Arrive Santiago Chile - Transfer to Port San Antonio - Board the Marina and Embark

Cruise Day 1: Wednesday, 14 February 2024

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Cruise Day 2: Thursday, 15 February 2024

Puerto Montt, Chile

Cruise Day 3: Friday, 16 February 2024

Shore Excursion: Osorno Volcano, Petrohue Falls, and Puerto Varas (PMC-003)

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Cruise Day 4: Saturday, 17 February 2024

Shore Excursion: Full Day Patagonia Nature In Depth (PCB-005)

Laguna San Rafael, Chile

Cruise Day 5: Sunday, 18 February 2024

Shore Excursion: Laguna San Rafael by Catamaran (LSR-001)

Cruising the Chilean Fjords

Cruise Day 6: Monday, 19 February 2024 & Cruise Day 7: Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Punta Arenas, Chile

Cruise Day 8: Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Shore Excursion: Voyage To The Past (PUQ-012)

Ushuaia, Argentina

Cruise Day 9: Thursday, 22 February 2024

Shore Excursion: End Of The World Train Tierra Del Fuego (USH-002)

Cruising the Drake Passage South to Antarctica

Cruise Day 10: Friday, 23 February 2024

Cruising Nuemayer Channel and Paradise Bay Antarctica

Cruise Day 11: Saturday, 24 February 2024

Cruising The Antarctic Sound

Cruise Day 12: Sunday, 25 February 2024

Iceberg A23a and Elephant Island

Cruise Day 13: Monday, 26 February 2024

Cruising the Drake Passage North Toward Falkland Islands

Cruise Day 14: Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Cruise Day 15: Wednesday, 28 February 2024

Shore Excursion: Bluff Cove Lagoon Penguin Safari (MPN-006)

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 16: Thursday, 29 February 2024

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Cruise Day 17: Friday, 1 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Highlights Of Puerto Madryn And Gaiman (PUM-001)

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 18: Saturday, 2 March 2024

Montevideo, Uruguay

Cruise Day 19: Sunday, 3 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Montevideo And Juanico Winery (MVD-002)

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cruise Day 20: Sunday, 4 March 2024

Buenos Aires Hop On Hop Off

La Ventana Tango Dinner Show

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cruise Day 21: Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Tigre Delta And River Cruise (BUE-003)

Montevideo, Uruguay

Cruise Day 22: Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Punta Del Este, Uruguay

Cruise Day 23: Thursday, 7 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Punta Del Este Bike Tour (PDP-008)

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 24: Friday, 8 March 2024

Balneario Camboriu, Brazil

Cruise Day 25: Saturday, 9 March 2024

Anchored, but swells prevented tendering, so aborted this port

São Francisco do Sul, Brazil

Cruise Day 26: Sunday, 10 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Highlights Of São Francisco And Joinville (SFS-002)

Santos and São Paulo, Brazil

Cruise Day 27: Monday, 11 March 2024

Paraty, Brazil

Cruise Day 28: Tuesday, 12 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Atlantic Forest By 4Wheel Drive (PTI-002)

Ilha Grande, Brazil

Cruise Day 29: Wednesday, 13 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Schooner And Snorkeling Adventure (IGB-002)

Buzios, Brazil

Cruise Day 30: Thursday, 14 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Beaches Of Buzios By Trolley (BUZ-002)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Cruise Day 31: Friday, 15 March 2024

Shore Excursion: The Best of Rio (RIO-002)

Sugarloaf Cable Car
Christ the Redeemer Statue

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 32: Saturday, 16 March 2024

Salvador, Brazil

Cruise Day 33: Sunday, 17 March 2024

Shore Excursion: The Best Of Salvador (SSA-002)

Maceió, Brazil

Cruise Day 34: Monday, 18 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Ponta Da Barra Market and Gunga Beach (MCZ-002)

Recife, Brazil

Cruise Day 35: Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Catamaran And Casa Da Cultura (REC-003)

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 36: Wednesday, 20 March 2024

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean and Crossing the Equator

Cruise Day 37: Thursday, 21 March 2024

Cruising the Amazon River, Brazil

Cruise Day 38: Friday, 22 March 2024

Alter Do Chão, Amazon River, Brazil

Cruise Day 39: Saturday, 23 March 2024

Boca Da Valeria, Amazon River, Brazil

Cruise Day 40: Sunday, 24 March 2024

Manaus, Amazon_River, Brazil

Cruise Day 41: Monday, 25 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Rubber Museum And Indian Community (MAO-006)

Manaus, Amazon_River, Brazil

Cruise Day 42: Tuesday, 26 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Manaus Jungle Trek (MAO-002)

Parintins, Amazon River, Brazil

Cruise Day 43: Wednesday, 27 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Boi Bumba Folk Show (PAR-001)

(see also: Parintins Folklore Festival)

Santarem, Amazon River, Brazil

Cruise Day 44: Thursday, 28 March 2024

Shore Excursion: Maica Lake Nature Cruise (STR-003)

Macapa, Brazil

Cruise Day 45: Friday, 29 March 2024

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 46: Saturday, 30 March 2024

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 47: Sunday, 31 March 2024

Bridgetown, Barbados

Cruise Day 48: Monday, 1 April 2024

St Johns, Antigua

Cruise Day 49: Tuesday, 2 April 2024

Shore Excursion: Island Off Road Safari And Beach(SJH-004)

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 50: Wednesday, 3 April 2024

Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Cruise Day 51: Thursday, 4 April 2024

Miami, Florida

Disembark: Friday, 5 April 2024

Item	Updated
Marina Current Location	Now
Photo Album	1 Apr 2024
Hyperlinked Excel Itinerary	11 Jan 2024
Google Map	28 Mar 2024
Google Earth KMZ File	16 May 2024
Media Files	16 May 2024

Daily Log:

