Casa Pueblo vs Las Hadas

If you remember the pics of Las Hadas you may notice the similar graceful lines of the architecture.

Some Nice Spots in Uruguay

We also took a few day trips to Punta de Este, Piropolis and Punta de Ballena. Punta de Este a beautiful coastal resort; it was obviously the slow season and most shops in Este were closed for the season.
We also visited the home/museum of Carlos Paez Vilaro. This location offers up a panoramic view of the coast line. In addition to his art, this artist is remembered for his untiring efforts to find his son, who was lost in the Andes, after an airplane accident. All efforts to find the survivors were halted but the artist used his own resources to continue the search; his efforts were rewarded, his son was found alive.

Uruguay

We crossed the Rio de la Plata on the "bueque ferry" to Colonia in Uruguay. A charming small town with cobble stone streets and lots of history of all the battles between the Portuguese, who founded it, and the Spaniards, who won it. We continued onto to Montevideo for a few days. The architecture was even more elaborate then in Argentina but I still like Buenos Aires best.

Iguazu Falls

While in Buenos Aires, we took a few side trips. The trip to Iguazu Falls, our last trip, came at the end of our stay in Buenos Aires. I could say we saved the best for last but as far as I’m concerned, it was all the best. We booked our bus tickets with Omni Lineas, great service and lots of good info. Via Bariloche is the bus line we took; better than any air flight we could have taken. We board the bus in the evening and arrive in the town of Puerto Iguazu mid morning the next day. On the bus each seat reclines fully, not disturbing the person behind you at all, each seat has its own TV screen, with various videos to pick from all night long. There is a great dinner served by a steward and you even are offered a late night whiskey. We had a great night’s sleep as well as a nice meal. The facilities even worked, and it being a chemical toilet meant that the bus didn’t have the usual odors that we suffered through on all our other bus trips.

The town of Puerto Iguazú is in the province of Misiones has a population of 32 thousand inhabitants. It is a mainstream tourist destination due to the famous waterfalls that are situated at the border between Argentina and Brazil at a distance of about 20km

I am not going to say anything about the Falls; the pictures say it all.

So Many Things Happening, So Little Time

It's been almost 2 months since I've updated my blog. Lots has been happening and I just need to sit down and put it all together. I'll be posting an update real soon

Recoleta Cemeterio

We took a guided tour of the Recoleta Cemetery, where Evita was finally laid to rest after her body was taken from place to place for several years. Another notable tomb was of a young girl, who had died, the story goes; her grandmother, who was in Europe at the time of the death, made a quick retreat to Buenos Aires and demanded that the body be exhumed. When the coffin was opened there were scratch marks on the inside of the coffin. The screams she had heard that summoned her back were those of the grand daughter, who had been mistakenly buried alive. The tomb, built after she was reburied is of the young girl with her hand on the entrance to the tomb, a way out but too late.

Buenos Aires

I know I’m guilty of not writing about Buenos Aires in my blog yet.A guess it’s because I just don’t know where to start. There is so much to say about BA; first off… we loved it.

We had planned to stay for 2 weeks but spent nearly 5 weeks there. Buenos Aires has everything; the beauty of the city and its architecture hints to it’s grandiose past, having been one of the riches cities in the world in the early part of the 20^th century.

Buenos Aires has it all; I know I said that about Oaxaca as well. There is a history, politics, art, dance, nightlife in abundance, the Tango, and of course the people, Portenos are warm wonderful people. Each corner has a well-appointed restaurant, serving Stella Artois and Heineken for under $2 on a linen covered table with the archetypal waiter ready to serve. Argentina is a meat lovers delight, even if you don't usually eat much red meat you will soon be changing your ways I think I will be forever spoiled after BA. It’s like Paris but affordable and with less French people.

Tango time

The latest version of our plans goes something like this...We've put the boat to bed for the season at the Costa Rica yacht club in Puntarenas. Now that it's all tucked in we are heading south to do some inland traveling in South America for about 10 weeks. Today we took a bus to a town near the airport in San Jose. Alajuelas is less confusing than going into San Jose for just a one night stay and is closer to the airport. Tomorrow we hop a plane to Buenos Aires, via Mexico City. Yep...it seems we just can't stay away. This circuitous route may not be the most direct but it did cut $400 off the price of our 2 tickets.
I'm taking my new Canon 4oD camera along, determined to get comfortable with it and see what I come up with. The only reading material I'm taking along is a book on just how to use this big guy. I should be a pro with it by the time Karlene and Thad's wedding in September.
More soon

