SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNEY - February 11, 2009 to March 6, 2009

Our flight arrived in Rio on time and, because we shared a taxi instead of riding a bus as planned, we were early to our hotel for check in.  But after a minor wait we were in our room applying sun screen, ready to go exploring and a walk on the beach. 


beach

Copacabana beach from the hotel

faella

View of a faela at the other end of the street

The day was partly cloudy and hot.  It was a shock to go from single digits above zero Fahrenheit in Vermont to 30 plus centigrade in Rio.  We took the elevator to the top of the hotel which boasted a tiny swimming pool and tiki bar. The view of the beach at Copacabana enticed us down to the beach where we walked a couple of miles along the beach before getting in the shade of the buildings.  Can't take the heat. After heading back to the hotel for a rest, we headed back out in search of dinner and then called it a day.



Sugar Loaf as seen from Copacabana beach

In the morning we headed toward Sugar Loaf, the iconic rock face at the entrance to the harbor.  Since Rio is a series of beaches connected by tunnels through some impressive granite hills there wasn't a convenient way to get there along the beach.  The guide books indicated the metro was quick, cheap and safe, which sounded good to us.  Having located the closest metro station on our walk the first afternoon, we headed for the station and we each got a "tap card" to allow us easy access to the system without having to break the language barrier each time we wanted to catch a ride.  The guide books were correct in stating once away from the tourist intensive facilities, English wasn't spoken.  It was easy to figure out where we wanted to go and we hopped on with the intention of transferring to a bus at Botofoga that would take us to the gondola ride up Sugar Loaf.

The guide books were also correct in stating that the bus system was difficult to decipher - there were multiple companies running everything from standard city buses to little vans - and route maps are non existent.  We could see Sugar Loaf, but given multiple intersections we gave up trying to figure out where to catch a bus and walked.  It was probably a mile away once we got on the right street. 


cable cars

Cable cars on Sugar Loaf

rio from SL

Rio from Sugar Loaf (Christos on peak at the right)

We had a short wait before catching the gondola.  It is the oldest lift in South America, a two stage affair with a change of cars about half way up the mountain.  We had a tour group with us for the first stage, but they got out to walk around the look out area between the gondolas, giving us the second, steeper ride, almost to ourselves.  The skies were relatively clear, (the humidity caused a bit of a haze, but we had spectacular views of the harbor entrance, Rio and the surrounding area).  After taking lots of pictures, we walked on the trails around the top of the hill.  It was  pleasant when we found a spot with both shade and a breeze as the temperature was heading back into the 30+C range.  I had hoped to see some of the monkeys that live on the mountain, but had to settle for a few lizards, butterflies and vultures soaring in the updrafts. 

L&L

Atop Sugar Loaf

lizard

Lizard

Supposedly it was possible to hike up the mountain, the bottom portion had a normal trail, but "rock climbing" is required on the upper half.  We saw a guy clinging to the rocks as we took the gondola down, not something that appealed to us.

flower

Close up of a flower

Our walk to Sugar Loaf had taken us past the prestigious Rio Yacht Club, a gated affair complete with a uniformed guard and guard gate.  On the walk back to the metro we tried to visit the club (I had my LCYC card, but of course we weren't on their list) and the guard spoke no English.  We'd hoped to pick up a club burgee. 

Our next destination was the city center which reportedly had some interesting old buildings.  It was very hot and crowded when we got there, so I suggested we head to the ferry dock and take a ride to Nitrol, the city across the bay.  It was equally hot and crowded in the ferry terminal, but it felt great to sit down in the shade once we got on the ferry.  The route took us past the old customs house that had been built in the harbor in the 1860's.  It looked reminiscent to Ellis Island in New York Harbor.


custom house

Old Custom House


Ferry Passengers

We thought about trying to find the art museum in Nitrol that is shaped like a space ship, but decided it was too hot, especially since our map didn't include that part of town. This decision was also influenced by the guide book's comment that the design of the building was more interesting than the exhibits, so we reboarded the ferry for Rio. 

art museum

Natori art museum

Back in Rio, we took a short walk along the water front before heading for a metro station.  That walk got longer than intended when we had trouble finding the entrance to the station.  It was in a complex  with a bunch of street vendors and a park, and, I for one, was really glad when we found it as the humidity and heat index were way up beyond the comfort zone.  By the time we got back to Copacabana, it was raining.


dories

Dories with Natori in the background

We'd hoped to rest a bit and then head down the beach toward Ipanema, but the drizzle filled in to a steady rain and neither of us wanted to go for a walk in the rain so we opted for a nap.  At dinner time, it was still raining lightly and we found a "per kilo"  self serve place within half a block of our hotel.  Unlike the few other places we checked out, it had a mix of patrons, both locals and tourists that had wandered in off the street. Once we figured out the routine, we had fun sampling local foods, taking a bit of anything that looked interesting.

