Mercado San Telmo

Before heading to the airport for our journey home, we spent our final morning in Buenos Aires exploring the Mercado San Telmo and neighborhood.  The market opened in 1897 catering to the needs of all of the European immigrants coming to Argentina.  Today, its many stalls sell everything from produce and meat to clothing, crafts, antiques, and everything in between.  There's also a variety of cafes and small restaurants.  The aromas were intoxicating.

Although the stalls have changed, the building remains much as it was architecturally when it opened over a century ago.  The neighborhood around the market is a mixture of residences and small shops intertwined with cobblestone streets.  We meandered down to nearby Plaza Dorrego filled with crafters around the entire perimeter of the square. Fortunately, we had already packed for the airplane and 

had no room for Mona to buy

additional souvenirs. 

Alas, our vacation has come to an end, and we now head to the airport for our flights home.   We have loved our time in Buenos Aires and have seen enough to know we need to come back for a longer stay. Antarctica was simply incredible.   We were able to truly be relaxed and stress-free and just be in the moment. The time went by way too fast, but it was very well-spent.

Many Murals

As we traveled through the various neighborhoods, we were struck by the number of murals we encountered.  They ranged from large public art covering the sides of buildings to local street art painted on a door or under windows.  Lionel Messi was a popular subject, especially for the street art.  Here's a sampling:

Checking out the Neighborhoods

We spent our one full day in Buenos Aires checking out some of the various neighborhoods.  Even though we were in a great central location, the city is quite sprawling and some of the neighborhoods we wanted to visit were fairly distant from each other.  Each neighborhood has its own vibe, and we easily noticed differences as we moved around.  We quickly learned that Uber works great here.  Even better -- the dollar to peso conversion made the rides very cheap, usually no more than $3.00 or $4.00.

La Boca:

Our first neighborhood was La Boca which is well south of the Microcentro.  It is a little rough around the edges and very much a working-class neighborhood.  It's also home to the Boca Juniors soccer team, the most famous in Argentina. Diego Maradona, an Argentine icon and one of the greatest footballers of all time, played for Boca.  So did Lionel Messi, who wears the same number 10 as Maradona and just led Argentina to a World Cup victory.  Murals, pictures, and advertisements of Messi were ubiquitous in every neighborhood we visited.

The highlight in La Boca was visiting Caminito.  Caminito inspired the famous tango of the same name, and it is now a bustling street museum with brightly colored buildings. There was a large crowd as tourists mingled with locals. Streets were filled numerous art stalls, restaurants, and shops along with occasional street musicians.  A very colorful neighborhood, both literally and figuratively.

Plaza de Mayo:

Casa Rosada

Plaza de Mayo is one of the main squares in the city and a center of political life.  At one end is the Casa Rosada (the Pink House) which is the official offices of the Argentine president.  At the other end is the Cabildo, a colonial town hall built in 1812 that is now a museum.  Also along the square is the Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Church and former home of Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio who we now know as Pope Francis.

Cabildo

Metropolitan Cathedral

Metropolitan Cathedral

Puerto Madero:

Puerto Madero is the old dockside area that no longer sees shipping and cargo. Instead, its old warehouses have been transformed into a lively corridor of restaurants and shops with a vibrant social scene.  This neighborhood definitely skews younger, with a lot of 20- and 30-somethings out for drinks and dinner.

Another more recent icon of Buenos Aires is here, the Puente de la Mujer (Woman's Bridge).  It was designed by famed Spanish architect and sculptor Santiago Calatrava and it has been deemed part of the the city's cultural heritage by the Buenos Aires legislature. The bridge decking is plastic "wood" made from 100,000 recycled single use plastic bottles.

Palermo

We finished our day in the Palermo neighborhood, the largest in the City.  There are actually several sub-neighborhoods within Palermo such as Palermo Chico, Palermo Soho, etc.  We visited Plaza Serrano and the streets surrounding it which is in the heart of Palermo Soho.  There were craft stalls in the square selling jewelry and other items, and the surrounding streets were filled with shops and restaurants.  Palermo is generally known for being a little more upscale with its tree-lined streets and this part was no exception.  We ate dinner at one of the local craft breweries near the square and soaked in the atmosphere with all of the young locals out and about on a Friday night.

While we barely scratched the surface, our day did give us a good feel for Buenos Aires and its neighborhoods.  We look forward to returning and exploring more in depth.