- 05 Apr 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 52) Miami - Disembark Florida (Time Zone UTC-4):Seemed like a lot of waiting before we disembarked. Sat in Martini's Bar area with David & Pam waiting for the call to leave. Once off the ship, we found our bags inside of the cruise terminal. We had tagged our bags with color-coded and numbered tags so we could find groups of similar bags easily, but inside they were all mixed up, so bags were everywhere. Once we gathered all bags we headed for Customs, which was surprisingly simple to clear. We hauled all bags outside to the island where we'd catch our shuttle to Avis. Did not come for quite a while, so Renee called. Not much help. An 8-PAX van showed up finally...way too small for all the people waiting, but we managed to take the last two seats. Drive to the Avis counter was not too long, but it was a very small, 2-person, office. Finally got our vehicle, which was the perfect size for all of our luggage. It was a quick drive from there to the interstate, and just a couple of hours later we were at Michelle & Yeshe's appartment in West Palm Beach Florida. Michelle met us outside to help us find the proper place to park in her garage. After visiting for a bit, we picked up Yeshe from school, regrouped at the apartment, then took a walk around the area. Very nice area, with musicians playing, people relaxing, and lots of food options. Will stay for a few days, then head up to see Jason & Priscilla Kahne in Jacksonville on our way back to Pittsburgh.- 04 Apr 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 51) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean (Time Zone UTC-4):Another quiet day. Completed packing and placed our bags outside of our stateroom for pickup. Will reclaim them after disembarkation.- 03 Apr 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 50) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean (Time Zone UTC-4):Quiet day. With dissembarkation coming soon, we started packing our stuff. Since we're driving home we needed to separate out things we'll need for our visits along the way and stuff we won't be needing to get to. Renee ventured out to check out the "County Fair" games on the pool deck, then returned to help us get packed. We got 2 bags packed before heading up to meet with Pam & David in Terrace Cafe for lunch. After lunch we finished our game of Mexican Train dominoes, then returned to our rooms for some more packing. We still have a full day tomorrow, but we'll need to have our bags outside of the stateroom tomorrow night, as we arrive early on Friday and will be off the ship around 8AM. Tonight we have dinner in Pollo Grill with Pam & David, our last specialty dining engagement of the cruise. - 02 Apr 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 49) St. John's Antigua (Time Zone UTC-4):Headed out early for our "Island Safari & Beach" excursion. Our vehicle was a modified small truck with two rows of seats facing each other in the back. 12 of us piled into the small vehicle, and attempted to secure the mandatory seat belts which were sized for two year olds. This presented a challenge for so many old, fat people. Our guide was a jolly, stereotypical laid-back islander who went by the call sign "Flav" Flav entertained us with all sorts of facts about his island via a mike and speaker system as we bounced around in back, taking shaky photos. The tour was supposed to be off-road, and it felt like it was, though all roads we used were paved. Flav stopped a few times to point out various types of plants and trees, and snagged some fresh pomegranates from a tree which we readily and foolishly consumed at great risk to our health. He also stopped to grab some of black pineapple, Antigua's national fruit, for us to sample. Moving on, we stopped next at a high point on the island and popped out to stretch our legs and take some photos. It was very scenic, with beaches and coastline below. Then Flav broke out a gallon jug of Rum Punch for some nice refreshment. A short 10 minutes later we were down at a beach, which was good as everyone's eyeballs were floating. Some quick stops in a restaurant restroom, and all were out on the beach to swim or walk. We took a nice long hike and loved it. The water was an azure blue and tourqoise. Having adequately sunned ourselves and splashed around in the surf, we returned to our vehicle for the drive back to port. Flav broke out the Rum Punch again and left the jug in the back of the truck with us. That's when the real party started. He cranked up some music and our travel mates, having consumed multiple cups of the silly juice, were loudly singing as we made our way through the populated streets to port. Renee and I decided to take a short stroll outside of the port and we entered "Goldsmitty's" (see goldsmitty@candw.ag or http://goldsmitty.com/) to check out some of their unique jewelry made with "Antiguanite", which is 30 million year-old fossilize coral. We exited the shop several dollars lighter with a nice pendant and a ring which Renee wore later that night to dinner. After grabbing some lunch we headed back to our room and got cleaned up. Later that evening we were treated to a dinner in "Privēe", which is a private dinning table and room in the back of the ship. Friends Priscilla & Pat invited us and three other couples, all common friends, to join them. The affair had a maître d' and two assistant waiters, plus a sommelier. They served us a pre-arranged 5-course meal. The food was good and discussion all had a great time talking about a variety of things. We all left full.- 01 Apr 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 48) Bridgetown Barbados (Time Zone UTC-4):Been here before, so we decided to take a local taxi to Pebbles Beach on Carlisle Bay. Very pretty beach. We rented some snorkeling gear (did not want to pack that stuff this trip) and went out to see a couple of turtles and several types of fish. While the water was beautiful above, it was a bit cloudy below, so not the best snorkeling. Took a taxi back to the port and looked through the shops outside of the terminal Renee bought a couple of dresses and I bought a Barbados shirt. We sat at a bar and grill there and sampled Flying Fish fritters, which were okay, but not great, then headed back into the terminal for the compulsory walk through many shops and vendors competing for any remaining dollars we might have. We bumped into John & Kathy Granger, friends from our 2022 World Cruise, so we waited with them in the terminal for mutual friends Pam & David Lathrop to return from their shore excusion. Once all together, we walked back to John & Kathy's ship, the Oceania Sirena, for a group photo before parting ways again. It was very nice seeing them and catching up on things before they headed out across the Atlantic and we continued our return to Miami. Terrace Cafe had "Caribbean Night" with lots of local foods. I opted for the Ox Tail Stew and Jerk Chicken, while Renee had Jerk Chicken with veggies.- 31 Mar 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 47) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3 & UTC-4):Happy Easter!!! Relaxed early morning, with Easter brunch served in the Grand Dining Room at 9:30am. Pam & David got in line for the brunch early and snagged an 8-topper so that Renee and I, along with Paul & Gail and Jack & Liz could sit together. It was a nice spread, and many of the Easter egg chocolate art pieces were displayed on the food tables. As always, good food, good company, good conversation. We all ate too much, so we skipped lunch and instead met David & Pam to play Dominoes again. We played half way through a game of Mexican Train, then Renee and I headed to the room. I attempted to get more photos of the flying fish (highly transient and tiny, so hard to get), then we headed to the Spa hot tubs up front. We were the only ones there, so it was nice and peaceful. We stayed until it started raining, which really wasn't too much of a problem, then headed back to the room to get cleaned up for dinner (food seems to be a prevalent theme every day, especially when we're at sea!). We planned to have dinner with Rich & Karen and David & Pam, and we especially wanted to introduce David and Karen given their common careers in biomedical research. We had a nice table in the Grand Dining Room at 6:30pm, and talked until they closed. We were second to last table to leave at around 10pm. Some quick prep for tomorrow's activities. No shore excursion planned, but we'll meet up with other friends from the 2022 World Cruise who will also be in Bridgetown at the same time from another Oceania cruise.- 30 Mar 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 46) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):The Marina crew are beginning to prepare us all for disembarkation, starting with the return of our passports this morning. We also spent some time at the Reception Desk to discuss some items of quetion on our account. We were delighted to start noticing flying fish as we looked from our veranda. These fish are known for their unique ability to glide through the air, sometimes for distances of up to 45 meters. Flying fish have been observed to glide for over 40 seconds, and can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. I tried to get some photos, but my camera fogged up from bringing it from our stateroom out into high humidity and heat. I finally snapped a few, but it took some trial and error with camera settings before I got something worth keeping. I went to the spa for my final deep tissue massage on this trip. Tiny Viva from India worked her magic, finding every knot I had in my back and painfully working them out. I got back to our room in just enough time to shower up (my hair looked like Einstein after the head massage) and change for dinner. We attended the Captain's Cocktail Party for Oceania Club members in the Horizons Lounge (top deck forward). We met Pam & David, Paul & Gail, and Jack & Liz there which was nice. We listened to live music and singing, had drinks and Hors d'Oeuvres, and had a nice time. We then headed to Toscana for dinner with Pam & David. Many of the servers now know us, so it's always fun to see who will show up in the various restaurants. Another nice day at sea.- 29 Mar 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 45) Macapa Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Once again, no stop in Macapa...we just cruised right past it and the river pilot made his egress via a small boat that met the ship while moving. Casual day. We played 4 hours of Mexican Train dominoes with the Lathrops. It rained most of the day, stopping long enough for our crossing of the equator ceremony on the pool deck. The ceremony involved a procession of music and the entrance of King Neptune and his wife, followed by mock charges of transgressions prompting the king's decision to have offenders "Kiss the Fish" (there was a real fish on display for crossers to kiss!), then enter the pool where ice was dumped over subjects' heads and they jumped into the pool. This marks a transition from "Polywogs" to "Shellbacks". Since we have done this before, we did not partake this time but watched from the deck above. The ship's staff arranged a very nice Easter Egg display with large decorative eggs made from chocolate.