Thursday May 3, 2018

Thursday May 3, 2018

Blog time 1100 sitting a Panera

Our colds are not getting better.  We were both coughing most of the night.  I did take an aspirin and it helped. We both slept in until 0700 this morning.

It rained most of the night but the temp did not get below 60, which is good.  The leaves are now popping out and we have flowers in bloom all over the neighborhood.

First thing Nancy did this morning was start doing laundry.  She also brought up her warm weather clothes and took down the cold weather ones.

I did reduced calisthenics before breakfast.  I thought the rain had stopped so I took the bike to Panera.  It started to rain about half way into my ride.

I spent the last two weeks avoiding the USA news.  I checked this morning and found not much has changed, still blah, blah, blah.  The same can be said of the stock market, up, down, up, down etc.

The Alpena News this morning reported that April’s weather set record for most snow and lowest temperature.  I think the same can be said for GR.

When I got home Nancy was almost finished with the laundry.  Dropped off my backpack and headed to Macatawa Bank to get money for Kim who cleans tomorrow.

Lunch and then we head to Costco.  Nancy has to pick up a prescription.  We also bought naan and sandwich rolls.  Thursday afternoon at Costco must be seniors day.

I took a nap.  Finished the afternoon putting away my laundry and finally cleaning my desk.

Nancy fixed beans and rice for dinner.  Love beans and rice.  We watched the news.  I took a short walk to the corner and back, 0.6 miles.

We watched an episode of Death in Paradise.  Nancy headed to bed.  I stayed up and watched an episode of Babylon Berlin.  Our colds are wiping us out.

Wednesday May 2, 2018

Tuesday and Wednesday, May 1 and 2

Tuesday May 1, 2018;  today is May Day, Argentina’s official Labor Day, a national holiday.  It is also the last day of our stay in SA.

Blog time 1500 sitting in hotel room.

We slept in until 0630 this morning.  We had breakfast in the hotel.

At 0900 we got in the bus and took a tour of Palermo and Rose Garden, upscale areas of Buenos Aires.  Being a holiday the bus could drive slowly so we had the opportunity to view some of the unique architecture of the area.  We made several photo stops.  The tour took 3 hours.

For lunch Nancy and I walked down a nearby pedestrian walk and ate at a local cafe.  Nancy had soup with coke and I had a ham and cheese sandwich with wine.

It is now 1530 and we just set our bags out for pickup.  We will leave for airport at 1600.  Our plane to Atlanta leaves at 2000.  Stay tuned!

Our check in at the Buenos Aires airport was a breeze.  Our plane left on time, 2000, for the almost 10 hour trip to Atlanta.  Noted that all of our trip mates were also flying Delta’s comfort plus.  No one was in first class.

What can I say the trip was long, long, long.  I keep telling myself that I will only fly first class when flight time exceeds five hours. Our plane got into Atlanta about 0600.  We were both zombies, our colds had gotten worse on the flight.  I have read that if you want to get sick take a long plane ride.  I believe it.

The flight to GR was uneventful.  We got home about 1030.  Great to see Ms P.

We unpacked and then ran to Fresh Thyme and Meijer’s to get some supplies.  We crashed the rest of the day.  Opened all the windows because the temp approached 80.

Light dinner and then an episode of Death in Paradise before turning in.  

Monday April 30, 2018

Monday April 30, 2018;

Blog being written in our hotel room in Buenos Aires at 1500,

Last day in April and our last full day of our SA tour.  After breakfast this morning we got on bus and headed to the harbor.  We took a very leisurely boat tour through Rio de la Plata and Parana.  The area is loaded with waterfront cottages.  Most homes are elevated and supported by exposed piling.  I assume it is because the river floods.  Today being a holiday we saw a lot of folks kayaking and in one and two person rowing shells.  The weather was calm and sunny with temps in 70s.  

We had lunch at a large tourist restaurant located on the water.  Too much food as usual.  

Back at the hotel Nancy and I took a walk. We walked along several pedestrian ways near the hotel.  We stopped and looked in many shops but did not purchase anything.

We had our farewell dinner tonight at Cabana Villegas a well known steak house in BA.  We started the meal with an empanada which is a traditional hot snack followed by salad, French fries and famous Argentina steak.  Too much food!  Nancy liked the steak and have developed a fondness for empanada.

After dinner we walked along a renovated river front. The area reminds me of Singapore and Capetown.  Very upscale.

Quite a few of our group are leaving early tomorrow for a post tour of Brazil.  We said our good byes and then headed straight to bed.

Sunday April 29, 2018

Sunday April 29, 2018

Blog time 0800 sitting in hotel in downtown Buenos Aires

Once again playing catch up

Friday April 27,  spent day in and around the resort town of Bariloche, Argentina with snow capped mountains and alpine lakes.

It was cool today with temps in 30s but with clear sky and sun.  In Patagonia the wind blows constantly but have not seen one windmill.

First thing this morning we had a lecture on the Nazis in Patagonia.  The speaker was a third generation citizen of Argentina.  His family immigrated from Germany.  His father was a member of the Hitler youth group in Bariloche.  Some members of the Argentina/German community supported the Nazis.  After the war a famous German war criminal lived undetected in Bariloche for 30 years.  Very interesting talk.

