South America Atlantis Cruise Trip Log (detailed)

(see the summary here instead)

Day 1 (Saturday Feb 2nd 2008)
We left our house around 2pm to our friends Charles' house. He took us to the airport so we did not have to leave our car in parking there. We got extra attention at security because Mark's passport was an older style passport. Everything else went very smooth. For dinner, we ate at Pappadeaux's (had po-boys and beer) during our Houston layover.
Day 2 (Sunday Feb 3rd 2008) 1st cruise day
Rio Weather today: Low 71 High 78 Scattered rain
Our flight had a 1 hour layover in Sao Paulo before continuing on to Rio. Immigration and customs went fast and smooth. We exchanged some money in the airport before catching a pre­arranged taxi from Felix Mutiz (www.arcotur.com). The taxi ride to the cruise ship terminal was $40. The address for the terminal was: Pier Maua — Av. Rodrigues. We got to the ship at 2:15 pm, checked in promptly and arrived in our cabin 7156 tired and hungry, but excited about our upcoming adventures. It was raining off and on, but that was ok. We ate dinner in the ship's Trellis restaurant. For this cruise lunch and dinner was open seating. We sat with a very nice couple from Greensboro North Carolina, Luke and John. We saw Frenchie Davis sing for the ship's nightly entertainment. Frenchie was a past contestant on American Idol. Bed time tonight was midnight.
Day 3 (Monday Feb 4th 2008) 2nd cruise day
Rio Weather today: Low 71 High 75 Scattered rain
We ate breakfast around 7:30 am before catching the 8 am tour to Corcovado & Tijuca Forest. It was pouring down rain all morning. We waited about 20 minutes to take the cog wheel train up Corcovado Mountain to the Christ the Redeemer statue. We drove through the downtown area first and all businesses were closed for the carnival holiday. The rain and fog had everything socked in, so we were unable to get a view of anything while we were up there. The rain was even coming through our umbrella! The bus then took us on a tour of lpanema and Copacabana beaches with a brief stop at Copacabana. Because of the rain, the beaches were deserted even though it was a national holiday. While on the tour, we met a very nice couple from Amsterdam: Hans and Jos. After returning to the trip, we took a small nap and then a dip in the indoor pool. With all the rain, you can't enjoy the outdoor pool! We skipped dinner and caught the 7:15 bus to the Sambodromo where we sat in Sector 9, Fila T, Lugar 81 & 82. These were reserved grandstand seats. We saw 3.5 parades. Here were the Samba parades that we saw:
Parade #1: Samba School Mocidade(final judges ranking: 8 of 12)
Theme: DREAMS OF EMPIRE "The Fifth Empire. From Portugal to Brazil, a Utopia in History"
The green and white colors of the Mocidade Samba School emerge from the West Zone paying Tribute to the Bicentennial of the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in Brazil. This theme explores an old Portuguese dream: establishing the Fifth Global Empire, following in the footsteps of Babylon, Persia, Rome and Greece. This dream found its footing in Brazil, as the most important jewel of the Portuguese Crown.
Parade #2: Samba School Unidos da Tijuca(final judges ranking: 5 of 12)
Theme: MAKING HISTORY "I will gather what I want, my passion is worth gold. I am Tijuca. I bear art collecting my treasure"
Headquartered in Tijuca, North Zone of Rio, this Samba School flaunts a peacock as its symbol. Featuring blue and yellow colors, and one of the oldest of Rio’s major Samba Schools, its parade features collection other than just its eye-catching floats, showing that long-cherished objects become documents that build up the History of Humankind.
The parades around this time continue past midnight, so it becomes tomorrow....
 Day 4 (Tuesday Feb 5th 2008) 3rd cruise day
Rio Weather today: Low 69 High 82 Thick clouds with some scattered showers
Parade #3: Samba Imperatriz (final judges ranking: 6 of 12)
Theme: LONG LIVE ROYALTY! "Joãos and Marias"

