Cape Horn

The ship we are on has around 100 passengers.  Rooms and meals are great.  This morning, we went down to the southernmost island of Cape Horn.  We disembarked on small zodiac boats and went ashore.  Unbelievably windy and God forsaken place.  We visited a lighthouse on the island, and met  the family that lives there!

In the afternoon, we saw some documentaries.  I learned about the Yamana People, Chili's aborigines, wiped out by white people and missionaries.

Patagonia

We are in Ushuaia, the most Southern city in the world located at the southern tip of Argentina. We board a ship tomorrow and start our trip down around Cape Horn, then northwards through fiords and glaciers.

Went to the unusual town of Tigre today.

Went to an area called The Delta today, town of Tigre built on a myriad of islands formed by the river delta.  No roads... only rivers, streams and canals.  When you think of 'car', think boat.  Kids go to school on the schoolbus boat, garbage collection boats, super market boats that go from island to island, etc.  We saw the slums and the wealthy section, with mansions and helicopters to go to work in Buenos Airies! It was a great day whizzing through all of this on a Zodiac!

We were victims of a scam, but it didn't work!

Peter and I were out walking in the city today and decided to walk down a leafy street.  I felt something wet on my back, but when I looked, I couldn't see anything.  But something was wet in my hair.  We crossed the street and a man and a woman called out to us.  She showed me the back of Peter's shirt which was covered in a muddy substance and running down the back of his pants. She got out a tissue and offered to wipe it for us.  Peter backed away as the woman went to wipe him.  I took the tissue, said 'thank you', and wouldn't let her wipe us.

Peter was a dirty mess, and when he looked at my back, I had 'whatever' on my back as well.  As we wouldn't let the couple near us, they walked away, but kept glancing over their shoulder.  We caught a taxi and went back to the B&B.  Our host was mortified when he saw the mess on our clothes and explained that was a scam where they would distract you and then steal your wallet while pretending to wipe you down.  Peter was their target as he got the brunt of the goo.  I was just collateral damage.

Good Day in Buenos Aires

We are feeling human again, although Peter was sort of 'glassy' most of the day.  Did a fabulous walking tour of the city, for 3 hours yesterday.  Learned about history, culture, politics etc., and in the evening, we attended a Tango show.  Dancers were very good.

Our host at the B&B asked me if I would lik to go to a Tango lesson.  I said 'yes' until I found out it started at 11:00 pm and finished at 4:00 am.  He assured me that I didn't have to stay that long, that I could leave at, say, 1:00 am if I wanted, too.  I declined.

It seems Buenos Aires doesn't come alive until about 9:00 at night.  We went to a restaurant after our tango show around 10:00 pm. Families with little children were still arriving at 11:00 to have dinner!

Good Friday in Buenos Aires

Good Friday, you would think, would be a quiet day.  But business went on as usual, although some stores were closed.  We ventured out, taking a bus to the city centre but it never got there due to some road closures.  So we found the subway and succeeded in getting to the centre.

People sell things on the subway train. A man came by and dropped a packet of tissues in my lap, as he did with everyone.  No one took any notice of him.  Two minutes later, he came back and collected all of the packets unless you wished to buy it and you gave him money.  At the next stop, a man dropped a packet of chewing gum in our lap.  And the next was a 'knock off' Mont Blank pen.  As Peter said, 'That's a hell of a way to try to make a living.' But it is better than drugs or stealing.

We have arrived in Buenos Aires

We have arrived in Buenos Aires safely, but have not gotten off to a good start.  We purchased a Lonely Planet Guide to South America at the Sydney airport and then left it on the plane.  I arrived with a splitting headache despite flying business class. (I am not travelling well as I get older. ). And after flying all night and having breakfast on the plane just before we landed, we realised it was 9:00 pm in Argentina and time to go to bed.  The only good news is we are staying at a lovely B&B.