In the morning the rain had stopped, so we did the walk to Ipanema before heading to the cruise ship dock.   Leonard had planned on using the metro and bus system to get us to the port to catch our cruise.  But after finding we would  have to go down the four steep flights of stairs (only two had working escalators),  I insisted on a cab (it was also about half a mile away with rough cobblestone sidewalks, difficult to do with "wheelies"). 

It was a good choice.  The ride was stop and go from Copacabana to Botofoga, but once past Botofoga and on the limited access highway, it felt like we were flying, a bit of a white knuckle affair, and I was glad we weren't trying to drive and navigate the streets.  It was also an opportunity to see a different part of the city.  An interesting fact.  The boulevard along the ocean (6 lanes) runs all one way during rush hour to handle the traffic.  The problem is a lack of signs to explain the system.


Our cruise ship "Amsterdam" shown at a later stop

There was a bit of a crowd at the cruise dock (like the lines at Disney Land) and I think we didn't do the baggage correctly.  Our bags looked like two over sized carry ons, and rather than parting with them, we simply ran them through the scanner along with our backpacks.  Since the staterooms weren't quite ready, it was a bit of a pain to haul them with us to the lido deck, but the upside was once the state room was ready, we had our luggage and were able to unpack without delay.

dropping lines
Leaving Rio

After watching the dock workers cast off our lines, the Amsterdam used her asipods to propel us off the dock before turning and heading out to sea toward Buenos Aires, due to arrive at 0600 on Monday after a couple of days at sea.  There were sprinkles as we worked our way out of the harbor, but we did catch glimpses of Christos, the statue of Christ with out stretched arms, that sits atop the highest hill overlooking Rio.  We caught a glimpse of the space ship designed art museum and had a different view of Sugar Loaf and a series of islands stretching out beyond the harbor entrance.

Our state room was located in the aft section of the promenade (third) deck on the starboard side.  This meant we would have folks strolling past our "unobstructed ocean view", but the window i was a reflective glass, so it wasn't easy to see in, and for life boat drill, we merely had to grab our life jackets and walk outside.


State Room


Dining Room
The first two days of the cruise were spent at sea as we headed south to Buenos Aires, giving us a chance to catch our breath and settle into ship board life.  We had chosen open seating for dinner and have had the opportunity to meet more of our fellow cruisers as we share tables with different folks every night.  The food was very good, and plentiful, thankfully the serving sizes small, which helped (barely) to keep over eating in check.  Our fellow passengers were an interesting mix - a large contingent from Canada, mostly the Toronto area - and a number of British as well as a mix of Americans, French, Germans, Russians and several Latin Americans.

We had our first "formal" dinner, fortunately for those of us that don't own tuxes and fancy gowns, the Amsterdam doesn't overly stress the  formal aspect and Leonard's blazer and slacks with a tie fit right in, as did my Chico's travel knits.  (Best of all,  my dressy cloths can be smushed in a suitcase and come out looking great, and take very little space.)

We attended lectures given by staff several times a day as well as evening shows that were presented in a theater, so there was  enough to keep us busy and going to bed latter than planned most nights.  So far, the highlight of the evening shows was  put on by the Indonesian crew that cook, serve and generally look after us.  They have a number of very talented musicians and gave us some insight into Indonesian life, as well as some renditions of music most of us knew during our youth. 


Theater


Towel Figures

The crew have been wonderful.  They always smile and say hello when you see them around the ship.  They do a fantastic job of making and serving food, cleaning the cabins and turning down  the beds in the evening including a couple of chocolates and an amusing critter made out of towels to welcome you after dinner and the show.  A very different sort of cruising than aboard Antares where we do everything!


Buenos Aires from the top deck of the Amsterdam

The ship was docked in Buenos Aires for two days which gave us time to do some exploring.  The cruise ship dock was located it the industrial port and for safety reasons everyone was required to use the free shuttle service to the cruise terminal.   We also took advantage of another free shuttle into town sponsored by Sterns, a very upscale jewelry store.  We headed off toward the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Roseda situated at one end of the plaza.  This was the site where the Perons gave their speeches and is still the active capital of Argentina and as such, guarded with armed military and tall fences.  It was a very impressive building.


