We wuz robbed

Our last morning in Santiago was to be spent looking at museums and art galleries using the metro to get around. We used the metro to get to our first stop and had a good look around the Pre- Columbian Art Museum then decided to walk to the next gallery. We were only a walking for a few minutes when a man stopped me and pointed out that there was some yellow sticky and smelly substance on my polar fleece vest. We stopped to clean it and two passers-bye offered to help with tissues at the ready. It was so bad that I had to take off my vest to clean it. One of the "helpers" said it must have been a bird so we both looked up and before we knew it they had all dissapeared and so was my wallet (It had been in the top zippered pocket of the vest, a safe place from pickpockets) I quickly realised that the wallet was gone and gave chase but soon lost anyone in the dense traffic both vehicular and pedestrian. We found a caberinos (policeman) who took us to his HQ so we could formally report the theft. We lost about US$150, two credit cards and our drivers licences, so with no money we had to call the hotel to pick us up. We did manage to pay the hotel from a photocopy of the card before we cancelled both cards. What a scam and what an exciting end to our holiday. See you in Australia in a couple of days.

Santiago - Mon & Tues

It is a lovely city but plagued by fog and mist at this time of the year, it is so close to the mountains that they have a very strong influence on the cities climate. Monday we had a city tour and when we were up on the loookout over the city we could only see a small part of the 6,000,000 inhabitants because of the mist. When we got to Constitutional Square the police had it all cordoned off because the President of Paraguay was visiting for trade talks. We got a good view of the ceremonial parade by the army horses with security provided by tough looking Chilien caberinoes, great fun and lots of photos. Tuesday morning we had a trip up into the Andes mountains. The weather started misty with very poor visabilty and our guide asked us if we really wanted to go, we all said yes as the weather had not let us down for the whole trip. Well as soon as we started the climb up the mountain we came out of the mist and had a beautiful sunny day until our return to the city. The trip up the mountain was scary, a narrow two lane road with a sheer drop on one side, we did it in two legs the first had over 40 zig zags and the second about 20. Our hearts were in our mouths but the driver knew what he was doing so we had no problem. When we got to the summit (10,000ft +) the air was thin but the view was brilliant.

The end of the cruise and on to Santiago

Saturday was our last full day on the ship so it was a quiet day sorting out all our things and getting ready to leave the ship on Sunday morning. We docked early and were all on the road by 9:00 am it is about 100km from the port of Valperaiso to Santiago so we were checked into the hotel by about 11:30 and quickly caught a cab to the Cathedral. We knew it was Easter Sunday but did not know when the services were, we were so lucky to catch the main mass at 12:00. It was led by the archbishop and was being televised; the atmosphere was awesome with a divine choir, a magic moment even though we could`t understand any of the words. The pedestrian mall was converted to a street market so we happily spent the afternoon browsing before returning to the hotel wacked but happy.

Puerto Montt Fri 6-4-07

Today we arrived at the lovely town of Pueto Montt, we had chosen a tour called "Nature and Traditions" It first took us to the resort of Puerto Varas on Lake Llanquihue, a lovely little town with a German influence. The day started cloudy and we could not see the snow covered volcanoes on the other side of the lake. We then drove to a ranch "Fundo Olguito" to soak up some of the Chilean traditions. We were met by a team of huasos (cowboys) mounted on their horses and were led to a large stable were we sat on bales of hay to watch a troupe of young dancers performing the shaque (courting dance) while we drank Chilean wine and ate empanandas! This was followed by a Chilean rodeo where the huasos showed off their skills on the horse - they were remarkable. A big traditional lunch followed the rodeo with moredancing, this time the youngsters got some of the group up to join in the dance - Terry was one of the first up!! Great fun. Before we went inside the mist lifted and we saw the snow covered volcano, but while we were eating it came down again and started to rain, This was our only bad weather on the whole trip and we were inside!!

Puerto Chacabuco Thurs 5-4-07

We arived at the port early in the morning and went for a coach tour of the surrounds. The port itself is very small but it serves as the entrance to a large area that can only be easly be reached by sea. The scenery inland was very rugged and very pretty, we also found a good outlet for the local produce and bought a few gifts.

Chilean Fjords Wed 4-4-07

Today was a day at sea, we cruised nothwards through the fjords and at some places you felt that you could touch land on both sides of the ship. Very dramatic scenery.

Magellan Passage Tues 3/4/07

Today was just going to be cruising through the Magellan Passage with no special events, but the captain decided that we had time to visit another glacier. If we thought the glaciers in Alaska and Argentina were dramatic this one beat them all. A huge wall of ice coming right down to the sea. We spent nealy an hour there with the ship turning so that everyone managed a good view and a good photo. Then back to cruising the Passage before we entered the Chilean Fiords. We finished the day with a fun murder mystery then slept for 91/2 hrs.

