Around the Horn from Chile to Argentina - and Iguazu Falls!

After an eventful and challenging 2018, we started 2019 off with a great trip from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a wonderful post-cruise excursion to Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina and Brazil.  Our group of 19 people comprised many of our regular travelers with a sprinkling of first-timers cruising with us. That should guarantee that this blog gets at least 8 or 10 views.

Unsurprisingly, this was another cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse, a ship we have been on several times in the past couple of years. In 2017, we sailed the Eclipse from Southampton, UK to St. Petersburg Russia, a fantastic Baltics cruise.  Then, in April of 2018, we were on the Eclipse for a trans-Atlantic cruise from Miami to Dublin.  We stayed on the ship for the follow-on cruise, from Dublin to Iceland.  Thirteen of our group had been on two or more of those trips.

Everyone flew into Santiago, Chile, but not all at the same time. Unfortunately, the Boss's suitcase came off with a big hole in it, so we had to make a claim and get a new piece of luggage at the airport while the rest of the people on our flight headed off to the Hilton DoubleTree, just a couple of blocks from the US Embassy.  Most people paid a little extra to check into the rooms early, and the early arrivals met back in the lobby to find a place for lunch.  Our crowd split into smaller groups, and some spent the afternoon exploring, while others decided a nap was in order after the overnight flight.

We all got together in the lobby that evening to cash in our free welcome drink at the bar.  One of the small groups found a good restaurant for dinner, that could take all nineteen of us, and we walked there from the hotel.  The Giratorio is a famous revolving restaurant with great views of the city and the surrounding Andes Mountains ringing the city.

Dale and the ladies enjoy their complimentary welcome drink at the hotel - everyone chose the pisco sour.
Somehow, Pat got the jumbo size!

The view from the revolving restaurant, the Giratorio. Santiago is a wonderful city,
and we wished we had had more time there.

One of our two tables.  Seafood and steaks were the popular choices,
and the food and wine were good, and very reasonable.

The sun setting behind the mountains added a nice touch .

Since the cruise ship actually departed from San Antonio and not Santiago, the Boss arranged a private tour the next day to pick us up, with all our luggage, and take us to Valparaiso, then a winery for lunch, before dropping us off in San Antonio to board the ship.  

A view of the countryside as we rode our tour bus over the hills to Valparaiso.

Valparaiso is the third largest metropolitan area in Chile, and is a major seaport, located about
75 miles northwest of Santiago.  However, most cruise ships have stopped using this port.  

Valparaiso is known for its funiculars, and as both of my loyal blog fans know, I love
a funicular.  Of course we rode it down from the scenic overlook above.

Since it was Sunday, the streets were filled with outdoor markets, with anything you can imagine for sale.
Overall, we were not impressed with Valparaiso, and unlike Santiago, didn't feel like we needed to return.

Although Valparaiso was disappointing, our visit to the Bodega Re vineyard was delightful.

Our guide, Rocio, told us the story of the crazy winemaker who was the first to grow grapes
in the Casablanca Valley.  This family-owned business has been quite successful.

All the naysayers were wrong about being able to grow grapes in this area.

They still age their wine in clay pots - these are the old-style ones, partially buried.

Kile provides scale on how the large the newer clay pots are.

The wine pairing with the gourmet lunch was a highlight of the day.  A great way to start the trip!

After lunch, and some wine purchases, the bus took us to San Antonio, our departure port for the curise.  A brief review, in case someone besides our loyal travelers reads this: the Eclipse is one of the Celebrity Solstice-class ships, which have a capacity of 2,850 passengers.  This size ship provides an abundance of dining, entertainment and activity options, at a decent service level, without the more crowded feel of the mega-ships with 4,000 to 5,000 passengers.  Some of the neat features of the ship include the lawns on the top deck, an abundance of bars, the Café al Bacio coffee shop, a variety of specialty restaurants, the hot glass show, and a whole bunch of entertainment venues.  And of course, there is a casino, which was popular with a lot of our group.  

