinner was interrupted and spoiled!

Tell Missy A. I talked to her daughter and all is well in Maryland.

Invite her to teatime ~~~the chair across from her is MINE~~~

Oh, please ask her to tell you the story of Miss Martha and the magician ~~~too good!

Have a grrreat and fun day!

Martita B.

[marazul]

Granny,

 

thanks for the update. You intrigued me, I'm not familiar with Sterns. what is it and what are they doing in Ushuaia?

 

Perhaps Lesley and Ian had to reschedule... too bad.

 

Hope you have calm seas for the rest of the cruise.

M

[marazul]

Granny,

NEVR MIND! Sterns the jewellers, of course. I couldn't place them at the end of the world before I had my morning coffee!

M

[fhcfac]

Granny,

Thank you very much for your travelog. We join the Pride in Manaus and look forward to some relief from the ice, snow, and tornadoes in the mid-West. We look forward to reading more about your journey.

[GrannyLorr]

Ok……who did it?....fess up!!

Once again I am in trouble!! Firstly, this morning we went to the Veranda for breakfast….we rarely go to the Veranda for breakfast……usually go to the Restaurant. We were actually out of bed quite early this morning, so only two other people in the Veranda. We were asked which table we wanted……chose one……and commenced our breakfast. Five minutes later Captain Dexter arrived carrying his jar of vegemite….he spoke to us, then looked around and chose a table………6 minutes later, some friends arrived and sat with us. They said “how come you are sitting at the Captains table?” With my usual blank stare, I said “huh?”……….seems Captain Dexter sits at the table we were on every morning!! Well as we were “new” to the Veranda, we didn’t know that! But anyway, as I explained we are paying for our passage, he isn’t!!

Next time I went over to the buffet, Captain Dexter came up to me and said “what’s this I hear about being a chicken!!”….oops….here we go again. He then went on to say this would call for serious measures to be taken…….not to worry….as I said to him “just as well you are getting off soon eh?”. Only a couple more days and I will be safe! Suppose I am going to have to really behave myself once our new Captain comes on board. Wonder if he would like a jar of vegemite?

I was thinking that before we book our next cruise, I should ask which ones Captain Dexter will be on…….then again he is probably asking the same question…. “which ones are the Baines’ going to be on”……..probably for the completely opposite reason!

We are into our third sea day….one more to go. There was one really rough night, where I wished I was back in a hospital bed…..needed the rails to keep me in! John must be getting used to it….snored right through the worst of it. Not sure how big the waves were, but we fell into some big holes all night, then went sideways and fell out of bed! (well almost) Not much fell in our room, just some small stuff slid off the desk…but a word of warning in the bathroom! My perfume bottles are in the glass shelves at the side of the basins….I have a couple of very small bottles, sample type sizes……small enough to slide out under the rail on those shelves……..which they did……now you would think they would break as the glass hit the basin…but no…..they landed head first. Guess who had removed the plug thingy and forgotten to put it back? Guess what happened when these little bottles went head first…….into an open drain thingy? Yep…..both of them were down the plug hole. Couldn’t admit this stupidity to maintenance, so out with a wire clothes hanger and we eventually hooked them both out. Moral to this story….DONT leave the plug out!

The weather has been quite cold for the last few days, but is now starting to improve….tonight is a Deck BBQ……glad I packed my thermals, don’t think it will be too warm out there tonight. Tomorrow night we will be having dinner with a group of friends who are leaving the ship in Buenos Aires, then the next night off to a Tango show and dinner….John is thrilled!! He just hates dancing shows, but everyone has told him he MUST see the tango show in Buenos Aires……thanks “everyone”….he wouldn’t listen to me! We have two days in Buenos Aires so not sure what we will do the second day…..might even just stay on board and have the ship to ourselves! The first day we have a City tour to do….so depends how much we see and if I need more shopping time!

Sterns have a free shuttle to the Marriot….and a free jewellery show……..wonder how “free” it would be by the time you leave!

At the moment we have two dance instructors on board giving Argentine Tango lessons. Yesterday we went to watch the lesson for a while….don’t think we have any “Dancing with the Stars” contenders on board!

