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We arrived in Puerto Madryn on an overcast day with a warm temperature. The best weather to see and take photos. It was our final day to see penguins on this adventure. After getting off the ship we took a bus for 2.5 hours to the Nature Reserve of Punta Tambo. On the way we had a chance to see some of the other wildlife in the area.

Punta Tambo Reserve is home to the largest colony of penguins in all of the Americas. Over 1 million melleganic penguns live in the reserve most of which come in the summers to breed and raise their chicks. As we walked through the reserve we couldn’t believe just how many penguins we could see. It was amazing that by standing in one place and turning around 360 degrees there were penguins as far as you can see.

I’m sure you’re thinking… how bad did it smell. The answer is surprisingly not as bad as one would think. The area typically has fairly high winds coming off the ocean which sweeps away most of the smell. This made the visit much more enjoyable.

Penguins chicks were everywhere. We were able to see penguins doing various parts of their everyday activities.

As we walked toward the beach, we had to stop to along the penguins to cross the path. They always get the right of way.

 

The closer we got to the beach, the more penguins we saw waddling back and forth to the water to find food. We crossed over the “penguin highway.” The penguins have created a path from the beach to their burrows. At any given time you can see many of them passing back and forth. Click the link below to watch a video of the penguins on the highway (it’s a bit slow to pull up).

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Along the beach thousands of penguins are “hanging out.” We enjoyed watching them come in and out of the water.

 

After a few hours with the penguins, our visit had to come to an end. We said goodbye to my favorite animals and took the 2.5 hour bus back to Puerto Madryn.

Our next stop on our adventure is Montevideo, Uruguay.

Upon arrival in the Falkland Islands we queued up for our tour.  The tour we chose to Seal Bay was new, only open to the public for 3 months and had no reviews, it was also fairly exclusive with only 6 vehicles allowed onto the private ranch per day – so needless to say we were a little uneasy.  Our fears were quickly put to rest when we were promptly picked up by Sue Luxton a driver for Jimmy Curtis Tours.   We were told to buckle up because we were set for  an amazing adventure to see the penguin rookeries at Seal Bay.  We drove for about 20-30 minutes on paved roads before we got to gravel.  I was thinking that the advertisement was a little false saying a 4X4 off-road adventure.  Sue said not to worry we would soon be truly off-roading.  Off-roading we did – for over an hour we twisted and turned over the peat and mud avoiding the rocks and ponds.  If getting there is half the fun – this was going to be a fantastic day.

Our first stop was at a Rockhopper penguin rookery.  The numbers of penguins were amazing with heaps of little penguin chicks huddling together for warmth.  The Rockhoppers, with their punk rock yellow feathers were happy to pose for us even after we all ran for the Land Rover when the  rain/sleet started to come down.

Our next stop was at the aptly named “loo with a view”.  Where we took a little break and had our lunch.  We then went down to the beach to watch some Megellanic Penguins and some Gentoo Penguins playing in the surf.  The weather was still deciding what to do so we had to protect the camera from the elements.  The penguins did not care at all that we were there and just kept swimming and playing on the beach.

The day continued at a Gentoo rookery where their was tons of Gentoos and one “lost” King penguin.  This rookery was 2 kilometers from the ocean which protected them from any seals that happen to be in the area and were hungry.  It also allowed for some fantastic views of them waddling back and forth to the ocean.

And so the day had to end.  Sue drove through the capital city and showed us the sites and then we had to all say good-bye.

We boarded our ship for a NYE celebration and ended 2017 with one of the most memorable days we have had to date.

Stay tuned the Allen World tour continues with more Penguins in Argentina!!

 

Our adventure continued as the ship left the port of Ushuaia. Captain Chris Norman made an announcement for all passengers that he made a decision to delay our trip south past Cape Horn. There was a very large weather system headed right into our path which would cause 90 mph winds and 36-foot-high waves. By staying in the protected waters for an extra 24 hours, we would miss the bad weather. So, the Captain did circles within the Beagle Channel for a full day before we started the trip down to Cape Horn.