Recoleta Cemetery

Recoleta Cemetery may be the most visited site in Buenos Aires.  If not the most popular, certainly one of the most.  "So, where did you visit??  We went to the cemetery." Definitely sounds a little weird, but it is quite a sight to behold.

The site of the cemetery was once the orchard of the Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar which is next door.  It became the city's first public cemetery in 1822.  It was designed by the same French engineer that also designed the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires.  

Over 6,400 statues, sarcophagi, coffins, and crypts are located here.  All of the mausoleums are above ground in a variety of architectural styles including Art Deco, Art Nouveau, baroque, and Neo-gothic.  Most are marble, but there were some brick and one we saw built with stone.

Many famous Argentinians are buried here including former presidents and military heroes, but none more famous than Eva Peron --- Evita.  She is buried in the Duarte family crypt and not with her husband. While many of the mausoleums are grand in size and architecture, the Duarte crypt is much smaller on a side aisle and not in one of the more featured areas.

Eva Peron tomb

It is a beautiful resting place for the dead and a gorgeous, peaceful site for the living.  One that everyone should see when visiting Buenos Aires.

Buenos Tardes Buenos Aires

We've arrived back in Buenos Aires from Ushuaia and are looking forward to exploring the City.  On the way to our cruise we saw a bit of the city, but we didn't have time to get out and about. This time, we're here for two nights before heading home for New Year's.

Because of our late afternoon arrival, we could only visit a couple of sites, but fortunately they were close to our hotel. We're staying in the heart of the city -- Microcentro -- within easy walking distance to several areas to explore.  First up is the Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk).

The Obelisk is in the middle of the Plaza de la Republica along the main boulevard through the city -- Avenida 9 de Julio.  It was erected in 1936 to celebrate the quadricentennial of the founding of the city by Spanish explorers.  Avenida 9 de Julio is named for Argentina's July 9 Independence Day.  It is a popular spot in the city, and in some ways it resembles Time Square in New York City- especially at night.  Besides large groups of people, there are huge screens on every corner broadcasting advertisements.

Teatro Colon

On the way to the Obelisk we stopped by Teatro Colon, the grand opera house that saw its first performance in 1908. It's considered one of the great opera houses of the world, and the names of singers, musicians, and conductors who have performed here are a who's who of classical music. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take a tour of the interior, so that will be during a future visit.

We capped our evening with dinner at Pizzeria Guerrin, founded in 1932 and one of the oldest pizzerias in the city.  Argentina is well known for beef and Malbec wine, so why we would we go eat pizza?  Over two million Italians immigrated to Argentina between 1880 and 1920, bringing with them their traditional cuisine.  And it's not just pizza, but pasta and pastries as well.   Pizzeria Guerrin has thick, airy slices and lots of cheese.  Our pizza was no exception, lightly sauced and very fresh.  The crust reminded us of focaccia.  We stuck with our traditional favorite of pepperoni, with wine for Mona and a beer for me.

The restaurant was HOPPING!  It was two levels and a small mezzanine and every table was full so people were waiting.

While I'm sure there were other tourists, it definitely had the feel of a local place where we were one of the very few people speaking English.  We left about 9:30pm, and there was a line of at least 100 people just waiting to get in, let alone the 200-300 people already inside.  Our online research indicated it was the best and most popular pizza in Buenos Aires.  The number of people there definitely confirmed it.  It's a good thing our eating at 8pm was eating early for the locals.  

Huge line waiting to get in

Adios Antarctica

All good things must come to an end.  For us, this means that our cruise has ended, and we have returned to Ushuaia, Argentina.  I'm not sure there are words to describe all that we've experienced these many days cruising and exploring Antarctica.  Fantastic? Wonderful?  Life-altering?  Grateful?  All of those express some aspect of this journey. However, our journey isn't quite done.  From here, we travel to Buenos Aires for two nights to discover the capital before flying home.

If there's one photo that could sum up our experience, it is probably this one.  I have the best travel partner and life partner any one could ever hope to have.  Here's to many more adventures together.

Food Porn

Did we mention this is our very first cruise ever?  We have lots of friends who love to cruise, but it hasn't been as high on the list for us.  One of the things they always tell us about is the variety of food and dining on board.  We are definitely spoiled when it comes to food.  There are two dining rooms, two places for snacks, and 24 hour room service.  We certainly haven't gone hungry.