- 28 Mar 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 44) Santarem (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Anchored again this morning, but our river boat picked us up right at our ship (did not have to tender to port). Santarem lies partly along the Amazon River and partly in a major tributary called the Tapajós. As we left the Amazon River into the Tapajós we once again saw "meeting of the waters", and it was quite a stark contrast. Our river boat took us right out to this separation of river flows, then into quieter waters of the Maica Lake. We saw small homesteads with horses, chickens, pigs, cattle, and clothing on clothes lines. We also spotted another sloth sitting in a tree near the water. Dispite the fact that we're in the Amazon's rainy season, we had yet another beautiful day of sunshine. We could see some areas in the distance around us where it was raining, but not on us. We stopped at a point on the lake where the crew broke out some fishing line and bait, and we tried our hand at catching Piranha. While I caught nothing, I took solice in the fact that the fish are now fatter from my feeding them. One lady did catch a small yellow Piranha, so we all have photos of it. This represents the second time that I got skunked fishing for Piranha in the Amazon. The same thing happened in the Madre de Deus river in the Peruvian Amazon some years ago. I'll need to come back some day and charter a private fishing trip to really get this job done! The ride back to Marina took us closer to the shoreline of Santarem, so we saw parts of town, glimpses of river dolphins, and yet another view of the "meeting of the waters". Back onboard Marina we witnessed a feeding frenzy even more intense than that of the deadly Piranha...old people eating lunch in Terrace Cafe!!! It was a scary and chaotic scene, with gnashing and flashing of false teeth, so Renee and I quickly grabbed something to eat and escaped outside to a quiet area for lunch. We joined the Lathrops after they returned from their jungle trek so we could exchange stories of the day. Since we were about to leave Santarem heading for the Atlantic, we decided to phone each of our kids from the Amazon. Short calls, but it was nice to hear their voices and to know that all was well with them. We had dinner in Polo Grill tonight with friends we met on this cruise, Karen and Rich from Northern Virginia. Great food and great conversation! - 27 Mar 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 43) Parintins (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-4):Dropped anchor in the Amazon River offshore of Parintins at around 10AM local. Had breakfast, did some laundry, then did some data wrangling. Renee did some walking and spent some time reviewing our onboard ledger. Before we knew it it was lunchtime, though we were really not hungry. We sat with David & Pam for a bit before heading out for the tender to the port to beat the rush. There was only 1 shore excursion option for today...the Boi Bumba show in the convention center just off the pier. We made it in and walked around briefly, taking some photos and looking at some of the craft booths outside of the venue. We then realized that folks were getting seats early, so we ventured in to find our own. The venue really could have used some stadium seating, but we managed to get seats in the third row back. Start time was delayed by a problem with one of the tender vessels, but the show was worth the wait. All performers danced and sang non-stop for about an hour at very high energy. Lots of very colorful and feathered costumes. This was a small sampling of Parintins' annual Boi Bumba festival that is second only to Rio's Carnival in Brazil. It's based on a story about a young man who slayed his master's ox to win the favors of a woman who had a hankering for ox tongue (common love story, right?). The kid went to prison for many years, but a medicine man brought the beast back to life to spare the young man from further prison time. The festival runs for 3 days in the June/July time frame, when the Amazon River is at its highest (height change is about 15-20 meters between dry and wet seasons!) Somehow, this also translated into a perpetual contest between the Caprichoso Club (all Blue) and the Garantido Club (all Red). The rivalry goes so far that even the members' homes are painted either red or blue. I dressed in Red AND Blue for the occassion, but it was only the Caprichoso Club that performed. Check out the photos (video clips will follow much later) on the Photo Album link on this page. At the end of the show, Renee HAD to get up and dance with some of the performers, and we took a number of photos with them. We then ventured back out to the craft booths and did some shopping. Renee bought a couple of necklaces, earrings and a bracelet, all locally made. We also picked up another wood carving, this one with the boi (ox), a jaguar, and a parrot. While waiting at the pier for the tender we saw more pink and gray river dolphins, but not well enough to get good photos. Back onboard we showered up and headed to Terrace Cafe to meet up with friends and discuss the day's activities. The cafe was having a Local Marketplace dinner with Brazilian foods bought in town today...quite tasty!- 26 Mar 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 42) Manaus (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-4):Early start, as we once again boarded a river boat and headed to the South bank of the Rio Negro to a site where Brazilian Army-trained survivalists took us in small groups for a hike into the Amazon Jungle. We were well-covered with long sleeves and pants, and with DEET to repel blood-suckers, but that did not stop the tiny ants who found their way onto my shoes and bit my ankles for a while. Pain wore off fairly quickly, and I felt satisfied giving something back to the jungle. We sampled two medicinal teas made from plants and roots within the jungle. Since we'd seen the rubber trees the day prior, and our teas were in plastic containers below a tree where we stopped, I had to inquire if they were the fruit of a Tupperware tree. Our guide had the best poker face I'd ever seen...never once cracked a smile, and I was using some of my best material! We were shown how to survive in the jungle, from building shelters to starting fires, what to eat and what not to eat, how to build snares for animals, etc. We began to think that they would leave us there to test our newly acquired knowledge, but fortunately they did not. Hiking back to the boat I noticed that my quick-dry clothing was totally soaked, with pools of sweat in the creases. I air-dried on the boat ride back, but we were relieved to find that the laundry hiatus had ended and we could now wash our clothes again. Having gone as far into the Amazon as we would on this trip, we left Manaus around 4pm and headed back along the Rio Negro to the "Meeting of the Waters", where the Rio Negro merges, but does not mix for many miles, with the muddy Amazon River waters. We cleaned up, relaxed for a while, then had dinner in Red Ginger with David & Pam once again. Love that place (see menu link in the planner spreadsheet) and really enjoyed our time in Manaus!- 25 Mar 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 41) Manaus (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-4):Manaus is located on the North bank of the Rio Negro river about 900 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. The Rio Negro splits Northward off of the Amazon River about 11 miles East of Manaus. The water is much different than the Amazon. It looks inky black, which is why the Spaniards named it Rio Negro. We learned that the river color comes from the tannins of decaying debris from the junghle, also making he river acidic so it does not breed mosquitoes or other insects. Manaus is referred to as the "Heart of Amazonia". Founded in 1669 by Portuguese settlers, Manaus grew slowly until the rubber boom from 1890 to 1920 after the invention of the vulcanization process. Manaus means "Mother of God" in the local language. Naturally, we decided to take the tour that went to a former rubber plantation (now an open air museum) and to visit an indigenous indian tribe called the Dessanas. It was a walk of only a few paces from the Marina across the pier to our river boat, then a 1.5 hour ride up the Rio Negro to the rubber museum. We walked around the grounds and through the buildings with our guide sharing all sorts of interesting historical information, little of which I can remember, but still interesting. We watched as a local guide showed how to extract latex from a rubber tree, and saw how the latex was heated and formed into large capsule-shaped balls (one of which I actually dribbled like a basketball) for export. Another highlight was coming across a large Walking Stick insect which alarmed many in our group, but they're harmless. The views from the rubber baron's house back to the water were quite scenic. Back on the river boat for another 45 minutes or so, with rain during our commute, to the small village of the Dessana Indians. We were treated to 4 different traditional dances, each using unique Amazonian musical instruments. In the final dance we joined in, then posed for group photos with various members of the tribe. We walked around a bit to see how the villagers lived, through the kitchen area and even for peeks into family huts. Came away with a hand-carved wooden item and a photo with the artist. Back aboard the Marina, we cleaned up, had some dinner, then went to a show in the Marina Lounge with Grupo Gaponga, a local folklore musical group. The female vocalist had an amazing voice that suited the accompanyment of sounds from the Amazon. The percussionist had a wide variety of unusual instruments. He even made the sound of a small motorboat along the river. We bought one of their CDs, so will be able to share the music with family and friends when we return home. Another great day in the Amazon!- 24 Mar 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 40) Boca Da Valeria (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Early anchor drop outside of Boca da Valeria. Our welcoming party was a green grass hopper-like insect on the outside of our veranda door. We ate a quick breakfast, then tendered in to the tiny town (75-100 people). We were greeted by perhaps the entire village. With David & Pam Lathrop, we quickly veered off from the main stream of offloading tourists and made our way to one of many wooden boats eagerly waiting to take people up river. Our guide/boat skipper was a young guy who spoke no English, but we all managed to communicate in various ways. The ride was very nice, but I could not help noticing the steady stream of water entering the boat and the sputtering sound of our sick engine. Was envisioning paddling back ourselves on fragments of the boat. We cruised through grasses to see lilly pads and other water flowers, some foraging buffalo, a tiny frog, lots of dragonflies, other boats, lots of birds, and another small village area. Given the warnings of malaria and dengue fever, we were well covered with insect repellant, but the bugs were really not very noticeable. Returning to the village, it was quite apparent that the main pastimes are art and procreation, as there were many small children everywhere. Many were dressed in colorful garb and/or holding various critters from the Amazon (sloths, caimans, large catfish, monkeys, birds, turtles...) We enjoyed exchanging dollars for smiles and photos as we made our way along the shore back toward Marina. On the walk back we decided to buy a couple pieces of local art, so we ended up with a painting and a wood carving, along with photos with each of the artists as we often do. I was also amused by how many of the small kids were wearing T-shirts with various images of American fictional characters (The Hulk, Captain America, etc.). I stopped to play a little soccer with one small boy who seemed to love it immensely, as did his parents who watched on. We did not expect much from this place, given the description in Currents, but we were very pleasantly surprised with how much we liked this stop. - 23 Mar 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 39) Alter do Chão (Amazon River) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Casual morning, as arrival in Alter do Chão (sister to Fogo de Chão???) was around noon. The river is amazing! So huge, with lonely structures seen on the river banks every once in a while. Passed Macapa without stopping. The river pilot boarded the ship from a small boat while we were on the move. Also passed Santarem, a large city that looked strangely out of place here! Alter do Chão is just off the main flow of the Amazon, so waters are more clear and it's a bit of a beach resort. Locals and transplanted hippies displayed their crafts as we found our way from the tender into town. Under sweltering heat, we saw what we could see and made our way back to the tender dock. We stopped along the way to get drinks at a bar near the beach. After seeing what souvenir options were available, we opted for some jewelry, a decorative mask, and a flute-like instrument that had other functions I can't share here. Shopping was challenging, as the ship's contraband list was effectively everything that the vendors were selling. We shed our drenched clothing, showered up (using minimal water per Amazon conservation rules) and met friends to replenish water and energy levels at the Terrace Cafe. It was a nice evening, as the moon was nearly full and the ship's lights were lowered (don't want to attract bugs or disturb the wildlife any more than necessary).- 22 Mar 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 38) Macapá Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):At approximately 4AM began entering the outflow from Amazon River into the Atlantic! As it is overcast, all we can really see is a much different water color...muddy. "Flowing more than 6,450 kilometers (4,000 miles) eastward across Brazil, the Amazon River originates in the Peruvian Andes as tiny mountain streams that eventually combine to form one of the world's mightiest rivers. While the Amazon is surpassed in length by the Nile, it carries the largest volume of freshwater in the world, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the Earth's discharge into the oceans. Millions of cubic feet of water empty into the Atlantic every second, and the effluent is transported across very large distances from shore."  (source: NASA) We're enroute to Macapá, where we'll make a 2-hour "technical stop" to pick up the River Captain who will guide our ship along the river.- 21 Mar 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 37) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):Second sea day as we approach the Amazon River. Rainy all day, so everyone stayed in covered areas of the ship, but it was still a nice day overall. Lots of discussion about what to expect, constraints on water useage, and concern not over malaria (most, including us, are taking Malarone), but over the increase in Dengue Fever, which has no real remedy or vaccine. Yet another reason to cover up and use insect repellant. At about 4pm local time we crossed the Equator heading North. We'll cross it again tomorrow heading South after our stop in Macapa on the Amazon River. We finished our game of Mexican Train dominoes with Pam & David, then started another game. We had a wonderful dinner in the Grand Dining Room with Pam & David, Paul & Gail, and Jack & Liz...all friends from our world cruise in 2022.