Grand Voyage: January 2010
What an adventure! From Los Angeles to Florida to Costa Rica. From Costa Rica we sailed through the Panama Canal and then down to Manta Ecuador where we got off of the ship and flew to Quito, Ecuador. Two days of seeing Betty's home, family members, and the beautiful countryside. We then flew to Cuzco, Peru, home of the Incas. The ruins are magnificent. The next morning a three-hour train ride took us to Machu Picchu--it is better than any of the pictures you've seen.
We rejoined the ship the next day and sailed down the coast of Chile, stopping in small ports and then Valparaiso. Then on to Punto Arenas by way of Puerto Montt, Isla Robinson Crusoe and the Darwin Channel. We saw the Chilean Fiords, stopped at Ushuaia, Argentina, and then traveled through the Straits of Magellan on our way to Antarctica.
Three days cruising around Antarctica only makes you want to go back! We could not stop at the Malvenas (The Falklands) because of bad weather. In fact, during the night we experienced 30 foot waves and 85 mile per hour winds! What a ride. We stopped in Buenos Aires for two days -- long enough to dance and buy shoes! Overnight to Montevideo for the day.
It took us 8 days to cross the South Atlantic to get to Nambia (Walvis Bay and then Luderitz). Our final stop was Cape Town, South Africa for three days.
This was an incredible trip and we hope you enjoy these pictures.
Onboard Entertainment
Onboard entertainment was incredible. Singers, dancers, musicians and more. Among the notables were Doc Severinsen, Kellerman, and The Unexpected Boys.
Individual Pictures
Here are a few selected pictures from our trip on my GringoCachafaz.SmugMug.com site.
Special Note: If ever you find yourself in Cape Town, you simply MUST have dinner at Balducci's Restaurant at the V&A Waterfront. We had one of the best meals we've ever eaten anywhere! Try the Beetroot & Roasted Butternut (Char-grilled beetroot, roasted butternut, feta, rocket and caramelised nuts tossed in olive oil, garlic and lemon) and the Mozambican Prawn Curry (Six queen prawns prepared in a mild Mozambican curry, served in a poppadum on basmati rice, with habanero chilli jam). For desert: Chocolate Fondant (Decadent soufflé with soft Lindt chocolate outside and a molten Lindt chocolate centre, served with vanilla ice cream). The wines were great and the manager was a delight. Not only did he share his knowledge of South African wines with us, his enthusiasm for his restaurant was infectous! Balduccis.