We had early seating dining, at 6:00 PM, which was the only way we could arrange to have our group of 19 sit together in the main dining room.  We had two tables of 10 side by side, and changed seats frequently to be able to have dinner with different people every night.  

Our first day was a sea day.  We often get asked, "Aren't you bored on the ship?  Is there anything to do on sea days?"  There is so much to do on the ship that you have to make decisions on what to do at certain times, and what you have to skip.   In our group, favorite activities included going to the fitness center, walking the outside track on the upper deck, attending afternoon trivia in the Sky Lounge, playing bridge or Wizard in the card room or wherever we could find room, gambling in the casino, shopping, reading, attending destination talks, and enjoying the multiple entertainment options.  

Some of our "Dream Team" trivia participants.  Some participated more than others, and we never won, but we had fun.

As has become our tradition on our group cruises, we held our Poker Run on the first sea day.  The Poker Run requires everyone to visit three different bars on the ship, and pick up an envelope containing two playing cards at each bar.  At the last bar, each player has their envelopes opened and they make the best poker hand out of the six cards.  This is just an excuse to drink and to meet and/or mingle with the rest of our crowd.

No one stayed too long at the first bar, which was the Sunset Bar, outside on Deck 15, because it was a bit windy and
chilly.  Everyone was much more comfortable in our second location, the Martini Bar.

The lucky winners pose with their valuable prizes.

Chris won the Grand Prize!

The first stop on our cruise was Puerto Montt, Chile.  Puerto Montt dates back to 1853, and was colonized by German immigrants.  The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960, but was rebuilt and has become a major fishing port known for its salmon.  We had a private tour for our group that started with visits to Angelmo, the fish market and a row of handicrafts shops, followed by a stop at Plaza de Armas, the main square.  We then drove to Puerto Varas on the shore of Llanquihue Lake.  Puerto Varas is nicknamed the "City of Roses" and is billed as a German-style village.

Our guide was named Marcus, and unfortunately, he spoke very little English, which made for a very unsatisfying excursion.  Because of the language problem, we learned virtually nothing about these locations.  The Boss was not pleased, and contacted the tour provider to protest.  In the end, everyone was reimbursed for this tour.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas in Puerto Montt.

The church was lovely, and was interesting because it is constructed primarily of wood, inside and out.

The drive to Puerto Varas was unremarkable, since our guide could provide no information along the way.  At one point driving through the town, he pointed to the left and in his best English, said "Left. House!"   I took this picture just
after he pointed and said "Church."  This is the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, and you can see the German influence
in the architecture. 

Deke shows why Puerto Varas is known as the City of Roses.

We just barely had enough time to grab lunch in an Irish pub, which served burrtios and pizza,
before the bus took us back.

Fortunately, our fellow travelers were all good sports about this rare unsatisfying tour, and it did provide some material for future tours, when someone would shout out "Left!  Building!"

The next two days were sea days, as we sailed through the Chilean fjords along the southeastern part of the coast, then through the Strait of Magellan.  The fjords were formed by the retreat of glaciers at the end of the ice age, which led to flooding of the dry valleys and formation of thousands of new islands surrounded by deep fjords.

Sailing through the fjords was pretty; thousands of islands and virtually no sign of civilization in most of the areas.

We left the fjords and headed out into the open Pacific on our way to the Strait of Magellan.
Typical Dream Vacations weather.

The Strait of Magellan is the most important natural passage between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  It separates southern Chile to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south.  This was probably our roughest sea day - the boat did rock quite a bit as waves splashed against the windows as high as Deck 4.  As we played games in the Cellar Masters lounge, we saw a few glasses slide off tables and a passenger that lost her balance.

Things started out peacefully enough, as we started through the Strait of Magellan.

The wind and waves picked up significantly and the boat did some rocking and rolling.