- 20 Mar 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 36) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):At sea day, so nice and easy morning. The last few days have been hot and humid, and the ship is feeling it in many areas, even with the air conditioning on. Breakfast on the Terrace deck in aft with Pam & David, then Renee went with Pam and did some of the art scavenger hunt and I returned to the room for some data wrangling. Renee returned, then headed out again for her spa appointment. It was lunch time before I knew it, and we'd promised the Lathrops we'd meet them for lunch, so we headed up to eat a light lunch, then continued our game of Mexican Train dominoes. We played three rounds, then I headed back to the room to prep for my 2:30 deep tissue massage. This time it was Jean from Manila in the Phillipines who worked me over. It was okay, but not quite as good as either of the two previous practitioners. Renee worked out while I was at the spa, then back to the room once more, where I relaxed on the veranda and just listend to the waves against the ship and watched out over the mostly calm Atlantic Ocean. Today is our granddaughter Yeshe's birthday, so we recorded a "Happy Birthday" song and texted her from the veranda. Today and tomorrow everyone is doing laundry, as laundry will be closed for the week that we're on the Amazon River. The cruise line follows very strict protocols under normal operations, but even more so in the Amazon to minimize any disruption to the environment there. - 19 Mar 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 35) Recife Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Nice day in Recife ("he-SEE-feh")! The town was noticeably different, as it was initially settled by the Dutch in the 1600's, then taken by the Portuguese later. As with much of what we've seen in Brazil, there is quite a mix of cultures here. We took a short bus ride to the docks where catamarans were waiting for us. Before boarding we were offered our choice of a non-alcoholic guava juice or the national cocktail, Caipirinha, which is made from cachaça (sugar cane alcohol), sugar, and lime. I've frequently questioned the wisdom of getting a bunch of old people drunk, then having them walk a plank to a boat, but perhaps that's for local amusement. There was a large group of young kids there on a school trip also waiting to board. Naturally, Renee had to take a photo with them and they loved it! We headed out through the harbor, back past our ship and around into a river toward the town. It was sunny, hot and scenic. Lots of egrets along the waterline. There was a mix of high-rise buildings and many old buildings in disrepair and under renovation. There were many fishermen out with their nets. One small boat with Mom (who was rowing), Dad and a young girl had nearly pulled their net across the entire river, and they got quite excited as our boat approached. The captain slowed down, raised the motors, and we drifted across the net line apparently without incident (I looked back to see if they were in tow, but they were not). On return to the docks we took the bus into town and started a short walking tour. First stop was Marco Zero, where everyone took the obligatory selfie with the large, multicolored, RECIFE sign. We then hoofed it over to "Good Jesus Street" (Rua do Bom Jesus), where we explored a small museum with large "puppets" used during Carnival. We posed with several notable figures of both real and fictional people. Back out in the street I bought a small bag of Brazilian carmeled corn, which was a good snack as we continued our walk. We returned to the port and took the town shuttle back to a different section of town to the "Casa da Cultura", which is a cluster of shops inside what was once a prison. Renee found a couple of sun dresses and some jewerlry, and we picked up a couple of Carnival umbrellas and a locally carved wooden piece of art. Returning to the ship, we headed straight to Waves Grill for a quick bite of lunch, then headed back to the room for some much needed showers. We had a very nice dinner at a 6-topper in Terrace Cafe with David & Pam and Paul & Gail. Lots of good conversation and pretty good food. Everyone was pretty beat from the heat of the day, so we turned in early to prepare for waking up late tomorrow.- 18 Mar 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 34) Maceió Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):"Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form lakes. There are several of these in the area, so the town was called Maceió. The city began in an old sugar cane plantation and grew from there and now has a population of about 1.3 million people. We did not see much of the town, as we took a catamaran straight away up a river to a beach, but it was not the one that we signed up to visit. A bit of bate and switch I think, as the Gunga Beach is very nice and about 12 miles further in the direction we traveled. Our beach was crowded, filled with litter, and did not have enough shade to accommodate our group. We opted simply to take a walk away from the beach and did enjoy some of the egrets and sholes along the river as it approached the open ocean. On return we made a short shopping stop at a fishing village called Ponta da Barra Market. The people were very friendly, and we quickly made a few purchases of items with fish net-like patterns sewn onto the fabric. Can't say we really enjoyed Maceió.- 17 Mar 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 33) Salvador Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):We docked in the second largest bay in the world here in Salvador Brazil. Another long shore excursion today. Salvador served as Brazil's capital for 213 years and has a population of about 3 million people (per our guide). Yet another large city in South America where there is stark contrast between the wealthy and the poor. The latter live in "Favelas", or make-shift homes in areas throughout the town. We first drove up the hillside for some fantastic views of the beaches and port area. We then set out on foot through a couple of churches in the "Upper City", filled with 18 carat gold and extremely ornate statues. Our guide warned us of rampant theft and kept an eye out for anyone coming close to our group, blowing a whistle to attract police attention and scare of potential trouble-makers. There were police scattered throughout the city keeping an eye on things. The Portuguese settled here and brought many slaves from Africa, so there is a strong African cultural presence here with art, music and a form of martial arts. One area that we walked to was where Michael Jackson filmed a video for a song called "Nobody Cares About Us". Unique drum playing here also attracted Paul Simon who recorded with some of the performers. Scenery changed as we traveled to different parts of town. There was one area with large sculptures of women that appeared to be standing on the water in a lake. These are the Orisha, who are deities of the Afro-Brazilian religion called Candomble. We then headed to yet another Brazilian BBQ (like Rodizio's or Fogo da Chao), which was good but chaotic. After lunch we continued our drive through town and to a lighthouse at one of the beaches. On return to port, we did a small bit of shopping. Renee found a bracelet, a ring, and a large pendant all made with beautiful minerals and stones from the local area. Another interesting day comes to a close!- 16 Mar 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 32) At Sea  (Time Zone UTC-3):Relaxing day at sea today. The water was a bit rough at night, but beautiful during the day. We started the day with breakfast in Terrace Cafe with the Lathrops, then returned to the room to tend to some tasks. Renee signed up for the new art scavenger hunt, only to find that it was the same one as she did in the first cruise segment. She also squared things away with our shore excursions, got a printout of our current ledger with the ship, and made a "Fire & Ice Manicure and Pedicure" Spa appointment for the 20th. We went topside to walk off breakfast a bit, then Renee went to the gym to finish her workout and I headed back to the room for more fun battling the internet. We did notice that our ship now has several new antennae up on the forward top deck...for Starlink internet! Bad news is that they won't activate it until they're in dry dock in May, so no joy with that for this cruise. We had lunch with Pam & David, and bumped into Paul & Gail Bernabucci, who just joined the cruise in Rio. We traveled with them on the 2022 World Cruise and they've participated in the routine "Herb Talks" I've scheduled on Zoom for our talk group from that cruise since then. We played dominoes with Pam & David...a favorite game of theirs. Our new room steward, Matheus, stopped by to introduce himself. He seemed eager to make a good impression. Some relaxation time, then off to dinner at Red Ginger with Pam & David. They opted to attend the Captain's Cocktail, which we typically skip, before joining us. Once again, Red Ginger did not disappoint. Now it's prep for tomorrow's 7.5 hour shore excursion and some shut-eye.- 15 Mar 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 31) Rio de Janeiro Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Great day in Rio today! Started with some breakfast, then off the ship to meet our tour group by 8:20 AM. There were many people leaving the cruise, as this was a port where one segment ended and a new segment began. Our guide, Christina, was quite pleasant, and she artfully guided our coach driver and us through the busy streets of Rio, past Cocacabana and other interesting parts of town. She pointed out the "favelas", which are areas of make-shift homes built and occupied by the poorer working class families usually on a hillside. She told us about how the Portuguese named the city, as it was a river they found when they arrived in January (River of January). We headed up the Sugarloaf cable cars. The first part runs between Praia Vermelha and Morro da Urca (at 722 feet (220 m)), and the second rises to the summit of the 1,299-foot (396 m) Sugarloaf Mountain. We had fantastic views from there, and Christina showed us the cable car that was used in the James Bond movie "Moonraker" which filmed there in Rio. After heading back down, we went to a very nice lunch at the Assadore Restaurant, which had great views back up toward Sugarloaf Mountain where we had just been. The food was like at a Rodizio Grill, where servers bring skewers of various meats for all to try. After having our fill, we headed out to the train station to ride the train up to see Christ the Redeemer. The ride was interesting...not much room on either side of the train, with one side a sheer drop-off. Once up top, Renee climbed 220 stairs to the monument...I took the elevator. We snapped several photos, amidst a crowd of others making every kind of pose you could imagine. The outer layers of the statue are soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use. We bought a small replica (actual size wouldn't fit in our suitcase) also made of soapstone. The tour was very nice and we were happy we booked it. We were also happy to return to Marina, as our good friends David & Pam Lathrop had joined the cruise. We had dinner with them on the outside deck of Terrace Cafe as we sailed away at sunset. We could still see the lights on Sugarloaf Mountain and at Christ the Redeemer from our table as we sailed away. We chatted some more with David & Pam before heading back to our room for some sleep. All-in-all, a very nice day!- 14 Mar 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 30) Buzios Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Beautiful, sunny morning in Buzios Brazil! Short tender ride to port, then into our "Trolley", which was a VW truck retrofitted with bench seats and a canopy. We didn't expect much from this trip, but the guide and the photo stops were very good. Buzios boasts to have 20+ beaches, and all are very nice. We skipped the nude beach, as the trolley could not negotiate the hidden path to get there. The town was made famous after Bridget Bardot spent time here in the 1960's. It's still quite a busy place, though there are only about 34,000 permanent residents. After our tour around the peninsula we walked around town a bit to check out the shops. We found one run by a mother and daughter, and the daughter pulled out almost every gemstone she had to show Renee. We left with a quartz stone with embedded Tourmaline, a polished garnate pendant, a pink Tourmaline pendant, and a blue Tourmaline pendant. Back on Marina we ate a quick lunch and caught up on a few things using our fantastic cellular service courtesy of T-Mobile. We chatted a bit with two sisters-in-law, who we've noticed before as they way overdress in sparkly white attire with the rest of us in beachwear. They were from Alabama and Georgia. Naturally, we had to brag about our granddaughter who is graduating from University of Alabama this year and chant "Roll Tide". The Georgia gal did not like this...All about the Georgia Bulldogs for her! Also chatted with a couple from Edinburgh, Scottland. All seemed to be nice folks. We later had dinner in Polo Grill. We sat with Mike & Sherry from Mesa Arizona and another couple who we can't remember, but were new to Oceania. Good conversation and good food. After dinner we caught the 9:15 show, with Fred Becker peforming magic with comedy again. It was a good performance, and he once again involved the audience quite a lot. Tomorrow we arrive in Rio de Janeiro, which ends this segment of the cruise and begins another.