South America

Buenos Aires is a bustling city with beautiful buildings and a definite European flair. One very nice thing was that we experienced minimal jet lag because we only had to adjust to a small time change. We checked into our hotel, took a quick nap then got ready for our first meal in Argentina. Our hotel was a mere two blocks from the Plaza Del Congreso (the first two photos above) & the Teatro Colón. There were restaurants and cafés everywhere, so we had plenty to choose from.

Beef & lamb are most popular but you can also readily find seafood and poultry. I spoke with some friends who’d been to South America before and they gave me some excellent advice that I’ll share here with you. If you enjoy wine, you can’t go wrong with the house Malbec. I found this to be 100% accurate. I ordered it everywhere we went and I was never, ever disappointed. Another tasty dish to try is grilled provolone. If you’re a cheese lover, this will be very satisfying. Empanadas are also available most places and they come filled with all sorts of meats, cheeses & veggies and are very delicious when piping hot. 

On our second full day in country, we spent the morning exploring the famous Recoleta Cemetery. This is home to the final resting place of Eva Perón. The architecture is incredible. The craftsmanship and resources that went into building these mausoleums is pretty amazing. I find cemetery’s to be very peaceful, but I know for some people it may seem a bit morbid. It was a 30 minute walk from our hotel, and it gave us a chance to see a lot more of the city, especially the residential areas.

I feel that it’s absolutely essential to watch a Tango performance when in South America. After all, it was the birthplace of this highly energetic & very entertaining form of dance. It is interesting to note that more than one country claims to have created this dance form. We saw performances in Argentina and Uruguay, and they were very similar. I highly recommend you see at least one dance performance while you’re there. I took a lot of pictures but most of them came out blurry because of how fast the dancers move.

The performance we saw In Buenos Aires was very entertaining, very professional but there were definitely some things to note. If at all possible, I would attend a show close to your hotel, within walking distance if possible. Most of the shows include dinner, I say skip the meal and just go for the show. The food was completely lack luster. Our show was way on the other side of town and it didn’t start until 10pm. The transportation was poorly organized and our driver drove around lost for a good hour on our way home. Needless to say, we didn’t get back to our hotel until after 2am. If I could do it over again, I’d try and find a matinee show and arrange my own transportation to and from. The show itself was a lot of fun and the dancers were incredibly talented.

I’m not going to say much about the actual cruising part of our trip. We’ve done a bunch of cruises, mostly because of the amount of places you can see in one trip. Cruises are especially helpful when you don’t want to do all the driving. Our favorite cruise line in Oceania, with Celebrity being our second favorite. If you’re considering a cruise, I would look up the individual cruise lines to get a better idea of what they offer. The food onboard Oceania is exceptionally nice compared to all the other lines we’ve been on.

Montevideo, Uruguay

We boarded our ship in Buenos Aires and headed to our first port in Montevideo, Uruguay. I enjoyed learning the actual pronunciation of many places while we were in this trip. Uruguay is pronounced Ooroo-why. We saw a lot in this quiet but bustling city. Independence Plaza (above) and Parliament (below) were two very picturesque stops. My favorite stop was at a local bar for a Tango performance. The dancers were super talented and fun to watch, but the best part of the show was when they pulled my husband out of the crowd. He did not disappoint. He did a lot dramatic clapping and threw his head back like he knew what he was doing. He totally stole the show. People stopped him for the rest of the cruise, making him a dancing celebrity.

For anyone whose done much traveling, you know that sometimes things just don’t go as planned. When we dropped anchor off the coast of Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, the water was rough and we soon heard announcements that many tours were cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It was Christmas Day and we’d been looking forward to an excursion to see the local penguins. We decided to go to the island even though our tour had been cancelled, hoping we might be able to see something. 

Timing really is everything. We met a couple from Switzerland who’d also had their tour cancelled, then we happened to meet a local who offered to take us on a private tour of the island. We told him we wanted to see penguins and he made it happen. He drove us to Gypsy Cove and that spot turned out to be magical. There was no one there but us and the penguins. It was absolutely beautiful and so fun to see the Magellanic Penguins in their natural habitat. We got to see little babies up close and the penguins walked around like we weren’t even there. The landscape was stunning as well. Hands down, this was one of my favorite days on our entire trip.

