Travel – March 6, 2014 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the area in 1516. From that point, the history of what eventually became Buenos Aires was quite complex, starting with early settlements that either failed outright due to attacks by native peoples, or that struggled fitfully under distant and unresponsive European administrations with the added burdens of off-shore pirates and extremely difficult supply issues.

One of Buenos Aires City Parks

By some measures, Buenos Aires is today one of the 20 largest cities in the world. It is a socially progressive, tolerant and vibrant city that is proud of its bit of distance from more traditional and conservative parts of South America. A “Happening Place” as we say!

We started off on our tour of Buenos Aires a little late, but eventually met our guide Patricia for a city tour. Most of the tour we ride in a large twelve person van-bus. Nice size group for this type of tour. John arranged the tour through Cruise Critic instead of the Prince Cruise tour organization. It is less expensive and has much better tour guides.

Patricia first took us to see a very large mechanical sculptured flower. It opens in the morning and closes at night. It is large and very impressive. The park was beautiful, even though Carnival was held there the day before. 

We spent a large amount of time at the country’s oldest cemetery where Evita and many other dignitaries, great and small, are buried. The crypts are old; many are very ornate. In the last case, piety and simplicity are ostentatiously, glaringly and outrageously incompatible.  

Monument Angel

Black Iris

I kept on clicking pictures and had a hard time keeping up with the group. This is NOT a place you would want to get lost in, or to be in after dark. BOOOOOooooo!!! Dracula is ready to come out of his crypt now. It was a beautiful place, but eerie as well.

An isle of crypts

For lunch, we visited the Boca district where there is a distinct Italian influence. We ate empanadas at an Italian Pizzeria, watched a professional couple tango and a man play the squeeze box. The streets were highly decorated, and there were outdoor shops with many leather, wool and glass items for sail.

Street art, Italian influence

Crocheted tree

Restaurant entertainment - Tango

Argentina has as their official government house Pink House instead of a White House. This is the building where Evita would stand at the balcony and talk to the

The Pink House, similar to our White House

crowds in the square below. Driving along some of the broad avenues, you see sites commonly used to portray large cities: lots of high rise buildings, cars and people. For the Argentinian children, this is the first day of the school year. All of the summer and holidays are over and it is back to the books. Just like home, with the kids and school comes the traffic. Just the week before, Patricia indicated that giving the same tour they were able to see more because the traffic was much less. Oh well, timing is everything!!

The pictures this time are a smattering of things we saw on this trip. By the time we were finished, we arrived back on the boat exhausted. All this fun stuff is wearing us down. WHEW!!!

We have Montevideo tomorrow. Please join us for more adventure.

Travel –  Ilhabela, Brazil,   March 3, 2014

Ilhabela (Portuguese for Beautiful Island) is an
archipelago and city situated 4 miles off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The island is 127 miles from the city of São Paulo and 210 miles from Rio de Janeiro. While not fully settled, Ilhabela’s earliest 16th century settlements were in the form of military outposts to help protect the island from costly raids by buccaneers who eagerly awaited offshore for English, Dutch and Portuguese ships carrying precious cargo from the Americas to arrive on the island for supplies, in spite of pirates, the Portuguese established sugar and coffee plantations across the island in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The population of Ilhabela is about 30,000; however, during the holiday months, up to 100,000 may be on the island, since it’s a popular destination for tourists. Currently almost 85% of the island is designated as Ilhabela State Park and no further development is allowed. Ilhabela has a charming downtown area worth wandering around during a visit.

John and I elected to take a schooner ride through the Sao Sebastiao Channel and anchored near a beautiful golden beach covered with welcoming umbrellas, beach chairs and waiting vendors. We climbed the ladder off the ship and jumped into the beautiful bath warm sea water and swam to shore. The beach was gradual and easy to walk up, without being washed over by the waves. We walked along the beach, looked at the vendors’ wears, the people fishing, snorkeling and sunning on the beach. The water was SO inviting we decided to just go back and swim around the boat. What a great place to swim! 