The eleven stars on the banner of the Imperatriz Samba School represent the eleven suburbs in this district through which the train carries thousands of unsung heroes every day: simple Johns and Marys. But its parade theme explores the lives of more celebrated bearers of these names: King John VI of Portugal and the several Marias around him, including his mother. Maria the Mad Queen of Portugal, Marie Antoinette of France and his Austrian daughter-in-law, Maria Leopoldina.
Towards the end of parade # 3 we went to KFC around lam for a little snack!
Parade #4: Vila Isabel (final judges ranking: 9 of 12)
Theme: SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL "Workers of Brazil"

Celebrated for its Carnival themes addressing social aspects, the blue and white costumes of the Vila Isabel Samba School leave the North Zone to explore yet another aspect of work, this time spotlighting labor issues. The main purpose of this theme is to rebut the myth of indolence, showing that Brazilians have always been eager and hard working, despite their colonial status for much of the nation's history.
We left halfway through the 4th parade around 2 am and waiting on the bus for almost an hour leaving and then arriving at the ship around 3:15 am. Even though we didn't see parades #5 and #6, I will still put the themes for them below.
Parade #5: Grande Rio (final judges ranking: 3 of 12)
Theme: GAS OF BRAZIL "From the green of Coal comes my gas, Sapucai!"

The triple colors of the Grande Rio Samba School travel from the Duque de Caxias Municipality on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to Amazonia, portraying the natural wealth of Coari, a town in the Urucu region that holds one of the largest natural gas reserves on the planet. Exploring the Amazon rainforest, this Samba School taps all this natural energy to showcase environmental causes.
Parade #6: Beija-Flor (final judges ranking: 1 of 12, THE WINNER)
Theme: TIME TRAVEL Macapaba: Solar Equinox, Fantastic Trips to the Middle of the World"