It was an exciting moment to finally sail around Cape Horn. This is where the Atlantic meets the Pacific, the southernmost landmass before you reach the Antarctic. We were warned that the waters could get rough the further south we went & boy, they weren’t lying. We’d never experienced such rough seas on any of our other cruises. We had to completely forego one of the ports because it was simply too dangerous for the ship to try and dock. We both experienced a lot of seasickness during those couple days & were so relieved when we finally moved on to calm waters.

Alberto de Agostini National Park 

When I thought of South America, glaciers definitely weren’t something that came to mind. I guess when you think about it though, at the southernmost tip of Chile, you aren’t too far from the Antarctic. We saw the most beautiful glaciers as we glided through this protected area. My pictures don’t come close to doing it justice. They were so majestic and colorful, truly a gift to see. As you might have guessed, once we got this far south it got really cold & very windy. I could have stayed out on the deck all day had it not been so cold.

Punta Arenas

Located on the Strait of Magellan

If I’m completely honest, there wasn’t much to see in this small city. There’s a lovely city center where the statue of Ferdinand Magellan sits, but other than that there are only a few other interesting buildings to admire. We just got off the ship  to wander around for a couple hours. This is definitely a stopping place where people venture further out for more outdoor activities.

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Parque Aiken Del Sur

It was a beautiful, sunny day in this port as we started our northern course up the western coast of Chile. Truth be told, we would have loved to spend a relaxing day on our own wandering around Parque Aiken Del Sur. It was just super busy with all the other cruise passengers milling about. The grounds were really beautiful. We did get to enjoy a traditional lunch of grilled lamb called Chilean Asado, and some lovely local wines. The entertainment provided by local dancers was also a lot of fun. 

Los Lagos Region, Chile

Region of 12 lakes & some of Chile’s nearly 500 active volcanoes

Petrohue Falls

Our last stop of the day was at Petrohue Falls. The water was crystal clear & the most beautiful turquoise color, again, my pictures don’t do it justice. This would be a wonderful spot to spend a peaceful morning, especially if you could get there before the crowds. 

Viña Del Mar, Chile

Nice seaside city

After disembarking our cruise ship in San Antonio, Chile, we headed an hour north to Viña Del Mar. We wanted to enjoy a couple chill days before we made the long flight back to Colorado. Besides Buenos Aires, this was definitely the next biggest city we visited during our trip. Our hotel offered dazzling views of Playa Caleta Abarca. Though the temperature was definitely warm outside, the water was still a little too cold for our liking. That didn’t stop the locals, they spent all day in the surf. Just a short walk down the street from our hotel brought us to Castillo Wulff. This was a charming little spot to take photos. This city boasts tons of restaurants & bars, so there are lots of options.

South American Cuisine

I hope you aren’t a vegetarian or vegan

The overall impression I got from everywhere we went was clearly that they love their meat in South America. They love cooking over an open fire on a parilla (grill). You can find beef, lamb, pork & seafood pretty much every where you go. I didn’t see a ton of veggies, except for mashed potatoes & fries (if you want to call those veggies). They’re also huge fans of all things from the carb family, especially things that are fried. Chimichurri sauce was a staple on most menus, though it was a little heavy on the oregano for my my taste. I thoroughly enjoyed myself trying as many local wines as I could. I could definitely rely on whatever Malbec they served, but they also had some crisp & delicious whites. I was a bit disappointed when it came to dessert. I am a huge fan of sweets and didn’t find anything mouth watering. Their most popular dessert is a sandwich cookie called Alfajor. Unfortunately I was never able to find them freshly made, so I only got to try the packaged ones which weren’t very good. They’re traditionally filled with dulce de leche, so I probably would have loved them fresh from a bakery. Overall, the food was quite tasty, but a little too meat heavy for my liking. I was definitely ready for a salad by the time we got home.

All in all, we were thrilled that we got to see so much of South America, a place we never really thought we’d ever explore. We traveled over 4,000 miles on the ship and had the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful nature we’ve ever laid eyes on. All the locals we came into contact with were very friendly & helpful. If you’re a fan of mother nature, this is absolutely a place you should add to your bucket list. Definitely make sure to see the glaciers, fjords, volcanoes and penguins. Enjoy!