mcnyc

Hi Mikemo, yes, our Santiago experience was quite interesting, as was our Valparaiso and Vina del Mar experience, which you will read about shortly.

On the bright side, after my mom and I aired out our disappointment in our expectations, at least we felt better about the trip afterwards. We were on vacation, we don't discuss politics, and after all, we are Americans and identify ourselves as such until we are asked about our heritage, which we cannot ever change as we are what we are. C'est la vie! On with the show...

<b>Day 2 of Via Australis:</b> we are now headed towards Cape Horn. Now, we had been told that there may or may not be a disembarkation at Cape Horn, and were given a talk explaining the history of Cape Horn the day we started our cruise. Less than 12 hours later, everyone is ready in their warmest wind/waterproof outfits, and trekking shoes, wrapped in their lifevests, all completely unable to move once you have sat down on the cozy leather couches unless you had the forethought to sit at the edge of the couches, whereupon it was hoped you would be kindhearted enough to help everyone off the couches. Which I did.

We disembarked for Cape Horn on these motorized rubber rafts called Zodiacs, and it was everyone's first ride on them. It was a pretty safe endeavor: a Zodiac driver maneuvering the raft so it touches the back of the ship; a staff member holding on to the ropes of the Zodiac to the ship to help you get on; a staff member in the Zodiac to help seat you (sit and slide to your position). And off we went in the calm waters. As we get ready to get off the Zodiacs, there were 2 divers in wetsuits to greet us. Getting off was an easy 1, 2, 3 cha cha cha. 1 - step on the front board of the Zodiac, 2 - step on the grey panel at the top of the Zodiac, 3 - step on the ramp they've set up on top of the Zodiac. The cha cha chas are for successfully getting off.

130 steps (and 1 crazy bridge) later, you are at the top of island at Cape Horn. Not the most southern part (too rocky and too windy, therefore inaccessible), but you are on top of an island at Cape Horn. We were nearly blown away at times due to the winds, but most of us were used to the winds of Patagonia by then. We headed towards the Albatross monument, and then retraced our steps and headed towards the lighthouse manned by a Chilean sailor and his family. After that, we headed down the stairs. All in all, it took about 2 hours total for everyone. We were the last back on the Zodiac, but that would be the last time we would be last. We made sure of that.

We never did circumnavigate Cape Horn, which was unusual as they said normally, if we could land on Cape Horn, we would circle Cape Horn. But alas, the very winds that nearly blew us individually off Cape Horn kept us from sailing around it. Another ship headed towards Antarctica seemed to be stuck and avoiding the rocks at Cape Horn, but I think they made it, otherwise, I'm sure we would have extra people on board from a rescue mission, as we were the closest ship available.

Lunch and other activities followed, but I think most of us took advantage of the downtime and took power naps. At least that's what we did. Never did find out what Patagonian flora we were supposed to see that afternoon, but did attend the Aborigines of Patagonia lecture, which consisted of old myths (they were giants), the reasoning behind the name Tierra del Fuego (land of fire, as each tribe member warned the others of the ships coming their way), and the unintentional demise of the Natives of Patagonia (they were all herded onto one island, during which time they intermixed so there is now no longer a pure member of any one tribe, the last pure Yamana member having died out in 1991).

Our second excursion of the day was later in the afternoon at Wulaia Bay. A protected bay that was once a settlement of the Yamana natives, it is now basically devoid of humans (until we came along). There was once a Croatian family who farmed here, keeping horses, pigs, chicken and sheep, but then the Chilean army wanted to build a radio station there, causing the family to abandon everything, including the animals. These animals are now wild, and while we were there, someone spotted a wild pig, while our little group spotted the remains of a horse. Fun. There is an abandoned house (former radio station/family home) there used as a shelter by fisherman in the area that is pretty empty and in need of a good fixing inside. They say it will become a museum of the island and the Yamana. If so, I think I know where I'll be headed for my next job.

