Saturday, March 2, 2013

D-Day minus one. Yesterday we did most of the packing. It was quite a challenge - it is still late summer in South America, but we are going to the southernmost town in the world, so we are expecting temperatures down in the 40s. Add to that the need for formal clothes for dinner on the ship, and what to pack becomes quite a dilemma. Still, we each managed to get everything we need (we hope) into one 50-pound suitcase.

We will leave for the airport tomorrow about 2 PM. I'll drive the Mini Cooper and we will park it in a hotel parking lot near the airport for four dollars a day. This is the most cost-effective alternative, much cheaper than hiring a service to take us and retrieve us from the airport, nor do we have to beg a neighbor to haul us there and back.

From Savannah we fly to Atlanta and then board our plane for the overnight flight to Buenos Aires. We originally thought we could hook up with the Yunkers in Atlanta and all fly together but it turned out to be considerably cheaper for them to fly through Dallas-Fort Worth. So we will meet them at the airport in Buenos Aires - we should arrive about an hour before them. We will await their arrival before we had into the city together to find our hotel.

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Sunday, March 03, 2013
Beaufort, SC
Overcast and chilly

We left a little after 2 PM and headed to the Savannah airport. We hope we haven’t forgotten anything to secure the house for the next nearly three weeks, and that we won’t be calling our builder or neighbors to take care of something we overlooked. We parked the car at Springhill Suites and the courtesy van promptly delivered us to the airport. No problem at the counter or security – our suitcases weighed 49 and 50 pounds. How about that! We checked into the Passport Club until it was time to board for Atlanta about 4:30. This is about as busy as we have ever seen the Savannah airport.

Our plane arrived a little late, and it took a ridiculous length of time to reload, but we were able to reach Atlanta nearly as scheduled. By the time we transferred to our departure gate for Buenos Aires they were already beginning to board the plane. I purchased a couple of veggie wraps to hold us over until they served our late dinner. Due to a mechanical problem (some minor thing like oxygen for the pilots) we were about 40 minutes late leaving Atlanta. The ten-hour flight was uneventful and the service was unremarkable to be polite. With the two hour time change we arrived in Buenos Aires a little after 8 AM on Monday.


Monday, March 4, 2013
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Immigration was a real shock - the line was very long and it took nearly an hour and a half before we cleared the immigration desk. We were delayed slightly because Marcia is so squeaky clean she couldn't leave a fingerprint on the electronic device! I am happy to report our baggage was waiting for us so we gathered it and stood in line to have it x-rayed at customs. We received a text message from the Yunkers letting us know they had arrived; they were probably an hour behind us. While we waited for them I arranged for a private car capable of taking all four of us and our luggage directly to the hotel. About 11 AM we finally saw the Yunkers clearing customs, and in violation of Murphy's Law, our driver appeared at nearly the same time. Once we stepped outside we realize it was a pleasantly warm day (70s). After all it is late summer in the southern hemisphere.

It took nearly an hour to reach the hotel in the Buenos Aires traffic. The Yunkers say Buenos Aires looks a lot like Paris, and in fact it is known as the Paris of South America. Our hotel, 365 Concept, appears to be older but well-maintained. It is one block off 9th of July Avenue, Buenos Aires’ version of 5th Avenue, or more properly, the Champ Elyse. Our rooms would not be ready for an hour, so we checked our bags and were pointed in the direction of restaurants for lunch. We found a suitable looking place serving the local cuisine and had a light lunch, as we are expecting a large dinner after our tour.

Returning to the hotel we checked in. Our room is nice and large. It is old but has been well-maintained and updated. It has a kitchenette - you could live here. It is certainly suitable for one night. Marcia immediately laid down for a nap while I went out in search of an ATM to get some local currency. Then I caught up on my blog while waiting for our 3 PM tour to begin.

Our guide, Sandra, appeared about 3:10 with a small bus and driver – there are ten on this group tour. Sandra speaks very clear English in spite of her heavy accent. The only word she really butchered the entire three hour tour was “epidemic”.

Buenos Aires is a large city divided up into over 40 neighborhoods. We drove around several of the historic and fashionable neighborhoods (and some not so fashionable one as well) and made two stops for walking tours. The city is reasonably clean, although in some areas (like around our hotel) litter is an issue, and graffiti is EVERWHERE.

We drove around the extensive park areas and the old port neighborhood with it modern buildings. But we spent most of our time in the historic city center and the old immigrant neighborhood known as La Boca. Here are colorful old homes and shops with artists selling their works on one street and cafés with tango shows lining another. It is somewhat reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans. One thing was evident nearly everywhere we went – the Perons are still revered in this city, especially Eva. We were returned to our hotel a little after 6 PM. Traffic was heavy as this is rush hour – the normal work day here is 9-6.