- 13 Mar 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 29) Ilha Grande Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Much shorter tender trip today. We transferred quickly to another wooden schooner and headed out around Ilha Grande to a nice snorkeling area near the Laguna Azure (Blue Lagoon). Lots of fish, but only about 4 varieties. It was nice to do some snorkeling though, and the weather was great for it. We then sailed around to another cove with a beach, which we walked for a while before exploring an old church up on the hill. We performed a customary "hugging of the palm tree" near the church, which was supposed to bring us a long life together. The island was once leper colony, and later a top security prison (closed in 1994). So far, no body parts have fallen off and we escaped the prison area back to the town for some quick shopping before returning to Marina. We found a nice, locally hand-painted clay covered pot and called it ours (after paying, of course). Back onboard Marina, we showered up, tended to some chores, and had a nice Bazilian Marketplace Dinner in Terrace Cafe.- 12 Mar 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day28) Paraty Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Happy Birthday Renee! Celebrated the day with a 45 minute tender to shore in Paraty (Pah rah chee), then a short walk along the pier with many colorful tour boats docked to our awaiting 4X4 vehicles. We had two other couples with us, and we knew them all. Then a bumpy, but scenic ride up the moutain into the Atlantic Rain Forest to the Pedra Branca waterfall where we had a nice walk through thick foliage and a somewhat trecherous climb along slippery stones to the viewing point. Next stop was at the Pedra Branca Distillery, where they make a cane sugar drink. Bought a sampler pack and some local chocolate. Went to another waterfall and a nursery where they had exotic plants growing wild everywhere. Back in town we walked around a bit...very scenic with colorful shops along each stone street. We tendered back on one of the colorful ships...this one with the Pink Panther as a theme. Back on the ship we returned to the room to find it decorated with a "Happy Birthday" banner, balloons, and a cake and an elephant made of towels. Renee loved it! Througout the day she received texts from our kids and her siblings wishing her a Happy Birthday, and she called her mom to chat for a bit. Renee always buys her mom flowers on Renee's birthday, and we were happy to hear they'd made it to her mom this year too. Renee's brother and sister sent some cards with us on the trip, so she opened them to find a wheat penny from 1957 and some lottery tickets (family tradition). Birthday dinner was in Jacque's (Renee really likes the small baguettes). Food was great, and the staff brought Renee a candle-lit cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. We capped the night off by sitting in on the 9:15 show. Our Cruise Director, Sammie, sang songs by the Carptenters and did a wonderful job. All-in-all a very nice day.- 11 Mar 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day27) Sao Paulo (Santos) Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Exciting day for us, as we had a very special shore excursion! My nephew, Ross Fischetti, and his lovely wife Rofa, met us at the cruise terminal and drove us to Sao Paulo, where they live, to spend the day with us. Sao Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of over 17 million people, and it is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. We started with a stroll through a large and wonderful park (Parque Ibirapuera), which had a variety of unique trees, waterfowl, and views. The park was alive with people walking biking, running and peddling surries. We stopped at a kiosk in the park for an Acai smoothy, which was very good, then continued through the park around the lake. After this, we headed to a favorite lunch spot for them called "Consulado Mineiro Pinheiros", where Ross did us the favor of ordering some of the local dishes. The food and drink were delicious and satisfying, and the wait staff was friendly and efficient. I did decline the offer of some of the chili with pork, to include pig ears and snout, but Ross partook in some of that. Throughout the day we enjoyed talking with them about family, life here in Brazil, travel, and many other things. We felt sad to leave them when we arrived back at the port, but they left us with an assortment of treats that are uniquely Brazilian. Could not have asked for a more perfect day! Thank you Ross & Rofa!!!- 10 Mar 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 26) São Francisco do Sul Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Finally made it to land in Brazil! After a fairly long tender ride to the port, we made our way to the bus for a 1.5 hour ride to the town of Joinville. We did not join, but we did check out a few sights there. First stop was the art institute and home of Juarez Machado, who is world renown for his unique style of paintings. Next we visited a Catholic cathedral that had a mass in session, so we peeked in a bit and walked around the outside of the unique structure. Then, a walking tour to an outdoor historic display museum. The trip was okay, and the town interesting in that it was settled by a mixture of German, Italian, Portugese, French and workers imported from Scandinavia. The architecture showed this mix. Returning to the port, we walked around a bit through the streets and shops. We like to pick up items from local artists, so we bought a bottle painted with Sao Francisco do Sul, and Renee bought earrings and a pendant made from golden grass found only in the Brazilian Cerrado. As we often do, we asked the artist, Linda Chita, to pose with Renee and the jewelry for a photo. Then it was back to the ship, with dinner in Red Ginger again tonight. We shared a table with Dave & Helen, farmers from Australia whom we'd previously met, and with Henry and Judy from the San Francisco Bay area. Henry is a retired Orthopeadic Surgeon and Judy was a high school Spanish teacher. The have a son in Nashville...he moved from Seattle (which prompted discussion of our children who live in the same areas). We ended the night with a show in the Marina Lounge. It was a Gaucho and Tango performance by a couple from Buenos Aires with some similar content as we'd seen at our dinner show there, but also with enough variance and excellence to make it a fantastic performance. Tomorrow we dock in Santos, and we've arranged to meet with Ross & Rofa Fischetti there to spend some time with them in Sao Paulo.- 09 Mar 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 25) Balneario Camboriu Brazil (Time Zone UTC-3):Arrived and dropped anchor, but Captain assessed that the sea swells would make tendering operations unsafe, so we sat for 2 hours while Brazilian Immigration stamped all passenger passports. Ship's staff keeps all passports, so we had no action but to go to breakfast. We could see the shoreline, which has high-rise hotels from one end to the other, but skies are overcast had it is misty. Enjoyed watching several Frigatebirds fly around above the ship and took a few photos of them. Quiet dinner up in Terrace Cafe, then to bed for tomorrow's shore excursion. Hopefully the seas will oblige us for tendering operations there.- 08 Mar 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 24) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):At sea day, so casual start with breakfast in Terrace Cafe. Saw many of the staff who served us in the Grand Dining Room the night prior. The Atlantic is rough today as we head North toward Balneario Camboriu Brazil (initially shown as Itajai). Renee went to pull more cash from the ATM onboard, as it will be shut down the entire time we're in Brazil (crazy, right?). While she was out I got a call in the room from Liviu from Future Cruises. He wanted to give us a jump on access to booking the 2026 World Cruise before it opens to other cruisers today and then to the general public on 13 March. We hustled down to see him and filled out a preference sheet which he immediately entered into the system. I spent most of the day data wrangling photos, videos, GPS data and more. Renee spent more time finding items in her scavenger hunt on the ship (a new challenge started with the new segment). She's almost done and has helped others with the finds. We had a very nice dinner at Toscana. As we often do, we chose to sit at a "sharing table" to meet new people. Seated with us were friends John & Brad from Boise Idaho and Karen & Brian from Lexington Kentucky. John is a retired forestry worker for Bosie Cascade (we remember them from our time in La Grande Oregon). He also mentioned that, as a 22 year old kid, he "drove" a ship in the US Navy for a while. John's wife was at home in the care of family. He expressed some feelings of guilt at leaving her for this cruise, but said that it was on his bucket list for a long time and he might not ever have the chance to do it again. Brad is a semi-retired real estate agent. He did not talk very much, but his wife does not like traveling, especially at sea, so he joined John on the cruise. Karen was nurse for 47 years who made her way into hospital administration and became COO for more than one hospital in the Lexington area. She and her husband were the most talkative at the table, telling stories of life in Kentucky, all about horse racing and burbon, and about their travels. Brian is a retired landscape architect. They also made it a point to let us all know, repeatedly, that they were devout Southern Baptists (not sure what we were supposed to do with that info). We ended the night by taking in the 9:15 show in Marina Lounge. Magician/Comedian Fred Becker's performance was entertaining and not bad, but seemed like he took way too long to complete each trick. He did have fun involving the audience in his act however.- 07 Mar 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 23) Punta del Este Uruguay (Time Zone UTC-3):Fantastic day in Punta del Este! After tendering in to shore we took a 10 mile bike ride around the area, hitting many of the tourist sites. The ride was easy, but my butt was not designed for bike seats, so some pain was involved. We stopped at a lighthouse and a church first, then at Punta del Salina (Point of the Salt) for photos of the Atlantic Ocean and the Rio de la Plata. We then stopped at the giant hand in the sand, called "La Mano de Punta del Este" for more photos and a restroom stop. After that we rode through some residential neighborhoods, then back toward the beach. It was about 80 degrees and sunny, but there was a nice cool breeze coming off the water. After the ride we took a short walk along the coast and out to some rocks over walking bridges. We tendered back to the ship, ate some lunch, and did a few maintenance things. Had a wonderful dinner in the Grand Dining Room with Karen and Rich from Northern Virginia. Renee met Karen while doing the art scavanger hunt. Karen has a PhD in Biomedicine and Rich was an energy industry lawyer. They have a son and two adopted daughters from South Korea. One of their daughters and their son attended Carnegie Mellon University, as did our son Chris. We had a great conversation and planned to meet again for dinner soon. We both started taking our Malaria pills (Malarone) as is recommended for visits to Brazil.- 06 Mar 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 22) Montevideo Uruguay (Time Zone UTC-3):We decided to make this day a "Down Day" and canceled our scheduled tour. After our previous visit just a few days earlier, we felt we'd seen enough of Montevideo. Given that port days are good days to upload data, I spent the better part of the day doing that. Renee took a quick walk from the ship to nearby shops, then returned and spent a fair amount of time updating our shore excursions with Destination Services. Otherwise a quiet day.