The blue and white colors of the Beija-flor Samba School fly from NilOpolis just outside of Rio de Janeiro to Macapà the Amapaá State capital in Northern Brazil, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary. Traveling back through time, it shows the ships of ancient civilizations reaching this remote spot, with these travelers leaving cultural traits behind them that blend with the traditions of the indigenous nations living in this region.
Bed time was around 4 am. We left the ship around 11:30 am to go to lpanema beach. We asked a couple of people (Rob from London and Scott from NYC) who were also from the ship and looking for a cab if they wanted to share one. We got a taxi to take us for 50 Reals (approx $29 US), the cab ride back cost 30 Reals (approx $17.50 US). Our beach time was spent on lpanema Beach east of Posto 9. There were thick clouds, but luckily it didn't rain. The waves were very large and the water cool, so we all stayed on the beach. The city had reported over 1800 beach rescues so far in 2008! A beach vendor tried to give Mark a henna tattoo while he was napping on the beach. Mark said no, but the vendor did it anyway and then asked for $60 US (he was lucky that Mark gave him anything, but he did give him $5 US). We ate lunch from the vendors on Avenida Vieira Souto on the beach. Mark had a sausage and we both had some empanadas. About 4pm we left the beach on our way to the carnival street parade: Banda de Ipanema. The gathering spot was at Praca General Osorio. Around 6pm the live band starts playing Rio de Janeiro's anthem Cidade Maravilhosa. After returning to the boat, we saw the ship's nightly entertainment, Let's Rock and listened to Mark Farris play the piano and sing.
Day 5 (Wednesday Feb 6th 2008) 4th cruise day
Rio Weather today: Low 69 High 75 Cloudy with off and on light rain
We were out of the cabin by 10:30 am. We had breakfast by the pool (underneath shelter because of the rain). For lunch we ate a Mexican buffet. At 4pm we had the obligatory muster drill. For an afternoon snack, we ate sushi. We went to the Dog Tag T-Dance which started around 5pm. Rain or not, everyone was dancing on the deck by the pool. We each got Atlantis Dog Tags with your choice of green, yellow or red dots (or any combination and number of). Green meant available, yellow — maybe and Red - not available. We got to Buzios around 6:30 pm and took a 10 minute tender at 7:00 pm go go into the town. We walked around window shopping. We liked Buzios very much and would like to come back here again one day. For dinner we ate at Estancia Don Juan where we had sirloin steak for 2, rice, broccoli and potatoes 115.50 Reals ( $66.32 US). We caught the 10 pm tender back to the ship. The ship's entertainment started at 10:30 pm and was "Pam Ann". She portrays the air-hostess Pam Ann, a mixture of drag, camp and glamour (and a pun on the airline Pan Am). Her show was hilarious. Her web site is www.pamann.com. After the show we went poolside and watched the rain come down. We went back to the cabin at midnight and cut the lights out at 1 am.
Day 6 (Thursday Feb 7th 2008) 5th cruise day
Rio Weather today: Low 74 High 80 Cloudy with a few passing showers
We got up around 9:30 and out by 10:00 am. Took a 10 min tender into Buzios and walked around before hiring a cab for 10 Reals (approx $5.80 US) to Ferradura beach on the opposite side of Buzios. This was a very nice crescent shaped beach surrounded by nice homes, flat surf and beach cafes, etc. We were at the beach at settled in around 10:30 am. The fisherman still work out of this area. Because of this the cafes have fresh fish where you can choose your own lunch. We spent some time walking up and down this beach, then rented beach chairs and an umbrella for 15 Reals (approx $8.70 US). It stayed mostly cloudy the whole day, with a few times that it lightly rained. For lunch we ate at Bar do Chico. We picked out our fish which was similar to Red Snapper. The fish came with rice, beans, potato salad and 3 large beers (garrafas). Most of the beer served and consumed in Brazil is packaged in large 600 ml. (20 oz.) bottles garrafas'. You can also get chopp (pronounced show-peh), Brazilian draft beer. Lunch came to 87.45 Reals (approx $50 US). After stuffing ourselves we went back to our beach chairs to relax for awhile. After packing up our beach stuff, we went back to Chico's and our waiter Alex called us a cab. The ride back to the town center was 10 Reals (approx $5.80 US). We walked around central Buzios, then caught a 3:50 tender back to the ship. While in Buzios, we stopped at a pharmacy to get something for Lyndon's cough that he had. The sold us packets that you put in water and drink. After 2 treatments, the cough was completely gone! Went to the pool for a awhile, then cleaned up. Rick and Jack (couple from Austin) held a 6 pm Austin Contingent meeting to gather with other shipmates from Austin. They held this in the Champagne Bar. 15-20 of us were there. Rick and Jack treated the group to about 6 bottles of champagne. That was very nice of them to do the planning and supply the champagne. Great guys! We had dinner with the Austin folks and then went to the late comedy show starring Poppy Champlain and Jessica Kirson and Eddie Sarfaty — plus a special Captain's welcome toast. They made one of the Captain's senior staff (the food and drink manager) who was from South Africa remain on the stage just to be 'eye candy'. We went back to cabin briefly then back up by the pool to watch some of the "After the Ball Party" poolside. We skipped the 3 am late night disco and instead went to bead around 12:30 am.
Day 7 (Friday Feb 8th 2008) 6th cruise day
Weather today: Morning sun, afternoon clouds and showers
We arrived in Parati around 8 am (and left Parati around 8 pm). We got up around 9:30 and had breakfast outside and then took a 10 am tender into Parati. One of the first things we did was take a buggy ride through old town. Almost everything was still closed even though it was already mid morning. A brief stop was made at a drug store to buy sun tan lotion & 2 diet cokes (18.60 Reals - $19.00 US). We explored the new part of town and then had a very nice lunch at Bar Coupe in old town (31.90 Reals $18.59 US). We found a red mask at a shop that we liked. This was added to our "mask wall" at home to represent Brazil. The mask cost 45 Reals or about $25.75 US and was purchased at Mata Atlantica. We went tack to Bar Coupe and had Caipirinhas with some shipmates from Toronto. While there, we met this Irish lady. She had a great personality and was a hoot to talk to. She arrived in Brazil for a wedding on October and never left. She drops a pin on the map to decide where she will sail to next! For an afternoon snack, we had some very yummy ice cream at Sorverteria Italiana Miracolo. A 4 pm tender took up back to the boat. We did our usual pool dip in the indoor pool before returning to the room. For the evening’s entertainment, we saw "Spectacle of Broadway". We skipped the 11 pm "That 80s Party".
Day 8 (Saturday Feb 9th 2008) 7th cruise day
