A Full-time Life

To Learn and Remember

June 21, 2024

More pictures from our RoadTrek van camping vacation earlier this month. Although we didn't get to do as much "exploring" Florida as usual this year, we made the most of the camping trip we did take. We always enjoy discovering more about "old Florida" or the "real Florida" as some refer to what's left of it.

We stayed for three nights in a campground on the Seminole Indian Reservation. The reservation is located in the heart of Florida's everglades and is quite far removed from any urban area. The campground where we stayed was located just across the Josie Billie Highway from Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki, the Tribe's Museum. In the Seminole language, the museum's name means "place to learn and to remember." We were happy for the chance to learn more about these original Floridians (and, I hope, to remember).

Most of the pictures in the Mosaic above were taken on the one-mile boardwalk through the cypress dome behind the museum. (The hawk and woodpecker were Campground visitors.)

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Indian Tribe. Their website states "our ancestors have lived in the Everglades since creation."

Inside the Museum, we watched a well-made orientation film, providing a brief overview of Seminole history through interviews and filmed re-enactments. The Goal of the Museum is to Respect, Celebrate, and Preserve the Seminole History and Traditions.

Seminole Wars Diorama, AhTahThiki Museum

The Seminole Wars were three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place between 1821 and 1858. In an attempt to gain land for white settlers during those years, the United States was in the process of forcefully relocating all Eastern Tribes to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Some Seminoles complied but others resisted violently. Their warriors used knowledge of the land to hide and attack. Instead of continuing to hunt these people down in the difficult terrain, the US Military Forces changed their strategy and attempted to burn and destroy Seminole villages and crops. Some then went to the Indian Territory, but others fled deeper into the everglades. Active fighting ceased in 1858 because the bands of Seminoles remaining in Florida had fled deep into the Everglades to land unwanted by American settlers (or land that military forces could not penetrate, depending on which accounts you read.) The Seminole Nation is the only Tribe in America that has never signed a peace treaty. In all, the Seminole Wars were the longest, most expensive, and most deadly of all American Indian Wars.

Seminole Basket Display

Not only did the Seminoles not sign a treaty, but in many ways, nowadays it also appears they won out in the end. The Seminoles of Florida own six gambling casinos in this state. (As a sidenote, there are none at all in the Seminole Village where we stayed). The Tribe also owns the Hardrock International chain (all of them). As the Tribal Chairman said in the video we watched "gaming has been very good to us."

The Chairman also said "today we fight our battles in the Courts." Just shortly after we returned from our vacation, we read that the US Supreme Court allowed to stand a verdict that gives the Seminole Tribe the rights to on-line gambling in the State. Isn't there a saying that revenge is a dish best served (very) cold?

Making Sofkee (corn flour)

Several years ago, tribal historians interviewed people who still remembered taking part in some of these old traditions and their words were displayed with each of the domestic dioramas.

No passports are required to enter the Seminole Nation, but it really is a separate state and country in many ways. We drove around the Village and looked at the facilities and homes. Here, the Tribe of Florida has its own police, schools, medical facilities, safety and law enforcement, and road department. It isn't a poor reservation obviously — the community buildings in the village were new, most older homes looked well-kept, and there were several subdivisions of newer homes that looked much like many such developments anywhere in Florida.

Except here almost all the homes had a grass-roofed chickee hut in their backyard, present day versions of the ceremonial chickees of the ancestors. The woodpile would be for food smokers and bonfires, not for winter heat, which isn't needed much here.

We enjoyed our visit and are always grateful for having a chance to learn more about the history of this area.

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

SATURDAY CRITTERS ; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY
Big Cypress National Preserve

June 7, 2024

We spent a few late-season days in Big Cypress country and the Glades last week. Late-season means less traffic and campgrounds that have plenty of space, but also means that it was very hot outside (just as it is here at the Canal Cottage this time of year.) We camped for a couple of days in one part of the Preserve where we'd never been before and I'll post more about that later.