Having survived our one day of rough seas, we anchored in Punta Arenas the next morning, and tendered ashore for our private tour.  Punta Arenas is the capital of Chile's southernmost region, called Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena.   It was founded in 1848, and is now the most populous southernmost city in the Americas, only 881 miles from the coast of Antarctica.  Our guide, Andres, was much better than our first one, and he provided some historical and cultural information durinrg our drive to Fort Bulnes, which was founded in 1843 to advance Chile's colonization and protection of the region.  Due to harsh weather, it was abandoned and the settlers moved to Punta Arenas.

The whale tail welcome sign greeted us as we got off the tender from the ship.

Fort Bulnes was reconstructed and was declared a national mounument in 1968.

They abandoned the fort due to harsh conditions, but when you travel with Dream Vacations,
you always get beautiful weather.

These evergreen trees were really interesting.  My research indicates they are a type of
araucaria tree, an evergreen.

The Chilean flag flies over the fort, with the cannons aimed out over the Strait of Magellan.

This map provides some geographic reference, but you have to realize that the blue parts are land, not water.

We made a quick photo stop at this monument, which I think is a marker representing
the  mid-point between the northernmost and southernmost ends of Chile, including
its parts of Antarctica..

We made another photo stop to get pictures of these multi-colored flowers all along the highway.
Remember that January is summertime in these parts.

We returned to Punta Arenas to visit the Sara Braun cemetery, followed by a brief city tour, ending at the Plaza de Armas.

Sara Braun was an immigrant from Russia who became the richest and most
influential woman in Patagonia at the time.  The cemetery was founded in 1894, and
Sara Braun donated the huge stone gateway.  Legend has it that she asked to be the only
person to go through the gate when she died.  The main entrance has been sealed off
since her death and you have to enter through a side gate.

The cemetery has been recognized as one of the 10 most beautiful in the world and was designated a
national monument of Chile in 2012.  Much of the cemetery seems more like a park than a graveyard.

Many of the mausoleums of the rich and influential are quite impressive.

But not everybody could afford the magnificent structures.  Less wealthy folks ended up in a more austere
resting place.

We had a brief photo stop at the Shepherd Monument (Monumento Al Ovejero), dedicated to the shepherds and
ranching industry that brought much wealth to the area.

A close-up of the hard-working shepherd.

The view from Mirador Cerro de la Cruz (Overlook near the Cross), an iconic photo spot with a great
panoramic view of the city and the Strait of Magellan.  Look closely and you can spot the
Celebrity Eclipse just to the left of the tall dark building near the top of the photo.

This was a good spot for a group photo, and although a bit windy, it also shows the beautiful Dream Vacation weather.

Our last tour stop was the Plaza de Armas, right in the center of the city.  The statue of Magellan is the most visited monument in Punta Arenas, and was inaugurated to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Ferdinand
Magellan to the strait named after him, and thus the discovery of Chile.

The square was also a good place to spot subjects for my collection of close-ups of local inhabitants with
great character in their faces.  This guy definitely fit the bill.

From Punta Arenas, we sailed even further south, to reach the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia.  Ushuaia is located along the Beagle Channel in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland.  Tierra del Fuego consists of the main island, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, and a group of many smaller islands, including Cape Horn.  Tierra del Fuego is divided between Chile and Argentina.  Argentina controls the eastern half of the main island, while Chile owns the western half and the islands south of the Beagle Channel.  Thus, Ushuaia was our first stop in Argentina.

Our private tour from Ushuaia was excellent - we had a great guide named Sol, who took us to the Tierra del Fuego National Park, on the Argentinian side of the island.  We hiked to Lapataia Bay,  stopped in the Visitor Center, visited the end-of-the-world post office, and saw Lago Roca, a lake that spans the Argentine-Chilean border.

The city of Ushuaia, viewed from the ship, with the mountains behind.

We passed snow-capped mountains on the way to the National Park.

The head of the trail down to Lapataia Bay, on the north side of the Beagle Channel.  This is also the end point of
the PanAmerican Highway (National Route 3 in Argentina).  Only 17,848 km from Alaska,
or just over 11,000 miles.  Now we've been to both.