After the lecture we got on bus and headed to the Patagonia steppe to visit a large working ranch.  Patagonia is both a temperate rain forest and a arid steppe, not unlike western and eastern Oregon.  We had a lecture on the daily life of the Argentine Gaucho (cowboy).  The ranch did raise beef cattle but their main income was from raising merino sheep for their wool.

We had a BBQ lunch prepared by the staff of the ranch.  I elected to go on a raft trip down the Lima’s River.  Nancy did not go.  Always amazed to see a fast flowing river in middle of a desert.  Noted a lot of fly fisherman on the river.

We had dinner on our own.  Nancy and I were both nursing colds so we elected to have a sandwich in the hotel’s bar.  Surprise! nearly our whole group had the same idea.  A lot of folks have caught a cold.

Saturday April 28,  today is a travel day.  We are going to our last stop on the tour, Buenos Aires.  We took the local Argentina airline to BA.  The flight was a little under 2 hours.

After we checked in we attended a lecture on Argentina’s recent economic and political history.  The talk was give by an expat American citizen who has lived in Argentina for the last 33 years.  Volatility described the economic and political environment.

For dinner our group was divided into three sections. We were driven to a small apartment where a local family prepared dinner for us.  We had the Argentine version of Shepard’s pie.  We had a local wine with our meal. Our host explained her life style.  She is a teacher who commutes to work on a bike.  She had very strong political opinions.  It was a good evening with spirited conversations and plenty of wine.  As soon as we got home we were in bed.

Sunday April 29. 2018:

First full day in BA. After breakfast we took a bus tour of the city. Although the temp was in the high 60s it rained constantly.  We visited the cathedral where the current Pope served.  We were able to watch a service underway.  We also visited the cemetery where Evita Person was interned.  First skyscraper cemetery I have ever visited.  We also visited a local shopping area.

As soon as we got home we got out of our wet clothes and headed out to visited a shopping areas within walking distance of our hotel.  I did buy Nancy a tee shirt.

To warm up after our wet walk we stopped at the hotel bar for a glass of wine.  We were soon joined by three other members of our group.

Took a short nap and then we attended a Tango lesson.  After the lesson some folks headed to a Tango show and dinner.  Nancy and I elected not to go.  We instead walked to a local pizza restaurant for dinner.  It was a great evening for a walk.  The rain had stopped and the streets were loaded with folks out for a night on the town.  Monday is a national holiday so most folks have the day off.  

The pizza joint was jammed but we did get a table with little wait.  We shared a small pizza and had a piece left over.  Great pizza.  It was 2200 when we left the restaurant and the number of pedestrians seems to have increased dramatically.  We headed to bed as soon as we got to our room.  Every hotel on our trip has had a TV.  We have not turned on TV.  What does that tell you?

Thursday April 26, 2018

April 26, 2018, Thursday;  blog being written in hotel room over looking a large lake in Bariloche, Argentina.

Catch up time; Monday April 23;  today is a travel day.  We are taking a plane to Puerto Montt, Chile.  Plane ride was uneventful.  Santiago is at latitude 33 and Puerto Montt is at lat 41 so we flew south about 500 miles.  

Puerto Montfort is the capital of the southern district.  It was an important port before the Panama Canal was built.  Because of 30 foot tides it is no longer a popular port.  We visited the fish market and walked around.  

After our short stay in Puerto Montt we took a bus to Puerto Vargas.  Puerto Vargas is a small tourist town on a big lake.  It reminds me a lot of Banaff, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies.  Our small hotel was located on the banks of the lake.  The hotel was very rustic, wood floors, exposed wood beams and posts.

We had a demonstration how to make a popular Chilean drink, Pisco sour.  The drink was strong but good.  Nancy especially liked it.  We walked as a group to a local restaurant for dinner.

Tuesday April 24, still in Puerto Vargas;  first thing we had a talk given by the leader of a local Indian group.  He talked about their problems with the Chilean government.  Not unlike problems in USA.

We all got on the bus and were driven to a private museum dedicated to the early German settlers.  The Germans arrived around 1870 before Germany was united.  They established a successful farming community.  The museum was very interesting and included home furnishings and tools used by the settlers.  The displays could have been shown in any small German farming community in the USA and no one would know the difference.

After the museum we were driven to a working Chilean ranch.  We were given a demonstration of Chilean cowboys horse riding skills.  Their horses are small and agile not unlike the US quarter horse.  The cowboys use their riding skills when performing in their popular rodeos.  We had a very good lunch at the ranch.

We had dinner on our own tonight. We were tired so ate at the bar in the hotel.

Wednesday April 25,  today we cross over to Argentina.  To get to Argentina we have to cross the Andean mountains.  Our entire trip was spent in huge national park that spans both countries.  Our crossing of the Andes included a boat trip across an alpine lake followed by a bus trip and then another boat trip, followed by a bus ride and finally our third boat trip.  

The National Park is in a temperate rain forest, not unlike the forests in our Pacific Northwest.  Annually they get 100” of rain so every thing is very green.  It is fall in SA so the hardwood trees are turning colors.  

