Most cruises around South America start either from Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile and end in the other City. In our case, I wanted to spend sometime in Buenos Aires, so It made sense to start our adventure in Chile. Santiago is actually about 70 miles inland from the ocean. So, cruises either depart from San Antonio or Valiparaso, Chile. In our case it was San Antonio.

San Antonio is an industrial port city with very few hotels. So staying in Santiago before the cruise was a very good option. You can get to San Antonio by cab, private transfer, Uber or direct bus. The bus is the cheapest option and is only around $8. In our case, we chose to take an Uber, which worked great and cost $110 with tip. Private transfers were about $180 for two passengers. The big difference is in the currency. Uber was priced in Pesos while the private transfers tended to be priced in dollars.

The drive was pleasant between Santiago and San Antonio and took about 90 minutes. There was a dramatic temperature change as we got close to the coast. Highs in Santiago were around 90 degrees while temperatures at the coast were closer to 65 degrees due to the cold ocean water. The cruise terminal in San Antonio was nothing more than an old hanger at the edge of an industrial port. After checking in, a bus transported us to the ship. This was an ugly port and I am glad we didn’t waste any time here. But now the Adventure begins!

After a sea day, we reached our first port.

Port Montt, Chile, Is the entrance to Patagonia and the Lake Country. The ship docked in the harbor and we tendered ashore. Here we opted to book an independent tour to see the volcanoes and waterfalls in the National Park. Like most tours, it was mostly driving with a little time to see the villages and hike to the waterfall. Patagonia is beautiful and we saw many young hikers heading off to explore the trails and camp by the many lakes. This area was settled by Germans and there was a strong German heritage. The local tour guide accepted US dollars but not credit cards, so at the end of the tour I had to make a trip back to the ship to get more cash. The quality of the dollars was critical and any marks on the bills or tears made them unacceptable at the local banks. Counterfeiting was also an issue and the tour guide showed us a stack of fake Chilean pesos that he had been stuck with earlier in the day. This resulted in him losing well over $100.

After another sea day we had the opportunity to see Amalia Glacier. Patagonia and the Chilean Fjords was billed as Alaska on Steroids and Amalia Glacier was a great example. The massive ice field between the mountains ended abruptly at the sea. We spent an hour or so looking at the ice field before we headed back out to sea and on toward our next port.

Punta Arenas, Chile was another tender port and our first of 4 opportunities to discover penguins. I had made a commitment to Reva that she would get the opportunity to walk in Penguin Shit and smell the rumored aroma of these cute birds. I found a tour company that had space available and we headed to their office. The office was packed with people exploring the region and we were able to secure one of the remaining tour spots. Here we were driving about 30 minutes out of town and taking a boat to an Island where the Magellanic Penguins nested. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the boat dock, we were informed that due to the winds, The Chilean navy had closed the Park and we had to return to Punta Arenas.

We were able to get our money back and spent the day touring this small City sitting on the Straight of Magellan deep in Chilean Patagonia. As the day went on, the winds continued to increase until it was so strong that it became difficult to walk. The wind blew us from side to side and at times was so strong that we couldn’t walk forward. It was like we had been drinking all day (and we hadn’t even started)! This was Terre De Firma, the Land of Fire. I had read about it in Thoreau’s Walden but being here was unreal. That night we sailed into the Beagle Channel, named after the Boat Darwin sailed on when making his famous voyage.

The next day we headed to the “End of the World” and our first port in Argentina….Ushuaia, Argentina. This is the jumping off point for cruises to Antarctica and there were a number of small ships in the harbor. On the way in we sailed through Glacier Alley and its seven glaciers. The wind still was playing havoc but we were able to dock and explore the City at the end of the world. This is where the Trans-America highway ends and is most southern city in the world.

