Red-eye behind us, my travel companion Jerry and I connected for the second leg from Philadelphia to San Juan, PR aboard American Airlines flight 1496.
It was nip & tuck as I had to sprint from gate c5 to a20 across what is a maze at PHL airport. AND wouldn’t you know it – a mechanical has us still sitting on the plane at the gate.
On arrival in San Juan, we caught an Uber (note tha Lyft is not operational here) and made it to old town to board our ship for the week- the Viking Sea.
(See picture above – courtesy of Jerry’s window seat. Viking Sea is the smallest ship on the left).
Stay tuned for more on the ship and experience over the coming days. With our red-eye flights, we called it an early night.
2020 has arrived and with it a new decade of adventure and discovery!
With half of January over, I am definitely itching to hit the road and embark on new adventures this spring. To celebrate the new decade, I sprung for new luggage after my loyal companion REI suitcase lost its wheels on my last adventure aboard Azamara Pursuit.
From the map above, you can see that my travel early 2020 schedule will take me to the Southern Caribbean (next week on Viking Ocean), to the Bahamas in February (on Regent Seven Seas), then off to Austria for the Virtuoso Symposium Conference. To top it all off, late March/early April I will board the brand new Celebrity Apex in Southampton and then train from Amsterdam to Germany to join the the naming ceremony for river ship Avalon View. The View will then end her festivities in Budapest before I fly back to home.
A peaceful overnight sailing from Punta Del Este brought us to the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.
Our first stop – and a colorful at that – was the Barraccas neighborhood where immigrants first settled in the 1890s to 1920s. Home to the blue and yellow Boxa Juniors soccer team. The stadium in this neighborhood is the most attended arena in the world selling out twice a week for argentine league games.
From there, we travelled back downtown for a brunch at tge legendary Four Seasons hotel. We were met by the director of sales and tge GM of the property with open arms and a healthy mimosa.
From there, we toured this stunning hotel which offers both contemporary tower rooms and 9 special palace rooms in the French inspired mansion adjacent.
A fantastic Adobo (grilled) lunch with the best dulce di leche crepes yet rounded out our short but memorable stay. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Four Seasons without a heart-warming surprise in the form of opera singer Belén Mc Kinley whom performed two favorites from the ALW musical Evita.
Our last sightseeing stop was the cemetery where argentine legend Evita Peron’ remains are laid to rest. The above images show her crypt surrounded by her brother and sister-in-law.
To relax and refresh before our long flights home, tge 2nd Virtuoso property in town – the Park Hyatt – hosted us with refreshments and a spectacular buffet of pastries freshly prepared by the hotel’ executive pastry chef.
At last, every trip must come to an end. By 730pm we were all checking in for our flights home. Safe flights to all and stay tuned for my next adventure coming up after the holidays.
A short cruise overnight got us to the summer resort town of Punta Del Este with its white sandy beaches and rugged coastline.
Our group boarded a private coach for a scenic drive along the river and Atlantic Ocean tips that form the unique setting for this resort town complete with stunning homes and hotels to admire.
45 minutes later we arrived at the winery complex at Narbona where we learned to prepare the perfect embers for grilling meats and veggies. This 1920 building complex of gardens, rooms, and a hacienda-like courtyard offered our group lots of opportunities to mix and mingle and pick up valuable cooking skills.
The highlights were the queso fundido (flame grilled provolone cheese) and the chimichurri recipe – until desert arrived which blew it all out of the water.
Dulce di leche crepes with vanilla ice cream – The Nirvana of deserts!
Our two days at sea ended with Azamara Pursuit’ pulling into the Montevideo harbor in Uruguay. The group disembarked for a bicycle trip and hosted lunch courtesy of Virtuoso.
Uruguay is the birth place of the steak house movement with a ratio of 3 heads of cattle per inhabitant and a world leading per capita consumption of 220lbs of beef consumed annually.
To round out our experience in town, Azamara hosted a private evening carnival show at the Solis Theatre – South America’ oldest opera house built in 1898. It he show was fantastic and brought to life tge uniquely Uruguayan mix of Spanish and African heritage.
As we returned back on board, Cruise director and Broadway Star Amanda Paulson entertained the guests with a live solo performance of classic Italian music – What a treat!
A life-long follower of the French car maker Renault, even I was stumped by the models I encountered in Uruguay.
This ultra-compact 4-door was originally developed for the Indian market and found its way to South America, presumably for pricing reasons.
Ever heard of a Renault Oroch? Unfortunate name aside, this was a brand new discovery for me and I learned that this is the Dacia Duster-based budget pickup trucklet for developing markets.
While I am still not entirely sure where the idea of a “White Party” aboard cruise ships originated from, our sail away evening bash leaving Santos was amazing.
Awesome music tailored to the audience, a fantastic buffet of international cuisine, and spectacular decorations on the pool deck made it a night to remember.
A lovely hosted specialty dinner at Prine-C steakhouse aboard rounded out my birthday which happened to have Fallon on a sea day – complete with afternoon matinee of Mamma Mia here we go again (my favorite movie) and a DJ collage on the dance floor of ABBA Gold.
After a rather rocky night across the southern Atlantic, we approached the harbor of Santos (Brazilian football star Pele’s home-town). Pictures show you the approach and docking.
We then gathered as a group for a great excursion courtesy of supplier Bedsonline/TravelBound. Our day consisted of a community give-back with a native Indian tribe.
We visited the rural Rio Silvera area where we met with the Tupi-Guarani tribe for a cultural exchange. We practiced bow and arrow shooting, tasting of their local produce and much more.
Dishes consisted of heart of palm, cassava root, sweet potatoes and pineapple. Overall, the tribe is self-sufficient with local fruits and vegetables as well as chickens and Wilde game hunted as needed.
Our visit included a wonderful exchange of with the Elder’ daughter whom is the only one in the tribe that speaks Portuguese. We learned for example how the tribal structure works, how males and females are raised and educated and how they preserve traditions in a changing world. It was a fascinating experience that touched us all.
Long and quiet nights of solid rest are a rarity these days for many of us. Our arrival day presented such an opportunity with an early dinner before heading off to bed.
First order of business was a visit to the Brazilian Landmark of Christ the Redeemer. Unfortunately for us, the funicular that takes millions of visitors up and down the mountain every year broke. That many a lengthy bus ride to the visitor center and queuing up for the National Park shuttle.
Once on top of the mountain, the views were magnificent and they made us all forget the wait. The first image is of Lori Goldspiel, Kelly Ross (both from Azamara) and myself being redeemed, so to speak. The remaining images are the views of the city of Rio below. From the north with Maracanã, to the west with Copacabana beach to the south with Ipanema beach.
Down hill, we stoped in the Santa Teresa neighborhood for pao de queis (cheese puffs) made from Tapioca flour. To wash it all down, we were treated to açaí sorbet and a caipirinha a short while later. Recall the yellow trans? They are modeled after Rio’s big sister city Lisbon. All of this area is super-charming and a must to discover. Read about our last stop in my next blog.
No visit to Rio would be complete without a pilgrimage to the “stadium of stadiums” – the legendary home of Brazilian Footbol commonly referred to as 
Built for the 1950 World Cup,