So, after our walk along the fields (while others were walking the hills), we headed back to shore to get our hot chocolate with anywhere from a few drops to a whole 3 fingers of whiskey. Or, you could just get the whiskey and skip the hot chocolate (not recommended, as the hot chocolate was the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had!). With everyone warmed up from drinks, we headed back to the ship. Dinner talk included someone's confession that it had been 3 days since their last shower. Yay!!!

<b>Day 3</b> took us through the Avenue of Glaciers, which coming from Ushuaia, meant that if you were in an even numbered room, you wouldn't have to leave your comfy confines to see the magnificent glaciers. We, being in an odd numbered room, had to leave our room and sit in a common lounge to have coffee while sitting on leather couches. What horrors. It was nice to share the sights with so many people, and we all had a good time. After we all headed down to the dining room for breakfast, we went and got dressed for our Zodiac ride, which by now, we were all experts at.

Pia Glacier is a beautiful glacier. To the side is another glacier that is receding. We were able to walk over to a rock near the glacier and see bit parts of the glacier fall and hit the water with a thundering boom. This happened quite a few times during our time there, which of course meant that I did not get any one of it on video. I did get a lot of shots of my feet though...but I digress.

A short walk to the top of a muddy hill, I decided to slide my way back to find my mom, who was discouraged from making the climb. She had to promise to stay on a rock because our expedition guides promised to tell me exactly where she would be. It was all really cute. No one let her stay behind alone, so she had plenty of companions to talk to. Did I mention I was also chastized for climbing the wrong rock? Oops...

Anyway, after I retrieved my mom and helped a group over some crevases, we headed back to shore for some more hot chocolate and whiskey. Or just whiskey with glacial ice. Some of us headed down to shore to pick up glacial ice for fun, but we made sure we put it back into the water from where we found it.

After heading back to the mother ship, we got out of our gear, had lunch, took power naps and showers, and then headed towards a culinary demonstration in the dining room and then an engine room tour. Fun fun fun! I went to a lecture on the Magellan Strait given by the cute guy, but I don't think I really paid attention. Then I went off to learn how to tie some sailor knots, in Spanish. It was fun, even my mom got into it. I would go into the next lecture with my rope in hand tying all the knots I just learned to tie (I don't remember what the names are, and 2 knots I'm still unsuccessful at tying). Dinner was special as it was also the day our table insults our server by searching out our own wine and pouring it ourselves. My mom and I didn't partake in the wine, ever, but our die was cast by our tablemates. It could have been worse. We could have gone into the kitchen ourselves and fetched our own dinners. Sigh... It was also karaoke night. I decided I needed sleep much more than I needed to see open-bar-drunks singing their hearts out to the ship. The movie for those with karaoke allergies: March of the Penguins.

<b>Day 4</b> was going to prove to be the most fun. We were going out in small groups on Zodiacs and staying in them the entire time. The German and Italian speakers went first, the Spanish speakers next, and the English speakers last. Thank goodness, as we had the best weather, no rain, no hail, all sunshine. It was the best. And we had our favorite Zodiac driver to boot! So much fun. We saw so many cormorant nests and a turkey vulture ready to prey on the cormorant chicks. There were waterfalls every few meters, and 2 wonderous glaciers, the Piloto and Nena glaciers. I did finally catch a part of the Piloto glacier fall into the waters, which caused a tsunami of sorts along the shoreline. Our Zodiacs then let a fast moving iceberg move by, then our Zodiac went on top of it, where we all took pictures. Then another Zodiac came by, and we young'uns of course had to ask if the other boat was supposed to have a hole like that on their side. We were soaked by a waterfall, and saw more cormorant nests, and then headed back to the mother ship for some hot wine, in time for a lecture on Terra Incognita and lunch.

That afternoon, we headed for the Aguila glacier. There were 2 groups, the beach group, or the muddy group. We had been warned the day before during a lecture that the muddy group would get real muddy, at least waist high mud. Or, you could join the nice clean beach group. Either way, you would get the same view of the Aguila glacier. Needless to say, most of us took part in the clean beach group. I was not ready for mud, having not prepared plastic throw-away clothing for the occasion. Plus, I'm not a muddy girl anyway. Now if my mom was going to go...