Monkey stuff

Here's some pics from our tour of Manuel Antonio Nation
al Park

Bahias in Costa Rica

Santa Elena was one of our first stops in Costa Rica but we stayed in many lovely bays; Bahia Potrero Grande, Bahia Huevos, Playa Del Cocos, Bahia Guacamaya, Bahia Samara, Bahia Ballena, Puerto Leona, Bahia Herradura, Puerto Quepos and then to the Costa Rica Yacht Club in Puntoarenas.In Bahia Ballena we met Frank and Patricia Francis who run an almost restaurant with the best food and great stories that Frank tells about his days in Long Island as an ice cream man, among his other numerous adventures. One morning we walked down the road into the town of Tambor, where we spent time at the bar, on the internet. the resort is "Tambor Tropical Resort", just beautiful, all teak buildings with hand carved doors. It looks like a great place for a secluded holiday. There has been so many places that look to be wonderful places for such get aways but I think I prefer the ever changing views aboard Sailfisher best of all.
I think our fav spot was outside of Puerto Quepos, in a little Bay right below Manuel Antonio national park. We stayed for several days with occassional visits from small boat ferrying tourists to snorkling sites. One afternnon I had this great idea...I thought. So I got in my kayak and headed for the beach, but the catch is that I was pulling a buggie board with Al aboard. It didn't work out as well as I thought it would, paddling was not fluid but real jerky stop and starts; Al let go when we reached the surf and...yep I got tossed out. Not bad though, glasses didn't break, no injuries. As they say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.
We took a guided tour of Manuel Antonio and it was great, got to see lots of monkeys, iguanas, birds and even some bats, all with the aid of the guideds high powered telescope. There's 2 beautiful beaches you can walk to in the park as well. The ride up the hill from the center of town is definitely an e-ride experience. The town of Quepos is a good spot for cruisers and the resorts on the way to Manuel Antonio are great for people looking for a really nice place to have a holiday in Costa Rica. If you're coming to Costa Rica bring money...it's the most expensive place we've been to in a long while but it's really a great place to visit.

Costa Rican daze

Once we left Nicaragua it was clear sailing to Costa Rica, well...actually that's not really true, we did get plenty of wet weather on the way. The plan was to get through Costa Rica at a fairly quick pace to be able to get to Ecuador by mid June. As usual, our plans have a way of changing, but then again, that's all part of cruising. The Sarana cruising guide to Costa Rica describes so many beautiful places and anchorages to explore that we couldn't resist wanting to visit as many as we could. After having been here a month we have gotten to stay in so many beautiful bays. We anchored in Bahia Santa Elena, where we met 2 geologists from Texas while we hiked to a waterfall. We weren't sure if we were turning at the right dried creek bed and as we pondered that, we spotted a 4 wheel drive coming our way down this dirt path. Out popped Volken and Jake and with their hand held GPS we discovered we were on the right path. We hiked for about an hour to the waterfalls and both enjoyed a cool dip. Once we hiked out again we marked the path with a mound of rocks so our new friends could find it later. I received an email from Jake, he said they found the falls and aside from being a place to cool off the falls were of geologic significance. So we did our bit for science.

Notes to Me

The Southern Cross is now visible to us, I saw it during my watch on our way to Nicaragua, it was low in the sky and so easy for even me to identify. It is simply beautiful, a favorite constellation of mine. It never fails to evoke wonder in me. I remember the first time I saw the southern cross was when I went to Peru in the early nineties. I have never forgotten those beautiful star studded nights high in the Andes. My first visits to the structures of the ancients and thankfully not my last. This current trip, aboard Sailfisher has taken me to the land of the Aztecs and now the Mayans. I am truly grateful for my good fortune to be right here, right now.

A Stop in Nicaragua

We left El Salvador headed for Costa Rica but after 2 days and 1 night we decided to duck into Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua. Al's figured out, once again, what was ailing the refrigeration system. I'm glad we resealed the toe-rail, we had lots of rain on the way and it looks like we cured most of our leaks. A few pics of area and local kids

The Engagement Party

We flew up to California to help Karlene and Thaddeus celebrate their engagement. We had a great time, Jean and Mike (groom's parents) put on a great party. They served Chinese food, hence my outfit.

Macaw Mountain

While in the town of Copan Ruinas we visited the bird reserve, "Macaw Mountain" with Daniel, Mario and Jorge. It was an extra special treat for Daniel, being an avid bird watcher, he was able to go bird watching early the nest morning with a like minded employee of the reserve.

Here are some pics of us with the birds...Yikes!!!
We also enjoyed dinner at some local restaurants where the waitresses carry the beverages atop their heads. I enjoyed the museums and the friendly local folks as well.