A Pub on the walk to Plaza de Mayo


Plaza de Mayo


Casa Roseda

Buenos Aires, known as the Paris of South America, has many  buildings that were designed by French architects giving it a very European feel with lots of wrought iron on balconies over looking the streets.  It also has some interesting modern buildings as well as Spanish and Moorish influences giving the city an interesting texture.

Along the water front several old warehouses had been redone into up scale housing with shops and restaurants on the first floor.  The area had several old bridges that opened to allow ships to reach the warehouses and one new modernist one that points toward the city.  There were a couple of tall ships  tied up on the wall and the yacht club was located in one of the basins. 

Former Shipping Canal with modern bridge


Yacht Club Dock

We had scheduled the bike tour for the first afternoon and needed to return to the ship to meet up with our group.  While we were eating lunch a fairly heavy shower came through making it look like it would be a wet ride.  Fortunately by the time we reached the park where we picked up the bikes, most of the rain had passed, leaving us with just enough sprinkles to pull on jackets, only to take them off again.  The clouds helped lower the temperature which would have reached 90 had the sun been out, however the humidity still made for a warm and somewhat muddy ride.


War Memorial on Bike Ride


Folding Flower Sculpture

Ten of us were on the tour which took us to several parks, one of which had a huge flour sculpture in a reflecting pond.  It had been sponsored by Boeing Argentina and constructed from the aluminum skin of airplane.  It opened and closed as the day progressed, like the flower it represented would (we didn't get back to see it closed).  


A Flat Tire

As on a number of Silver Spokes bicycle club rides, there were tire problems, only this time instead of a group of the guys congregating to fix the problem, the leader (a young woman) pulled on some gloves, up ended the bike  and began dismantling the offending tire which had popped out of the rim.  She sent us off, on foot, with another guide (male) to tour the upscale district of mansions  that had been built around the turn of the 20th century some of which now housed  embassies.  Most private homes had a guard house out front, complete with an armed guard.  It looked like a boring job, and  we saw several  chatting with the next guard over
 

A Thorn Tree and Lynnea

We continued our ride through a system of parks along the river with several stops at points of interest (mainly statues) where the guide gave us a bit of history covering topics like early Spanish discovery, various regime changes, the Malvinas (Falkland) War - interesting with a different perspective.    Also included in the tour was a visit to Recoleta Cemetery where Evita Peron was buried.  Since the cemetery closed at 6 and we'd been delayed with the tire problem, the ride was fairly fast, not giving us time to do much looking (the path also had a series of speed bumps that kept us looking where we were riding).


Recoleta Cemetery

We arrived at Recoleta with 15 minutes before closing, not sufficient time to do it justice.  It was composed completely of mausoleums, some very elaborate, others seemingly abandoned and in disrepair.  Many have basements and glass windows that allow you to view the inside.  The paths are somewhat narrow and packed.  Currently it was full, however once it has been determined that a mausoleum has been abandoned due to no longer having any living family members or lack of money to maintain it, they are dismantled, the bodies removed and buried elsewhere, and the space can be sold to anyone with the ability to pay the million dollars for the plot.  A pauper's cemetery it's not.

The ride back through town was not one I'd like to do again.  It was through city streets at rush hour where the traffic rules don't seem to have much meaning.  The streets are narrow and crowded with cars, buses and trucks, it was a relief to reach the parking garage where we dropped off the bikes.

The plan for the second day was to visit the La Boca area of town which looked walkable from the ship on the map.  There is a great metro system here too, only trying to get pesos proved difficult.  The bank we went to only would change in amounts of $100 and we didn't plan to spend any where near that amount. Most tourist places willingly took US dollars, but not the metro system.


Florida Street

We caught the free shuttles into town and hiked up Florida St., a pedestrian mall with lots of shops.  We'd thought it was the street we'd walked the day before, but that was one block over which explained why yesterday none of the information kiosks were as mapped and why that street was  in the process of being changed to a mall, torn up and not exactly high end!  We took a detour to check out the Tortonni Cafe, a wonderful wood paneled place, that is touted in the guide books and part of one of the ship's tours.  We lucked out, the place was almost empty, while yesterday folks said they were only letting people in one at a time since it was packed.


