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Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaíso, Chile |
Celebrity Infinity Cruise 2009 |
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Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| The old city gate to the city of Montevideo opened into a large palm tree shaded plaza. |
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Marilyn and Vicki enjoyed shopping
in the streets lined with vendors. |
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| Since we were there during Carnival, we were able to see one of the comparsa bands practicing for the competition. |
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The Mercado del Puerto was filled with people eating grilled meats from every part of the animals! |
Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery |
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The Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery is the home for 2 million Magellanic penguins.
When we entered the reserve we were surprised to see tumble weed, gauchos and a herd of guanacos. |
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As we continued our hike toward the sea, one by one we saw individual penguins
burrowed in the rocky soil or hiding in the bushes. |
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The closer we got to the water the more we saw couples and small groups of penguins.
When we reached the shore, thousands of the birds were crowded together and sliding into the surf. |
Rental car in Puerto Madryn:
Wild Skies Rent a Car www.wildskies.com.ar
Adriana C. Mandolesi, owner
wildskies@gmail.com |
The Falkland Islands |
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| We were tendered into Port Stanley -population 3,000- the colorful capital city of the Falklands. The temperture was in the 40s, but it was a great sunny day. |
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We hiked 4 miles from the city on a coastal path past two shipwrecks to Yorke Bay and Gypsy Cove. |
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At Yorke Bay we saw a colony of several hundred Jackass penguins, three dolphins and lots of unusual ducks. We weren't allowed (and didn't want) to get close to the beach, since it is still a mine field
from mines left over from the Falklands war. |
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The varieties of low flowering plants, tussac and cinnamon grasses were beautiful. |
Cape Horn, Argentina |
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| We were surprised at the great weather we had as we approached Cape Horn. The sun actually came out for a while and we could see green vegetation on the rock, as we were able to sail around the island. The ship's guide said he had been here 52 times and had only been able to do that twice. |
Ushuaia, Argentina |
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We followed Ross and Marilyn on a chairlift to the foot of the Marital Glacier and then started hiking.
The sky was clear and sunny. |
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| When we got up the mountain, almost to the glacier, it started snowing on top of the mountain and we had to come down. Once we reached the bottom the sun came back out and we returned through the forest path. |
Beagle Channel Glaciers |
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As we sailed from Ushuaia through the Beagle Channel we went past 7 different glaciers flowing into the water. We were surprised by the blue colors we saw in the ice fissures in the snow.
Some glaciers were spilling waterfalls as they melted in the summer temperatures. |
Punta Arenas, Chile |
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| We were able to hike three different trails in the Magallanes Forest Reserve just outside of Punta Arenas. |
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We saw deep valleys, lenga forests and distant views overlooking the city and the Straits of Magellan. |
Petrohué Falls, Puerto Varas & Frutillar, Chile |
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The Petrohué Falls and rapids are fed by the water rushing
from the snowcapped Osorno Volcano that loomed above us. |
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| The pretty city of Puerto Varas is also known as the City of Roses. Every main street was lined with bushes of hybrid teas and floribundas. |
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Nearby Frutillar showed its German influence. Neat, colorful restaurants offered "kuchen"
as well as Chilean fare. |
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| The last night on the ship we finished our Euker tournament with the ladies winning the Atlantic side and the men winning the Pacific. We were sad to see it end. |
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