So, onto the Zodiacs in our by now normal gear of lifevest and wind/waterproof gear and trekking shoes, and away we go onto a rocky beach filled with seaweed, algae, and jellyfish. As is usual, each small group had an expedition team leader who would explain the different flora around us, and the various islands and mountains that surrounded us. After a nice walk where I was able to clean off some mud from the previous day's excursion, we finally reached the Aguila glacier, where we were encouraged to keep silent for about 3 minutes just to hear nature. Wow is all I can say. I loved it, just hearing water flowing, the air, some birds, and nothing more. I think it was my favorite part of the excursion. And then we headed back to dock for our by now obligatory hot chocolate and whiskey.

The muddy group was a hearty bunch. One guy who had only 1 arm was discouraged from joining for his safety, as he needed to grip with 2 hands for balance during the mud trek. It was only later that we found out one of the women who took the muddy tour lost her balance, nearly sank into the mud, and had her clothing ripped to such a state, she had to walk around the mud to keep clean. One of the taller guys on the expedition team said the mud was up to his chest! The muddy group then went into the river to clean off their clothes.

Back to the mother ship we went to clean up, ready ourselves to pay our bills, and attend a lecture on Magellanic Penguins. We would receive our envelopes in which to show our appreciation for the staff (all money was to be distributed equally amongst staff), and a comment card which asked us questions like how did we like the expeditions, how was the staff, etc (all excellent! The expedition team members are all really knowledgeable! Some having worked previously at Torres del Paine).

We missed the farewell cocktail, raffle of the Jack (apparently, the little flag that flew on the ship our entire time sailing) and auction of the map used to navigate Cape Horn. But we attended the farewell dinner and champagne with the Captain, and took a picture of the wonderful multilingual expedition staff, who gave wonderful lectures and explanations during expeditions. They, our dining room server and the captains of our Zodiac boats, are the ones I miss the most, as I had the most interaction with them.

On the cruise, our lectures were separated into Spanish/Italian and English/German whenever possible. Otherwise, it was Spanish and English lectures. Each lecture was given by a member of the Expedition Team, and accompanied by a slide show. The shore excursions were also led separated by language, and if it was a mix, then you would hear it in one language first, then the other. No one was ever left out, and no group was ever large. It seemed each group was just right.

Next: Day 5 - Magellanic Penguins, upset by loss of profits, jump into the sea

cmcfong

No time for breaks...more, more, more

mcnyc

<b>Day 5, our last morning on the cruise</b> was supposed to be the highlight of at least my mom and my trip. We would be seeing penguins, <i>pinguinos</i> as I taught my mom a new Spanish word from my slowly expanding vocabulary. This is what I've been waiting for! Alas, it was not meant to be.

Everyone was all penguinized for the last time in our Zodiac gear of lifevest and gear, ready for our last Zodiac ride of the trip. We were most enthusiastic, upstairs at our meeting point by 6:30 am. It was quite a bumpy day, the tides reached about 2 feet tall, and our excursion was cancelled at the last minute (7:15 am) due to high tides and rough waters (30 knots). Sigh. So off we all trudged to our rooms to release ourselves of our lifevests for the last time and start packing our gear. I went back outside with my mom in tow to film some penguins, but alas, they were but specks on my video camera, and with the waters so rocky, I didn't have to move to get a panoramic shot of Magdalena Island. One of my kind shipmates offered me his binoculars to check out the penguins, whom I saw lined up and jumping into the seas all along the coasts. I had my mom check them out as well as I joked to her the penguins had their crafts ready to sell us, but now that we're not coming, they're coming for us for reparations. My mom wisely said they were just probably going for breakfast. We would have loved to have seen the penguins up close. You see, I know a little too much about the Magellanic penguins for my own good, having researched them for a lesson I had to give some time ago in conjunction with a Shackleton exhibit at a museum I worked at once. It's one thing to see them in zoos, it's another thing entirely to see them in their own habitat, and my chance dimmed with each jump of the wave.

