More Pandemic News

As we enter our third week of social distancing it is apparent this virus scare is not going away any time soon. The curve of infected people has a sharp rise in several areas. Fortunately not here in Wood county or Perrysburg. We have been continuing to deep clean a room at a time and I have been participating in a KAL (knit along) that is being podcast by Arne and Carlos, a knit team from Norway. We will be completing a pillow of various patches we are knitting and it will be a rememberance of this very unique time in history. My biggest concern is Jessica and being able to be present for the birth of baby girl Mereu. They are still not discussing names.
So for today all I have is a picture of my squares.

Pandemic

Well vacation has ended and we got home from our cruise and extended days in Buenos Aires. A quick turn around in February with a baby shower for Jessica and then we were off to Arizona to meet up with Mike and Kim for a few nice days of hiking and golf. However by the time we were ready to leave Phoenix, the world had been alerted to the fact that the Corona Virus from Wuhan China was beginning to get a foothold in the USA. The stock market was falling as the economy prepared for a complete lockdown. Toilet paper was being hoarded. By March 22 we were ordered to shelter in place. All restaurants, bars, retail stores everything but essential businesses were told to close for 2 weeks. It is truly an unheard of time.

Fun times on February 29

Buenos Aires Sunday

The Paris of South America.
We arrived Saturday evening and got off the ship this morning. Sad to end the cruise but anxious to explore a new city for a couple of days. Fortunately our hotel room was almost ready so we were able  get checked in unpack a bit and then we were off on a walking tour.

First to the Colon Theater. We didn’t take the tour but enjoyed the architecture of the building. As we walked up to the Recoleta Cemetery we noticed the since it was Sunday much of the city is closed. It is strange to see all of the retail and even some of the restaurants closed. The Recoleta cemetery is where Eva Peron is buried. It is probably the most unusual cemetery in the world. It was very interesting to wander through. Here are just a few pictures.

See my reflection in Eva’s mausoleum. 

The Sunday outdoor market in Recoleta was next. All kinds of local artists and crafters had booths with hand made things for sale. We added a few souvenirs and enjoyed seeing the local people out on for an afternoon.

After a short break at an outdoor cafe we headed back to the hotel for the traditional siesta and a swim in the roof top pool. Tonight we are going to dinner and will try the local beef and some local Argentina Malbec. Outside the cafe where we stopped was this statue and Steve wanted to be photographed with the soccer player.

Ohh the end is coming but today Puerto Madryn

As much fun as we have been having we got our dis-embarkation papers today and luggage tags. 😟😟.

We are in port today at Puerto Madryn, Argentina and had a lovely day walking the city and visiting a museum dedicated to the sea and sea life. We had a great lunch with a bottle of Mendoza Malbec wine 👌🍷. We are back on the ship now with a final sea day tomorrow and then Buenos Aires where we dis-embark on Sunday. We have a hotel in Buenos Aires for 2 nights and will be flying home on Tuesday night into Detroit on Wednesday morning. Steve is perhaps more ready to get off the ship than I am. I have really enjoyed meeting the people and forming some new friendships. We met a delightful couple from New Zealand who have given us a personal itinerary for visiting their country.
   As much as the menus on the ship have become somewhat repetitive I have to remind myself that someone else is cooking and cleaning up everything and my menus at home get repetitive too. I guess I have not missed my kitchen at all this trip and grocery shopping is another area that I have forgotten needs to be done when we are home preparing our own meals. I had better start gearing up for that too. And probably in the cold weather to make it even less inviting.
Some pictures from our day in Puerto Madryn,

                                           
                                               The Historic Center which never opens

The Plaza de Armas which seems to be in every SA town and of course with a monument

                                     
                               The Puerto Madryn skyline from the ship at the pier

The penguins at the museum

                                       Wine with lunch?? Of course it is vacation!

New sunglasses needed for Steve. 

Glaciers and Ushuaia

Sunday morning we awoke to our cruise through the Beagle channel and an area known as Glacier Alley. It was just beautiful and we took a zillion pictures. It was Sunday and I certainly felt close to God with the scenery around us.

                      And our happy day selfie at the base of a glacier from our balcony cabin.

We got off the ship around noon into the little port town of Ushuaia, Argentina and visited the Maritime museum which is housed in the building that was once a prison. Very interesting ! Each cell in the rehabbed block contained an exhibit or a prisoner history. 

Someone having fun.