Tortonni Cafe


Inside Tortonni Cafe

The one map we'd picked up had what looked to be a wild life area down along the river that looked interesting.  Our plan was to check that out and then head over to La Boca which is sort of a Bohemian area with brightly painted houses and artists studios.  This took us back to the upscale old warehouse district, through a park with some interesting sculpture and along the edge of the park.  We managed to purchase a bottle of water (it's a pain not having local money) from a vendor who was willing to take a $1 bill.  There were locals parked along the road and as we hiked, we passed a film crew shooting a cosmetic commercial.  Not far past that we noticed the area was deteriorating giving us second thoughts about our destination.  We passed a slough with what looked like an abandoned building on one side.  Upon a closer look, we saw laundry on a line, people working on places and moving about.  Probably not on the normal tourist route, but next to it was an interesting water sculpture!  Our "park" turned out to be an abandoned military base that was fenced off with a no trespassing sign.


La Boca Building


More La Boca

After wandering through most of the La Boca district we finally stumbled upon the section we had been looking for.  Best of all, this touristy area had a small money exchange so we could get a few pesos for something to eat.  We watched a couple doing the tango in the street and another doing the flamingo.  We found a bakery and got help from another customer who spoke English to get some treats for our hike back to the ship.


Flamingo Dancers


Tango Dancers

It was a long hike back.  Rather than pick up the free Sterns shuttle (a huge Carnival cruise ship that dwarfed the Amsterdam had arrived as we ate breakfast, swamping the town with tourists vying for transport) we walked back to the terminal.  We took what looked like a more pleasant street rather than the busy six lane road and after walking past a school, landed up in a military base.  The guard was pleasant (no English) and headed us in the right direction.  I suspect other tourists have done it before.  It did feel good to get back to our cabin and sit down.


Terminal Guard drinking  Mate,  a local coffee substitute

Our next stop was Montevideo, Uruguay for a day stop.  Our arrival was delayed due to boat traffic in the river.  The channel isn't all that wide or deep, so it appears that some sections may be one way  for the bigger ships, causing us to be about an hour behind schedule.(Note: We could see the mud stirred up by some of the ships that went pass.)  Leonard had signed us up for a steam train/bus combo tour.  It was a scramble to get all the tours off and running, ours had three buses to take us to the train station.

The steam engine was built in 1910, the carriages dating from the 1950's, all beautifully restored and run by volunteers.  Prior to the automotive age, trains had been the transportation back bone, unfortunately built by several companies from several countries with non matching gauge tracks.  This was manageable until cars and buses came on the scene and the railways were combined and used by England to pay back a portion of their war debt (Uruguay provided beef).  What looked like a good idea turned sour when the cost of upgrading both tracks and trains soared and trains are no longer used for transporting goods or people.



The train ride was fun.  We saw the back side of town since that's where the tracks were, and they were lined with the slums.  Although there is less of a difference between the wealthy and the poor in Uruguay than in Argentina or Brazil, they still have slums at the very bottom level.  It was interesting to see the locals taking pictures of the steam train along the route.  There were lots of little kids waving and dogs barking, apparently the train has only been in operation for a fairly short period, and it was dependent on the cruise ships for tourists to ride it and therefore seasonal.  We were even treated to a couple doing the tango through the train aisles - not easy with the train swaying.


Metal Sculpture on bus tour

The bus ride was enough to steer us off all "highlights tour" for life.  It was an old bus and packed.  The sound system wasn't working right, making it impossible to follow much of what was said at the back of the bus.  We made a few stops, but it was mostly watching the view flash past.  The final stop was deemed 30 minutes so folks could get something to eat (it was a 5 hour tour with no snack included) which lasted an hour before all the folks straggled back to the bus.  Most of us had honored the 30 minute limit and had sat waiting, not entirely happy. The bus driver stood outside waving the number flag trying to round up the others, and the tour guide, while apologetic didn't seem capable taking charge.  I had to wonder if the tour company got a kick back from the cafe.


Town Square

When we reached the town square we asked to be excuse from the remainder of the tour.  The guide drew a route back to the ship which gave us some time to see the town.  There was a pedestrian mall lined with craft stalls and shops and several interesting buildings and churches.  We saw several horse drawn wagons - not tourist rides - but junk carts driving through the streets.  It was far more interesting than the bus ride had been.  We wandered back down to the wharf and boarded the ship with time to spare before the "all aboard" time when the gang plank was pulled.


Collecting  Street Garbage


Taking on Fuel

Walking around the ship we found an oil tender alongside filling the tanks.  This caused a bit of a delay for the departure, but was interesting to watch.  Lots of people were on deck to watch the departure.  The next two days will be spent at sea, heading to the Falkland Islands where the ship will be anchored outside the port and tenders used to ferry us ashore.

As we passed through cooler waters we encountered fog.  The fog horn made a mournful sound as we headed south through the night. 

Lynnea