Puerto Arenas Mon 2/4/07

We left Ushuaia early in the afternoon and visited a number of spectacular glaciers, lots and lots of photos. We continued cruising through the Beagle Channel for the rest of that day. Waking up in the morning we found ourselves at Pueto Arenas our first stop in Chile, a city that also claims to be the most southern in the world, however their claim is based on the fact that they are part of the American mainland and that Ushuaia is on an island. We had a long shore excursion that included ths highlights of the town before we went into the country for a wonderful Chilean lunch and a display of horse breaking. It was fun to watch but the wind was strong and straight off the Antarctic so it was rather cold. (Chile lived up to its name) We then visited Fort Bulnes the original setlement that only lasted 4years before the lack of fresh water forced the settlers to re-establish at Pueto Arenas. Never been so cold, even terry in her fur coat - which everyone wanted to buy off her that day.

Ushuaia Sun 1/4/07

We woke to find ourselves in Ushuaia the southern most city in the world. It looked very cheerful with the houses all painted in different colours. We were told that this comes from the early days when the only paint available was from the ships and this was all strong colours. Ushuaia is a lovely city with towering snow capped mountains behind and all the development strung out around the sheltered bay. We took a train trip to "the end of the world", it was a restored logging train with one of the smallest gauges in the world. It finished in the Tiera del Fuego National Park with beautiful views over the Beagle Channel.

Cape Horn Sat 31/3/07

After leaving the Falkland Islands we encountered strong winds that delayed our arrival at the Cape. We finally got there after dark and all we saw was the light of the lighthouse. It was a little rough but managable, later we found out that the winds were over 130 mph equating to over 12 on the Beaufort scale. The lighthouse advised our captain that these had been the strongest winds recorded at the Cape for over 7 years and the captain had not experienced such strong winds in his 50 roundings of the Cape. Soon after we left the Cape we were in sheltered waters and it was calm again. Very exicting!!!!!

Falkland Islands Fri 30/3/07

Why would anyone go to war over these islands? They are bare of trees, cold and windswept. The harbour was full of rotting hulks and most of the beautiful beaches can't be used because of mines. The one that can be used is so cold that the water can only be swum in for about 20 minutes in mid-summer before you start feeling the effects of hypothermia. We had a 2hr highlights of Stanley and our guide was very enthusiastic and a very nice person but she had trouble finding any highlights for us to see. After she had shown us her son's house we stopped to see a 75 yr old gentleman cutting peat for us, the highlight was that the shovel had a hole in it to let out the water. However we did enjoy our day out and it was very interesting to hear about the war from a residents point of view. She pointed out the sites of several battles, but again one wonders why. After absorbing South America it was very strange to experience a little outpost of England complete with Government house, red letter boxes and fish & chips in the cafe.

Life on the Ocean Wave

We are now in our second day just cruising at sea. When we left Monte Video we cruised for a day before arriving at Puerto Madryn, this is a small town which is the centre for wild life excursions. As we had seen lots of penguins and sea lions we decided to just walk around town for a while, We manage to catch up on a few essentials, like shopping at the supermarket and finding a reasonably priced beauty salon. After leaving the port we are back on a day at sea before we arrive in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Life on board can be as busy or as lazy as you choose. The day starts with a work-out at the gym followed by a buffet breakfast with lots and lots of choices, then a talk on the next port of call, a cooking demonstration, a health talk and then a relax in the hot tub out in the sun. We have been very lucky so far with the weather clear sunny days and very calm seas. After lunch we may have a siesta for a short period before a stroll around the deck before we attend Tango lessons. Time then for a shower before we have a gourmet dinner either at Chopsticks or the Pasta Cafe, but often a buffet dinner at the Four Seasons. This is then followed by a Broadway Show in the Stardust Theatre and maybe a little TV before we collapse into bed to recover for the next days excursions.

Monte Video - Mon 26/3/07

The ship left Buenos Aires about 6:00 pm and cruised all night before arriving in Monte Video in Uraguay early monday morning. All we had done was actually crossed the river Plate. The old town adjacent to the docks was old, poorly maintained and looked deserted it was quite a shock and not a good introduction to a city that we eventually found to be beautiful. Three quarters of the city fronts the river which has all the appearance of a sea beach with white sand and a very mild sea. The promenade abounded with joggers and walkers and extended for many kilometers. On the land side were continuous high rise accomodation units, rather like Surfers Paradise but not so tall, on the other side were trees and lawns before the beach. Behind the high rise were beautiful suburbs the elegant houses. The city contains many statues to their heroes and the people are very proud of the cohesive mix of their citizens and the standard of their free education. The country became independent in 1860 (30 years after Perth was founded).