On Christmas Eve, our ship was doing what many explorers have done before us on their way to Antarctica. One of them was Charles Darwin and wrote about his experience in his journals. On December 24, 1932 Charles Darwin was on the expedition team of the S.S. Beagle headed to Antarctica. Their captain decided to spend an extra day in the protection of the bays north of Cape Horn to allow bad weather to pass over. Once the storm had passed, they completed a successful exploration trip to Antarctica.

Just like the S.S. Beagle, by Christmas Day the storm passed us. We were able to have a much calmer crossing around Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage. While there were large waves and the ship rocked back and forth, we were both lucky to avoid any sea sickness that the Drake Passage is so well known for. The clouds cleared just as the ship approached the Cape. The view of Cape Horn was amazing. We were lucky to see hundreds of albatross birds flying around looking for food. 

After a full day at sea, we arrived at Dullman Bay, Antarctica. The beauty of the vast white landscape is hard to put into words. The water is a deep blue and the land is covered in the most pristine white ice. The mountains stick out over the low cloud cover.

The night we arrived in Antarctica the weather was perfect. Low winds, sunshine and around 30 degrees. The sun doesn’t set this time of year until after midnight which allowed us several hours of viewing. Our timing was just right to see more than 25 humpback whales swimming all around us in the bay. Looking out on either side of the ship we could see the plumes of spray in the water where the whales swimming. Within moments we could see them coming out of the water as they dove down with their tails in the air. It was an amazing site to see!

In the evening, the light was amazing. The sun glistened off the water and the ice covered mountains.

The next morning, we were thrilled to see more beautiful Antarctic landscape near the United States supported Palmer Station. The crew of Palmer Station boarded our ship and gave a presentation about their work in Antarctica. Palmer is a small station and is working on several projects including studying algae, polar entomology and fish physiology with a goal of finding treatments for diseases. They also have a small team conducting long term ecological research. We really enjoyed having them onboard and I’m sure they loved having some “home-style” food. 

In the afternoon, we spent several hours on the bow of the ship watching for wildlife. We saw a crab eater seal resting on an iceberg and more humpback whales. Gentoo penguins were swimming in the water along side the ship. The way they move through the water is quite a sight to see.

In the evening, the reflection of sunlight on the ice shows as pink and orange. We spent a few hours soaking in the amazing views.

Our third day in Antarctica we experienced the other side of the weather. It was very windy with extreme fog. There was no chance of us seeing anything. Our captain took us to two different places to explore but the wind had blown ice into the water. Therefore, we spent most of the day playing cards and hanging out with our new friends, the Davis Family (Diane, Jeff and Grace). It wasn’t until late in the evening that we reached Desolation Island. The weather cleared a bit allowing us a short period of time to sail past a huge chinstrap penguin rookery. It was awesome!

The last day in Antarctica was much like the day before. Heavy fog, wind and even snow hampered our ability to see more of the islands and wildlife. We spent two hours looking for penguins taking a rest on the floating “bergy bits.” We were lucky to see many groups of Adelie penguins.

As we sailed north, our captain made one last attempt at beating the weather. We approached Elephant Island as the sun came through the clouds. Elephant Island is the place where Ernest Shackleton and his men we stranded in 1914. 

 

We were able to snap a few pictures before a dense fog settled and the island completely disappeared.

 

 

 

After four amazing days in Antarctica we left it behind and headed north toward the Falkland Islands. We are so excited to share our off-road penguin experience in our next post.

We arrived at Chacabuco, in the region of Terre del Fuego, early in the morning. The sun was out and is scenery was beautiful. Our ship anchored in the middle of a fjord. As the only ship in port, it was quiet. We had a very short tender onto land. Chacabuco is not a town but rather a port used as access for ferries and ships into the isolated area of Patagonia.

There were several tours offered that explored different parts of the area. We opted for the tour that offered a drive to the other side of the Andres Mountains, into the Rio Simpson Nature Reserve and to the city of Coyhaique.  On the tour, we passed over several rivers and saw much of the landscape. Our guide gave a lot of the information about the local people and the history of the area. One of the stops was at Cascada de La Virgen (Virgin Falls).