We arrived in Santos at 8 am. We decided to stay on the ship today. Most people leaving the ship were taking the trip to Säo Paulo; instead we spent most of the day by the pool. It was nice to have some good sunshine. We watched the pool games, synchronized swimming. It was between a team of female ship employees vs. men of the cruise. It ended up being a tie, but due to very load applause, the men pulled ahead and won (helps when you drop your swim suits!). We ate dinner at the special restaurant on the ship, the SS UNITED STATES. For a starter, we had Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé (served with a red pepper coulis and olive toast triangle). For the entrée, we had Scallops and Lobster (and lots of it) -lightly cooked lobster and scallops with white wine and a dash of Pernod. They then came around with a selection of French cheese served with grapes, apples and walnut bread. For dessert, Lyndon had the Chocolate Soufflé and Mark had the Coconut Creme Brulee with diced mango and papaya. Later that night we popped in for awhile to the Tribal party poolside (started at 11 pm). The dress was native costume, primitive wear, body paint, or modern tourist garb. We left Santos around 10 pm.
Day 9 (Sunday Feb 10th 2008) 8th cruise day
We arrived in Porto Belo around 10 am. We got the first tender off the ship and took a taxi ride into the town center with another couple. After walking around for bit, window shopping and walking on the beach; we took a taxi to Bombinhas beach. We arrived at the beach around 11:50 am and promptly rented some beach chairs and umbrella. We were in front of a restaurant named "Costa Esmeralda- Restaurante & Petiscaria” that was right on the beach. Around 3 pm we made our way back to town and bought us some souvenirs (2 painted fish) at a shop called "arte celular". We walked from town to the ship (a rather long walk) and took a dip in the pool. Everybody was pretty festive by the pool at 5pm until after 8 pm for the Classic Disco T-Dance. For the ship's evening entertainment, we saw the hypnotist Michael Swenson. The show was very hilarious. The ship left Porto Belo at 7pm on its way to Florianopolis.
Day 10 (Monday Feb 11th 2008) 9th cruise day
Florianopolis Weather today: Low 71 High 80 Cloudy with scattered rain showers, evening gale winds.
We took the 11 am tour to Praia Mole (beach) excursion. We met in a lounge on the ship at 10:50 am and then left for the tender at 11:10 am. The `moving' time for the tender was around 25 minutes with the total trip time with waiting around 45 minutes. The tender dropped up off on the island of Florianopolis in the town of Canasvieiras on the northern part of the island. It was about a 55 minute drive to the beach. We had a very interesting view of the countryside on the way. We took the route SC-401 toward Florianopolis then SC-404 across the center of the island to the beach that we were going to. We got view of Lagoa da Conceicao and very large sand dunes on the way. All the vegetation was very green and lush. The weather was very dreary with rain showers around. We got the beach around 1:30 pm and rented our chairs and umbrella and ate food from Bar do Deca on the beach. There was a very interesting rock formation nearby that we climbed on which separated Mole beach from the nude beach Galheta (Parque Municipal da Galheta). We left the beach around 3:30 pm and had a very long (almost 1 hour) wait for the bus to pick us up. We got back to Canasvieiras around 4:40 pm and decided to spend the last of our Brazilian money at a café nearby (Rancho doTrapiche) Restaurante. We did good as we came back to the ship with only 1.45 in coins. Our arrival time on the ship was around 5:50 pm. We went to the theraputic pool and then showered and relaxed in the cabin. Late at night, gale force winds set in and the ship was rocking. We went to bed around 11 pm after setting sail around 10 pm
Day 11 (Tuesday Feb 12th 2008) 10th cruise day
Today was a horrible weather day. Gales winds to 55 mph with driving rain.
Skipped breakfast, but ate a burger for lunch. We watched the tango lessons at 11am. Then at noon, we went to bingo, but the ship was rocking too much for Lyndon, so he went back to the cabin. Mark stayed but did not win anything. While eating lunch by the pool (under cover) the water was splashing out of the pool and flooding the deck, so the crew drained the pools. Lyndon rested all afternoon in the cabin to keep from getting sea sick. The captain even resorted to making an announcement about the bad weather. The ship kept blowing its horn every minute. Mark went gambling (Lyndon still stayed in the room) and he won $180! We ate the dinner buffet (but a light dinner); and then saw the surprise guest entertainment, Deborah Gibson. She still performed, but she was seasick along with her dancers. The seas finally started getting calmer around 8:30 pm after 18 hours.
Day 12 (Wednesday Feb 13th 2008) 11th cruise day
Arrived in Punta del Este around 9 am. We took a guided tour of the city, Ralli Museum and Casa Pueblo. We drove across the 'wavy' bridges twice. The tour guide offered us a choice of going to the ship or being dropped off in the city. We opted for the city. This gave us the option of window shopping at eating lunch outdoors at a café called "Charly" (803 pesos $36.56 US). We then went to Playa Bravo beach for about 2.5 hours. We picked a beach spot near the sculpture "Hand on the Beach" by Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrazabal who has similar works in Antofagasta and Puerto Natales, Chile. We walked back to the harbor eating ice cream along the way. At the harbor we saw sea lions sunbathing themselves on the rocks. We caught the tender back to the shop for a 20 minute ride back to the ship. We then went to the pool, showered and were out of the cabin by 6:40 pm. Tonight, dinner was late dinner in town at El Tonel Parrila (596 pesos - $28.31 US) which was very crowded. We had grill for two which came with 'regular' meat and 'parts' such as intestines, kidney, etc. Later that evening we attended "The White Party" poolside so it was a late night for us.
Day 13 (Thursday Feb 14th 2008) 12th cruise day
Arrival in Montevideo was around 8 am. We got a good view of the Uruguay Navy Ships on the way into the harbour. Around noon we left the ship and walked around the outside of the market place. We passed several stands of very nice looking fruits and vegetables on the street. We visited Plaza Zabala and saw the status of Montevideo Founder, Don Bruno Maricio de Zabala. Then on to the Plaza Constitucion where we browsed the tables the vendors had set up in the park under the very nice trees. Our walk continued by waking down the pedestrian street to Plaza lndepenencia. We got a good view of the outside of the Teatro Solis and followed our way to the ocean and the Rambla. After a short rest, we walked back to Plaza Indepenencia and walked around the plaza. We saw sights such as the statue of the "father" of Uruguay — General Geruasio Artigas. His ashes are in the base of the statue. A very cool building is on the plaza. Placio Salvo. It was built in 1927 and at that time was the tallest building in South America. At 26 stories, it is still the tallest building in Montedvideo. We ate a late lunch at Tavern La Corte on Plaza Constitucion (around 2:20 pm). The food here was excellent. We found a shop here that had a very unique mask that we could add to our “mask” wall at home. We looked around the Mercado del Puerto. Here were plenty of choices to eat, but we had just eaten lunch. When walking back to the ship, we saw a civil wedding ceremony in progress. We were back on the ship by 5pm.
Day 14 (Friday Feb 15th 2008) Disembarkation — Buenos Aires
Weather today: Low 76 High 94 No rain.