Green Heron on Loop Road, Big Cypress

The pictures in this post though are from last week's repeat of two of our all-time favorite nature drives, in more familiar parts of the Preserve. It was a good getaway before we settle down to the business of getting ready to close up the Canal Cottage for the summer.

Turner River Road, Big Cypress

We drove Turner Road on our last day. It was really hot, so that day was a "sit-and-see" — no walks and using the van as a blind. There really wasn't a whole lot of wildlife to see anyway because of the heat and how late in the season it is. But we did see more dragon-flies than we've ever seen in one place before. Every reed and grass stem was a perch.

Even the antennae on our van!

We saw this sign on Turner Road but no alligators on that day. This is your Alligator warning though — we did see several a few days earlier when we drove the Big Cypress Loop Road. And of course as a bona-fide Florida snowbird, I am required to include Alligator pictures every year. These gators are the first ones we've seen this season (and almost certainly the last of the year). If you didn't ever go out exploring you really could live here for a whole season and never see one. But that would be a shame.

There's another dragon fly in this picture too! Not afraid to land on the alligator's head.

All of the Alligators we saw were nearly fully submerged because of the heat. The swamps and cypress forests along the Loop Road are better wildlife viewing areas earlier in the season. It's the route we call the "Last Chance Turn Around Road" and it really was very rough as a recent rainstorm had left some pretty deep ruts. (See here for an earlier year's visit.) Here's the sign:

It was lovely to see the most dragon-flies ever in one place, but perhaps not as lovely to see the most Black Vultures ever at once as we also did on our way home:

About half of them were dining on road-kill that looked like it might be an alligator, while others waited in the greenery just above. They're really un-lovely birds, but they are just doing their assigned clean-up job so we should be grateful I suppose.

Here's a more charming picture – the setting sun peeking through the palms at Orton Locks Campground on the first night of our week's trip:

And some wildflowers along Loop Road:

Grateful we were able to get away for a few days. Nature trips are my favorite way to re-charge and re-fuel.

LINKING to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

SATURDAY CRITTERS ; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY
Never Bored on Board

May 26, 2024

This is the final wrap-up of our January Ocean-to-Ocean trip around Cape Horn. We traveled on the Viking Ship Jupiter for two plus weeks. I have posted about each of the ports we visited and about one especially scenic day while aboard ship (here). Because of the distance traveled, this cruise included seven days completely on Board (interspersed with amazing shore excursion days). On most of the at sea days, the ocean view didn't change much at all.

But I can't imagine anyone could be "bored on board" because there was plenty to do on the ship.  Viking says its trips are a journey that will nourish and expand your mind (Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman) and it also advertises itself for what it does not have. (There are no children on board and no casinos. ) There are enrichment opportunities on-board. This cruise had three guest lecturers and an on-board historian. There was a planetarium. There are port talks the evening before each excursion day with information about the places we could see. Below are a few pictures of the ship. I didn't take many.

Top: Our stateroom in the evening — curtain on sliding door opens to balcony; Hallway on our deck; one of the five restaurants on board (outdoor walking deck can be seen through the window)

Bottom row: One of the reading nooks near the lounge area; the theater when we got there early one time; Atrium (more quiet seating on upper balcony, piano and cocktail lounge below)

There was live piano and violin musicians in the living room/lounge area each afternoon and evening — (more often on the days the ship was at sea). There are on-board musicians and singers and on some nights guest entertainers, so you could see a different show in the theater every night. There is also a spa and pool and late-night dance music which we passed on because we are getting old by that time we were exhausted from all the earlier activity.

The large scale black and white photograph (top center) in the collage above is one of many photographs displayed along all of the ship corridors. Fin Serck-Hansonn, a Norwegian photographer has traveled for Viking to many of the line's destinations. His pictures show architecture, people, landmarks and natural surroundings — these displays turn each long corridor into an art gallery (and travel dream list). The landmark pictured is, however, of a place we've been lucky enough to visit in person.