A view of the bay, with the Beagle Channel in the distance.

The park offers lots of dramatic scenery, and we were lucky to have a mostly sunny day, as it is often
rainy and misty in this area.

We stopped for a snack and drink at the visitor center.

These were crab-filled empanadas, and cost about $1 each.  Delicious!

When at the end of the world, you have to drink "La Cerveza de la Tierra del Fuego."

I think our guide Sol had a crush on me.  She was excellent, with very good English and a good sense of humor. 

Although we had partly sunny skies most of the day, it was VERY windy, especially here at the Post Office at the end of the world, located on Ensenada Bay.  Note the flags.  The little building on the left is the post office, where you have to get
a magnet or a postcard. 

The sign outside the Post Office shows we were only 745 miles from Antarctica.

We returned to Ushuaia, and had some free time to walk around and do a little shopping.  Sol advised us to go by the Tourist Office, where we got a dated document certifying that we had come to the southernmost city in the world.

Seems like an oxymoron, right?

We did not opt to take the City Tour on the trolley.

This is a monument to immigrants near the waterfront.

Walking back to the ship turned into an adventure as the wind was blowing in excess of 50 mph. There were policeman on the pier helping people walk to the ship, and you had to hold on to everything very tightly.  But we made it, and had relatively smooth sailing after departing the port.

The next day we cruised around Cape Horn.  Cape Horn is actually located on a small island, Hornos Island.  Cape Horn is not the southermost point in South America, but it marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage, and is where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collide.  The waters around the Cape are considered very treacherous, due to strong winds, rough seas, strong currents, and icebergs.  Since we were there in their summer, we saw no icebergs.  But Dream Vacations provided suitable enough weather for the ship to cruise up close to the island for a good view.  We were told it is not unusual to have to skip Cape Horn due to weather conditions.

The ship approached Hornos Island around 6:00 AM.  Believe it or not,
this is pretty good weather compared to normal conditions.

The Cape Horn Lighthouse is part of a Chilean Naval Station.

The ship didn't get too close to the island for obvious reasons, so I had to use the full 40X zoom.
This is the Albatross Monument, erected in 1992, in remembrance of sailors who died "rounding the Horn."

This is what the Albatross Monument looks like up close. Photo from the web.

We rounded the Horn safely and spent the next two days at sea, before arriving at Puerto Madryn, Argentina, one of the fastest growing cities in Patagonia.  The city is about halfway between Cape Horn and Buenos Aires.  Our private tour today took us to the Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve to see penguins.  Although it was about a 2-1/2 hour bus ride, it was well worth it if you like penguins, and who doesn't?  This turned out to be one of my favorite days of the trip.

Our first wildlife of the day  - a sea lion swimming in the harbor, as seen from my balcony.

At low tide, a tractor pushed a boat from shore into water deep enough to launch the boat.

A lot of green plants were exposed during low tide, and people could walk out
a couple of hundred yards from shore.

Chris always loves his picture taken with the local young ladies.

Our guide, Marina, was excellent, providing us with a lot of information on history and culture
on our long minibus rideto the Punta Tombo reserve.  She spoke 
very good English and had a good sense of humor.

Bonus attraction along the way - "The Largest Dinosaur in the World" near a little town called Trelew.  

A wooden walkway runs through the preserve from the entrance all the way to the coastline.  The penguins
were taking refuge in the shade of the walk, because it was a Dream Vacations warm and sunny day.

Their nests are burrows in the ground, and they say they always come back to the same one, year after year.

Not sure if this one was trying to scare us or if he was just amused by all the tourists.

You can tell the babies by their fur and lack of distinctive white rings around their heads.

Lots of llamas like lazily loping and loving life.

The ostrich was a surprise sighting.  Not nearly as plentiful as the penguins or llamas.