Our trip through the Channel was surprising because on the other side of the beautiful beaches was a large petroleum storage tank farm on the mainland side; however, you really did not get any hint of it as you swam in the water. The guide indicated that there are plans to enlarge the facility. Hopefully, they will take as much care with the expansion as they have with the environment so far. It really is a beautiful place. It is off the beaten path and well worth a visit. We had lunch in a very nice local restaurant in town. It was nice and cool under tropical trees in the fairly warm afternoon sun.

Now it is back to the boat and off to Argentina! Hooray… more adventures will follow!! Please keep on traveling with us, we are having so much fun having you along!

 March 2, 2014 - "The Day After" one day of Carnival – Rio

One more day in Rio and we spent it just walking around the town viewing the aftermath of the first night of Carnival. There were still some people on the street in party garb from the night before. I can only imagine what the streets looked like while the festival was in full swing. John took a few shots of some of the best costumes to give you an idea of how crazy some of them were.

The streets will take at least a week to clean up and then they really need steam cleaning. I doubt that will happen but it would sure help with the smell. There are two more days of party to go.

We were able to see the entire group of parade floats in the repair area. Not all of them were completely put together, but we certainly got to see the grandeur of some of them. Each one is from a different Samba club. These were the best of the best! It was like seeing the Rose parade. Everyone was working on their float trying to repair them for the next day. What a treat!!! As they say… pictures say a thousand words. Enjoy the pictures!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Travel - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – March 1 & 2, 2014

Rio de Janeiro (technically the River of January) or the “Marvelous City” as it is fondly called, is the second largest city in Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. The city has a population of 7 million people. It occupies 485 sq. miles with 31 miles of shoreline.

Fourteen million people live in the greater metropolitan area. Its main industries include petroleum, pharmaceuticals, furniture, clothing, textiles, processed food and chemicals. More tourists visit Rio yearly than any other part of Brazil.

The Portuguese first came to Rio in 1502 when Americo Vespucio and Andre Gonçalves sailed into the Guanabara Bay. The area officially became Rio de Janeiro on March 1, 1565. It was Brazil’s capital (as a Portuguese colony) from 1763-1815 and then capital, first of the United Kingdom of Portugal from 1815-1821, and then the independent nation of Brazil from 1822-1960, when the capital city was relocated to the newly constructed Brasilia. Rio receives the most visitors per year of any city in South America with 2.82 million international tourists annually.

Rio’s cultural life is intense and varied. Perhaps at no time is the city’s festive reputation better displayed than during the annual Carnival which enlivens the city for three solid days with music, singing, parties, balls, and street parades of brilliantly-costumed dancers performing the samba.

We arrive in the midst of Carnival. Certainly it was one of the draws of the trip. Who wouldn’t want to say that they have been in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival? However, with the party comes the people!! I think that all 7 million people were driving their cars on Saturday morning when we arrived. As our bus moved slowly through the streets of Rio, small groups of impromptu bands began to march and dance through the streets, and all the traffic stopped. Large floats blocked one side of the road, making two way traffic impossible. Then there are other streets under construction due to the upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympics. We saw a fair amount of the inside of the tour bus, but at least we were cool and comfortable.

Sugar Loaf

Due to the traffic, our tour guide rearranged our tour a bit. We saw the well know hill in Rio called Sugar Loaf first. It has two fairly high tram rides to get to the top. The view is beautiful; although, during our visit there was quite a bit of haze.

All of Rio is at our feet below this peak. The beaches are beautiful and full of people. Then it is over to Christ The Redeemer for a second spectacular view. We climb the mount there on a cog train, similar to those in the Swiss Alps. The ride through the jungle is beautiful and cool. The view from the top is again eye popping and

breathtaking. I’ve seen lots of pictures, but it is nothing like what I imagined. It is fun to watch all the people and the innovative ways they take pictures of themselves with this most iconic statue. Some stand on the railing. Some stand with out-stretched arms. Some photographers lay on the ground. In any case, the statue was so big it would not all fit in my camera lens at one time when up on the observation area. The overall effect and dimensions are gigantic.