- 05 Mar 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 21) Buenos Aires Argentina (Time Zone UTC-3):Today was a big day onboard, as it marked the end of the "South American Explorer" segment and the start of the "Bountiful Brazil" segment. About a thousand people disembarked, leaving about 250 of us onboard. Not sure how many new cruisers boarded, but will add that when I do. Renee had switched our excursion since we'd already seen highlights of the town. We boarded a large tour bus to head to the Tigre River for a cruise through a part of a huge river delta dividing Argentina and Uruguay. Given the craziness of four cruise ships and passengers arriving and leaving, traffic was a nightmare. Our tour started almost an hour late. I'm convinced that the excursion was jinxed. After our late start, the guide decided to show us some of the wealthy residences on very narrow streets with cars on both sides. The huge bus crawled through the streets, tree branches scraping across the window as we moved. Not a good call on the guide's part. That did not disuade her from taking us through two more narrow streets before arriving at the San Isidro Cathedral for a quick 10-minute stop, which became 30 minutes as our driver was fined for a parking violation. Our tour guide related that she tried to bribe the cop, but to no avail (which she said was unusual). As if this were not enough, as we approached the town of Tigre, our bus lost its large right mirror. Not a good day for Fernando our driver! We exited our scraped up, broken mirrored bus and walked a short distance to our boat on the Tigre River. Renee and I sat out back with a few others, while most sat down inside of the boat. The river was amazing. It took us into the hugh delta region which had hundreds of homes built at water level in a permanent flood zone. Some were old and abandoned, but others were clearly occupied and well maintained. They had no running water. Potable water was delivered. The only way to get to them was by boat. The waterways were busy, with families motoring past us in either direction. We traveled a total of 9 miles of waterways through the delta in 1.5 hours. This was a tiny glimpse of the delta, leaving us wondering just how many homes and people live (literally on the water) throughout the entire delta area. The drive back to port was fairly quick (in our new bus with a new driver) as we took the highway back. Many in our group were dismayed to find that Fernando had taken the bus, with their belongings still on it, for repairs. Fortunately we had all of our things...or did we??? Renee stayed at the terminal to do some shopping while I headed back to the ship. On her return we made our way to Waves Grill for a late lunch. It was interesting to watch the newbies find their way around the ship. We returned to our room and I began my daily ritual of backing up all of our photos. I went for my phone and could not find it. After a mild panic, I remembered taking it out to go through security at the terminal, so I quickly hopped the shuttle to the terminal from the ship to look for it. The security folks were great, and quickly motioned to me to come and fetch it. Much relieved, I returned to ship to continue data backups. We ordered room service for dinner and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3", which was disappointing but still fun to watch for the scenes in Greece where we'll soon be heading ourselves.- 04 Mar 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 20) Buenos Aires Argentina (Time Zone UTC-3):Extra day in Buenos Aires due to the itinerary change, so we had to come up with our own things to do in town. We started with a scenic tour around Buenos Aires on the Hop On Hop Off bus. It served the purpose intended, but took way too long to get around. Not sure, but seemed like the drivers took random siestas at some stops. We did hop off a couple of times, once just to kill time while the driver took a nap. Second time off was at stop 19, which was the Distrito Arcos outlet mall area. It was a very nice outdoor walking mall with many, many shops in refurbished old buildings along with new structures. Very scenic. Because Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina it was huge and full of historic buildings, sculptures, monuments, and parks. What we saw the most of, however, was the traffic and many high-rise apartments buildings. For the evening, we decided that it was an imperative to take in an Argentinian Tango show, so we booked the La Ventana dinner and cultural show using Viator. A driver picked us up outside of the port terminal and took us to the venue, stopping a couple of times on the way to pick up others. The venue took us back in time to everything you might think of when you think tango. We descended old wooden stairs through red brick archways down into the dining and stage area, seated with a couple from Mexico. The woman spoke some English and served as a translator between us and her husband. While small and crowded, the ambiance was jovial, full of excitement and laughter. The wait staff were very efficient and friendly. We had a 3-course meal and of course HAD to have some Argentinian beef. The show started while they served desert. It was nothing short of fantastic. There were 3 tango couples who performed a variety of dances in various costumes. The live orchestra included 3 squeezebox players, 2 violinists, one base player, and a pianist. It was simply the most impressive performance of tango music and dance we'd ever experienced. They also had a male and a female vocalist who sang Argentinian songs. The Gaucho culture was also presented. A trio played lively music while dancers in traditional dress also performed. One fun addition was a guy who looked like Fabio (yes, with open shirt and and long hair) who did some form of Gaucho stomping. At one point he swung balls on strings rapidly on either side of his body as he danced, with the tapping of the balls augmenting his foot stomps (strange description, but that's all I've got!) There was a bit of a plenary at the end, where all performers joined in and performed a combo song and dance. We left the venue approaching midnight and got back to the ship and our room by 1:00am the following morning. We went to sleep feeling like we'd really sampled the essence of Buenos Aires.- 03 Mar 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 19) Montevideo Uruguay (Time Zone UTC-3):Slow morning, as we did not dock in Montevideo until 10:15am. Showered and dressed for the day, then went up to Terrace Cafe for some light breakfast. We sat outside on the deck, which was nice, but windy. Lots of freighters and tankers coming and going...it's a busy port. It was clear that we'd left the Atlantic for the Rio de la Plata, a large river delta that opens into the sea. The water looked muddy. As we entered the breakwaters there was an area with several partially sunken ships, which was an unusual sight for a port! We took a highlights bus tour around Montevideo, taking in sights of monuments, buildings, beaches, sports complexes and many private homes in different areas of the town. It was busy, as there were 3 other cruise ships in port, all much bigger than ours. Renee picked up an amethyst pendant (national stone of Uruguay) and 3 cut and polished amethyst stones. We also picked up a hand-carved wooden frog that croaks as you stroke it with a wooden dowel. The guide shared a lot of insight into all things Uruguay. They're trying to improve things after 15 years of Socialist governance which decimated the middle class and cut incomes by about 50% for wage earners. People seemed happy and very active outdoors, but it was clearly a depressed economy. The final part of the tour was a trip out to the Jaunico Winery. We passed shanty houses in what the guide referred to as the "working class area", then into the countryside. The winery was quite large. We were first taken out to a portion of the vineyards to directly sample grapes from the vine. They were very sweet and were clearly ready for harvest. We returned to enter the tasting room and we were treated to 4 different wines along with bread and a very tasty assortment of meats. We had great discussion with our fellow travelers, whom we had not previously met. The guy on my right was a bit of a comedian. Turns out he was an architect by training, but became a noted clothing designer with his own brand that sells in high end stores. Check out Daniel De Fasson online when you have a chance. I asked him if his line included items for Dad Bods. After eating and drinking, we meandered around the grounds, which had many antique items and structures about. The ship left port shortly after we returned, and we learned that weather had forced an itinerary change. We would no longer go next to Punta del Este, but instead head straight to Buenos Aires and have an overnight there.- 02 Mar 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 18) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):Today marks our 50th wedding anniversary. Woke up and snuggled a bit, as I've done every morning for the past 50 years, with the love of my life. We ordered room service and exchanged anniversary cards and talked about the amazing life journey we've had together. With us now sailing in warm waters, we headed up to the walking track to burn off breakfast. According to my Garmin Tactix Delta Pro, we covered 10.71 miles in just 35 minutes and 32 seconds for a pace of 3:19 per mile! Not bad for a couple of old folks! After subtracting the motion of the ship...we sadly discovered that we had NOT set a new world record. Our actual distance, relative to the track, was 2 miles at a pace of 17.8 minutes per mile. That's a much slower pace than Renee would walk if alone, but she was nice enough not to lap me repeatedly during the walk. It was sunny and warm, and there were many taking advantage of that on the pool deck below. Renee worked out and I wrangled data. Renee brought me a chocolate malted shake from Waves Grill, but we otherwise skipped lunch. Walking around the ship, several of the folks we'd met wished us a Happy Anniversary. You'd think that 50 years is pretty special, and it is, but on this ship there are many with 60+ years of marriage! We treated ourselves to a relaxing soak in the Spa Deck hot tub, then came back to the room to shower up and dress for dinner. Dinner tonight was at the Red Ginger restaurant. We had a private table, and the service and ambiance was all that we'd remembered from our Arctic cruise on Marina. From selecting our tea and fine chopsticks, to delicious appetizers and amazing Sea Bass with Miso Glaze (best meal on the ship!), we had a wonderful dinner. For desert, the crew brought us a small Happy Anniversary cake with a candle on it. Returning back to our room, we found it decorated with balloons a "Happy Anniversary" banner over the bed, and a quite elaborate swan towel display on the bed, plus some Champagne chilling on ice. A small toast and a few sips were all we needed, but it was all very nice. All in all, a very nice day.- 01 Mar 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 17) Puerto Madryn Argentina (Time Zone UTC-3):Up and at 'em for a 9am shore excursion that left the port on a 1.5 hour drive across the Argentine Patagonian landscape toward a small town called Gaiman. This town was settled in 1865 by a small group of Welsh immigrants, and it has retained the Welsh heritage to this day. We walked around a bit, stopping at the first house built in the town, then through the town square which had some unique wooden sculptures, and on to the Ty Gwyn tea house. Here we were treated to a traditional Welsh tea with treats, which we gladly sampled while listening to the local church choir sing Welsh hymms. Before leaving I took a few photos, to include the ladies in the kitchen who prepared our treats, and then we purchased some of the same tea that we drank, a small teapot, and a traditional design Welsh wooden spoon. We returned to the ship, where I headed up to do daily battle with the internet, and Renee headed back out for a walk along the pier. We had a nice dinner in Terrace Cafe with friends Debbie and Gary from the Seattle area as we watched another beautiful sunset on the Atlantic.- 29 Feb 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 16) Cruising the Atlantic Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):Sea day, so relaxed morning. We both hit the gym for a bit of a workout, then grabbed some breakfast to eat in our room. We both had spa appointments...Renee for a Bio Tech, 20-step facial and me for a deep tissue massage. Renee felt very relaxed and almost went to sleep as Saiman from Mumbai India expertly worked through each phase of the facial. As for results...Renee said her face felt very clean and I think she looks 10 years younger now (my story and I'm sticking to it!) As for my massage...this was Viva's first gig on a cruise ship. I was once again surprised at how much force and pain a tiny Asian masseuse can administer. That said, I felt great when she stopped. We did various other things throughout the day, many just to regroup and reset for the next day in port. We had dinner in the Grand Dining Room with Bob and Marilyn from Canada. They are retired bakery shop owners. Bob was quite the talker. Marilyn repeatedly reminded him to eat his dinner. We had great conversation and our food was good. We decided to catch the 9:15pm show in Marina Lounge, as the performer was someone we remembered from our 2022 World Cruise. Viviana Guzman performed flawlessly with several versions of flute-like instruments. We enjoyed the show immensely.