In 2015 Suzi and I are doing something very different, we are taking a long cruise around South America. These posts chronicle that cruise.
February 19, 2015, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Carnival is over but in Salvador it ends later than in Rio, and Salvador claims it throws a bigger party than Rio, which bills its carnival as “The biggest party in the world.” In … Continue reading Carnival Just Keeps on Coming, Salvador, Bahia
February 19, 2015 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil St. Francis would be appalled but would probably recognize it. I wonder what Pope Francis thinks. In an ironic statement the Franciscan church and monastery in Salvador, Bahia is laden with gold. 19 Lay not … Continue reading What Would St. Francis Do?
February 16, 2015 Sailing out of Rio “The Chrysler Building Gets Religion.” At least that what the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top of Corcovado reminds me of, although I think this art deco “wonder of the modern … Continue reading The Chrysler Building Gets Religion
February 16, 2015 Carnival in Rio. We were on our feet dancing for the entire performance of the Mocidade Samba School at the Sambodormo in Rio for Carnival. This group was clearly a crowd favorite. When they were announced thousands … Continue reading Joyful Apocalypse,
February 16, 2015 Rio Sambodormo is the epicenter of Carnival. It is a street lined by concrete bleachers, 13 grandstands plus reviewing stands, holding 90,000, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, who designed the city of Brasilia and major soccer stadiums. The … Continue reading Carnival in Rio!
February 15, 2015 Rio Dear Friends, Anyone who has traveled in India, North Africa or the Middle East knows the ritual of a visit to Uncle Tonoose’s carpet shop. In South America there is a VERY upscale version of that … Continue reading The Girl in Ipanema
February 15, 2015 Rio I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. Therefore I was rewarded as we sailed past sugar loaf just before sunrise watching the pilot boat drop off the harbor pilot on Prinsendam. We watched the sun behind … Continue reading Manha de Carnaval
February 14, 2015 Santos Brazil, We’re sailing out of Santos for a rendezvous with Carnival in Rio. I wrote about Santos Coffee Museum, football and beaches in my last post (click here). But because we couldn’t get to Sao Paulo … Continue reading Clang, Screech, Ding, Ding, Ding
February 14, 2015 Santos Brazil I knew three things about Santos, Brazil, they have a beach, Santos FC was the home club of Pele, arguably the greatest football player, and they “got a lot of coffee.” I know the last … Continue reading The Planters down in Santos all say…
February 11, 2015 Punta del Este, Uruguay Dear Friends, It was going to be a beach day. I had gone through my guide books and decided the highest and best use of this day would be sitting on the beach … Continue reading Just a Beach Day, With a Giant Hand and a Totem Pole
February 10, 2015 On the Rio Platta sailing away from Buenos Aires Buenos Aires has given me a lot to think about. How can a first world country become a third world country? Argentina was one of the few countries … Continue reading Thoughts on the Rio Platta
February 10, 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina Sometimes you do see what you come to see. Several months ago someone posted an article on Facebook from the Guardian listing the 10 most beautiful bookstores in the world. Buenos Aires is home … Continue reading A Temple of Books
February 9, 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina, Suzi and I decided to look at the lights of Buenos Aries. We arrived at the Obelisk in the Plaza of the Republic, which sits in the middle of July 9 Avenue, the widest … Continue reading Steak, Hold the Salt
February 9, 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina Today seemed to be a battle of icons and it fought itself out in many different visual images and in discussions. There are four icons in Buenos Aires, two are almost universally loved, and … Continue reading Four Icons in Buenos Aires
Feb 8, 2015 Montevideo, Uruguay “Travelers see what they see, tourists see what they came to see.” GK Chesterton. We honestly didn’t know what we came to see in Montevideo. Forty seven years ago Suzi and I came within a … Continue reading Forty Seven Years Late
February 8, 2015 Montevideo, Uruguay A week from tonight we plan to be at the Sunday night carnival parade in Rio. Today we are in Montevideo, Uruguay. Montevideo’s carnival lasts for 40 days, starting the 40 days before Ash Wednesday. … Continue reading Recycled Carnival
Bertha Beach is the home of Gentoo Penguins. Some look a little rough, they are in the middle of their annual molt. They have finished fledging their chicks, took a swim out to feed and now have to sit very … Continue reading Surrounded by Acres of … Penguins!
February 5, 2011 Stanley, Falkland Islands Dear Friends, Patrick Watts advertises a very nice Falkland tour in 4 wheel drive vehicles. He commissions locals who own the cars to take us around, four people to a car. Our driver was … Continue reading Falkland Four Wheel
It’s a day at sea after the Falklands and the Captain, the Expedition Leader (A professor from New Zealand), the Ice Pilot (a retired USCG admiral with 16 years’ experience on heavy icebreakers) and the Chief Engineering Officer are giving … Continue reading Antarctic Coda
February 3, 2015 King George Island, Antarctica. I was startled when I got an SMS message sailing into Admiralty Bay on King George Island. King George is the largest of the South Shetland Islands off the coast of Antarctica and … Continue reading Antarctic Metropolis and Teflon Rocks
February 3, 2015 Antarctic Sound, Antarctica. Dear Friends, Antarctic Sound, at the very northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, is packed with history and ice. The ice is the reason for the history. It’s named for a whaler turned research … Continue reading Ice Bergs, History and Politics
February 2, 2008 Andvord Bay, Paradise Harbor and Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctica, During the Alaska summer I get little sleep. I don’t sleep with curtains drawn so generally wake up early and go to bed late. I figure I will make … Continue reading Paradise to a Whaling Captain
February 2, 2008 Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctica I am used to photographing whales, but not this way. I am either in a small boat at sea level or on the second deck of a two deck Allen Marine catamaran. But on … Continue reading …To Teach Them Whales to Dance
February 2, 2008 Paradise Harbor, Antarctica. They look like dolphins swimming alongside the boat, but very small dolphins. But looking closely they are penguins, Gentoo Penguins. They move quickly thought the water, up for breath, down to swim. These penguins … Continue reading Feathered Dolphins.