No trip ever comes without some excitement. At one of the stops, we had a handicapped lady in the front of the bus get off first. As she came down the stairs with her hand in the tour guide’s hand, she slipped on the last step into the gutter and broke here leg. She eventually was put in a taxi and sent to the local hospital with a tour representative. Later, we heard that she had undergone surgery on her leg and was resting comfortably in the hospital. We figured that her cruise was over. She would never make it back on ship in time to continue, even though the ship has a good medical department.

We all stepped a little more carefully after that! It could have happened to any one of us!!!

The tour concluded with a dinner (should have been lunch) at a Brazilian barbeque restaurant. The waiters walked around the room with skewers of various types of meat and sliced them off onto your plate with a large knife. The entertainment is the slicing. Some young men are quite masterful in their slicing techniques.

Back at the ship, we see probably the best Brazilian show available in the most comfortable seat with limited crowds. 

Others from our ship went to the
“Sambadrome” in Rio. I was happy to be watching the rhythm band play, the scantily clad girls dance, and the acrobats twist and turn from a fourth row seat. All is well on the Crown Princes. I can only hope and pray for peace in the rest of the world.


YES…the adventure shall continue. HURRAH!

Ed, Cindy, John and Carol Ann

Travel - Recife, Brazil - February 26, 2014

Recife, capital of the Pernambuco state, is a large city of 1.3 million inhabitants located in the northeastern part of Brazil. Today it is an industrial powerhouse with among others textile, chemical, nutrition and minerals processing as the most important industries.
Recently, the service sector has gained a stronger hold on the economy of Recife. The city now hosts the second largest medical and pharmaceutical industry in Brazil and is one of the most important cities in software engineering.


Recife, also, is finally understanding its touristic potential as well. A rich cultural and historical heritage, a relatively well developed tourist infrastructure and having some of the nicest beaches in Brazil nearby, draw in more and more visitors.

However, for Brazilians it has often been considered the “Venice of Brazil”, and its emerald-green waters, numerous bridges and sunny beaches have long been a popular escape for Brazil’s Carnival travelers. The city is well underway in getting ready for Carnival as the ship stops for our visit today.
John and I woke up late this morning. Having an inside cabin, it is hard for us to tell what time it is in the morning. We knew the ship was in port because the ship was not rocking. We finally got up for breakfast, walked past the pool and noted that the air was still, hot and humid. Remember, we are still near the equator!

We ate breakfast, looking out on to the port and watching large forklifts move huge pieces of cargo around the dock. They were moving many pieces of motorized equipment, and at least 50 large wind turbine blades were stored on site awaiting shipment.

This – looking at the tremendous scale and complexity of worldwide logistics - is one of our favorite pastimes while traveling. I think we both wish we could be forklift drivers or mega crane operators in our next life. I love big machinery!!! I guess that is why construction has always been attractive to me.

By the time we got tired of watching freight movement on the dock and realized we would have to take a bus just to get to the port gate, we decided to stay on board the ship. We had no official tours schedule for the day and it was very warm. OK…another “sea day” would be just fine with us.

Some of the passengers did go ashore and had rave reviews for the UNISCO World Heritage Site Olinda, the colonial capital of Brazil, and souvenir shopping at the old prison. I understand that each prison cell has been made into individual shops. Some loved the shopping and some did not. Most of the items available near the tour sites are often priced too high and are often similar. (This is the same around the world.) One passenger indicated that she went to one shop and the item she wanted was priced at $20 US and at another it was priced at $15. Both prices seemed high to her. She didn't buy anything. Many passengers came away empty handed.

Maybe they are all waiting for Rio de Janeiro. We are!! Stay tuned for the continuing adventure!!