Viking is a Norwegian line and most of the art and historic replicas around the ship are related to that country, most especially to the Viking age. Each of the elevator landings display reproductions of ancient runestones.

I found these especially interesting because we have seen original petroglyphs and pictographs in a few places in both North and Central America and the similarities are always so amazing. Please click on the photo of the sign below for some of the history. As you may notice on the poster, you can also listen to a brief talk about each display with earphones which are provided in your stateroom.

click to enlarge

Both the up and down stair landings on all six floors of the ship displayed large embroidered reproductions of the Bayeaux Tapestry. While fascinating and beautifully done, these had me wondering why reproductions from a museum in France were featured when we were on a Norwegian ship traveling in South America. But there is a Viking link.

I learned that the Battle of Hastings which is a major part of the tapestry was perceived as a Viking victory for William the Conquerer who was a Norman King and at that time Normandy was Viking territory. (This is one reason why there is a historian on board the ship. And if I mis-interpreted anything it is my fault, not the ship's.)

The original tapestry, a cloth about 230 feet long, 20 inches wide, was embroidered 945 years ago. It still exists, mostly intact, in the town of Bayeux, France (Normandy).

There was also an animated version of the Tapestry with explanations on a small screen in one section of the ship's living room.

All of the lectures given on the ship were taped and could be watched later on your in-room TV screen. Some shore excursions lasted quite late and lectures would be given before some passengers were back on board. We watched both ways. The enrichment team of three experts included a resident astronomer who was on loan from NASA; a professor of Geography and Archeology with a specialty in Latin America; and a lawyer/professor of international constitutional law.

I should also mention here that we enjoyed just relaxing in one of the many little book-lined nooks in the public areas of the boat (often with our own e-books) and of course eating and drinking in the living room/lounge/restaurants. I never remember to take pictures of our food, but we were happy with our choices.

We always tried to be awake and at a window on days when the ship was coming in to port and docking. It is interesting to watch experts at work. Below are some of those pictures.

There is so much work involved in keeping the ship running smoothly and we appreciated the hard work of the staff — chefs, cooks, waiters, room stewards, as well as pilots, mechanics , dock hands and so many more behind the scenes doing a good job. Everyone we dealt with seemed without fail to enjoy their jobs and did a great job as far as we were concerned.

On this cruise we visited and learned something about three new-to-us countries and unexpectedly a fourth one when our return trip took us from Buenos Aires Argentina to Sao Paulo Brazil on our way to Miami.

But sadly, the only thing I can legitimately claim to have learned about Brazil is that the Sao Paulo Airport is very busy and very confusing.    Running around an extremely busy airport definitely shouldn't count at all as a visit, but it was (to say the least) quite an interesting day at the almost end of our trip and I didn't want to forget it, so the picture above is of our only souvenir of Brazil.

Sunset after a day at sea

I am forever grateful that we were able to see all we did on this cruise. It was an amazing journey and we loved it, but the air travel to and from was long and kind of difficult. We understand that this was partly due to the fact that we had to arrange the journey to start in one place (Oregon) and end at another (Florida), but also partly due to the fact that air travel is just not a whole lot of fun anymore. We probably won't do anything as complicated as this again. But it was so worth it this time.

LINKING: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; SIGNS SIGNS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;
Back to the Slough

May 12, 2024

Six-Mile Cypress Slough used to be one of our regular nature walk places , but it had been a couple of years since we'd visited. So it was great to get to go back one day last week.

Green Heron on Alligator Lake

We didn't even get all the way around the trail because there are so many overlooks and places to spot wildlife. This Green Heron was waiting patiently for a fish to swim by as he perched on a lily-pad raft at the edge of the lake. (We didn't see a single Alligator on the Lake named for it .)

Cypress Tree Forest Wetlands

It's the end of the dry season here in Florida, but there's been enough rain to turn the forest floor green. The Cypress Tree needles are still brown. They'll turn green during the wet season. The white spots on the trunks are lichen and they are signs of healthy trees.