This is where we learned about the Argentina money issues. Usually, we take money out of ATMs but we were strongly advised not to. Instead we were advised to take advantage of the “Blue Dollar” and exchange money in one of the cambios. The blue dollar refers to the tint of the new American $100 bills. You get the best exchange rate with those “blue dollars”. The official exchange rate when we were in Argentina was 195 pesos to the dollar which was the rate you got at banks and ATMs. However, the blue rate was 375 to the dollar. Almost double the official rate. Everyone uses the cambios to get the best rate. A $20 bill would get you a rate of 250 pesos to the dollar and a $50 would get you $325…so you wanted to exchange $100 bills. I got a new $100 out of the ship’s casino and headed to the local cambio as advised. When we entered, there were several windows with bullet proof glass. The cambio was quite busy. I slipped the new $100 to the man behind the counter who spoke good English. He verified the rate and advised me that there was no fees. There was a large bill counter behind him and he loaded a stack of Argentina Pesos into it. The machine quickly counted bills and divided the stacks into two. To my surprise the man picked up the larger of the two stacks and added an additional bill or two and pushed them toward me. “You have got to be kidding!”, I exclaimed. The man was laughing as he handed me the massive stack of bills. 37,500 Pesos won’t fit into a wallet or a pocket. I divided the money between Reva and myself and filled many of my pockets with the cash. This is just nuts, I thought as we headed off to explore this city. We also learned that the rate on credit cards was around 350 Pesos to the dollar which new as of this year. Prior to that, you received the official rate on credit cards which really forced everyone to use cash or pay double the price.

This was our second opportunity to see penguins and I found a tour guide that would take us on a boat to see the penguins on another Island. Unfortunately, we learned that this tour would not land on the island you could only see them from the zodiac boat….unless the water was too rough. We decided to bail on this tour and spent the day exploring the museums and shops of this cute resort city. Unfortunately, the weather got worse during the day and the boat was unable to leave until the winds died down around midnight.

The highlight for the next day was sailing around Cape Horn, the very tip of South America and Drakes Passage where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. We were just a few hundred miles from Antarctica and in some of the most dangerous waters in the world. Waves here could be 100 feet high or higher and hurricane force winds were normal. However, here we caught a break and we were one of the few cruises that could actually see Cape Horn along with its lighthouse and memorial for all of the sailors who lost their lives in these waters. The air was cold but the light drizzle didn’t prevent us for spending an hour on the deck as we sailed close to the Island to see the sights.

Unfortunately, our next port in the Falkland Islands had to be canceled due to the high winds. This was our third chance to see penguins and we only had one more opportunity!

After two sea days we arrived at Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Here it was a little more straightforward to see the Penguins. It was a two and half hour ride to get to Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve and their 500,000 Penguin inhabitants. I booked a group tour off the ship and we headed off into Argentina Patagonia and the reserve. The reserve and the Penguins was worth the effort. Penguins are super cute and they are very curious. Also, the winds kept their aroma down so it was pleasant walking along the boardwalks watching these little guys watch us. It took us four attempts but we finally got to see these little guys. Puerto Madryn was a small city and there wasn’t much to see here but as we walked along beach near the port, we noted several penguins playing in the surf. Really, we rode five hours and spent hundreds of dollars to see these guys and we could of just came over to the beach….

The weather was getting warmer as we sailed north toward our last port before disembarking. After another day at sea we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. Montevideo was billed as a modern city and a very good place to live. We docked right in its old town. Frankly, I was not impressed. They let dogs live in the streets. The locals feed them and they are community pets. Shit! Dog Shit! Everywhere! The streets and sidewalks are full of it! No one cleans it up and this place stinks! After walking around and seeing the very unimpressive sites, we went back to the ship. People love this place? Why?

We set sail for Buenos Aires and the end of our cruise. It was a short trip between these two capital cities across the Rio De La Plata River. We were scheduled to have a full day in the city before departing the ship, but unfortunately the “Ever Lively” cargo ship got stuck in the channel and we were delayed almost an entire day trying to get to the city. This shipping company was the same one that blocked the Suez Canal a few years ago and Chesapeake Bay last year. Just our luck. Fortunately, we had a few days planned to explore Buenos Aires……but that a different story.

We departed the ship the following day.

It was a good two weeks exploring South America and the Princess Cruise ship was a good vehicle for doing it. The daily port talks were very enlightening and helped us plan our activities.

The cruise was more expensive than what we normally pay (Approximately, $4,800 total for two with Drinks, Tips, Internet and $900 On Board Credit for an Ocean-view Cabin). Princess offered less daily activities than what we are used to on Royal Caribbean but it was a good trip. And this was a once in a lifetime adventure….at least for us…..I think:) But, Penguins are really cute!