TRAVEL – February 22, 23, 24, 2014 –       

AT SEA .... Crossing the Equator

As far as I am concerned, being at sea on an “at sea” day is some of the best time of the trip. In the morning I get up for breakfast, meet with my knitting ladies to knit all morning long, have some lunch, either read, write the blog, or something else until late afternoon and then get ready for dinner. We have a favorite server named Jenny, and we usually sit at her table at around 7 o'clock PM and then either see a show or go to bed.

Now, the ship offers a number things to do during the day. They have a full service spa, a very nice fitness center, many pools, a library, lecture series, dance classes, trivia, bridge classes, ship tours, art auctions, jewelry auctions, shopping, coffee bar, checkers, putt-putt golf, basketball, belly dancing classes, health and circulation classes and movies…just to name a few. On February 24 the ship also celebrated crossing the equator.

King Neptune and court

King Neptune's crew

King Neptune requested all Polly-wogs (those who had never crossed the equator on a ship) to attend the equatorial trials of the Crown Princess. Some of the Polly-wog passengers were invited to attend court and stand accused of various crimes and submit to judgments passed down by King Neptune. Everyone else watched. 

 The guilty had to kiss a fish, kiss King Neptune’s feet and all were slimmed with something that looked like whipped icing/lard and punch. It was great fun, but I’m really glad I was not selected as one of the accused. Pictures were hard to take, but I've tried to include a few just to give you an idea. Half the ship’s passengers were hanging on the rails and five rows deep watching the action. The accused eventually were thrown in the pool to clean off the slime. Great fun was had by all.

No….Sea Days are NOT boring!! The adventure continues…Next stop Recife, Brazil.

Travel – February 21, 2014…..

Trinidad and Tobago

Mt. St Benedict’s Monastery 

I thought I’d change gears on this one, and the following introductory comments were drawn from a January 2014 CIA World Facts Book.

First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers for the Cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime.

Many oil rigs around city harbor

Trinidad has over 1.6 million people. Building on the island is at an unbelievable pace. Our short walking tour to the downtown Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad was a clear confirmation of the CIA facts book. The city was large, with lots of people and an enormous amount of traffic. We decided not to go on an organized tour. There really was not much interesting offered, and the traffic really could not guarantee that you would make it back in time for the ship’s departure.

Dock at Port of Spain

Instead we walked off the boat without a map and just wandered. Maybe not the wisest thing to do, but we did it anyway. We first met a local city provided tour guide in a red shirt standing on the corner and asked where the nearest shopping was. She gave us directions, which was contrary to where all the crowds from the ship were going. We were not quite sure she had given us good guidance. Later we asked a couple coming from the other direction what they had seen. They looked wide eyed and said they had turned around when they heard that the shopping was a very long way away and the pick-pocketing was rampant and they had seen police with machine guns. They had turned around before reaching the shopping area. At that point we decided to follow the local guide’s instructions.

Market just outside port

Independence Street

We crossed the street and headed down Independent Street toward the center of downtown. We hit the main downtown city shopping area. It included a number of indoor shopping malls and outside markets. It was interesting to walk around the markets. There were a lot of people walking around, both local residence and tourists, however, it appeared little trade was taking place. The shop owners were just standing around watching the crowd. The only thing I really saw as maybe a final team member of a pick pocket team stuff a purple wallet inside his pants. Seems that this trade is also popular in all types of crowds. Everything is normal in a big city…no matter what part of the world you are in. And so it goes for time in eternity.

Tug boat seeing the ship out to sea

There are some places to visit like Queens Park Savannah, the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Asa Wright Nature Center and the Mt. St Benedict’s Monastery. Our friends visited a few of these places. They loved the guide and the information about the island, but other than the view they were not too excited about the tour. I enjoyed going back to the ship early. I love being at sea!! 

The next few day we will spend at sea!! You might wonder what we do at sea. Well, hang on! My next blog will give you an idea what happens where you cross the equator on board a ship!! The adventure continues!!

John and our friend Cindy