- 28 Feb 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 15) Port Stanley Falkland Islands (Time Zone UTC-3):Woke this morning as we were slowly floating into Port William in the Falkland Islands. We got dressed and had a quick breakfast, then tendered in (long haul this time) to Port Stanley to catch our 16 PAX van out to Bluff Cove to see King and Gentoo penguins up close. They also have Rockhoppers, Magellenic and Macaroni penguins here, but we did not see them at Bluff Cove today. During the commute to the location, our driver provided lots of history and background about the Falkland Islands. The island is mostly dirt and rocks, with not much elevation change in the areas we visited. The chief income comes from fees for commercial fishing in their Economic Exclusion Zone around the island. Secound is tourism. They boast over a half million sheep on the island, enough for 250 sheep for every man, woman and child! Up to as many as a million penguins are here during summer nesting season, making it one of the world's great penguin capitals. After taking far too many photos of penguins at Bluff Cove, we headed into the shop there, set up in what looked to be mobile home style buildings. Naturally, we bought a mug with penguins and Bluff Cove on it and a wool blanket made from local sheep wool. We also sat in the Sea Cabbage Cafe where a local named "Hattie" bakes many of the treats, including a berry jam with cream from the local Belted Galloway cows (A.K.A. Oreo Cookie cows, as they are black front and back with white in the middle). Renee chatted with Pat, a local who was serving tea and treats. Pat had attended Carlow College in Pittsburgh years ago. Given the concern for Avian Flu here, we had the bottoms of our shoes sprayed with disinfectant as we re-entered the van to return. On return to port, I headed back on board the Marina and Renee headed out on foot into Port Stanley to check things out. Her impression of the town was that the people were very friendly and welcoming. It seems to be a very tight-knit community and they are very, very British. - 27 Feb 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 14) Cruising the Drake Passage  (Time Zone UTC-3):Mostly uneventful day, as we crossed the Drake Passage again, this time heading North. We both did a quick workout in the gym before showering up and heading to the "Future Cruises" presentation in the Marina Lounge. We had received a prinout of the 2026 World Cruise itinerary the night prior, and we were at the Future Cruise desk at 09:00 to talk with Elizabeth about booking it. Itinerary doesn't have everything we want and repeats many places we've been (including places on this current cruise), but it has some very cool places that we've not done yet, so we're thinking we may just do the 120 Day from Los Angeles to New York, which has those places in it. Renee claimed her "Big O Points" for finding all 60 items in the art search contest. We had dinner in the Grand Dining Room with two other couples: Sue & Art are originally from New York City, now from outside of Philadelphia. Art & Sue have been married for 61 years. Art is a retired virologist who worked on vaccines at Merk. Joanna & Bob are from Atlanta GA. They've been married for 41 years. Bob was a traveling lecturer for the Federal Reserve. His work took him to many countries. We attended the second show by comedian Darrell Joyce, and he was as funny as the previous show. Lots of jokes about old people on cruises...we could all relate!- 26 Feb 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 13) Iceberg A23a and Elephant Island (Time Zone UTC-3):Slow morning as we headed out into open water toward the world's largest floating object...iceberg A23a, which broke off the Antarctic shelf back in 1986 but grounded itself on the Weddell Sea floor for three decades. It broke loose in 2020 and has been drifting northeastward. It's nearly a trillion tons of ice, and looks totally flat. It would cover twice the area of Greater London (about 1,470 sq miles). After cruising past this monster iceberg we turned back around and headed back west. We took advantage of a special brunch Marina held in the Grand Dining Room. At about 1:45 we participated in the Antarctic Polar Plunge event on the pool deck. Nice that we had done the same in the Arctic just 6 months prior! We had ice poured over us before we jumped into the pool, then we headed straight for the Spa Deck for a hot tub plunge! After showering up we went topside again to watch our approach to Elephant Island. This island gained notariety after Ernest Shackleton's third Antarctic expedition. The ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and finally sank in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica on 21 November 1915. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the South Atlantic island of South Georgia. We passed the area where the crew of 20+ camped out for 2 months before making it to safety. We enjoyed our brief, but very scenic tour of just a small part of the Antarctic, and now we head northward toward the Falkland Islands and warmer weather.- 25 Feb 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 12) Cruising The Antarctic Sound (Time Zone UTC-3):I woke at 5:00AM and peeked outside to find the moon shining through the clouds onto the water. Mostly a sea day as we moved through the Gerlache Strait out into the Bransfield Strait which was fairly rough water. We passed several icebergs along the way. We only noticed one whale just after 1pm as we entered the Antarctic Sound, where waters were much more sheltered and calm. We had spectacular views of sea ice and ice covered mountains, and we also saw penguins both swimming in the water and a few hanging out on icebergs. We were impressed by how they could climb up on some of the steep sides of the icebergs. I caught a few sea lions on icebergs here and there. The skies changed from overcast to sunny off and on, and we had some stunning views at times when the sun was out. Around 6pm, as we headed back out of the sound, we saw a number of whales (perhaps fin whales) and then a pod of orcas. The sunset was absolutely beautiful. After a pretty full day, we decided to head up to the Terrace Cafe early to ensure we could snag a table. We ended up sitting at a table next to Debbie and Gary from Seattle area whom we'd previously met.- 24 Feb 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 11) Cruising Nuemayer Channel and Paradise Bay Antarctica (Time Zone UTC-3):We woke to block iceburgs as we entered sheltered waters near Dallman Bay. This was a change from the original itinerary, but weather, sea, and ice conditions make traveling here subject to change frequently. We cruised Dallmann Bay and sited many whales and penguins, though mostly submerged. At times we saw several spouts at once. There were some Humpback whales that came close to the ship, and we saw another variety with long dorsal fins but not sure that they were Orcas. The penguins darted in and out of the water in fractions of a second, so capturing them on camera was a challenge. We did see some of them on a couple of iceburgs. We also saw a couple of sea lions on iceburgs, but from a distance. The views were breathtaking. After several hours and perhaps a thousand photos, we decided to relax a bit in the Spa Deck hot tub as we cruised to Paradise Harbor, which was originally scheduled for the following day. After a scenic cruise of the bay, the captain advised that we'd need to head to another location that is more protected, as strong winds were forecasted for the evening and tomorrow. We got cleaned up and headed to the Grand Dining Room again, and had dinner for two in a quiet part of the dinning room. An older couple sat near us and we conversed a bit. They were Florida transplants who recently relocated to the Phoenix area, and they were celebrating their 65th anniversary with this cruise. After that we headed back to the stateroom to back up 43.6 Gigabytes of photos and videos from 2 iPhones, a GoPro, and our Nikon Z8. Gonna call it a night now and prepare for another amazing day in Antarctica.- 23 Feb 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 10) Cruising the Drake Passage  (Time Zone UTC-3):Slow morning, as we laid in bed enjoying the rock and roll of the ship as it transited the Drake Passage. I had to get up a couple of times overnight to close the sliding closet doors as they opened due to motion of the ocean and turned on a light each time. As rough seas go, we've experience worse, so it really was not that bad. Later in the morning we had mostly sunny skies. The Drake Passage, named after Sir Francis Drake, boasts the highest volume of water throughput in the world, at between 3.4 and 5.3 billion cubic feet of water per second!!! Flow is mostly from Pacific to Atlantic. I took advantage of the time to catch up on my data wrangling as Renee headed to breakfast. Renee continued her scavanger hunt to identify image fragments of artwork around the ship. By the end of the day she had found all 60 items. We decided not to engage the hords of people in Terrace Cafe, and instead had a wonderful, quiet, and unrushed dinner in the Grand Dining Room. We shared a table with friends Jim & Judy from Las Cruces NM, whom we'd previously met. We decided to take in the show at 9:15pm. Comedian Darrell Joyce, from Atlanta GA, had everyone laughing throughout the show and never swore once. After that we hit the sack to prepare to be wow'd by Antarctica!- 22 Feb 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 9) Ushuaia Argentina (Time Zone UTC-3):The approach to Ushuaia was spectacular, with the water in the foreground, sweeping up through the town to the forrested foothills, then up to the snowy moutains. We arrived via the Beagle Channel, named after Charles Darwin's ship. Ushuaia was named by the indigenous people, the Yaganes, who lived here. Argentina staked a claim to Tierra del Fuego (land of fire) by building a military-run prison here years ago. The town now has a population of around 60,000 people. After a quick breakfast, Renee and I walked from the ship into town, greeted by a military band and some sort of ceremony just off of the pier. We felt quite honored! We walked up the road a bit and found a few shops where we picked up some sweatshirts, an old style map, post cards, and some hand-carved stone penguins. We then headed back to the ship to prepare for our shore excursion. The excursion started with a powered catamaran from the pier, heading out into the Beagle Channel toward the West to Sea Wolves island with a lighthouse, some cormorants, and sea lions. We took many photos here, then continued to Lapataia Bay where we disembarked the boat at the Southern-most end of the Pan American Highway in Tierra del Fuego National Park. After a short walk to the bus, we drove through the park, making a short photo stop at Acigami Lake which divides Chile and Argentina. We continued on as the guide provided some background about the park and the area. We arrived at the "End of the World Train" station and boarded the narrow guage train for a ride through the park Eastward back toward Ushuaia. The train was used for the prisoners until 1947. We made a short stop at Macarena Falls, where everyone took photos and danced the macarena. After arriving back at the train station we had a short ride back to the ship, which was waiting for us as our tour ran late. We quickly departed Ushuaia, and Renee and I headed straight for dinner in the Terrace Cafe. After dinner we headed straight back to our stateroom to shower and prep for crossing the Drake Passage later that night and following day.- 21 Feb 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 8) Punta Arenas Chile (Time Zone UTC-3):First time we'd docked at a port rather than anchoring and tendering ashore since boarding in San Antonio 8 days ago! It was nice to simply walk off of the ship to our meeting place for our tour. As is typical, we went through a terminal in a warehouse where both security and local craft vendors were stationed. Our bus had 30 people on it, and we hit the typical tourist stops around Punta Arenas. As the southernmost city in Chile, with the road literally ending just another 35 Km south of town, it's not a heavy tourist area. The town was booming before the Panama Canal opened, and it has a distinguished history of explorers like Ferdinand Magellan who relied on Punta Arenas (also known as Magallanes) for their travels. The town overlooks the Magellan Strait, which we cruised in on the night prior. We stopped at Plaza de Armas where we rubbed the foot of Magellan's statue (Legend has it that this means we'll return to the city one day). We hit a museum with many artifacts from indigenous people, early settlers, and examples of flora and fauna. We visited the site of replicas of Magellan's ship, the Victoria, and Charles Darwin's ship, the HMS Beagle, among others. All in all, interesting, but not too exciting. On return to the dock Renee stayed for some shopping while I reboarded, did some work on our info, and then took a nice soak in the forward Spa Deck hot tub with no one else around. We headed to dinner in the Terrace Cafe, which featured at Chef's Market Dinner, with foods of South America from local vendors at Punts Arenas. It was a packed house. Fortunately we were invited to sit with Ben and Andrea from Sidney Australia who we'd previously met. It was a 6-topper table, with Ben's sister who is married to Andrea's best friend also at the table. We found that we had many things in common despite being a half a world apart. More snow-capped mountains as we head through the archipelago over to Argentina's Tierra del Fuego and the port at Ushuaia.