Breakfast was served 30 minutes early, and I went to pick up our passports, which was stamped with a Cabo de Hornos stamp and a Chilean entry stamp, much to our delight.

We had packed and left our luggage out for pickup by 9:30 am, and had to leave our cozy room by 10:30 am to await instructions for final disembarkation. It was weird to be finally leaving the ship without the lifevests in which I found comfort and excitement, but leave we must.

After the Spanish speaking group left, the English speaking group was next. It was actually quite funny, as they kept allowing us off the boat onto an awaiting bus. I looked at the bus, compared it to the amount of people that had already gotten on the bus, and wondered aloud if there really was enough space for everyone. I was assured there was (I had a feeling we were getting on a clown bus), but right before my mom got on board, they said &quot;oops, we're full.&quot; So, we were back onboard the ship faster than we'd ever expected, and we were welcomed back aboard as warmly as when we first boarded, but all in jest, of course. Soon, we were back on our way to leave our home for the past 4 nights. We did wonder what happens to those who take the return trip, perhaps we'll find out next time, as there was at least 1 couple we knew of who was going back to Ushuaia on the ship, then off to Antarctica immediately afterwards.

We retrieved our luggage and met our Spanish speaking driver. ACK! No English. Sigh. We drove to a high point in the city, took a picture from up high, and then were driven to the airport. We passed the famed Punta Arenas cemetary where Sarah Braun erected an enormous gated entry to the grounds, then stopped at a llama farm for us to check out some llamas from afar. He pointed out Magdalena Island where the pinguinos were, and then drove us to the airport. Sigh. I wanted to see the Sarah Braun house, which I tried to convey, but to no avail. Of course, there's going to be a next time, we want to go to Torre del Paine, but it was a bit of a disappointment.

We head to the airport with plenty of time to spare. So much time, in fact, that the check-in desk had a hard time finding our flight. They did finally find our flight, after consulting with a supervisor who asked if we knew what time check-in was. Yes, but we're now at the airport with no where to go really. Ok. So we roam all the stores, ask for information at the information desk and get maps, then head upstairs for lunch (pathetically paid for with a credit card, it must not have been more than $5 US Dollars total, but our experience in Argentina said we didn't really need to exchange for local currencies. It would prove to be right again). This took all of 90 minutes.

After we pass security, we sit at our gate for the remainder of our time in Punta Arenas. My mom and I just laughed at what a great time we'd just had on the ship, what a quick trip around Punta Arenas we got, and couldn't wait to get to Santiago.

Next: Santiago, Valparaiso and Vino del Mar. And hopefully, I can upload my pictures from my trip!

Scarlett

LOL, I echo cmcfong, <i>No time for breaks, more! more ! more!</i>
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this

mcnyc

Hi cmcfong and Scarlett, glad you're enjoying the report. I am still trying to get my pictures to show up on my computer so I can post them, but it's getting pretty frustrating. At least now my memory card shows that I have pictures. I'm afraid to find out what other sacrifices I must make to the digital camera gods.

Now, more report.

We arrive in Santiago on a direct flight from Punta Arenas the evening of 1/17, where we had quite a scare waiting for our luggage. It seemed that everyone's luggage had come out of the conveyer belt, except for the luggage of about 20 people. My heart stopped when the conveyer belt stopped moving, as I swore that I saw our luggage get moved INTO the plane in Punta Arenas. I noticed everyone else around us had stopped breathing, except for one girl who was hyperventilating, and thus breathing for everyone else. An adorable elder man went over to the curtain, lifted it to see what was going on, which causes an alarm to go off, which causes all of us to be stared down by the airport luggage staff on the other side of the curtain. He then said something in Spanish about more luggage is coming, and shortly thereafter, more luggage came. Good thing too, because the luggage we did retrieve at that point was our dirty luggage with the sweaters, not our clean luggage with our summer clothes.