The food is outstanding, and we can only hope that any weight gain is minimal.  It's like we dine at a high-end restaurant every night.  I've already told Mona not to expect that when we get home.  For the foodies that read this blog (if there are any 😆), here's some food porn to enjoy compliments of Seabourn Cruise Line.

Kayaking in an Active Volcano

One of the optional activities we could do on this cruise was sea kayaking.  This was a very popular activity as there were only spots available on Christmas Day when we booked the trip.  We had no idea where we'd be when it was time for our kayaking adventure, or if it would happen.  One of the great things about this expedition cruise is that the specific itinerary isn't known until the day before.  This allows for maximum flexibility in terms of planning for weather, waves, and access.  It wouldn't be helpful to say we're going to this place on this day and then find out it was iced in and not accessible.  The Seabourn team did a fantastic job of planning and adapting, so we were able to have adventures every day and not be stuck on the ship.

I was hoping that we'd be kayaking around icebergs or penguins and capturing some of the iconic Antarctic scenery.  That wasn't available to us at Port Foster and Deception Island.  However, when can you kayak in an active volcano on Christmas Day?  We did! I captured this image from our kayak with the GoPro camera I was wearing to record our adventure.

Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day!  Today has absolutely nothing to do with the sport of boxing.  Boxing Day is a British holiday generally associated with Victorian-era aristocrats who provided servants with a gift and a day off the day after Christmas.  It was also a time when boxes of gifts and donations would be given to benefit the less fortunate.  

Although we don't celebrate Boxing Day in the United States, I like knowing there's a day called Boxing Day.  It therefore seems appropriate to share a video we took of penguins boxing during one of our zodiac landings.  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from Port Foster!

Entrance to Port Foster

Merry Christmas from Port Foster!!  Port Foster is the interior body of water of Deception Island.  There is only one narrow passage that allows ships to sail into the interior, and it can easily be missed if not paying attention.  Did I mention that Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, and we are currently sailing in it?  The last eruption was in 1970.  In the early 1900s lots of whaling took place here, but that is no longer the case.  We will doing a landing this afternoon at Whaler's Bay which was the center of activity decades ago.

Old Whaling Station

Because we're in an active volcano, we can see steam rising from the shoreline. We're told that when we do our landing, we can stick our hand in the black beach sand and feel the warmth.  We're approaching lunchtime, and a morning activity was to take a polar plunge which of course, we had to do.  Where else can we take a plunge into an active volcano?  The water may have been incrementally warmer here, but it was still FREEZING Antarctic water.  The staff took pictures, so maybe I'll have one to post later, but we're off to lunch before our afternoon landing.

Una's Peaks

One of the more striking formations at Hidden Bay are two basalt towers called Una's Peaks.  This official name wasn't given until 2008.  For the first hundred years or so since their discovery by British explorers, they were called "Una's Tits."  Una referred to Una Spivey, a secretary working in the Falkland Islands for what is now the British Antarctica Survey.  Apparently, she had a very nice bosom and "naming" this formation was meant to honor her.  While the gesture may have been well-intentioned, I think the official naming is probably much better.

Icy Waters and a Humpback Whale Encounter

It's Christmas Eve and we're enjoying about 22 hours of daylight at the moment.  The sunrise has typically been about 2am with sunset in the ballpark of midnight.  We're sleeping at that point, but it is more like twilight than truly dark during those two hours.

Today we woke up early to catch a 7:30 zodiac cruise around Hidden Bay.  Not a lot of wildlife to see as it is vey icy, but we did manage to catch a crabeater seal floating on an iceberg.  Not as animated as yesterday's Weddell seal but still fun to see.  The scenery was awesome and traveling through the ice on the zodiacs made for a fun adventure.

Port Charcot

We set sail mid-morning through the Lemaire Channel to Port Charcot on Booth Island. Lemaire Channel is a narrow passage where the captain has to steer carefully to avoid all of the icebergs in the channel.  It was one of the prettiest stretches we've seen since the icebergs floated so close to the ship. Port Charcot is known for having all three species of penguins in Antartica -- Adelie, gentoo, and chinstrap --- although we didn't happen to see any chinstrap.  Port Charcot is named for the French explorer Jean Baptiste Charcot who led his first expedition between 1903 to 1905.  We hiked through snow to the bluff where we could see the bay on the other side giving us fabulous 360-degree views of water, mountains, and icebergs. 