The city of Coyhaique is located on the east side of the Andes Mountains. It was started by a Belgian company that used the land to farm sheep. As their business grew, they brought people to the area to work on their farms. The city grew and is now comprised of approximately 55,000 people. It is the largest city in the entire Chilean Patagonia region.

On the drive back from Coyhaique, we stopped at a local restaurant for some traditional food and drinks, including a Pisco Sour. Did you know there is a “dispute” between Chile and Peru about who created the Pisco Sour first?

When it was time to leave the beautiful port of Chacabuco, we stood on deck and watched as we passed by some of the most beautiful fjords we have ever seen.

On the way to Punta Arenas we sailed through the Strait Messier, the Messier ship wreck and the Tempanos Glacier. The glacier was very active while were there and we saw chunks of ice breaking off and falling into the water. The sound of the ice breaking and falling sounds like thunder.

And the day has finally arrived (the first of several) for us to see PENGUINS! Our tour started at 6:00am at Punta Arenas. Our group was taken by bus to a private ferry boat and then took a 1.5-hour ferry ride to Magdalena Island which is inhabited by animals only, most of which are Megellanic penguins. They have recorded up to 56,000 couples per year that come to the island to breed in the summer. It was amazing to see so many penguins, many with their chicks. On the island the penguins make burrows in the dirt. The chicks will stay in the burrows for several months waiting for their parents to bring them each meal. When they become old enough to start finding their own food, they will malt their soft feathers for slick water tight ones. We were lucky to see many chicks in and near their burrows.

We made our way through the Strait of Magellan to our last stop before we went south to Antarctica. Ushuaia, Argentina is the “Southern Most City in the World” located in the Beagle Channel.  Ushuaia is an interesting city that was started as a remote location for a prison. The town was built by the prisoners and the workers who supported the prison. In the mid-1900s the government of Argentina decided to discontinue the use of the prison and use the area as a port city capable of supporting large industry and shipping companies. The Argentina government made it a tax-free zone and it remains that way today. In the 1990s the local government started a campaign to change the city’s identity to the “Southern Most City in the World.” Ushuaia is now the last stop for most ships headed to Antarctica and has grown as a destination for those people wanting to visit the “fin del mundo” (end of the world).

 

While in Ushuaia, we took a wildlife catamaran cruise on the Beagle Channel. The channel is beautiful with mountains surrounding the whole area. We were able to see a lot of wildlife and the lighthouse at the end of the world.

Our trip continues as we head to Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage.

 

 

Our South American adventure begins in Santiago, Chile. We spent three days exploring the city prior to boarding the cruise ship. We stayed in a hotel in downtown near the Santa Isabel Metro stop. We used the metro for our main mode of transportation throughout the city. Santiago is an interesting city and different from most others we have visited. There is a mix of cultures (mostly Chilean, Argentinean and European). The people are very friendly and willing to help you with any request you may have. While their national language is Spanish, many people speak some English making it easy for us to communicate.

The city has a few sites that are of interest to tourists. We visited some of them.

We found it quite interesting that in many areas throughout the city, more than 50% of the storefronts are closed down permanently. However, there are tents and booths set up along all the streets selling anything you can imagine. The locals now purchase most of their household food and goods from these booths rather than going into a store. We were told it was because the prices are less and it allows people to make a living selling what they can grow, craft or acquire.

Coffee bars are a part of many Chilean’s daily routine. Which I’m sure you are thinking, of course, that’s common in South American cultures. The difference with Chile is that coffee bars are staffed by scantily clad women in heels. This is a tradition here. We had to see what this was all about. The coffee bar we went to was Café Haiti. The ladies were dressed in tiny Santa dresses and the place was packed. The coffee was strong as we expected. It was a cool experience to have while wondering the city of Santiago.

On our last day in Santiago, we decided to spend the day visiting Chilean vineyards. Reservations are required, which we did the day before. As tourists with no car, transportation to those very near the city is easy because the metro stop, Quilin is very near several vineyards. We took the metro and at the exit hired a taxi to take us to our first stop of Vina Aquitania. The taxi ride was approximately $5.00. This is a small boutique winery. We received a full tour, including tasting wine directly from the tank, unfiltered. Then as luck would have it they were filtering one that morning so we were able to taste the same wine just after filtering and then the aged one from the tank just before bottling. It was a wonderful experience.
At the conclusion of our visit at Vina Aquitania, we walked the 1.4 miles to the other vineyard. We received a tour and tour wine tasting at Cuscino-Macul. This vineyard is the oldest in Chile and has quite a large operation which is much different than our first stop. The most interesting part of the tour was the historical cellars, wine “library” and original oak barrels from over 100 years ago.

