Itinerary | Buenos Aires | Buenos Aires (2) | Montevideo | Punta Del Este | Day at Sea | Itajai | Santos | Paraty | Rio de Janeiro

Breakfast

Our day started about 8:30am with a nice breakfast buffet in the hotel. The buffet included meats, yogurt, cheeses, breads/toast, cereal, and beverages (tea, coffee, juices). It was a wonderful way to start the day. Mom and I filled ourselves up so we would have sufficient energy for the morning's activities. We then went back to our room where we tagged our luggage with the tags provided by the cruise line and set them outside of the door for pickup. I snapped the pictures below before we left to meet the rest of the group in the lobby for the city tour.

City Tour

Our group got into tour vans that took us around the city where our tour guide related to us the historical significance of various sculptures, buildings, etc.We were on our way to the Plaza de Mayo (the city center...in fact, the city was literally built around it). Some of Argentina's most important historical events took place here.

So on our way to the Plaza de Mayo, I took a picture of the subway. This city is wonderfully metropolitan; it had a very European feel.

To the right, you see the Casa de Rosa, the place where Eva Peron addressed the crowds.

In the center of the plaza, there was this obelisk monument. This plaza is the location for political protests in Buenos Aires.

To the right is a picture of Will and my mom in front of the Casa de Rosa. Will makes an excellent travel partner; the man seems to have endless amounts of energy.

A picture of me in front of a building in the plaza. I don't remember what the name of it is, but it looked cool. As you can see by the traffic in the background, it was a pretty busy day.

Surrounding the Plaza de Mayo is the Government House, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Cabildo (town hall). I was approached here by a woman asking for donations for HIV/AIDS education and offering me a flyer that explained (in Spanish) the purpose of her organization.

I saw my group walking toward the bus, so I had to excuse myself and get going. Crossing the street alone can be life-threatening!

Cemetery

We stopped in another part of town where there was a very famous cemetery. As you can see from the photos below, this is not the kind of cemetery we're used to in the U.S. Each plot is actually a moseleum owned by a particular family. These plots are treated as real estate here. If you own one of these plots, your family can build what is basically a shrine to you and your relatives.

Left: A cat who was stalking birds in the cemetery.

Right: He found a bird in a tree and was figuring out if it was worth the effort.

From the travel brochure:

"The city's neighborhoods are small and highly individualized, each with its own characteristic colors and forms. In the San Telmo district, the city's multinational heritage is embodied in a garish Colonial design, coupled with Italian detailing and cosmopolitan architecture - graceful French Classicism. La Boca's pressed tin houses are painted a rainbow of colors, and muralists have turned the district's side-streets into avenues of color."

We stopped in La Boca to pick up a few gifts and to see the art. This is a picture of one of the streets we passed as we were looking for a place to park the bus. This neighborhood was, indeed, very colorful and offered a lot of art and handicrafts. Mom and I bought some gifts made out of Argentina's national reddish-pink stone.

Ship

Eventually, we had to head towards the ship on which we would be staying for the rest of the trip. We passed through immigration and customs without a problem. When we stepped outside of the security gate, I got my first look at the ship. Actually it was my first look at any cruise ship!

Left: The ramp to the ship, the Silver Cloud.

Right: You can see that this is a big ship, but I'm told by other, more seasoned cruise-goers, that this ship is actually pretty small. Our cabin was one of those windows you see closest to the bottom of the ship. No, we didn't have a balcony, but we spent so much time outside of the cabin, it didn't matter much at all.

At the base of the ramp, we were asked to sanitize our hands with some of that sanitizing gel. That procedure turned out to be common whenever we boarded the ship.

So we got onto the ship and we were greeted with a glass of champagne and some foods. The staff were all very nicely dressed in uniform and exceptionally polite. You can tell that this company has trained their staff well. While I didn't partake of the food, I did enjoy a glass of champagne.

Our Cabin

We headed down to our cabin after checking in with registration. (They gave us our ID cards and took our picture for identification. They also held onto our passports for us so that they would not be stolen or lost.) Upon arriving, we found our luggage waiting for us on the beds. I know it's a bit nerdy, but I took pictures of the cabin.

A few minutes after we arrived our stewardess arrived and gave us an orientation to the suite. She showed us the mini-bar, how to operate the TV, pointed out the almost hidden medicine cabinet in the bathroom, etc. We were informed that there was another woman in addition to her who would be taking care of our needs during the voyage and to simply let her know if we needed anything at all. She was great and proved to be exceptionally helpful.

Overall, this cabin was small, but adequate and well-stocked. It was comfortable enough to enjoy some quiet time. I split the champagne in the room with mom. Before we knew it, it was time to go to dinner!

Dinner on Board

The dinning room on this ship was very nice. It was a beautiful room. I had amazingly good white wine, greek salad, and weiner schnitzel. I had "chocolate crescendo" for dessert (it's basically three layers of chocolate mousse - dark, milk, and white). I made sure to try some port with this course. I had a great time at dinner. Mom and I planned the next day with Will and Dany before I CRASHED in the cabin. I was tired, but ended up waking up later in the evening to write some postcards.