2018 South America Princess Cruise (Penguins Trip)

Fei and Tony went on a South America Princess Cruise in February 2018 to focus on seeing Penguins (King, Magellanic and Gentoo penguins).  At the same time, we also fulfilled our desire to learn more about Argentina Tango.   Our friend JC Sha and his family joined us on this adventure and we all had a wonderful trip.  The itinerary was as the following:

Wed 01/31/18 - Arrived Buenos Aires, embarked and overnight stay on Emerald Princess, Tango night out

Thu 02/01/18 - Self tour of Buenos Aires, sail to Punta Del Este, Uruguay

Fri 02/02/18 - Punta Del Este, joined local tour at tender port

Sat 02/03/18 - At Sea

Sun 02/04/18 - Puerto Madryn, joined Princess excursion “Penguin at Punta Tombo Reserve”

Mon 02/05/18 - At Sea

Tue 02/06/18 - Falkland Islands, joined Patrick Watts’ local tour to see King penguins at Volunteer Point

Wed 02/07/18 - Cape Horn (scenic cruiseng)

Thu 02/08/18 - Ushuaia (tierra del Fuego), self guided city tour

Fri 02/09/18 Punta Arenas, Chile, joined Princess excursion “Magdalena Island Penguin Reserve”

Sat 02/10/18 - Amalia Glacier, Chile (scenic cruising)

Sun 02/11/18 - At Sea

Mon 02/12/18 - Puerto Montt, Chile, self guided city tour

Tue 02/13/18 - At Sea

Wed 02/14/18 - Santiago (San Antonio), Chile. Disembarked, joined Princess tour “Valparaiso, Viña del Mar & Lunch at Olmue"

Wed 1/31/18 Arrived Bueno Aires, Embarked Emerald Princess and Enjoyed Tango Night Tour

We had an overnight flight from Houston to Bueno Aires.  When we got to Bueno Aires, it was around Noon of Jan 31 and there is a 3 hours time zone difference from Houston.  The transfer from airport to Emerald Princess was smooth and we got on to the ship around 1PM.  It was just in time for a nice lunch in the Horizon Court.  

We were pretty familiar with Emerald Princess, therefore, we did not have to tour the ship for finding out places.  We just rest a little bit to prepare for our private Milonga Tour tonight.  A few years ago, we did the Tango dinner show during a SA land tour and this time we just want to experience local Tango parties personally.  We pre-booked this private tour with tangotrip.com online.  

They assigned Lucia as our tour guide who picked us up at cruise terminal and took us to 2 different milongas (tango dance venues).  The 2 different milongas are "Club de Tango Gricel" for older patrons and "Malta Milonga" for younger patrons.  

The first milonga is just like any other dance hall with a lot of people and with less skillful dancers.  The second milonga has more skillful dancers and a lot more actions.  Lucia is an part-time tour guide with daytime professional as lawyer who loves Tango dance.  She speaks fluent English and did a lot of explanations of Argentina Tango.  After her explanation, then we realized that there are different types of Tango dances with 4 beats (traditional Argentina Tango with sad mode) and 3 beats (milonga Tango, faster moves and happier mode).  Different milongas are organized by different sponsors and may hold in difference venues.  As a Tango dancer in Bueno Aires, you just have to know where and when.  

A side note, we did ask her about where to buy Argentina Tango shoes and then we find out Argentina Tango shoes they referring to are just like our Latin dance shoes.

Thu 2/1/18 - Self guided Bueno Aries City Tour

Since we did touring last time we were in Bueno Aries, therefore we decided to just wondering around the city near the port area to see it ourselves.  Our goals were to see surrounding areas of Puerto Madero, Puente De La Mujer (Mother and Daughter Bridge, Woman's Bridge), Sarmient Frigate Ship Museum and Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur. It took us quite a while to get to Erserva Ecologica Costanera Sur which is Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve.  It has 835 acres and lots of trails.  We tried a short trail and gave up pretty soon due to the hot weather.  Then we walked to Puente De La Mujer which is a swing bridge, but somewhat unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement. It has a single mast with cables suspending a portion of the bridge which rotates 90 degrees in order to allow water traffic to pass.