Disembarkation went smoothly. Although there was about a one hour wait to catch a cab. We shared a cab with another passenger (Perry Roth from New York) who was in line with us and was also going to our hotel. We were staying in a suite at the Marriott Plaza Hotel (Florida 1005) overlooking Plaza San Martin. Our room wasn't ready yet, so at noon we starting exploring. We walked down Calle Florida and window shopped. This is a pedestrian street, so the walking was great. We then walked down Avenida Corrientes to Avenida 9 de Julio to see the Obelisco. After resting a few moments in the traffic circle, we walked town Av. Roque Saenz Pena to Plaza de Mayo to see the Casa Rosada, Cabildo and Metropolitan Cathedral. We did not go into any of these buildings. By now it was 12:45 pm, so we starting heading back towards the hotel. We passed some kind of demonstration in the street along the way (a very peaceful one). After connecting back up with Florida street, we went inside the shopping center, Galerias Pacifico (www.daleriaspacifico.com.ar/ingles/home.htm) This Beaux Arts building was built in the late to accommodate a shop called the Argentine Bon Marche, modeled on the Le Bon Marche in Paris It was taken over by the state-run railroad offices in the 1960s and feel into disuse and disrepair. It 1992 it reopened in its current form. It has beautiful restored murals and glass ceilings. The murals are the reason we went into the shopping center. We walked around the Plaza San Martin where we had great shots of the Torre Monumental (the British Clock Tower). In the far distance you could see our cruise ship still in port. At 2:30 pm we got into our room and unpacked. We had to call the front desk, because we couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights and A/C. We discovered that there was a 'slot' to put your room key in next to the front door. This allowed a connection to be made to turn everything on. Our room had a great view of the plaza. We trying to go on the subway (Subte), but the ticket booth only took cash and we had not exchanged any money yet. Instead, we grabbed a cab to take us to Cruzat Beer House (Sarmiento 1617 and Montevideo in the Paseo la Plaza). We got there at 5:30 pm for a late lunch and some great beers. After beer and food, we walked down to the Placio del Congreso (National House of Congress) which was just a few blocks away. We had enough change to ride the Subte (www.subte.com.ar) (website in Spanish) back to the Plaza San Martin. You can buy subte pass card for 1,2,5,10 or 30 viajes (trips). Each trip costs .90 pesos which was about .29 cents US. Just a side note, cab rides were also very cheap, never costing more than about 5.50 US. We ate a late dinner at Buller Brewing Company (113 pesos - $36.23 US) (www.bullerpub.com) (website in Spanish) in Recoleta.