They are cute little critters, and not the least bit intimidated by the hundreds of tourists
traipsing through the reserve.

You really get a sense of their numbers when you see them gathered on the beach and in the water.  
Over a half million penguins migrate here from southern Brazil to nest.  This is the largest colony 
of Magellanic penguins in the world.

They look much more graceful and at home in the water.

This was the penguin swimming pool in a more protected cove.

When we returned to Puerto Madryn, the tide was in, and the beach looked completely different.

The next day was another sea day as we sailed up the coast of Argentina towards Uruguay.  As is our tradition, Dream Vacations arranged for a private martini tasting in the Martini Bar for our group.  It always starts quietly, but picks up steam as more and more martinis are ingested.


The bartender always puts on a show by filling about two dozen glasses from one end to the other.

The tasting consists of a flight of six different martinis for each person.  They range from traditional vodka martinis
to more exotic concoctions with various liquors and juices.

JoAnne has that happy multi-martini smile.  Not everyone liked every martini, but I'm pretty sure by the end,
most of them had been consumed.

Several of us took our martini buzz to one of the specialty dining restaurants, Murano, which in my opinion,
is easily the best one on the ship.  Great menu and excellent service!

Our next scheduled stop was Punta del Este, Uruguay, where Esther had arranged a private bike tour for most of the group.  Unfortunately, the captain decided due to weather and sea conditions that it would not be safe to tender ashore, and this port was cancelled.  Instead we spent another day at sea, and headed for Montevideo.  Sea days were relaxing and some met to play bridge or other games, while others walked the deck and visited the fitness center.  

Montevideo, Uruguay, unfortunately turned out to be the rare day on a Dream Vacations trip with less than stellar weather.  In fact, in rained pretty much the whole time we were there.  However, out intrepid travelers embarked on our private tour nonetheless.  Despite the rain, it was evident that Montevideo is a beautiful cosmopolitan city, and would be worth another visit in better conditions.  After our city tour, we visited a winery outside of the city, where we had an excellent lunch after the wine tasting.

Our tour started at the Plaza Independencia, the most important plaza in the city.  The guy on the horse is Jose Artigas,  a national hero of Uruguay, whose remains are kept in an underground room beneath the statue.  To the left is the
Executive Tower, where the President of Uruguay works.

This is the Palacio Salvo, the most iconic building in the city, finished in 1928.  At 330 feet, it was the tallest building in
Latin America for a brief time.

The weather may not be the best, but spirits are high.

On the coach, our guide Oscar explains everything about mate' to us.  Mate' is a traditional South American
caffeine-rich infused drink introduced by the Guarani natives. It is especially popular in Argentina and Uruguay.
The straw is called a bombilla, and Oscar showed us the proper way to drink it without getting a mouthful of
leaves.  Oscar also told us that contrary to popular belief, Uruguay invented the tango, not Argentina.  We heard
a different story when we got to Argentina.

We made a quick photo stop at the Plaza de la Armada, a small park along the river.  

This monument at the Plaza commemorates members of the navy who fell in the line of duty.  The Plaza looks out
on the Rio de la Plata, which is the widest river in the world with a maximum width of 140 miles.
It extends eastward from Uruguay to Buenos Aires in Argentina.

This is the Palacio Legislativo, the seat of the Uruguayan Parliament.

We left the city and drove to the Bouza Winery.  Still pretty wet outside, but mostly the rain had stopped.

The indoor tasting room had a wonderful collection of classic cars.

The winery tour was pretty standard, nothing remarkable.  Unfortunately, only part of the group was American, so
the guide gave the tour in two languages, and it took a while to get through.

We prepare for our tasting among all the classic cars.

We sampled four different wines, each accompanied by a small appetizer.

The wine tasting was followed by lunch in their on-site restaurant.  Table for 17, please.

The steak was delicious, but I'm not sure how many of us were able to eat the whole thing.

You didn't want to be full when the dessert arrived.  The homemade flan was a masterpiece, and delicious!