We are picked up by our tour guide for the remainder of our trip, as Santiago was our last stop before we headed home. He seemed nice enough at first, took us to dinner (as previously arranged) in a Chinese restaurant, showed me our itinerary, and then immediately took back our itinerary. Weird, we were allowed to keep our itinerary in Argentina. So, at dinner, I ask if I could have a copy of the itinerary, and he said I should already have one. Ok. On to dinner.

The soup was muy picante, but the food was otherwise ok. I asked if we were going to try any Chilean specialties while we were in Santiago, and I was told no. Interesting, in Chile, but eating Chinese food. My mom said it shouldn't be too bad, after all, how bad can Chinese food get? We'd soon find out how bad it can get.

So, after a rushed dinner, where he asked constantly how our dinner was, we were asked our expectations of our trip (we wrongly said we were easy to please. Just show us and point out the main sights of Santiago and the other cities we were supposed to go to, and have good food ready for us), we were fast on our way to our hotel. On our way, my mother asked what were some Chilean specialities, and he could not tell us any. So, we tried to help him (wine? chocolate? what about empanadas? We even gave examples from BsAs - mate drinks, carpincho leather, the Tango) but he said there were no specialties in Chile. I asked him about Pisco, he called it a very cheap wine that's not worth a mention. We could tell it was going to be interesting, but perhaps he was tired, so we gave him the benefit of the doubt. He barely checked us into the hotel when he rushed off to go home. We definitely pegged him as someone who was tired and let it go at that.

We went into our hotel room (the Holiday Inn Express is a 4 star hotel?) unpacked our clean luggage, and went to sleep, tired from our weird day, and hoping the next would be better. After all, we're going into wine country. How bad can wine country and the coasts be?

<i>PS - I don't know much about wine, so will someone tell me if Pisco is really a cheap wine mixed with soda drunk by kids in schoolyards?</i>

Next: A winery tour, Valparaiso, and Vina del Mar, at least that's what the itinerary said.

mcnyc

Ah, so good to be back in the office with no questions from coworkers. Hopefully, this means I can quietly type the remainder of my trip report.

We meet up with our guide at 9:30am to be on our way to the vineyard, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, and we were excited. We knew that ships came to call at Valparaiso, and that Valparaiso itself was a UNESCO world heritage site. I wanted to see the unique buildings it held that made it so.

Our first stop was to a winery. I don't have the name of the winery on me right now, but it was a beautiful sprawling winery. We're driven in, and brought to the large house. As my mom attempts to climb up the stairs, he stops her, saying it would cost $7 US dollars, and it's for the wine tasting. My mom, remembering that we have to pay for the wine tasting (and being that it was only 10 am then) decided not to do so. So, he took us into the wine store, where we roamed the aisles of wines, and then walked out as we didn't know wine enough to bring any back home (we just drink it when the spirit moves us, so we leave the choosing to the experts who have never steered us wrong). Our guide guided us to our car, and then was ready to drive off to Valparaiso.

Valparaiso, from what our guide showed us, was only a coast. He never explained that it was a port, so when we asked if it was a large port, he said, yeah. End of discussion. We drove to 2 spots: 1 spot just outside of town, which was beautiful and near a lighthouse, and another spot in town, near a small market with a view of the cargo port. I asked where the cruise ships come in, and he pointed to a spot. Then he steered us towards a little souvenir market, and off we went to Vino del Mar. It was then that I asked about it's UNESCO world heritage status that he took us into a square. He mentioned something about the square, and then off we went to Vino del Mar. At least we got out of the car to stretch our legs.

As we passed from Valparaiso to Vino del Mar, we saw some tall buildings, so of course, curiousity got to us. We were told those were where the rich live, and no one on a normal salary could live there. Ok. Then we passed some beautiful houses, a beautiful set of bridges, and we were off to lunch. When I asked which bridge we were on, he said, just a bridge. A building was just a building, unless it was where the rich live, in which case, he spouted his resentment towards those who have the means to travel. Not a nice quality to have if you decide to be a travel guide.