When we got to the bridge, Sha and family pretty much had done with day’s walk and decided to head back to the ship.  Fei and Tony still want to see more of the city and continue on to walk over the bridge and took more pictures in front of the Sarmient Frigate Ship Museum.

Then we walked toward downtown area to look for Tango shoe stores that Lucia recommended to us last night.  Few years ago, Fei intended to buy Tango shoes in Bueno Aries without success and this time we decided to try it again.  After we got to the store, they were pretty helpful even speak Spanish only.  Fei got two pairs of shoes at reasonable prices.  Then, we walked all the way back to the cruise port and call off the day.

In the evening, prior to our dinner, we noticed that there was a professional Argentina Tango dance couple (Fernando and Cecilia) performing Tango in the Piazza.  It was only 15 minutes with 3 dances, however it was very impressive and enjoyable.  At the same time we learned that they had scheduled to teach Tango dance throughout the cruise.  It was a pleasant surprise for us.

Fri - 02/02/18 Punta Del Este, Uruguay

Punta Del Este is a resort town at the tip of the Punta Del Este Peninsula bordered by Atlantic Ocean on the east side and the peaceful lagoon on the west side.  Punta del Este is divided into two parts. Though they are totally contrasting, they are part of the same place: Playa Mansa (Quiet beach) and Playa Brava (Rough Beach).

When we got off the ship, we found a local tour which will take us to several tourist attractions including the famous sculpture known as "The Hand on the Sand", The Church of Our Lady of Candelaria, "Casapueblo", a majestic masterpiece made by Uruguayan sculpture Carlos Páez Vilaró, and the waving bridge in La Barra area which is a rich neighborhood near Punta Del Este. 

After the tour, they dropped us off at downtown of Punta Del Este, and we walked around by ourselves to tour the town. We passed by Playa el Emir, and Rambla General Jose Artigas (boardwalk) and the fashion street (Calle 20).  The weather was nice and we had a wonderful self walking tour of the city. 

BTW, it was a surprises for us to have this opportunity of visiting a Uruguay city.

Sat 02/03/18 - At Sea

Today, we were just relaxing ourselves on the ship and did workout at the gym. We had chance to see the Argentina Tango dance performances by Fernando and Cecilia again.

This is the first of three formal nights on this cruise.  We took the opportunity of having formal wears and taking photos on the Emerald Princess.

Sun 02/04/18 - Puerto Madryn

We joined Princess excursion of 'Penguin at Punta Tombo Reserve'.  Punta Tombo Reserve is the world’s largest nesting colony for Magellanic penguins.  On the way to Punta Tombo Reserve, our guide shown us a replicate of a giant dinosaur next to the main road.  She told us this is to mark the world largest dinosaur ever found nearby. It was a photo opportunity for us.

After 2 1/2 hours drive, we arrived at the reserve.  From the starting point, it takes about 30 minutes to walk all the way to the sea shore where the largest congregation of Magellanic penguins reside.  Our tour guide suggested to us not to spend too much time on the first penguin we see.  So we walked all the way to the sea shore first and then take our time to enjoy these wonderful penguins.  However, we could not help but stop to take some of the photos on the way.   When we finally reached to the sea shore, we realized why this is the world's largest nesting colony for Magellanic penguins.  We were like kids in a candy store, we took many photos non-stop.  Due to the hot weather, these penguins have to hide either under bushes or wherever they can find shade such as under the walking bridge or even next to a bench.  At sea shore, we witnessed these penguins surf along the wave and the scene was just wonderful.  This was our first encounter of vast amount of penguins and it was a very exciting experience.

Mon 02/05/18 - At Sea

Another at sea day.  We did the usual of attending an Enrichment Lecture provided by Angela Kelly who explained the history of Magellan explorations.  Then we did workout and enjoyed the Argentina Tango Show.