The last stop on our cruise was also one of the best.  We arrived in Buenos Aires, just 128 miles up the Rio de la Plata River from Montevideo.  As in most ports, the Boss had arranged a private tour for us, and we were picked up at the port by our guide Dominique.  The tour took us through many parts of the city, with stops at the Floralis Generica, the Recoleta Cemetery, Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada, and the La Boca neighborhood.  Dominique also pointed out many other sights during our van ride.

The Buenos Aires skyline from the ship in port.

Our guide for the Buenos Aires tour was Dominique, and she was outstanding.

The Floralis Generica located in United Nations Plaza is a steel and aluminum sculpture by Argentine architect
Eduardo Catalona, created in 2002.  The unique thing about it is that the "petals" open in the morning and close
in the evening, or at least they are supposed to.  Dominique said it often doesn't work.

Good place for a group photo.  The sculpture is 75 feet high and weighs 18 tons.  The architect says it is
"a synthesis of all the flowers and, at the same time, a hope reborn every day at opening."

Our private tours were usually in these 18 to 24-passenger vans.  So much better than boarding the big coaches
with 70 cruise ship passengers.

Next we went to the Recoleta district, and saw this gum tree that is over 225 years old.  Many of the branches are
supported by posts.  Katy is next to a statue of Atlas holding a branch.  I'm the one in the purple T-shirt.  The
base of the old tree is almost 25 feet in diameter.

This gentleman was sitting on a bench and softly playing guitar.  I thought he was a good addition to my
local character collection.

The entrance to La Recoleta Cemetery, which contains the graves of Eva Peron (Evita), presidents of Argentina,
Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and a granddaughter of Napoleon.  It's also on lists of the 
world's best and most beautiful cemeteries.  Similar to the Sara Braun Cemetery in Punta Arenas, but nicer.

The mausoleums come in all shapes and sizes with some amazing sculptures and architecture.

Much of the cemetery is laid out in a grid pattern with both sides of the passages lined with mausoleums.  The layout
was done by a French civil engineer for the cemetery's inauguration in 1822.

Many of them actually have lower levels.

Others have beautiful stained glass windows providing light into the inside of the
mausoleum.

Dominique shared a number of fascinating stories about some of the people buried in
La Recoleta.  I'm pretty sure that rainbow was not visible when I took the picture.
Perhaps a signal from the other side?

By far the most visited site in La Recoleta is the Duarte Family mausoleum........

....whose most famous family member was, of course, Eva Peron.  She was the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron,
and First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952.  Dominique told us the whole story about Eva!

As you can tell, I didn't take this photo, but it shows 9 de Julio Avenue, the widest avenue in the world, named for 
Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.  In the center is the Buenos Aires Obelisk, constructed in 1936 to
commemorate the city's 400th anniversary.

We also drove past the Teatro Colon, the main opera house in Buenos Aires.  Opened in 1908, it is considered one of
the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic.

Our next stop was Plaza de Mayo, the city center of Buenos Aires, and scene of the most momentous events in
Argentine history and the largest popular demonstrations in the country.

The Piramide de Mayo was the city's first national monument in 1811, commemorating the May Revolution of 1810.

At one end of the Plaza is the Casa Rosada (the Pink House), which is the executive mansion and office of the
President of Argentina.  This is one the most iconic buildings in the city, and was where Eva Peron made
some of her famous speeches from the balconies.

No Argentinian city can be without a statue of General Jose de San Martin, the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru.
He was a Spanish-Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern and central parts of South America's
successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire.

A huge Argentinian flag flies over the plaza.  Have I mentioned the Dream Vacations weather?  Spectacular!

Our last stop was La Boca, a neighborhood known for its colorful buildings and the Caminito, a pedestrian street where
they say the tango was born.  It's primarily one big souvenir store overrun with tourists.

Dominique took some of us to a small cafe where we had choripan.  The name is a mixture of chorizo and pan (bread).
A choripan is a grilled chorizo in a roll topped with chimichurri.  Fabulous!