Lunch would be the best meal we'd have that day. A buffet where we chose our own food. I had some chorizo and pastelles, and then the usual buffet fare of fried and greasy stuff, or salads.

After lunch, we went to the top of a road to look down onto a beautiful stretch of rocky beach, then down to a rock where seals hang out, to a beach, and then off back to Santiago.

Just prior to dinner, we went to an Anthropological museum where they have a statue from Easter Island placed outside. Of course, we took pictures, and then came the &quot;and if you want to go in the museum, it will be $3 US Dollars per person.&quot; Considering the museum was coming to a close, I decided to skip going into the museum. Instead, we took our obligatory touristy pictures in front of the statue.

Dinner tonight was special. I think I'll just leave it at that, and say that no one touched their food. Too close to lunch, and, um, yeah, I think that's all I'll say. Our guide kept asking us if everything was ok, and asked how the food was, then saying how he loves their food all the time and how they're really good drinking friends of theirs. Um, explains a lot.

We were back in the hotel by 7:30pm, where we packed and readied ourselves for checkout the next morning. Our trip was almost over!

The next day, we were meeting up at 10am. So, early in the morning, my mom and I had breakfast, and we filled up on bread and cereal in case we were met with the same food conditions as last night's dinner.

We went to the top of San Cristobal Hill, went all the way up to the base of the Virgin Mary's statue, said a silent prayer, and headed back down to our car and guide, all the while followed by a hungry dog which my mom wanted to bring back home. We looked around for a food vendor, but alas, we were too early. Good thing someone else shared a little of their food with that cute dog.

He then went through the day's itinerary with us, and I mentioned pedestrian streets and Alonso de Cordova, he mentioned they were nothing special and not worth the trip.

Afterwards, we went to Cerro Santa Lucia, where we went to Fort Hildalgo, where my mom had an interesting talk with our guide. We would like to think things got a little better from there. The National Museum was pointed out, as was the Presidential Palace. Then it was off to see the old post office, the Cathedral, and then lunch, which was pretty good. My favorites, eggplant and pork (separate dishes).

After lunch, we were off to a crafts market to see if there was anything we wanted to get in particular (we got our young driver something as a token of our appreciation). Then we were off to a mall, which we decided to skip out on. Then it was off to a race horse stadium to check out horses before a race. They were awesome horses, very beautiful.

It was then off to dinner (not bad. reminded my mom of food my Shanghainese grandparents used to prepare for her. we loved the tofu dish). Then off to the airport.

We had figured out early on that he would not be splitting the tip we gave him with our driver, whom he sent away as soon as we retrieved our luggage, so we slipped our driver a little something extra. Then our guide suddenly wanted to do something extra: take us to the airline counter and check us in. This was a first for us, as they usually leave us inside the terminal and were on their way.

I ended up doing most of the check in anyway since I needed to confirm our special requests. Afterwards, we left our guide on a good note, and gave him the tip our agency in the US recommended. And then we were on our way.

My mother and I had some interesting discussions with him during our trip to dispel the misconceptions that all Americans traveling are loaded. We told him that while we may earn more, our expenses are more as well, in terms of taxes, utilities and basic living expenses. We talked about purchases, where he preferred to spend his money on a 32&quot; flat screen TV and a $1000 Playstation 3 gaming system, I spent that money towards a trip. He thought we all lived in grand houses and drive brand new Mercedes, I told him we live in a house that isn't grand, but it's a home, and we don't buy new cars unless we have no other options, and that our cars are certainly not Mercedes.

In any case, travels to other countries always give one a wider perspective on life, and opens a window to learning how others live. It also made us appreciate our lives more here in NY.

We are in the process of planning a return trip to Argentina and Patagonia next April as we have a trip already planned this April.

mcnyc

I was finally able to get pictures up online! Yay!

Here's the link
http://tinyurl.com/362wmf

Enjoy...