Iguazu Falls - Fri 23/3/07

After a few days in Buenos Aires we caught another plane and flew to Iguazu, about 11/2 hours flight on the border with Brazil. We stayed the night at the luxurious Iguazu Hotel & Casino, a lovely hotel recognised as one of the best small hotels in the world. The next day a short coach ride to the Brazilian border then on towards the falls. Before we reached the falls we stopped and caught a helicopter to overview where we were going and what we were to see. What an experience, about 3 kilometers of falls ranging from very small to titanic. When we got to the falls we trekked 3 km to view the different falls finishing with a close-up underneath the Garganta del Diablo (The devils throat). Awesome!!! Then a beautiful lunch with the soundof the falls in the background. Back on the coach to go to the Argentinian side of the falls and caught ther green train (a gas powered train that goes through the jungle). Then we went for a trek to look over the top of the Garganta del Diablo. What an experience standing on top of this huge waterfall and being sprayed with the mist that covers everything. The train then took us to Circuito Superior to view a range of falls ranging from Salsto san Martin to Salto des Hermanas a distance of over 1 km containing over 8 dramatic falls. A very weary George & Terry collapsed into bed before flying back to BA the next day to board the Norwegian Crown to start our cruise.

Buenos Aires

After a very, very long flight we arrived in BA via Sydney, Auckland and Santiago. Hotel is brilliant and we were almost tempted to stay there rather than explore the city, but explore we did . At 9 in the morning we joined the rest of our group for a tour of the city. We visited many interesting areas and saw many interesting sites,but one of my must sees didn't disappoint. Evita's sepulchre, complete with fresh flowers after 52 years, was moving and magnificent. All the mausoleums in this cemetery Recolate were fascinating, it felt like a city of the dead and covered two city blocks in area. We also saw the famous balcony in the pink Government House where Evita made her famous revolutionary speech (Government House is pink because it represents the truce between the two factions, red federalists and the light blue unionists) The highlight of the day was an evening dinner show featuring passionate tango, super food and super dance. Today we shopped until we dropped and discovered a gem of a museum just behind the hotel. It was a museum of the Spanish religious influence in South America and was full of priceless artifacts.

Melbourne Feb 2007

Time for a break! This time we went to Melbourne just for some R and R time, and to play with the grown-ups! Virgin flight to Tullamarine. coach to Mercure Grand right near Flinders Street Station, where a fully appointed private apartment was to be our home for the next four nights. We toured the city courtesy of the free tram, and also the free bus, and decided how to spend our time. Day one we went for a rivercruise on terribly squat ferry boats, had a comfortable coach ride up into the Dandenongs, and beat the heat by staying under the tall trees. Back to the city on the bus, and a fabulous finish to this lovely day with our three course dinner on board the restored Colonial Tram. Free drinks flowed as this stately tram slowly meandered its way around the city and the immediate environs. Feeling sated with the food wine, and the sights of the day we slowly wended our way back to our hotel. Next day we found the famous Bourke Street Mall, trawled through Chinatown, and had a fascinating visit to the Old Melbourne Jail. Excellent penal museum, with death masks of those who had been hanged there(including Ned Kelly), displayed the cruelty of those early colonial days. Upsetting - (sure there were ghosts). We caught the train from Flinders Street and travelled to Williamstown, the first port in Victoria. After alighting we walked to the jetty, and climbed aboard a tiny bus where a local chracter took us around and explained the history of the place, (Where Diver Dan had his shed, where Blue Heelers and Charlotte's Web were filmed, etc.). On Wednesday we explored the centre of Moving Images at Federation square, and found a photo of my grandfather at the Moments in History exhibition of black and white photographsby Bill Brandt at the Victoria Art Gallery. As it was Valentines day, we took a picnic to the Botanical Gardens, and watched the Australian Shakespeare production of Midsummer Nights Dream - how romantic. We both think that we will have to come again - so much to do and see in Melbourne.

10 year wedding anniversary

December 15th was our tenth wedding anniversary. Being a pair of old romantics, and being blissfully happy with each other, we had some of the guests from the wedding round to our home. We reminisced, gossiped, joked and had a wonderful evening. After the over-the-top cake was unveiled, we renewed our vows, with even more feeling than the first time!