The price for the tour and tasting at both vineyards are great for our budget as well. They both offered two types of tours, the standard and reserve. We chose to do the standard at 14,000 Chilean pesos per person. We were lucky to try to reserve wines at Cuscino-Macul because there were out of the standard ones. Both vineyards are worth a visit should you find yourself in Santiago.

The next morning, I woke up so excited that the day to start our cruise was finally here. The port we were to leave from was switched from Valparaiso to San Antonio, Chile. Both port cities are approximately a 90-minute drive from Santiago. We had done a lot of research on how to get to the port prior to leaving the USA but it wasn’t until we got to Santiago that we discovered an easy and much cheaper way to get there. We took a taxi from our hotel for approximately 3,500 Chilean pesos ($5.50). Then bought a ticket on a Pullman bus direct to San Antonio at a cost of approximately 3,500 per person one-way. The bus ride is across the Andes Mountains and takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. Upon our arrival at the San Antonio bus terminal, we were offered a ride on the complimentary port authority bus which took us directly to the cruise terminal. It worked out great. The total transportation to the port cost around $16.00 while taking a taxi is a minimum of $120.00. We were very happy with our route.

We sailed off on the Holland American Zaandam at 6:00pm. The ship is older but in very good condition. The layout is the best of any cruise we have taken. We have an inside room and were delighted to find that our room is larger than other cabins we have had. I’m happy with its location on the first passenger floor in the middle of the ship. This is the best place to be if you are concerned with sea sickness throughout the cruise. Hopefully we will be blessed with calm seas but are prepared as Cape Horn is said to be some of the roughest in the world.

Our first stop was Puerto Montt, Chile. We opted to explore the city by foot on our own. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies, low winds and a high of 66 degrees. We went ashore via tender boat and walked through the terminal through many “tour operators” trying to sell last minute excursions. We turned left and walked 700 meters up the rode to the craft market. Some of the stalls were open while others were closed because it was Sunday and also Presidential Election Day. We continued walking and arrived at the Fish Market. It was alive with shoppers and the smell of fish. Salmon is their main catch. My favorite part of the day was that outside the fish market along the shore were sea lions. They have chosen this spot because once the fisherman have prepared their fresh catch for sale, they take the “leftovers” and throw them out to the sea lions. We watched the feeding frenzy. This was our first chance to see the large wildlife on our South American trip.

Our next stop was Castro, on the Island of Chiloe, Chile. This port was reached via tender as well. We were lucky to have beautiful weather that day as well, very similar to Puerto Montt. Castro is built on a hill with the Igelsia de San Francisco being the focal point of the village. The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is completely constructed of wood, including the floors, walls, ceiling and altars.

After visiting the Igelsia de San Francisco, we walked through the village to the other side of the island to find the stilted houses. These houses were built along the water edge on high stilts to sustain the rising and lowering of the tides.

We continued our walk along the water and went back to the port to catch a tender to our ship.

As we sail into Patagonia, the suspense of seeing penguins continues…

We are on our way to Santiago, Chile where we start the search for penguins. Doing so will fulfill my dream of going to Antarctica and getting up close with my favorite animals. I couldn’t be more excited. But, before we go, we wanted to share 100 of our favorite memories from the second 100 days of our adventure.

Thank you for sharing our Allen World Tour memories with us! More to come soon…

We have been lucky to spend the past 3 weeks visiting our family in friends in various parts of the USA. After Thanksgiving we took the train from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington for a visit with Robert’s Mom, Linda. She was a very gracious hostess and spoiled us during our entire visit. We made homemade chocolate chip

cookies (one of Robert’s favorites) the night we arrived. On Monday we drove up to Ferndale, WA to visit Robert’s sister, Margaret and her husband, Tyler. We played games and enjoyed a fantastic spread of gourmet cheeses. After a nice visit in Ferndale, we went back to Linda’s and celebrated Christmas by helping her decorate her tree. On our last night there, we went to the Bellevue Square Christmas Parade. It was great fun!