Day 15 (Saturday Feb 16th 2008) Buenos Aires

Weather today:  low 73 high 90

We took a cab over to the Retiro / Barrio Norte / Recoleta to search for a mask for our mask wall.    The shops we were looking in were too expensive, but we did enjoy walking around the area.  We walked over to Plaza Vincente Lopez, a very nice neighborhood park in a residential area.  Next we started walking to Recoleta Cemetery.  On the way, we picked up an empanada snack (pineapple and ham) at a bakery on Av. Quintana.  Next we visited the Recoleta Cemetery.  This was one of the most amazing highlights of our trip.  The tombs and mausoleums are unbelievable and the cemetery covers about 4 city blocks.  There are about 75 cats that roam among the tombs.  A group of women feed the cats and provide them with medical attention.   Of course, we visited Evita Peron’s tomb while we were here (actually it is the tome for the Duarte family.  While we were here we bumped into Jack and Rick who walked around with us for about 30 minutes.  We spent about 1 hour total in the cemetery.  Then we went outside of the cemetery to the Market Place.  Here we bought gifts for home and enjoyed walking around the vendors booths.  Next door was Buenos Aires Design which was full of home oriented dedicate to design, architecture and decoration. We visited the Basilica de Nuestra Sra. del Pilar and then walked out to the vendors where mark bought a leather hand bag. We walked out of the Plaza Francia, saw the State – Monumento al Carlos Maria de Alvear and walked down Posadas in Recoleta to eat at El Sanjuanino (www.elsanjuanino.com) (website in Spanish).  We had excellent empanadas here.  We highly recommend this place.  The empanadas we ate were 2.20 pesos (70 cents) each.  This was a late lunch as by now the time was about 3:15 pm.  Next was the Floralis Generica in the Plaza Naciones Unidas in Recoleta.  This is a hugh metallic ‘flower’ which opens its six enormous metallic petals every morning and closes them again at dusk.  Next we hailed a cab and went back to the hotel to briefly rest up and then we took the C subte to Indepencia station and we then walked through the San Telmo neighborhood. The Mercado de San Telmo was pretty cool – antiques, vintage clothing and a farmer’s market (butcher’s, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc). This market opened in 1897.  This was a short walk to Plaza Dorrego, the 2nd oldest square in the city where artists were out in full force.  Mate gourds were very popular on this square.  We cooled off with some beers from Bar El Federal (corner of Peru & Carlos Calvo).  This is a ‘bar notable’ that has a massive carved wood bard and stained glass ornament stand over the bar area.  Bar El Federal has been in business since 1864.  We leave around 7:00 pm and begin a very long walk back to the hotel.  Of course, we stopped at several places along the way. On our path were Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada.  The pink color was really cool with the late evening sun (7:45 pm) shining on it.  We then went to Café Tortoni and Av. De Mayo for ‘snacks’.   There was about a 10 minute wait to get inside. This historic café has served as the artistic and intellectual capital of Buenos Aires since 1859 and the perfect place for coffee and dessert.  We finished the walk back to the hotel, then freshened up and went out for a late dinner at Empire Thai.  After dinner, we went out for a few drinks.  Our first stop was “bulnes class-lounge & cosmopolitan bar”.  There were lots of our ‘shipmates’ there. Then we took a taxi to a bar “Flux” near enough to the hotel that we could walk home from there.  A British guy was the bartender (& part owner).  This place was pretty much empty when we got there.  After this very long day, it was time to call it a night.
 