 Before we left Sandra we asked where we should buy wine and she suggested the local markets. But she warned not to pay less than 40 pesos to avoid the inferior wine. The girls returned to the hotel while Jerry and I check out a couple of the markets. We settled on the one just two doors down from the hotel’s front door. They had a fairly large selection of wine, all from Argentina – the only problem was finding many bottles over 40 pesos. We finally selected 8 bottles and some cheese and crackers for cocktail hour. The tab came to 265 pesos. They didn’t take credit cards, only cash. I asked if they would take U.S. dollars and at what rate? Now the official exchange rate is 5 pesos to one U.S. dollar. But the peso is falling fast and the merchants will give a better rate. They offered 7:1, so the bill was $36! Is this a great country, or what! Jerry had heard this, so we brought more U.S. currency on this trip than normal. We will be back tomorrow to finish stocking up for the cruise. We can bring all the wine aboard we can carry, but anything we buy after we sail will be taken from us and held to the end. We plan on having two cases between the four of us.

We gathered in our room for cocktail hour about 7:30 and consumed a bottle of Malbec that barely made the 40 peso hurdle and all gave it a thumbs up. At 8:00 we went down to the lobby to await the bus for our dinner and tango show. The bus didn’t arrive until 8:35, and we were the last pick-up and the small bus was full. We are the youngest passengers aboard. 9th of July Avenue is lit up like Times Square at night.

We arrived at Carlos Jardel about 9 PM and were quickly seated (once we figured out the correct name for our hotel so they could check us in). Dinner was three courses (all but Marcia had the steak – she opted for salmon as we had steak for lunch as well). It was quickly served and pretty good, and the steaks were huge of course. And they poured LOTS of wine. But we were there primarily for the tango show. Tango isn’t just dance. It is a style of music and singing as well. All three were displayed during the roughly two hour show. We got quite a tango education, and Marcia commented that she doesn’t need to see anymore tango.

It was after midnight when the show finally ended. Our bus was waiting for us right outside the door and departed as soon as the last passenger boarded. Since we were the last to be picked up, we were also last to be dropped off, but all the hotels were close to each other. We were in bed quickly after reached our room. It has been a great day, but a very LONG one. We will definitely be sleeping in this morning.


Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Buenos Aires
Crystal clear and warm

I didn’t get up until 7:45. I woke Marcia up a little after 9 AM. We had a light continental breakfast at the hotel, met up with Debbie and Jerry, and decided to walk around the area until it was time to check out at noon. It is a beautiful day for a walk, with clear blue skies and comfortable temperature – at least in the shade. There are broad sidewalks along 9th of July and in the parks nearly. Unfortunately, everything is either in disrepair or being repaired. Nothing is marked or barricaded off. You have to really watch where you are walking. Lawyers would have a field day here if we were in the U.S.

We found a supermarket and went inside to check out the wine. They had an excellent selection, so we bought eight bottles. Unfortunately, they would only give us 5:1 for U.S. dollars, so we paid them in pesos. It was about 11:30 when we returned to the hotel. I went next door and purchased the last of the wine we needed, bringing our stock up to two cases.

I had arranged for a car to pick us up at 12:15. He showed up just after noon. We loaded up and were on our way to the port. The port wasn’t very far away, but traffic was heavy and it took a while. The port was a zoo, with multiple cruise lines and ships embarking today. We had to take our luggage to Gate 6, and then get in line at Gate 10. The line was long, but moved fairly fast. We are in group 26 and they are taking group 3. We found seats – we will be here for some time.

Actually, the wait wasn’t that long. The group numbers jumped from 13 to 25. After we checked in at the Holland America desk we had to check out at Argentine customs. They know when you arrive and when you leave, and they match up the records, including your photo and thumbprint – a little too big brother for my liking. Finally, we were ready to board the ship, or at least, the bus to the ship. After a rocky ride through the port we finally boarded the Veendam. From hotel to ship was a little over two hours.

Our cabin is exactly like the one we had on the Rotterdam on our last cruise, only a mirror image. Other than trying to go into the closet to use the bathroom, we feel right at home (we were on the Rotterdam for 30 days). In fact, the whole ship is a slightly smaller version of the Rotterdam, with all the amenities in roughly the same place. No problem navigating around this ship. The Yunkers cabin is right next door to ours.

It was nearing 3 PM, so we headed to the Lido for lunch. Afterwards, I took them on a tour of the ship while refreshing my memory of where thing were. Then it was time to unpack, followed by the lifeboat drill – this ain’t Costa.

Our 6 PM departure was delayed due the heavy traffic, with three cruise ships trying to sail at the same time (we never left port until 8:30).

Yunkers joined us for champagne before dinner, courtesy of AMEX Platinum. AMEX also paid for us to dine in the premium dining room, the Pinnacle Grill. The food was excellent. Jerry had lobster and macaroni, Debbie had lobster, while Marcia and I had Steak Diane. The maître‘d dropped by to welcome us and say how fortunate it was for AMEX to arrange for us to dine in the Pinnacle Grill the first night – he said the main dining room was a mob scene. As we were finishing dinner we finally set sail.

We listened to the string quartet after dinner and then watch the show which showcased the entertainment on board. Then it was time to call it a night and get caught up on our sleep.