On The Road Again

Well, this isn't quite accurate. We are not on a road trip this time. We are with a lot of strangers on a cruise to South American. By the time you read this we are probably at sea somewhere.

The past month was not one of my favorites. It was all about unpacking, organizing, and repacking. This takes a lot of time as we need to keep our luggage small and portable but don't want to forget anything. We don't know how long we'll be gone this time, nor do we know exactly where we are going but we have tentative plan to return (somewhere) in February. In addition, I am bringing a lot of random Amazon items for a friend in Argentina including a painting, two posters, a dog umbrella, and a large wooden chicken.

We are starting with a two week cruise. The ports of call include Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Costa Rica, two stops in Peru and two stops in Chile. If possible I'll probably post some photos on Facebook. I have a camera now. You may know that I packed my old one away last year and couldn't find it so all my photos from the past year have been taken on my iPhone which has some limitations.

Here are a few photos of places we wil visit from our last cruise to South America:

These are some solid gold masks from the Larco Museum in Lima Peru. Imagine how impressive these would be when a chief wore them by firelight.  

A street scene in Lima, Peru.

Lima, Peru

A maoi statue from Easter Island in the archeological museum in La Serena, Chile.

The harbor of La Serena 

La Serena harbor

Valparaiso, Chile is famous for its hundreds of murals. Here I was having a little fun with one. 

A painting that shows the hills and the colorful house of Valparaiso, Chile.

A very green building- that is a garden growing on the side of the building in Santiago, Chile the most modern city in South America.

Santiago, Chile

After a week or so in Chile during Christmas we are heading to Argentina. Our first stop is the state of Mendoza to visit an American friend married to an Argentinian. They live in a large home on a lot of acreage in a small town, We are really looking forward to this unique opportunity to explore a region most travelers don't get to see. As I may have said before, these days major cities are overrun with tourists so it is a delight to go somewhere more remote.

Eventually, we will head down to Buenos Aires for a while. We also plan to visit Uruguay which is just across the river from Buenos Aires. We don't know how long we will spend in these destinations  and don't know what comes after that.
Here are a few photos from Buenos Aires.

The Obelisco (obelisk) of Buenos Aires is the icon of the city. And visible for quite a long distance.
This photo was taken in November when the jaccaranda are in bloom. 

Buenos Aires has a LOT of demonstrations, almost every day. Here is a photo of one from a few years back. 

9 de Julio is the widest street in the world, 7 lanes in each direction. It takes two whole lights to cross it.