Not really lily pads floating in the sky. It's the beautiful blue sky reflected on the surface of the Lake. I like seeing upside down skies.

A little natural Valentine floating in the water — and some pretty blue pickleweed on the edge of this pond.

There was a pair of Tri-Colored Herons enjoying the puddles in the Cypress Forest.

Six Mile Cypress Slough got its name in the early 1900s. Travelers in wagons would get stuck in this low, swampy area (the Slough) on their way to Fort Myers. They knew it was six miles more to town once they got unstuck.

In addition to providing a sanctuary for plants and animals, this forested wetland is important because it stores water during heavy rains and cleans that water before it flows into Estero Bay.

Florida Softshell Turtle

We didn't see alligators, but did spot this variety of everybody's favorite reptile. The Softshell Turtle was crawling through some pretty dry looking habitat, probably on its way to the nearest water. These turtles are big ones! They can get up to 24 inches across.

A little more Plant Life in the Swamp. The plants in the top photo are Resurrection Ferns — they'll come back in the next wet season. I don't know what the one in the lower photo is but it looks like a miniature sun.

There was a hawk nest up in these trees — I saw the adults flying back and forth and spent too much time trying to get a picture with no luck. But it was fun to watch. And at at least I got a picture of the blue sky while looking up at it.

We had a lovely morning at Six Mile. This is the time of year when we're grateful we can stay later here in the sunshine state than most winter visitors do. We like to pretend we're local — and we're happy to enjoy the less crowded conditions.

Linking to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts.

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
The lovely month of May

May 5, 2024

It has always seemed to me that the first of May means Spring is really here — even if the season officially begins in mid-March. When we lived in the Pacific Northwest, March and April were just teasers — leading up to this grand month. Here in Florida, there's not a whole lot of difference, but I still feel like the season really began last week.

At the Canal Cottage morning skies have been beautiful as usual. But May is really all about seasonal flowers .. and nostalgic memories. When I was a child, on the first day of May, kids would fill hand-made paper baskets with garden flowers. We'd hang them on the door knobs of our older neighbors, ring the bell and then run and hide. We just knew people would be delighted with their surprise. I do think people expected and enjoyed the custom back then.

Spring 2020, Oregon

When our own kids were quite small they would make baskets for their grandparents and maybe a few neighbors, but they'd be delivered by properly knocking at the door and visiting for awhile. By that time, the days when door-knock surprises were welcomed was pretty much over. May was a wonderful month for flowers in the Pacific Northwest and we always enjoyed sharing bouquets from our gardens (but not as surprises).

Most years since we retired though we have been away from our home state during the Spring, either traveling or here at the Canal Cottage in Florida, where Spring is different. The daffodils and the beautiful tulips in the collage below are from the most recent entire year we spent in Oregon (2019/2020 — you probably remember why).

The tulips were blooming beautifully in our daughter's and son-in-law's garden when we arrived at the end of April 2019 after our shortened season at the Canal Cottage. It was like a special added welcome in that year, when we were even more thankful than ever to be safely back home and near family.

In ordinary years lately, by the time we arrive in Oregon Spring perennials have finished blooming for the year.

May is a great month for birds too of course — this Stellar Jay is a more recent Florida photo and so are the neighborhood flowers below:

Local Spring flowers –Florida

Colorful tropical (or almost tropical) flowers bloom pretty much all season around here, but it seems to me that they really put on a show this month, before it gets too hot and rainy for them during the summer months .

Another Florida picture — this one from the archives.

This photo shows more than one species of Florida Spring birds enjoying some shallow water similar to the more recent picture in last week's post. This one was taken a few years ago near the same place, but it's a much better view of the Roseate Spoonbill, here showing off an impressive wing-span.

Grateful to enjoy our beautiful Spring here and grateful for Spring memories from the recent and long ago past.

Sharing this week with the following: Thank you to the hosts.

