Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is located about 140 nautical miles from the Atlantic coastline, and we had to navigate through a very narrow & shallow straight to get here. In fact, according to the Captain, the water depth under our keel was at times only 3’ – a very scary thought in view of the tragedy in Italy but our Captain assured us several times we were in good hands along with state-of-the-art navigation systems. We made it in without incident but now must sail this evening back out to the Atlantic to continue our journey to the South Pole. After arriving, we had breakfast and caught a shuttle bus to a shopping mall downtown. What an incredible city! Buenos Aires is much like New York City – crowded sidewalks and traffic spanning 14 lanes – seven in each direction! I’ve never seen so many city buses & taxi cabs anywhere! The city is beautiful with many historic landmarks, including the Teatro Colan, the world’s most famous opera house. We drove down a boulevard named Avendida de Corrientes, the nucleus of the theater & nightclub district, often called the “Broadway of Argentina”. We will be returning later this evening with a group from the ship for a Tango dance show. The city has many beautiful parks, cathedrals, numerous educational, scientific, & cultural institutions, the National Library, & the Museum of Latin American Art.
When we returned to the ship around Noon, we were informed that several passengers & crew were ill – apparently we have “Nora” on board – the infamous GI illness – all buffet locations are closed – food can only be served by crew members – they are currently sanitizing the ship from stem to stern and circulating written documents on other health safety measures to be followed for the next few days. Apparently, there are two other ships sailing in South America with GI illness on-board. Salt & pepper shakers have been removed from all tables, as well as napkins and any other objects where germs might be passed between passengers. The smell of antibacterial spray is quite thick around the ship, but no complaints from us – the crew is handling the situation extremely well, and so far, both of us feel fine.
I mentioned a few days ago that Doc Severinson would be returning for an additional show but wasn’t certain exactly when – he and his band stayed on-board after we left Rio and played again last night. Earlier in the day, Cheryl and I were poolside and who should join us?? It was Doc & crew – how awesome! We were able to meet & chat with them – we refrained from asking for photos & autographs as a courtesy – they were trying to relax just like we were and didn’t want to make them uncomfortable. The other guests extended the same courtesy & left them alone. I engaged their drummer in some brief percussion talk – he uses a very unique stool that can be played with hands & fingers – he actually offered to sell it to me – apparently he has several - and we would have bought it but then realized shipping would be an issue back to Arizona. Their show was good that evening, but not as electrifying as their first two – maybe too much wine next to the pool??!!
We’re now back from a Tango show (it’s almost midnight) – we went with a group from the ship – extremely well done, although I don’t like Tango personally. It was advertised as the best in Argentina – the theater was standing room only – amazing for a Monday night. Very colorful – I liked the band much better than the dancers – many were video-taping – it was funny when some of the gals appeared in scant dresses, the old men in the audience all raised their cameras at the same time - as if on queue– I’m surprised their wives didn’t slap them! No, I didn’t have a camera – Cheryl was in charge (as always) – darn!!
We spent nearly 6 hours touring the city – again, very much like New York – extremely busy! It has 3 very distinct areas between poor, middle & upper class – numerous churches and several statues covering hundreds of historical years. We also took the subway several blocks to get a feel for it – very clean & efficient. Rather than taking the modern subway, we opted for an old wooden system said to be the 3rd oldest in the modern world. We stopped in a large coffee house to experience their famous brew – it was so thick the spoon almost stood on its own, but VERY good! Overall, this is a wonderful, very colorful place – the people are friendly and seem to appreciate tourists. We dropped about 200 passengers today who only opted for the first leg of the trip and picked-up an equal number who are either taking the next leg to Sydney or on to Ft. Lauderdale in April. One thing we’ve learned so far about these older travelers/cruisers – absolutely wonderful folks – all of them, and I don’t mean this in a negative manner – BUT - you follow them down the hallway and it takes them forever to get anywhere…but you mention the “B” word (buffets or buses) and they’re off to the races!! Cheryl and I are always last in line!! Amazing how much energy they have! With new passengers now joining us, we have another lifeboat drill at 4pm followed at 5:30 with a sail-away party by the pool. By tomorrow morning, we’ll be in Uruguay and hopefully, all the GI bugs making so many ill will be left in Buenos Aires! What a great two days!
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