Today we will have our second last day of trivia….we are in second place at the moment, but only by about half a question. We are thinking of stapling all our bookmarks together and making belts! Trivia has been transferred to The Club, which is a much better idea. I didn’t think Trivia should ever have been in the Constellation Lounge. That area should be available for everyone to use all the time, not get “forced” out at Noon, so a few can try and show how smart they are and win bookmarks! The Club isn’t used during the day so is the perfect place…….

Well suppose I had better go and take advantage of my last two relaxing days at sea.

Just a quick report on the dining room “incident” a couple of days ago. I was contacted by the Hot Man, and so was our friend, (neither of us had reported the incident, so suppose the information reached the Management via CC) We were asked if we wanted the man to be spoken to…..we both said no, just so long as they were aware of the behaviour and that he should be watched……I did think it was a bit strange though that the Hot Man asked me for the name of our friend….but not of the person involved…..who were they going to speak to? Makes you think they are aware anyway….

So alls well that ends well………..

Until next time

Bye from Granny

[Iamboatman]

Glad the Hot Man and waiters are looking out for you. Glad the bad man has "gone away" without further incident. Me thinks he knows "eyes" are watching him. :)

 

I couldn't tell from your comment are you almost in first...or almost in third...for trivia. Sounds like a good bit of pressure...or none at all.;)

 

It seems your DH has truly gotten his sea legs. He worked hard for them. Glad he enjoyed a restful night's sleep!

[Martita B.]

Grannylorr,

O.K......I confess! But in my e-mail to Captain Dexter I did say that I took up for him......and that I told you to please from now on, refer to him as "Captain Rooster Dexter!" And not "chicken!" :eek: (he got a big kick out of the fun) You will need to mind your ways and manners when Captain Erik L. Anderssen arrives.

He has the brig key!

Enjoy the Tango show ~~~I expect a demo in the Club on the Pride TA Crossing!

Have more fun!

Martita B.

[tayl]

Granny, Really enjoy your stories. I had to put my 14 yr. old dog to sleep the other day.

Reading your blogs has brought great joy( and a laugh) to my rough week.

Thank you.

[Iamboatman]

Sorry to hear about your dog. :( It is so hard to deal with that sort of loss. Hang in there.

[tayl]

Thanks Eric. It's one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

[Martita B.]

Denise,

Am so terribly sorry for your loss ~~~Please meet me at the Seabourn water cooler.

Martita B.

[tayl]

Thanks Martha.

[GrannyLorr]

Monday 11th. February

Granny has been soooooo busy! Well not really, but somehow haven’t found time to write for a few days. Did I happen to mention who won Trivia? Nope…wasn’t Jane’s team……twas Granny’s! The ladies got a lovely rosewood jewellery box with a leather inset with the Seabourn logo…and the men a money clip…which they had already won, so swapped it for whatever they wanted……John chose a Seabourn Lion, which I promptly claimed! He now sits on the window ledge with my towel animals…getting to be quite a Zoo up there!

The 4 sea days were wonderful, a couple were a bit rough, but John seems to be improving in that direction….just as well, I don’t think we are even half way yet!

The last 2 sea days, we had some farewell dinners with people who were going to be leaving the ship in Buenos Aires.

Arrived in Buenos Aries on Saturday and in the morning just did a city tour. Saw where Eva Peron stood on the balcony, then to the Cemetery to see where she is buried. I have read about “dog walkers” in places like New York etc., but had never actually seen one. In Buenos Aires they were everywhere. Obviously most people live in apartments, so the dogs need to be walked….but 15 at a time!! I couldn’t believe how well behaved the dogs seemed to be….some would just sit as others ran, none went near the roads or ran away…..somehow I don’t think our dog would pass the test! I can’t imagine the walkers would “pick up” after so many dogs though, so the parks must be a real mess! We really liked the city, beautiful architecture, again mostly French….then of course there were the slum areas, the filth and the graffiti. When we got back to the cruise terminal the place was an absolute madhouse! There was a HAL ship in Port (Prinsendam) and also a local cruise ship that apparently sails from Buenos Aires to Rio and back…… there were people by the thousands queuing up to board. Luckily we could just go through a transit area, so no queues for us. That night we went to a Tango Show and dinner. It was a great night apart from a couple of passengers loudly complaining that their food was a bit slow in arriving……our was too, but the wine was plentiful, and the company was good (at least on our table), so we didn’t have a problem with it……all these particular passengers achieved was to make complete fools of themselves in front of a lot of people! Then there were a few who complained about the quality of the food……ok…it wasn’t “Seabourn”….but then again we only paid $20 for a 3 course meal, and we thought it was actually very good! Maybe we are just easy to please……we loved the show, and bought a DVD of the complete show so we can bore everyone with it when we get home!