- 20 Feb 2024 (Tuesday, Cruise Day 7) Cruising the Chilean Fjords  (Time Zone UTC-3):More rough seas last night as we slept. By 4:00 am we were back into the protected area of the fjords so much calmer. Breakfast at Terrace Cafe was crowded, so we shared a table with Russell and Candice Abraham. Russell is an artist, designer and photographer who has written a couple of books as well. Candice is a retired teacher and artist. Nice conversation. We then walked off breakfast on the track and headed back to the room. Renee did some laundry, worked out, and attended a talk in Marina Lounge by a geologist on Antarctica's ice and I wrestled with the internet to try to post some things like this log. Saw interesting landforms as we cruised the fjords, created by receding glaciers. Not much vegetation. In the evening, as we cruised the Magellan Straight, we had dinner in the Polo Grill with four other people. Brian & Fran are a couple from Ocean City NJ. Brian spent time in the Navy and later with JP Morgan Chase. Holly and Lynn are from Ellicott City MD. Holly is a nurse and Lynn currently does Horse Therapy for kids in Glenwood MD. Good food and good discussion, mostly about travel. Called it a night as we're up and running early tomorrow in Punta Arenas (Sandy Point).- 19 Feb 2024 (Monday, Cruise Day 6) Cruising the Chilean Fjords  (Time Zone UTC-3):Sea day, so relaxed morning. Lots of cloud cover, so scenery views were limited most of the day. We split time in the Pacific (much rougher) and time in the fjords. We attended the Oceania Club Cocktail in Horizons Lounge, then headed for the Grand Dining Room for dinner with two other couples. Dave & Helen are farmers from Australia, so a fair amount of discussion surrounded that topic. Dave and Ruth we met previously during transit from Santiago Airport to the ship. Glen and Ana are from Toronto Canada. Food and conversation were both good. We left to catch the last three dances by Maricio & Ivana, two very good Tango dancers, then we called it a night.- 18 Feb 2024 (Sunday, Cruise Day 5) Laguna San Rafael Chile (Time Zone UTC-3):Renee woke to hear Marina drop anchor near Laguna San Rafael at around 6:20am this morning. There was only one excursion option here...nothing ashore. A large catamaran (more like a passenger ferry) took us straight from the ship through waters inland toward a glacier. We saw a few dolphins along the way, and lots of birds. Also many small iceburgs from the glacier which increased as we got close. We spent about an hour at the San Rafael Glacier, taking many, many photos. We saw it calve a couple of times, but did not catch it in photos or video. The San Rafael Glacier is one of the major outlet glaciers of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field in southern Chile and is the tidewater glacier nearest the equator. It calves into the Laguna San Rafael and is contained within Laguna San Rafael National Park. Back on board Marina we caught up on a few things, then cleaned up for dinner. Dinner was at 6:30pm at Jacque's restaurant (Chef Jacques Pepin) at a sharing table with Bob & Karen from the Pilly area and Jim & Judy from Las Cruces NM. Bob worked for Colgate Palmolive then became a financial advisor. Karen was a nurse. They spent 2 interesting years in Colombia with CP. Jim was an Army aviator (fixed and rotary wing) and Judy worked 40+ years as a civil servant for the Army and AF in transportation. They spent several years in Germany. Discussion was all about travel and experiences. Food was very good. We stayed and talked until about 9:00pm, at which time we all left to see the 9:15 show "The Brill Factor" by the cast. Fun event, as we watched, listened and sang along with many of the 1950's and early 60's songs. Back to the stateroom after that to finish up some things and head to bed.- 17 Feb 2024 (Saturday, Cruise Day 4) Puerto Chacabuco Chile (Time Zone UTC-3):Pulled into the area and anchored around 10:00 AM local. Our shore excursion was not until 2:15pm, so we had a leasurely morning with a light breakfast, then data wrangling for me (cell service near port means better communications connections!) and a workout in the gym for Renee. A lot of fog, but it lifted. Tendered to port a bit early, but nothing to do there. This port serves mainly as an entry point for Laguna San Rafael National Park, which we'll see tomorrow. After a short bus ride into the Aiken del Sur Private Park we set out on foot through the Patagonian rain forest (no rain today though) for a 2 Km hike. Our guide pointed out a lot of the flora, but we did not see much in the way of fauna. We did hear a few different birds, including the Chucao Tapaculo (Chilean National bird), but we saw even fewer. We stopped at "Old Man's Beard" water fall for some photos, then finished the hike at the Quincho Pavillion for a BBQ lamb dinner with traditional music and dance. We also sampled the Calafate Sour, an alcoholic drink made from berries of a plant with the same name which our guide pointed out along the hike. After driving back to the port and tendering back to Marina, Renee rested and I headed for the Spa deck hot tubs, much to my aching muscles' delight. We met a few new travelers today, but did not get to know them well.- 16 Feb 2024 (Friday, Cruise Day 3) Puerto Montt Chile (Time Zone UTC-3):Early start on the day. Up at 0600 for quick shower and dress, then to breakfast, and tendered in to shore from the anchored Marina at about 0745. We boarded a motor coach and headed out for Petrohue Falls. Only a short hike from the bus to some amazing volcanic rock terrain with glacial waters rushing through them. Next we headed up about 4,000 feet on the base of the Osorno Volcano and hiked a bit there, taking in the views of the clouds below us, the glacier-topped Osorno glistening in the sun, and the opposing volcano and Andes Mountains along the horizon. Renee sprinted to the top of the path while I meandered about half way, then strolled back to the bus. Finally, we headed to the resort community of Puerto Varas on the shores of Lake Llanquihue for lunch and casual shopping. Lunch was at a little-known place called the Raddisson, where we had Pisco Sours, squash soup, sopapillas, and some deliciously fresh salmon. We sat with Mercedes from Cancun and Luanna who works at Reception. Renee bought a couple pieces of jewelry from local artists and we saddled back up for a ride back to Puerto Montt and tendered back to the ship. Terrace Cafe was crazy busy for dinner, so we grabbed an 8-topper with two other couples. Rob & April are from Edinburgh Scotland. They joined this cruise in Santiago after doing a Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos trip with Hurtigruten. Steve & Rosalee are from New York are are on their 11th cruise with Oceania. We had a great time sharing travel stories.- 15 Feb 2024 (Thursday, Cruise Day 2) Cruising the Pacific Ocean  (Time Zone UTC-3):Casual morning, this sea day. We started with some breakfast in Terrace Cafe. The place was packed, so we sat outside on the deck with Ben and Andrea, a nice couple, from Sidney Australia. We then hurried over to the Marina Lounge for a lecture on shooting photos in the Antarctic given by a professional photographer and Antarctic guide. On the way back to our stateroom we stopped by the Future Cruise office to ask for info on the 2026 World Cruise. Learned that the itinerary will be released on 13 March, so we'll check that out and maybe lock it in if the itinerary suits us. I decided to do battle with the internet deamons...they won. I was able to back up photos and do some other things on the laptop, but no internet connection. Renee headed out for a workout. I had a much needed and pretty good deep tissue massage in the Aquamar Spa by Mary from the Phillipines. Renee, meanwhile, got a mani-pedi also in the spa from Elizabeth who did the same for Renee who was Elizabeth's very first Oceania client during our August 2023 Arctic cruise. I came back to the room, grabbed some finger food and tea from the Consierge Lounge just a door down the hall from us, and resumed data wrangling while listening to the soothing sounds of the water and keeping an eye out for critters. Other than some sea birds and a single dolphin fin, not much. Renee headed up to the Horizons Lounge for afternoon tea. She ran into 6'6" Dave, who we met at Santiago Airport, who expressed his enthusiasm about the lectures and was interested in getting the GPS track of our route within Antarctica. We opted to skip the Captain's cocktail and hit the Terrace Cafe, which was not very crowded. Renee had a nice custom salad with chicken, and I had some surf & turf (lobster tails, shrimp and ribeye) with salad. Finally got internet connection, so uploaded this info and some photos. Attended the Tango Review performance in Marina Lounge at 9:15pm. Performance was very entertaining and educational, as history of the Tango was presented on screen as the dance couple changed between dances. Performance was great with one exception...they pulled some sorry guy out of the audience who was not up to par on his Tango...I'll have to brush up! Fortunately, no photos were allowed of the performance.- 14 Feb 2024 (Wednesday, Cruise Day 1) Port of San Antonio, Chile (Time Zone UTC-3):Our almost 9 hour flight was overnight to Santiago, so I used the time to binge watch the first 7 or 8 episodes of "Yellowstone". Renee watched a few of movies, to include the movie "Frozen" (our grandkids will be glad to hear that she finally watched and liked it!) Renee and I rested, but could not really sleep, so we were pretty tired by the time we landed. Negotiating Immigration took a while, but we conversed with others in line who were also heading for our cruise. We were releived to see that all of our bags had arrived, and we hauled then a short distance to where Oceania personnel were waiting to tag and take our bags. We walked to a bus station at the airport, meeting and chatting with others in the group. Our bus ride was a couple of hours from the airport to the port of San Antonio. As expected from news reports and word of mouth, we saw lots of smoke from wildfires that had been burning around the area not far from Santiago. We made a brief stop midway where Renee exited the bus to explore and I stayed on the bus to get a bit of rest. Check in and boarding on Marina were fairly quick and well-organized, but we could not go to our stateroom right away, so we opted to get some lunch in Terrace Cafe. At about 1:30 we were allowed access to stateroom 9022, where we quickly unpacked, trying to remember where we'd stashed things on our cruise just a few months earlier on the same ship. Our cabin steward "Deano" stopped by to say "hi", and we talked a few logistics with him before resuming our settling in. The Aquamar Spa had a sales event (disquised as a raffle) at 6pm, so we checked that out though we were dead tired and about to fall over. Our luck was the same as it is for Lotto, so we left empty handed and headed topside to watch our departure. Nothing special to see, but it was exhilerating to get back out to sea and underway. Renee had booked dinner for us in the Toscana restaurant for 7:30, so we made our way there after much needed showering and wardrobe changes. It was niced that our host, Luigi, remembered us from our world cruise on the Insignia and greeted us with smiles and discussion as he seated us. We opted to share a table, as we often do, to meet new people. We shared dinner with four other ladies. Joice was a 70 year old retired nurse from the Silicon Valley area, originally from Detroit. We quickly learned that she was very opinionated, which made discussion fun. Traveling with her was Cecilia from the original Sun City community in Phoenix Arizona, originally from Venezuela. Aside from travel discussion, she added some sobering warnings about how the U.S. is quickly heading the way she saw her former country go and was frustrated that so many of her friends would not take her warnings seriously. Harmony and Grace, friends who met on previous travel, were both originally from Singapore. Harmony is a retired optomitrist who now calls England her home. Grace was an accountant. She shared some perspectives life in Singapore. Renee had her Toscana favorite, Dover Sole, which comes with a serving performance. I had the Tortelloni Alla Genovese which was very good. We were both very happy to call it a night after that to get some much-needed sleep!- 13 Feb 2024 (Tuesday) Air Travel Day: Pittsburgh-Atlanta-Santiago (Time Zone UTC-5 to UTC-3):We finalized our packing, prep'd the house and cars, then headed to the Pittsburgh airport courtesy of Renee's brother Mike. Traffic was light. The airport was not busy and we had no line for check-in at Delta, where we checked 5 bags. Security check was also quick and easy, so we had time for lunch before heading to the gate. Our flight to Atlanta went without event and arrived in Atlanta a bit early. No problems getting to our gate, and we opted to accept Delta's offer of early boarding for military veterans which was great as it was a full flight on a wide body (not mine...the plane's)