Had to wash the choripan down with a local beer!  Great snack after a long tour.

On the way back to the ship, we passed the Faculty of Law building at the University of Buenos Aires, among other sites.

We returned to the ship after our tour as we were spending one last night on board before disembarking the next day.   However, our Buenos Aires experience was not done - Esther had a private dinner arranged at a local restaurant, called The Argentine Experience.

Because we were going to make our own empanadas, we all put on funny hats.

Of course, wine had to be part of the experience.  Argentina has good wine.

We were all given wrappers and fillings and told to be creative in making our own empanadas.

I thought my Yoda entry was a sure winner, but I guess the Argentines aren't big Star War fans.

First came some amazing appetizers - bread, cheese puffs, sausage, etc.

The steaks were outstanding - and large.  We were taught how to order how we wanted them cooked in Spanish -
mine is "jugoso" (medium rare).

At the end of the meal, we had an opportunity to have some mate'.

Pat won the empanada constest by putting "I heart Argentina" on hers.  I think Yoda collapsed in the oven

A good meal and a fun time was had by all.  The staff were so friendly and funny, and the food, drinks and group company were all great.

The next morning we disembarked from the Eclipse, and were picked up for a private transfer to the  airport for our flight to Iguazu, a city in the far northeastern corner of Argentina near its border with Brazil.  This was a post-cruise expedition arranged by the Boss, and included round-trip flights, two nights in a hotel, and tours of Iguazu Falls from the both the Brazil side of the Iguazu River and the Argentina side.   Upon our arrival at the Iguazu airport, we were picked up by our guide Beatrice, who took us across the border into Brazil for our first tour of the falls.  All our luggage was taken to the hotel in Puerto Iguazu on the Argentina side while we did the tour.

I took almost 200 pictures of the falls in the two days we spent there, because every place you went on either side, the views were incredible.  Iguazu Falls are on the Iguazu River and extend on either side of the Argentina/Brazil border.  Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world.  For this blog, I have tried to show only the best shots, but that still is a lot of photos.

On the Brazil side the first day, we did a hike along the river for a couple of miles.  Beatrice told us that the difference between the two sides of the falls is that "Brazil has the theater, and Argentina has the show."  In other words, the view of the falls from the Brazilian side is better, but most of the falls themselves are in Argentina.  However, I would have a hard time telling you one side is better than the other for experiencing this wonder of nature.

Our guide Beatrice picked us up at the airport and took us into Brazil for our tour the first day.

To give you an idea of the magnitude of Iguazu Falls, I found this aerial shot on the internet.  If you look closely at
the bottom left corner, you can see the wooden walkway below the upper falls and above the lower falls. That is
near the end of the trail we hiked during our tour on the Brazil side.  In the upper right hand corner, you can see
another wooden walkway which is the end of one of the trails we hiked on the Argentina side.

Our first look at the falls, from Brazil, across to Argentina.

There are literally hundreds of waterfalls and these are the small ones! 

This illustrates the two-step configuration of the falls.

We walked out on to the wooden platform to get a better look at Devil's Throat.  About half of the river's flow
falls into this long and narrow chasm.

Spectacular view from the platform at the end of the trail.  For comparison, Iguazu Falls is as much as
100 feet higher than Niagara Falls.  Victoria Falls in Africa is even higher, but Iguazu Falls is 
over 3200 feet wider than Victoria Falls.  Notice the Dream Vacations weather?  It was hot, though.

The view from the high point at the end of the trail.

These coatis are everywhere by the concession stands on both sides of the falls.  Warnings are posted everywhere
not to feed them, but everybody does.  They do have very sharp claws and teeth and are known to jump on a table
and grab food out of people's hands if you're not careful.

Our bus was waiting at the end of the trail to take us back to our hotel in Argentina.  We stayed at the Loi Suites Iguazu, which was excellent.  The hotel is built in the middle of the rain forest, and fit in perfectly with its surroundings.  The service was excellent, and breakfast was included both mornings.  We had a long day, and everyone was tired, so most people ate in the casual on-site restaurant at the hotel.