We did not get to our hotel in Bariloche, Argentina until 2030.  Once again our hotel room overlooks a large alpine lake.  The entire group had dinner at the hotel.  Long day but great scenery.

Thursday April 25, 2018.  We get to sleep in today.  No activities until 1000.  

We were going on a walking tour through the National Park but it started to rain.  The walk was canceled so we headed to our next stop a small brewery run by a third generation French family.  We were given a tour of the brewery and the brew master showed us his beer making prowess.  We had lunch at the brewery and were given samples of the beer.  

Because of the heavy rain our cable car ride to the top of a big mountain was canceled.  We took a bus tour of Bariloche.  Stopped at a chocolate factory and bought several items.  I elected to go back to the hotel.  Nancy said the rain had stopped so she walked to a shopping area.  It started to rain on her way home and she got soaked.

For dinner tonight we ate in the hotel’s bar.  Not an original idea because many folks on the tour also did not want to go out in the rain.  

Sunday April 22, 2018

Sunday April 22, 2018

Blog being written on Sunday April 22 sitting in Crowne Plaza in Santiago, Chile 

Saturday April 21, 2018

First night in Santiago, we are staying at Crowne Plaza.  We both slept great after a tiring overnight flight from USA and a busy first day in Chile.

The hotel has a nice breakfast buffet.  Eggs, yogurt, oatmeal and croissant was my selection. Good.

At 0900 we boarded the bus for a tour of the city.  We made several short walking tours around the city looking at various government building.  We did see the colorful changing of the guard at Government building.  The guards were all spit and polish.  The new replacement guards marched into the square accompanied by a military band and mounted horsemen.  I was very impressed.  They change the guard every two days.  Being Saturday a large crowd, mostly families, attended the ceremony.

This morning we also visited a museum dedicated to folks who opposed the dictatorship that ruled Chile during the 70s and 80s.  It was not a good time for free speech in Chile.  All the displays were in Spanish but we did get a feeling for the times.  

We had lunch at the main fish market.  The lunch consist of a big selection of local fish.  It was very good.  After lunch we walked around the fish market.  

We had a free afternoon so Nancy and I walked through a mall selling souvenirs and trinkets.  I even had time for a short nap.

At 1800 we attended a lecture on the turbulent times.  The lecturer focused on the election of Allende and his administration from 1970 to 73 when the military took power led by General Pinochet.  Very good lecture.

After the lecture we walked to a neighborhood loaded with restaurants.  Nancy and I select a restaurant that had a light menu.  We sat outside drank wine, ate and people watched.  It was a great evening, especially being able to sit outside.

Sunday April 22;  today is my 80th birthday.  This trip is Nancy’s birthday gift to me.  Great present!

It was another sunny day in Chile.  Temps in mid 50s this morning but should get to 70 later.

Today we are taking a trip to Valparaiso on the Pacific coast.  The trip took about two hours.  The countryside looks like Southern California.  I did note that the road we traveled on was high quality.  

Valparaiso is located on 40 large hills.  The coastal fog had not yet burned off when we arrived at 1100.  We took a cable car to the top of one hills and walked around a colorful residential area.

Took another cable car down and then we rode taxis to the top of another hill.  The fog had not lifted so we could not see the ocean.  We visited with an artist couple who are paid to paint graffiti on the side of homes.  Very colorful.

For lunch we split our group in half and had lunch at a local home.  We had roasted chicken with peas, carrots and rice.  After lunch we all gathered in one home for dessert.  Surprise!  A birthday cake complete with candles awaited me.  The group even sang Happy Birthday.  I slept on the bus ride back to Santiago.

For dinner this evening Nancy and I walked to another neighborhood that was loaded with restaurants.  For the second night we sat outside, drank wine and people watched.  Great experience.  Santiago is very pedestrian friendly with wide sidewalks.  

We were in bed by 2200. Last night I Santiago.  Tomorrow we take a plane south.  Stay tuned!

April 20, 2018

Thursday 19, GRF INT at 1530

Flight to Atlanta depart 1800 arrived at 2000

Leave for Chile at 2230.  Nine hour flight, very tough, I did not sleep

Friday April 20,

Grand Circle meets us at 0900 and take us to Crown Plaza in Santiago.

Long check in, no lunch finally get room at 1300.  Very quick shower and change of clothes and at 1400 we have orientation meeting in motel.  36 folks in group.

1500 get in bus and head to small organic winery.  Owner give a short talk on Chilean wine growing.  Took a short walk to see grapes almost ready for harvesting.  

Sampled several wines produced by this winery.  Good.  We were provide sopapillas bread with each sample.  Love this bread.

Dinner was a sweet corn and meat casserole.  Very good.

It is now 2200, Nancy is asleep and I am not far behind.

The temperature in Santiago was sunny and warm.  High temp in low 70s.

First impression of Santiago;  surrounded by mountains, very large city over 7 million folks, air pollution problems, reminds me of LA area because it is arid.  It is fall and leaves are turning.  Noted a lot of palm trees. 

All signs are in Spanish.  No English signs.  Most folks in tourist trade do not speak English.