RTW Adventures of J&M

 
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October 24, 2009

Reconnecting with Friends

After coming back from our trip, J and I hosted a "We're Back!!" party to reconnect with our Seattle friends. Aside from the fresh Costco strawberries we strictly served drinks and snacks that we encountered during our world travel which included Coopers Pale Ale (Sydney), Estrella (Barcelona), Tsingtao Pure Draft (Beijing), San Pellegrino Limonata/Aranciata (Rome), Malbec (Buenos Aires), Dulce de Leche (Buenos Aires), assorted salami from Salumi's and marinated mozzarella (Rome).
 
For a little bit of entertainment, J and I decided to have a friendly photo contest during the party. He and I each picked and anonymously displayed 5 of our "best" photos and asked our friends to pick their three favorites. The winner got to decide our next vacation destination! Here were the winners in descending order:
 
1. Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand
2. Bluff Cove Lagoon, Falkland Islands
3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
7. Barron Falls, Australia
8. Paris, France
9. London, UK (tie for 9th)
10. Tongaririo Crossing, New Zealand (tie for 9th)
 
Right now, I'm thinking the Maldives. =)
 

                   
Click here to download:
Reconnecting_with_Friends_tag_.zip (1176 KB)

Filed under  //   Amsterdam   Barcelona   Buenos Aires   Cairns   London   New Zealand   Paris   Seattle   South America Cruise  

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February 6, 2009

Souvenirs from South America

From Buenos Aires, Argentina:
1. To Daipan
2. To Irene
3. To J's "working" Grandma

From Punta Arenas, Chile:
4. To Vivian

 
From Santiago, Chile:
5. To Jane & Jon
 
From Port Stanley, Falkland Islands:
- a video to Edmund
 

         
Click here to download:
Souvenirs_from_South_America_t.zip (545 KB)

Filed under  //   Buenos Aires   Santiago   South America Cruise   souvenirs  

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February 5, 2009

End of the World: Punta Arenas, Chile

Claim to Fame: Punta Arenas is the southern most city on the contiguous continent of South America
Excursions: Trekking the Magellan Forest Reserve (all four of us)
Brief Thoughts: We saw a lot of stray dogs in the city. The hike was nice, but J and I learned that we liked hiking by ourselves as opposed to with a huge group of people. It was extremely windy. Perhaps as windy (if not more) as the time we went up that little tram in Lake Hakone in Japan back in 2006
 
1-4. Views along the first of two trails - Mirador de la Garganta. Highlights included windswept trees and a deep canyon
5-9. Views along the second trail - Mirador Zapadoraustral. Highlights included the forests of Patagonia and a vista where we could see Punta Arenas and our cruise ship.
10. Gigantic corn

                   
Click here to download:
End_of_the_World_Punta_Arenas_.zip (1223 KB)

Filed under  //   South America Cruise  

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February 4, 2009

Fish Sausages in South America - all natural, no preservatives

Since the penguins were so popular I thought I'd share this video, too! Enjoy!
 

Filed under  //   South America Cruise  

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February 3, 2009

This costs HOW MUCH?! Transfer from Valpariso to Santiago

this is my first non-food related How much?! post

Item: Transfer from the cruise port in Valparaiso, Chile to the front door of our apartment in Santiago, Chile.
- Valpariso Bus Terminal to Santiago Bus Terminal via Pullman Bus (Google estimate: 2 hrs 33 mins; 132 km)
- Cab ride from Santiago Bus Terminal to apartment building in Bellavista Barrio
Location: Chile

Please submit your estimates in USD.

Filed under  //   How much?!   Santiago   South America Cruise  

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January 28, 2009

End of the World: Ushuaia, Argentina

Claim to Fame: Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world.
Excursions: End of the World Train & Gaucho Show (J's Parents); Hiking in Tierra del Fuego (Me and J)
Brief Thoughts: We decided to forgo the ship excursions for a couple of reasons - 1) Nothing on the ship excursion list really appealed to us 2) We wanted to see how much cheaper we can do an excursion for compared to RCCL's prices and 3) We wanted to spend the rest of our Argentine Pesos as it is our last stop in Argentina. Our conclusion is that there is a 3X markup for ship excursions.
 
1-3: Ushuaia
4-14 : Tierra del Fuego National Park
15-20: A few of the numerous glaciers we saw on our way to our next port.
 
Who can guess what #14 is?

                                       
Click here to download:
End_of_the_World_Ushuaia_Argen.zip (1425 KB)

Filed under  //   South America Cruise  

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January 28, 2009

End of the World: Sailing around Cape Horn

When the Captain said we were "sailing around Cape Horn" I thought we were going to simply sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean around the southern tip of South America. Not the case. He really meant that we were going to sail around Cape Horn! As in, Cape Horn is actually an island and we were going to loop around the island. So, we sailed from the Atlantic, to the Pacific and back to the Atlantic again!

1. The house and flag mark the official location of Cape Horn
2. Looking South, to the left of those rocks is the Atlantic Ocean, while to the right of the rocks is the Pacific Ocean

   
Click here to download:
End_of_the_World_Sailing_aroun.zip (78 KB)

Filed under  //   South America Cruise  

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January 23, 2009

Day 84: Penguins at the Falkland Islands

Port of Call: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
Excursions: Bluff Cove Penguins (Me and J); Rockhopper Penguins (J's Parents)
Brief Thoughts: Getting to and from the penguin rookery was an experience in itself. "off-road" is an understatement. We saw thousands of adult and chick Gentoo penguins at Bluff Cove as well as a few King penguins. While the adults avoided us, the chicks were fearless, especially the two little ones which you will see in the photos below. The chicks had started to moult and were absolutely adorable. J and I really enjoyed this excursion. It was definitely the highlight of the cruise so far.
 
Here are some assorted penguin pictures from today. Can anyone guess what Picture #18 is?
 
Current Location:52D09.03'S and 058D01.85'W

                                             
Click here to download:
Day_84_Penguins_at_the_Falklan.zip (1986 KB)

Filed under  //   sight-seeing   South America Cruise  

Comments [15]

January 22, 2009

I still say it's a mouse/rat

After seeing yesterday's animal towel, I decided that the animal towel we received on Day 80 is actually a SCID mouse while yesterday's animal is a wildtype (normal) mouse.

1. Day 80's SCID mouse
2. Day 82's wildtype mouse

   
Click here to download:
I_still_say_its_a_mouserat_tag.zip (71 KB)

Filed under  //   South America Cruise  

Comments [1]

January 22, 2009

M's Day 1-4 Cruise Stats

Number of days in port: 3 (Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Puerto Madryn)
Max. number of meals in one day: 5
Max. number of courses in one supposed 3-course sit-down meal: 6
Number of beers consumed: 2
Bottles of wine ordered: 1
Number of gym visits lasting more than 30 minutes: 1
Number of spa visits: 1
Number of animal towels: 3
Deviation from Day 4's body weight in lbs: 0

Filed under  //   Buenos Aires   South America Cruise  

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