Our next stop was a visit to my Dad and Step-Mom’s house in Jacksonville, Illinois.  We had a wonderful visit catching up with them as well as celebrating Dad’s Birthday and Christmas with the whole family. It was very nice to see my Aunt Toi and Uncle Bob as well as Grandpa Randall. My brother and sister’s families both came down as well. We had a blast and enjoyed playing games, sharing laughs and eating a huge Christmas feast.

 

Our beloved dog, Howie, is living with his Grandpa, Geof and Grandma, La Chelle while we travel the world. They are taking wonderful care of him but we were glad to give him as much love as possible during our visit.

Following a great visit to Jacksonville, we met up with my Mom, Susan and drove to Chicago. We spent a few days playing with our niece and nephew and telling stories about what is going in each other’s lives. One of our favorite things to do is bake together. The kids love it and we all enjoy the treats afterward.

Our last stop in the USA was Orlando. We met up with some friends and had an amazing time doing some activities in the place we call home. Ice at the Gaylord Palms was amazing. The event happens every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas at all Gaylord Resorts.  They bring in ice carving artists from China that create beautiful art out of clear and colored ice blocks.

After visiting the exhibition we went to the show in the atrium of the Gaylord Palms Hotel. The performers were excellent and we even got to take our picture with them after the show.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we went to both Universal Orlando parks. Even though is was quite cold (a drizzling 55 degrees), we took in the sights, went to the Grinchmas show, rode our favorite rides and caught a glimpse of some characters.

No matter how many times we go to Universal Orlando, it never gets old and we always have a great time.

Now our visit to the USA has come to an end and the Allen World Tour continues. Tomorrow we leave on a flight to Santiago, Chile. There we start our journey to South America, Antarctica and the penguins!

Our 15 night cruise from Rome took us across the Atlantic with a few stops along the way. We shared some of our favorite moments from Marseille, France in our last blog post. The two additional stops we made on our journey were in Barcelona, Spain and Madeira, Portugal followed by 8 days of sailing across the sea.

Although we have been to Barcelona several times before, we enjoyed walking Las Ramblas and the Central Market.

The day was made a bit more interesting because there was a huge demonstration going on the day on our stop. Thousands of people were involved in a coordinated demonstration about the Catalonia state separation from Spain. People were chanting, waving the Catalonia flags and marching to the city center where they blocked the flow of traffic. We did our best to avoid the crowds and did not experience an incidents while in the city.

After a few hours walking around, it was time to head back to the ship for a few days at sea.

Our next stop was Funchal on the island of Madeira, Portugal. We had arranged for a private tour of the island. It was wonderful because it was half the price of the tours available through the cruise line and it was private tour just for the two of us. We were greeted by a young man holding a sign with our name on it. He took us to several different villages on the island’s Southern Coast.

At the end of our tour of Madeira, our guide took us the famous spot for wicker toboggan rides. This mode of transportation was used over a hundred years ago to transport crops form the village high in the mountains to those a sea level. The large baskets glide down the paved roads (what used to be cobblestone).  While this form of transportation is no longer used for crops, it has become a very popular activity for tourists. It is rather expensive at 30 Euros for two sharing a toboggan but it is worth it. Funchal is the only place in the world you can experience this time of toboggan ride. It definitely worth doing once.

The island is beautiful, the people are very friendly and the history is very interesting as well. We look forward to going back for a longer visit in the future.

Back on board the ship, we settled in for the trip across the Atlantic. The seas were a bit rough at times but we were glad to not experience any sea sickness. The weather was hit or miss with quite a bit of rain along the way. We enjoyed playing cards each morning.

Our favorite part of the day was 5:30pm trivia. We were fortunate to meet a very wonderful Scottish couple on our first night. The four of us became a trivia team and had a blast each evening giving it our best shot. We were thrilled to win one round along the way.