Next day we had breakfast with 4 of our friends who were leaving that morning…..they were people we had met on our last cruise, and we didn’t like to see them leave…I am sure we will see them all again one day. As we were walking back to our suite we ran into Captain Dexter who was about to leave the ship…….I said we would miss him, as will all the passengers….hope we get to sail with him again one day. He didn’t actually shudder with the thought of meeting us again, so we couldn’t have been too badly behaved!

Sterns had a “Jewellery Fashion Parade” at the Marriot Hotel in Buenos Aires, so we decided to go…..they supplied free shuttle buses. The room the parade was held in was really beautiful and we were served canapés and champagne. I picked out a few pieces of jewellery I would have liked but John was too lousy to buy them for me…..one was only $68,000 and one $150,000! He did buy me some roses later though, beautiful yellow ones….$3!!! We stayed in the City a while and wandered around the shops, then back to Sterns to get another shuttle back to the ship.

Now the ship is full of strangers……I think about 100 passengers left and 28 crew. Apart from friends leaving I also hate to see the crew leave. Some more of our favorites have gone….but still a lot here…..

Watched the life drill then sail away in the Sky Bar…….we are still hooked on the Chilean Pisco Sours! Hope Nelson has plenty of mix left!

Dinner in the Restaurant, and we heard that Chef Markus is back in charge again. Dinner was interesting again……we were seated near the back of the Restaurant very close to where the “bad tempered person” always sits. I thought we were going to have a repeat performance from him. The people on the next table to him, had a friend drop by to speak to them…..exactly the same as what happened to us. He immediately started shaking his head, screwing up his face, getting agitated….and I waited for the outburst again……instead he and his wife got up and headed to the back door, he really had to force himself through the door though, he looked like he was going to have words with these people and took a few attempts before he actually went through the doorway. This man really does have a problem………I have heard on the grapevine that there have been a few other episodes with him……don’t know for sure though. He still has about 36 days on board!

Now we are in Montevideo, Uruguay. The shore tour we wanted to do today was cancelled as there weren’t enough participants, so we had to choose another. We wanted to do one called “A Day in the Countryside” which was to an Estancia, and a BBQ meal etc. We just did the City tour. Not really impressed with Montevideo. Saw lots of dog walkers again!

Back to the ship for lunch and another couple joined us…..new people……but I thought the lady looked familiar. Can’t remember her name now, but she is a concert pianist, and was on the Spirit when we were on a couple of years ago. She has her first concert tomorrow night, so we won’t miss that. (Just looked up the ladies name and it is Veronica McSwiney) After lunch just went for a bit of a walk to a market area near the Port. There was a shuttle back to the City but we had seen enough.

We had a local show come on board before dinner, musicians, 2 singers and of course tango dancers.

Still haven’t managed to catch up with Jane BP for a meal and she leaves the ship soon….must try to remedy this soon. We had dinner on another hosted table, the new lecturer (another senior moment…I sat next to him and can’t remember his name) there was one other “old” couple, and the rest “new” people. One man on our table was one of the Stern representatives…..he is from Rio and a really nice bloke. John told him how he had bought me some jewellery today……$10 from a street merchant. Igor said he should have bought me a $20,000 Stern piece, so John asked him if he could loan him $19,990!! Seems Igor has a pretty good life….spends a lot of time on cruise ships working for Sterns. One story he told us though was a bit of a mistake by the Sterns management…..they booked him on a cruise and when he boarded, he found it was a charter…..for 600 plus MEN!!! It was around Carnival time……..yep a GAY cruise!! The stories he told were really funny. Had a lovely night and it really helped that 2 of the women were Janet and one was Jenny……those were easy to remember! How on earth do the crew remember all our names? I will see those same people today and forget who was who!!

Tomorrow we will be in Punta del Este……..so until then

Bye from Granny