Day 16 (Sunday Feb 17th 2008) Buenos Aires

Weather today:  low 73 high 92

We had a slower start today.  Took a cab to La Boca and then walked the Caminito pedestrian mall and adjacent streets.  Here Lyndon found his mask to put on our mask wall at Patagonia on Araoz de la Madrid in “Casa/Amarilla”.  Lyndon also bought a “La Boca Juniors” soccer shirt at another vendor in the area.  Since we didn’t have any lunch yet, it was time for a snack (lunch), again a late one 2 pm.  We had empanadas and diet coke at La Rueda Resto-Show where they had tango dancers perform outside by our café tables.  Lunch was a bargain: cover charge, 3 empanadas and 2 soft drinks for 34 Pesos ($10.79 US).  After shopping, we took a cab back to San Telmo to catch the Sunday Antique fair at the Plaza Dorrego.  Today San Telmo was much busier then it was yesterday.  We then were on the hunt for 3 beer bars Mark had on his list.  Two were closed because of the time of day, and one was open.  The 2 that were closed were “Gibraltar Brewpub” on Peru and “Bohemia Bar” on Estados Unidos.  The bar that was open was “TerriTorio”.  It was very small and had personality, but was very hot on the inside. Again this was a bargain: 2 beers for 13 pesos ($4.12 US).  We tried to go to a brew pub out west.  We took the E subte to Av. La Plata station to Cossab Cerveza Artesanal on Av. Carlos Calvo, but it was closed.  We ate an extremely late lunch (around 4pm) in the Galerias Pacifico food court at Las Brasitas (hamburgers)  The highlight of the evening was a late dinner (11:30 pm) at Antares Pub, Armenia 1447 in Palermo Viejo.  The bartenders were very nice although we had a language barrier. Then very late we took a cab to Pub-Disco Contra in Barrio Norte for Osos night.  After dancing here and having a few beers, we walked around the area.  Even though it was very late on a Sunday night (actually Monday morning by now), there were lots of people out eating, walking and in nightclubs.  This was another night we got to bed very late.

Day 17 (Monday Feb 18th 2008) Buenos Aires - Home

Weather today:  low 77 high 90

Last day here as we leave this evening.  Went to Puerto Madero and had lunch at Cabana las Lilas, very pricey, but great food.  This is widely considered to be the best parrilla in Buenos Aires.  The beef comes from the restaurant’s private estancia.   We walked back to the hotel did some last minute sightseeing.  We took the D Subte to Plaza Italia station to visit the Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays.  This botanical garden was very shady and nicely landscaped.  There were also lots of cats around in the park.  We walked around the area some and then went back to the hotel to rest up and pack for our overnight flight.  The hotel called a cab for us which took us to the airport (a long drive) for a fixed fare.  We left the hotel around 7 pm for our 11:50 pm flight home.

Day 18 (Tuesday Feb 19th 2008) Home

Weather today (Austin) low 39 high 69

Summary:

Our cruise and trip to South America was unbelievable! We got to experience so many things on this trip that we've never done before (gay cruise, South America countries, Carnival, etc). We've discovered through the various ports of call that we'd like to come back one day and visit some of them in greater detail, particularly Buzios and Parati. Although we had some inclimate weather, mostly during the first part of the trip, it was regarded as unusual and we still had a great time.