Waving its flipper

On the zodiac ride back, we happened upon a humpback whale near the ship which afforded us incredible close-up views as it ate krill while diving and surfacing.  At one point, it even rolled on its side and "waved" at us with its flipper high in the air.

It's been another wonderful day in Antarctica.  The crew is performing Christmas music soon, so we're off to catch that this evening.

Paradise Bay

This afternoon we traveled to Paradise Bay where we did a combination zodiac cruise around the bay and a landing at an Argentine Base that is not currently in use.  Once the Argentinians return later this summer, landings there won't be possible.

The bay brought fabulous experiences with seals.  One Weddell seal in particular was lounging on an iceberg and seemed to know we were watching him.  He moved around and gave us several different poses.  Later, there were another six Weddell seals sleeping on shore. The morning snow continued all afternoon giving us a very wintry scene even though it's summer here.

We made a brief landing at Brown Base and hiked up a small snow-covered hill for nice views of the bay.  There were a couple of rookeries of gentoo penguins who had created well worn penguin highways they used extensively during our visit.

For me, the highlight was the very personable seal.  I took quite a few pics, but these are a few of the really good ones.

Antarctic Ansel Adams

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!  It's snowing here in Antartica, just two days after their summer solstice.  This morning we did a zodiac tour of Borgen Bay and because of the overcast skies and snow, it seemed the only thing not monochrome was our bright orange expeditions jackets.  It definitely reminded us of classic black and white Ansel Adams photos from the Rocky Mountains.  The stillness of the water made for great reflections and when the zodiac motor was turned off, you heard the sound of silence with the occasional snowflake.  Gorgeous.

Orcas!!

We experienced our own version of a fire drill during dinner last night.  In between our appetizer and main course, an announcement came over the intercom that a pod of orcas was off the port side of the ship.  Immediately, everyone stopped eating, jumped up out of their seats, and ran to the windows and outside on the deck.  We were no exception.

Orcas (also referred to as killer whales) frequently swim in the waters around Antarctica but are much less common to spot than the more readily seen humpbacks. Unfortunately, I did not have my big camera with the large zoom lens to capture photos, but I did have my phone and was able to take video.  This picture is a screen shot from that video.

Apparently, the staff on the ship are used to this type of "drill" happening as they paused the dinner service and were smiling and laughing with us as we ran in different directions.  I guess this is what happens when an alarm goes off in a fire station, and all of the firefighters jump up and run to their trucks.  It was so incredible to be able to see the orcas, but we couldn't help laughing at the absurdity of everyone jumping up and running outside at the same time.  Happy to be absurd at that moment......and I will now always have my big camera with me.

Cuverville Island

Our ship anchored in the Gerlache Strait

Today we sailed through the Gerlache Strait on our way to Cuverville Island. The morning was spent sailing and taking in the scenery.  I would say breath-taking, but I'm not sure that does it justice.  Every single landscape we've seen has been amazing.  We arrived at Cuverville Island a little before 1:00pm and did zodiac landings during the afternoon. We have learned that zodiac "tours" are seeing sites up close in a Zodiac that holds 10 people, and zodiac "landings" are in smaller ones that hold 8 people and can go onshore more easily.  

The island is home to a breeding colony of gentoo penguins.  It is still covered in snow, but there were a couple of rock outcroppings high above the sea that the penguins use for their nesting sites.  Penguins create a series of trails through the snow dubbed "penguin highways" that are traveled continuously in order to have clear areas for moving to and from the water as they feed.  

We took zodiacs through and around a series of icebergs to reach the shore.  From my perspective, this has been some of the coolest scenery so far.  Once on land we had to create our own trail through the snow in order to reach the bluff to see the rookery; however, once we reached the top, the views back over the water of the icebergs and surrounding mountains were amazing.  I basically spent the whole time on top admiring the views, while Mona went back down before me to see other penguin rookeries along the shoreline.  I could have spent the entire day just hanging out and soaking in the views, but our landing was only 90 minutes.

For the zodiac trip back to the ship, I was able to be in the very front which gave me unobstructed views of the icebergs.  There's not much else to say, but to let the photos speak for themselves.