Bogota, Colombia
The next day we worked out and relaxed before heading to the airport around 1pm. The Latam Lounge was great (though we did stop at California Pizza kitchen for a light lunch first). The flight to Bogota was 6 hours with a 2-hour time change so we arrived at the hotel around 10:30 pm (12:30 our bod...
Santiago, Chile
Next up was Santiago. We had been warned that the flight between Mendoza and Santiago is the bumpiest in the world as you go up the Andes in 50 minutes (the two cities are virtually parallel on the opposite sides of the mountain). Fortunately it wasn’t particularly rough and the skies were clear....
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is a desert and the general feeling is much poorer with small crude, but neat homes lined next to businesses. There is much more security here with all the homes behind bars and electric fences, and at every finca we visited we had to be announced with the guard checking that we had a reser...
Iguazu Falls, Argentina
The next day we were annoyed with the Marriott because David had ordered a car to the airport and had reconfirmed the car, yet when it came time to check out there was no record of the reservation. It does seem Marriott is slipping. We managed to hop in a taxi and check in to the domestic airport...
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The next day we docked in the very commercial port of Buenos Aires. We took a tour to Tigre. Tigre (is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the north of Greater Buenos Aires, 28 km (17 mi) north of Buenos Aires city. Tigre lies on the Paraná Delta and is a tourist and weeken...
Punta Del Este, Uruguay
On Friday, December 26 we were in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. When we visited earlier this year we did a biking trip so saw a more narrow view of the beach area. This time we took a scenic bus ride which took us further afield. After driving by the Light House and beach with the famous Hands that st...
Balneario Camboriu, Brazil
On Tuesday, we were in another resort location, Balneario Camboriu. This city is in Santa Catarina state and is also built on steep hills which drop down to the sea. It’s a very popular tourist destination, and the city grows from a population of 150,000 to over a million in the summer. It’s cal...
Paranagua, Brazil
The following day, Monday, we were in Paranaguá. This city reverted more to our Brazilian expectations. This is a industrial city that has a large port where more than 30% of the people (125,000) of the city are employed. Apparently much of the world’s grains, beef and chicken are grown in Brazil...
Ilhabela, Bazil
Which takes us to our next day in Ilha Bella, Beautiful Island. This is Ilha Grande after much development. We quickly realized that this island is much more David’s and my speed. The island is relatively close to Sao Paolo (4-hour drive) and 85% is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. They have 360 wate...
Ilha Grande, Brazil
On Saturday, December 20th we were in Ilha Grande, meaning Large Island. It is a small, cute island. It sits near Angra dos Reis Bay with some 360 islands. It looks very much like Hawaii with Atlantic rainforest mountains not far from the shore. It is an island that allows no cars, nor any electr...
Buzios, Brazil
On Thursday, December 18 we arrived in Buzios at 8:00 am and took the tender to shore at 8:30 am. We visited Buzios earlier in the year. It was a quiet fishing village until Brigitte Bardot came here and the world followed. It now has many hotels and restaurants and tourism is its key industry....
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
After two sea days we entered the bay in Rio at 6:00 am on Monday, December 15. It is a spectacular arrival and everyone was on deck with countless photos being taken. The entire process of sailing in and docking took 2 hours and we watched the entire process with David supervising the Captain....
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
After another sea day we were in Salvador de Bahia. We went on a tour that started similarly to our to prior visit with a photo stop at the Fort de Santo Antonio de Barra. (Some friends we made on the ship were coming back to this neighbourhood post cruise, and apparently this area is inundated wit...
Recife, Brazil
Next up followed with 5 days sea crossing. A bit rocky in retrospect. We are such good sailers we didn't even notice but apparently the stabilisers were not operating properly so it wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Oh well, we made it. Today we are in Recife, Brazil. It was like Groundhog Da...
Mindelo, San Vicente Island, Cape Verde
We then had two sea days before we arrived in Mindelo, San Vicente Island, Cape Verde. This is our only new stop and only new country on this trip. The island is located 300 miles from West Africa. The island was colonized by the Portuguese, and this is still the main language. The country becam...
Funchal & Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal
The next day we arrived in Funchal, Maderia. We originally would have arrived the day before, so all the tours had been moved. As such, we relaxed until it was time to have our second elegant High Tea at Reid’s Palace Hotel (second time as we were here last December). https://www.belmond.com/hote...
Lisbon, Portugal
On Wednesday, November 26th we flew from Barcelona to Lisbon. I am usually so careful but somehow I booked the car pick-up for August of 2026 rather than 2025! After relentless teasing by David, we jumped into the cab to Memmo Principe Hotel. https://www.memmohotels.com/principereal/ It is a Des...