Some of the model ships in the museum depicting Magellan’s ships and those that sunk in the trip around the horn.

And then our afternoon was a ship excursion which took us on the Pan American highway to the “End of the World”. Yes Alaska is 17,848 kilometers away or roughly 11,100 miles.

Wow it is Monday Again

Finally some time to catch up. We have been off the ship the last two days and busy while sailing to the next port. We are still loving the sea days, and have had much fun in the south of South America.

So Saturday was a day in Punta Arenas, Chile. This was a lovely little Chilean port town with a typical cathedral and one of the top 10 cemeteries in South America. It seemed a little strange to take pictures in a cemetery but since it was a highly recommended tourist attraction I was like everyone else and took pictures. The Cathedral was very beautiful inside and we were happy to see that there was little graffiti on it from the Chilean protesters.

                                      A look down one row of  the above ground graves at the cemetery.
                                                   The trees were very unusual too.  European cypress.

Steve between the rows of trees at the cemetery.

Sadly the protesters had gotten into the cemetery and defaced this mausoleum.

                                Another example of the huge mausoleums in the cemetery.

Yes my feet are in the Pacific Ocean in February south of the equator. Our ship at anchor. It was a water shuttle port that went much more smoothly than Easter Island. And I know we have missed a few selfie days.

Signing off for now. The internet makes loading pictures from the phone or camera to the tablet time consuming and we are getting ready for another Tuscan wine pairing dinner tonight. Will post tomorrow about Ushuaia, Argentina, and our Sunday adventures.

Latest Update -Maybe Politics

It is now Friday February 7. We are cruising along the coast of Chile known as the Patagonia. It is a beautiful day with temps in the mid-60s and plenty of sunshine. We are about 20 miles off the coast but the mountains are very apparent. Our week has been interesting because we were detained in San Antonio for almost 2 extra days. The port closed on Monday night reportedly because of weather before they had restocked and refueled the ship. The captain updated us throughout Tuesday saying we would miss the next port but would hopefully get back on schedule. We were not allowed off the ship.  The casino and shops were closed because of being in port, and everyone was anxious to get on our way again. When Wednesday morning came and we were still in port the rumors began to fly. The captain came on and said there was a conference call being made at 9am with Princess Corporate and the Chilean government.  We concluded that perhaps the weather was not all that was keeping us tied up at the dock. We were finally told we could leave at 1pm even though supposedly the port would still be closed. Everyone was out on deck to watch the exit through the narrow channel and see how rough the seas were. And we were all surprised by the apparent ease we escaped back to cruising. I don’t expect we will ever know what really transpired but there are many stories being passed around the ship. The pictures were taken as we backed out to turn toward the exit channel and then out of the port.

So our schedule is off. We missed our visit to Puerto Montt and we will not be cruising close to the Amalia Glacier. Tomorrow morning we should be on Puntarenas Chile and hopefully enjoy a day on land.
We have heard much about our sister ship the Diamond Princess which is on quarantine in Japan. We are thankful that the corona virus has not shown up in South America thus far.

San Antonio/Santiago Chile Port February 3

Monday Funday!!! Today we had a private excursion with four other ladies for wine tasting in the Casablanca Valley of Chile. Our driver and guide Gonzalos, was waiting for us as we exited the ship around 8:30 AM. After about a 45 minute driver we arrived at our first winery, Villard. The drive out to the winery reminded both Steve and I of Napa Valley.

The climate is very similar to Napa too. Chile has been experiencing drought conditions this year although this area looks pretty green. The harvest is usually around the middle of March.

The inside display of the wines that are produced here.  We were told that between 80-90% of Chilean wine production is exported. The government places a 40% tax on wines sold in Chile meaning we can buy Chilean wine for less in the US than in Chile.

The table inside was set for our tasting but...

So was the outside table so we chose to be outside to enjoy the views, the weather and the wine. Our guide Gonzola and the Villard wine sommelier Alexandra

Back in the van and off to winery 2, Emilian. The ladies we were with had been to this winery on a previous cruise but enjoyed it so much they had scheduled it again. And of course we chose the outdoor seating.

An added bonus was their family of llamas

By winery #3 it was time to put something more substantial into our stomachs.

A grazing board but still plenty of wine glasses filling the table.

A fun courtyard and play on words as we left called for posing.

And finally the last winery, Casa Marin. Another very scenic area and an outside second floor balcony for the tasting. 

And we made it back to the ship although I was lagging quite a ways behind Steve.