The hotel had a lovely pool that we used after a long hot day touring the Falls.  Breakfast was served
on the deck at the bottom of the photo.

In keeping with the sub-tropical jungle theme, we had to cross several suspension bridges to get to our rooms. 
You could get a pretty good bounce going if you tried.

The next morning was our full-day tour of the Falls from the Argentina side.

Today's tour originated in the Iguazu National Park on the Argentina side.  Most of us completed the orange,
 blue and yellow trails. The park had several places to eat and of course numerous souvenir shops.

We took the train from the park entrance to get to the start of the Garganta de Diablo (the Devil's Throat) trail
(the orange one).

We were impressed by how well the trails were laid out and how they provided such great access to the falls.  This is
part of the upper trail that took us to the Devil's Throat, near the spot we ended on the Brazil side the day before..

The river comes from the top left of the picture to this area where the falls begin.

This is obviously one of the popular photo spots, so I got my picture taken with the prettiest girl in the park.

The volume and power of the water is mind-boggling.

Lest you think all we saw in the park was waterfalls, I included this picture which turned out well.

This is a caiman, a slightly smaller relative of the crocodile.  We watched him for a while and he didn't move,
so we began to wonder if he was real or just a prop.

We are now on the Upper Circuit, and have lost or left behind a few of our gentler walkers.  It was a really hot day.

As you walk the trails, you continually get new views and perspectives - this is still the Upper Circuit.

We didn't take one, but they offer boat trips from river below the falls to the base, kind of like The Maid of the Mist
at Niagara.

On the Lower Circuit, you get views looking up at the falls instead of from the top.

Also on the Lower Circuit.  I included the people on the platform for scale.

We saw a wide variety of beautiful butterflies, and several people had them land on their shirt or hat
and stay for a while.

Our now weary group at the end of the hikes, waiting for Beatrice to return with the bus.

I have to tell you that the Boss and I have been to Niagara Falls, and Victoria Falls.  They are all amazing, but if you could only go to one of the three, I would say Iguazu Falls is the most magnificent.  This post-cruise exploration was worth every penny.

After another long hot day, many decided to eat in the hotel again, but Esther and I went with a few others into town to a restaurant suggested by the hotel concierge and had a nice dinner.  The only glitch was when a very large cockroach dropped from a tree above the table and ran across my menu as I was deciding what to eat.

Alas, neither the trip nor this lengthy blog are done yet.  We checked out of the hotel the next morning, flew back to Buenos Aires, and were picked up and transferred to our hotel, the Hotel Madero in the trendy neighborhood of Puerto Madero.  Puerto Madero used to be part of the old port and now the warehouses have been converted into upscale residences, shops and restaurants.  The hotel was excellent.

The hotel rooms were very nice - roomy and comfortable.

The view from our hotel room balcony.

The hotel manager graciously agreed to give the Boss a tour of the hotel, which included the rooftop spa with this
great view of the Puerto Madero area at sunset.

After some time to rest and refresh, we headed out for our final excursion of the trip, a tango show at La Ventana in the San Telmo neighborhood.  This included dinner and wine (cocktails were extra).  Unfortunately, this was an overcrowded venue, with terrible service.  At one of our two tables, we had trouble finding our waiter and didn't get our food until the other table was eating dessert.  The tango show was good, but perhaps a bit too long and repetitive.  Still, when in Argentina, you have to see it.

If you made it all the way through this blog, you either were part of our group or are a glutton for punishment.  But I hope you got a sense of what a great trip this was overall.  Wonderful unique destinations, combined with one of the most fun groups we have traveled with, made this an outstanding way to start 2019 and a journey to remember!

I invite your comments, critique, and input.  It helps me think I'm not completely wasting my time spending hours and hours sorting through photos and compiling these blogs.