 

The ship sailed into Miami just before sunset offering us some amazing views of the city. The next morning we disembarked and started our whirlwind tour across the USA to visit our families for the holidays.

 

We made a quick stop in Orlando for a swap out for warm clothes. It was awesome to see some friends. As well as stop at our favorite pizza place for lunch, Winter Garden Pizza.

 

We took a VERY early flight from Miami to Portland with two stops along the way. After 13 hours of travel, we received a warm welcome from Robert’s brother and family. We spent the night in Portland with the Allen Family before heading the LaGrande, OR for Thanksgiving.

 

Spending the Thanksgiving holiday with the Allen family is always a culinary delight. I enjoy the opportunity to cook with my father-in-law, Dr, David Allen. We made all the traditional goodies and enjoyed some of Cherlyne’s homemade pumpkin and pecan pies.

We will soon be on our way to Seattle, WA to visit Robert’s Mom and Sister’s family.

 

Hello from France!!!  Our first stop on our transatlantic cruise is Marseille, France.  We enjoyed our quick stop in this seaside town.

We are enjoying the cruise and are looking forward to our next stop tomorrow in Barcelona.

We have had a few questions about us coming back to the USA—NO the trip is not over, there is still a lot of the world to see.  We are seeing some family and friends for approximately 3 weeks and then we are back on the road to S. America.

We will touch base soon – Au Revoir

 

 

 

Traveling north from Sicily we flew to Rome and met up with Missy’s mother and her husband for an Italian adventure.  The four of us (The Fab Four) toured the Amalfi coast, Tuscany, and Umbria for 13 days in our Opal Mokka, Sergio the 6th.

The Amalfi coast is known for its beautiful views and quaint little towns.  What people fail to  mention about the Amalfi coast is the roads.  They twist and turn, blind corner after blind corner with the Italian drivers caring little for which side of the road they drive.  I say which side of the road but the truth is in many parts of the road the width is barely enough for one car, let alone 2 with one Italian driver driving at breakneck speed down the middle.

Amalfi is truly one of the most beautiful places Missy and I have ever been.  The rugged coastline with towns and building placed wherever they could fit and the beautiful road carved into the cliff face winding from one town to the next.  Our base of operations was a fantastic villa in the town of Minori.

From our Minori hub we toured the coastal towns of Minori, Amalfi, Positano,  Ravello, Salerno and Maiori.

We visited the city of Pompeii  and saw the beautifully preserved buildings under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

The next day we made the drive to the Greek temples of Paestum. We were able to compare them to the Greek temples we visited in Sicily just a few weeks ago, as well as the Parthenon itself in Athens.  We also got to hang out with the Italian President (well sort of). He and Mateo Renzi arrived for a quick visit to Paestum while we were eating our lunch on a park bench. The parade of people walked right past us.

From  Amalfi we made our way to Umbria on a full day drive.  One stopover of note is the little town of Spoleto . Our goal was to visit the winner of the 3 year world competition of the world’s best gelato – Gelateria Crispini. The winning flavor was Pistachio. We sampled that as well as several others.

 

The fall colors in Tuscany were incredible, they changed daily showing yellows and reds all the way up the hills.

Our 17th century villa was a converted tobacco drying loft.  Renovated by an architect couple the loft mixed 17th century charm with modern conveniences.

In Tuscany we did . . . . what you should do in Tuscany.  We visited the charming hillside towns, went to the wineries in Chianti, took a cooking class in Florence, bathed in in the natural hot springs, went to the fall festivals, visited Deruta – the ceramics capital of Italy and enjoyed the beautiful views.

Leaving southern Tuscany we headed to the coastal city of Cinquale, a town on the very northwestern tip of the Tuscan region.  From our home base we toured Cinque Terre, the Carrara marble mines, Pisa and the little towns along the way.

Our time with the Fab Four had to come to an end when we dropped Susan and Ken at the Rome airport, turned in Sergio and took the train to Rome.  That finally catches us up to today.  We are waiting to board our cruise ship for our 15 day Atlantic crossing which ends in Miami on November 20. We can’t wait to see our family and friends in a few weeks.  We will catch everyone up from the USA.

Arrivederci