Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Punta del Este and Puerto Madryn

As you know, Bill and I boarded the Celebrity Eclipse on Sunday. We actually used the ship as a hotel room for Sunday night and did not get underway until Monday afternoon. Sunday evening Bill and I took advantage of a discount offer for one of the specialty restaurants on board. Murano, featuring contemporary French cuisine, offers a cozy dining environment, with excellent menu options and impeccable service.

On Monday, we had pre-planned a bike ride through Buenos Aires. After taking a taxi to our meeting point. We had to hurriedly choose our bikes, because there had been some mixup between the booking agency and the bike company and they were combining two trips. It was a relatively small group of people with a tour leader and a second providing security and safety by following behind the group. We hit several of the iconic Buenos Aires sites and then had a nice lunch at a food truck down on the waterfront.

On Monday evening, we dined at another specialty restaurant, Qsine. Here they have a set surf and turf menu. But they also have a whimsical, video that is projected on your table top. At Qsine they have two seatings each night and the videos are played introducing each course.

Monday evening, we made the short cruise across the Rio de La Plata, which separates Bueno Aires from Uruguay. At this point the Rio is the widest river in the world. Tuesday morning, we docked in Montevideo and Bill and I did another city tour by bike.

We had another short sailing night after leaving Montevideo. Our destination was just up the coast in Punta Del Este, a resort city right on the Atlantic coast which has been described by many as the San Tropez of the South American coast. Punta del Este is a cute resort with wide beaches, clean streets and a nice selection of restaurants. We decided to follow the city walking tour, which was about a 5 mile circuit around beach walk. We stopped at a restaurant for Lunch before heading back to the ship.

Wednesday evening we departed Punta del Este, heading back South, with Thursday being our first sea day. I used the sea day to get a little active. I started with the morning stretch, then followed with a 45 virtual bike ride of the Marin Hills and ended with an hour long Spinning class. In between I spent the time relaxing on the heated lounges of the Persian Gardens. We would not arrive into Puerto Madryn, Argentina until Friday morning. We booked a land tour that would take us to the Valdes Peninsula Wildlife Protected Area. It was a long day, but enjoyed seeing Lamas (lots of them), Mara, also known as Patagonian Cavy, Large Hair Armadillo, as well as penguins and sea lions.

Shortly, we will set sail for Cape Horn. The passage will take all of tonight, all of tomorrow and a good deal of Sunday. We will arrive at the Cape late afternoon on Sunday sailing around its point and then on toward Ushuaia. Cape Horn and the upcoming passage through the Straits of Magellan are on our bucket list. We are excited to be on our checking off these two items.