Christmas at Surfers Paradise (Dec 06)

At Christmas we joined our daughter, Carrie, and granddaughter, Isabel in an apartment in Surfers Paradise Queensland. Terry's sister and family were also there so we all joined together to have some fun. An evening at "Dracula's" started the holiday, a really fun evening, but only for the adults. The next day we set out to explore. Niece Sally took us on the duck to drive then float around the sights. In the afternoon we visited "Water World" and had a great time. Then we had to prepare for Christmas day when the whole family came around for breakfast. Sally took us a drive to Byron Bay where Isabel went out to the most easterly point in Australia. A visit to the "Australian Outback Adventure" was one of the highlights of our stay. Great atmosphere and wonderful food and spectacular horse riding. By this time Terry and I were ready for a quiet day, so Carrie and Izzy went off to "Wet and Wild" and we took a coach tour inland to the mountains. Nice quiet rain forests with peaceful walks, just what we needed to recover. On our final day we got into Brisbane early and had time for a coach exploration and a visit to a Koala sanctuary.

Kalgoorlie

At the end of October, after the ice & snow of Alaska and the deep blue of the Indian Ocean, we thought we would revisit inland Australia. Our friend, Norman, had never been to Kal so we joined him on the Prospector train from Midland to Kal. The Prospector is a great way to travel, very comfortable and a smooth ride at about 80 k/h, even so it still took about 6 hours to reach Kalgoorlie. We wheeled our luggage over to the Railway Hotel, settled in then checked in for a tour of the town the next day. With an evening to spare we went out to the movies and saw "Kenny" a great film. Next day was great, we went to the super pit, which blew Norman away. We went down a mine and Norman poured gold, a great day alround. In the evening we joined our friends from the Goldfields Rep and watched a rehearsal for their Christmas show, it was great fun and should be a terrific show. We promised to come back in February to see Kevin's first major direction - "Journey's End" (must remember to find him some helmets.) Next day we prowled around town finishing up at the fascinating museum where we spent at least 3 hours absorbing the history of the goldfields. A big pub lunch at de Bernales the caught the train home to Perth.

Rottnest Island

Early October we took a few days off and went to relax at Rottnest (Unfortunately so did half of Perth, together with their bikes & food etc.) However despite a late departure we had a lovely trip across to the Island and as soon as we landed we raced over to the bike hire and got a couple of bikes (and the ugly helmets) Daughter Carrie and Grandaughter Isabel had brought theirs on the boat and they had pink helmets. They say you never forget, and it is true. After a shaky start we cycled like professionals, next year Terry will be in Lycra!!!! We stayed at Kingston Barracks, which is now the YHA hostel, only 10 minutes ride to the centre. Isabel loved the free ranging quokkas, some with babies in their pouches. She and her best friend were also able to cycle freely around the parade ground with no fear of traffic. We cycled and climbed down to the Basin, Geordie Bay, picnicked on the beach next to the blue sea and under the blue sky, and had a wonderfull relaxing time. We enjoyed ourselves so much in this little paradise that we booked ourselves up for the same time, same place next year.

Alaskan Wilderness

What a day!! We have reached Skagway - a village of 800 citizens which swells to 1200 in the season and has 2,500 tourists a day from the cruise ships. However when we first set foot on land it was so early we could Lake photos of this frontier town. We had two guide, called appropriately Cowboy and Don, (ours was a small group of 13), who took us to the station to catch the White Pass and Yukon Railway which goes up the mountains to Frasier a settlement of 20 people up the mountains for 3000 feet. Fantastic views as we climbed up the sides of mountains, hung over raging gorges, and over wooden trestle bridges, through tunnels all built with great hardship, misery and death of both man and horse in 1898 to serve the Klondike goldrush. After this magnificent ride, Cowboy and Don took us to the kayak spot, and we had a magical hour's kayaking on Lake Bernard, a glacial lake 3000' up. The sun shone, the water was dark and mysterious and still, reflections were stunning, a magic moment on both our lives and one not to be forgotten - we felt like White Cloud and Running Feather. After lunch we went on a supposed Wildlife Tour - the only disappointment in our whole holiday - so I won't go into that. Well, sadly, that's it for this holiday of a lifetime. Just resting on board and preparing to come home.
This will be our last blog as we now have two days cruising before we catch the plane home - boo hoo!!!!

Ashore in Alaska

After a day sailing through the Inside Passage we watched a brilliant dance show called "Jump Jive and Wail" with big band and tremendous dancers and athletes. We saw the sun go down and then went to bed. We woke up to find the port of Ketchican right outside our window and couldn't wait to hit down-town and to take our first walk on Alaskan soil. We caught a tour to the Saxman native village and experienced indiginous culture, carvings and dance. When they asked for volunteers for the final dance - who do you think was first on the stage???? This show was follwed by a walk through the old red light district and then onto the "Old Lumberjack Show" this was huge fun with half the crowd supporting a US team and our half supporting a dumb Canadian team. Boy were they strong and talented and our"dumb" team eventualy won the contest. We ran back to the ship only to join a 2 mile long queue as everyone else left boarding to the last moment

Embarcation Day

A slow awakening this morning and a casual breakfast on the top (35th) floor of the hotel. We took a cab to the Holy Rosary Cathederal for mass, taken by a very dynamic African who was most entertaining but we didn't understand a word he said. We thought it might improve when a Canadian lady did the reading, but no, her accent was just as bad. The church bells were in full swing as there happened to be a visiting bellringers conference and there were plenty of volunteers to try them out. A leisurely work back to the hotel through the shopping areas of Vancouver with plenty of eccentrics about for a sunday morning walk. We then had to go through the American Homeland Security measures before we could even think of getting onto the boat. We were finger-printed and photographed but eventually allowed on board the Norwegian Wind. A brilliant buffet lunch was waiting for us and our bags were all in our stateroom. Let the adventure begin.......

Laid-back Victoria

What a lovely day, we woke to the sounds of the Inner Harbour of Victoria and we had no commitments until 6:00 pm, the day was ours, all to ourselves. Again the weather was perfect with a day more like Australia than our impression of Canada, clear blue sky and a max of 29. We walked and crawled all over the centre of the town finishing up with a lovely seafood meal overlooking the harbour. There was a meet of classic wooden boat for the long weekend (Labour Day) and we took lots of photo's for Geoff. We then had a tour of the harbour in a little power boat that ran tours for about 12 people at a time but we were the only couple so we had the tour all to ourselves. It was now time for our 6:00pm appointment with a horse drawn carriage around the old town of Victoria, very lovely and very relaxing. By the way, Isabel, his name was Bud. We finished the day with a swim and hot spa at the hotel. Today was "Back to Vancouver" A drive to the north of Victoria to the ferry terminal and a smooth 11/2 Hr crossing back to the mainland. A short stop at a fish hatchery before we got off the coach (for the last time) for a visit to a suspension bridge and a beautiful walk arround some giant trees. Terry has set herself a personal goal to walk the bridge and she did so with no problems - -well done!!!! We are now exhausted and are heading off to our room before the excitement of tomorrow's cruise on the Norwegian Wind

Sweet Georgia Strait

Sweet Georgia Strait refers to the Straits of Georgia betweenVancouver(the financial centre of BC) and Victoria (the Provincial capital of BC) which is on Vancouver Island. We drove down from Whistler to put the bus on the ferry for the 90 min sail to Victoria. The weather is still ideal with clear sunny skies and maximums in the low 20's. The ferry ride was wonderful with lots of islands covered in fir trees, the odd sail boat and kayak. We then visited the Butchart Gardens which werre very nice but not really our thing, but all other members of our tour loved it. We are staying at a fabulous hotel adjacent to the inner harbour and as soon as I can master this computer I will post photo's. - done it!! The first one is on the ferry then at the Gardens and finally outside of our bedroom window.

Banff to Whistler

Cherries for breakfast -yum, yum!! We hit the road at 7:45 to head over the mountains to Whistler (the site of the next winter olympics), it started to rain but by the time we were at the summit it was snowing!!
By the time we started to go down the pass it had turned to rain and then it cleared. Most of the day was driving through the fruit bowl of Canada and most interesting most of the drive was through First Nations (Indian) land. They own the land and it can be leased for development such as housing, hotels roads etc. and these people can never own the land only lease it. This gives them pride and income. Canada was different to the USA in that the Royal Mounted Police were a peace keeping force compared with the US Cavalry who had the charter to subdue the Indians by force. As a result the relationships with the First Nations people are better than the US but there are still poverty problems. We stopped for morning tea, in Merritt, at "Tim Hortons" coffee and donuts, a huge chain but it looked to fattening for us so we had an apple each. Lunch was at Lillooet, the site of one of the Canadian gold rushes. Gold is no longer the main economic base as this has been replaced by tourists - we were one of five tour busses and a large gaggle of bikies, all vying for freshly cooked pies and the use of the toilets. A nice little town followed by a drive through some very dramatic scenery. We are now booked into the Coast Plaza at Whistler, a luxury ski lodge and are exploring a plethora of clubs restaurants and bars, obviously a top spot for the beautiful people to ski.