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
Ding Darling Preserve

April 21, 2024

We drove to Sanibel Island one day last week hoping to see some of our favorite Florida birds at the Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve. And also to see what's happening with the island's hurricane restoration efforts.

A pair of Ibis in a dead tree

Roads to Sanibel were closed most of last season, but opened toward the end of the time we were here. We drove across the bridge back then to look at the beaches and homes, but the devastation was still so sad. I thought I took some pictures on that drive, but apparently I threw them away out of sorrow as I couldn't find any for comparison. It seems like most homes are recovering or recovered now but the beaches are still undergoing massive restoration. People were still using some of them anyway.

We're not beach people though, so we were really here to drive through the preserve and look at birds.

There was an Osprey nest on the other side of the road from this male and he was singing (screaming) his heart out at it. There was a bird in the nest but she wouldn't put her head out far enough to to even acknowledge his efforts — or for me to get a picture

Ding Darling Reserve wasn't opened last year, so we hadn't been there for quite a long time. It used to be lush with mangroves and cypress trees. Now there are a lot of dead trees, but nature is recovering — new growth is emerging and some mangroves survived.

But birding was disappointing — we didn't see much at all on the refuge's famous Wildlife Drive. It's a four-mile one way road, with lots of pull-off stops and viewing platforms and we've usually seen more birds than we can count. Maybe we were too late or it was too hot and wildlife certainly doesn't have to appear on our schedule. But we did notice that a lot of the water was heavily green with algae. And we wondered if that made a difference. The most birds we saw were outside of the wildlife drive just as we were leaving the refuge.

Here on this barely visible puddle in the dead grass, were at least five different species of birds. (This also makes me think there may have been something wrong with the water on the Drive where they would have had so much more room.) Identifiable birds in this picture are a Roseate Spoonbill, immature Ibis, and Snowy Egrets ("Yellow slippers"). We also saw Great Egrets, adult Ibis, and a Great Blue Heron in another puddly clearing just a few steps away from this one. Not very picturesque with all the dead foliage, but at least we saw some birds.

Now to go back home to our Canal. The picture below is from an earlier day this season:

This is the Canal where we live. I took it from the back of our boat as we exited into the Caloosahatchie River. Our Cottage is on the left of this picture, but about halfway down, so it doesn't really show here at all. On the other side of the canal, the motor home (RV) is parked in a space where there used to be a house. It was one of over 30 homes in this resort destroyed by Ian. We were lucky. It's an ongoing reminder to count our blessings.



LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
Meanwhile ….

April 14, 2024

… in real life and closer to real-time

While I've been blogging for the past three months about a trip that ended in January, we have actually been living a pretty good life here at the Canal Cottage. So much to be grateful about!

I'll admit it took us a few days to get used to being home and … oh, little things like having to make our own breakfast as the morning sun rose.

But it didn't take long until I realized I'd missed our canal … and just being here where we can see the water from our own windows and where the sunrise colors show up inside as well as out. And really, it was good to eat our own cooking again! It's great to travel but it's wonderful to be home too.

This year, Bill not only repaired remaining hurricane damage on the porch, but also improved it by replacing some of the screen area with glass where rain tended to blow in. It's more than a porch now — really an indoor-outdoor room.

Our boat "Oh-Zone"

Our boat stayed in storage last season when we were busy nearly the whole time with Hurricane repairs on the Cottage. It finally came home last month. Here's Bill and the guy from the boat hospital docking it for the first time after it's postponed annual checkup. We were fortunate to have it stored in a safe place during Hurricane Ian.

It's nice to look out our windows and see "Oh-Zone" on the dock — and even nicer that we have time now to take it out for an occasional excursion.

Geoff (our youngest son) came to visit us for a few days and we got out on the boat on two of them. We had such a good time and it was lovely to see him. One day we boated up the river going through the Franklin Locks — that's Geoff in the center hanging on to the rope as we lock through. The lower row is on the return trip in a different place on the river. We'd already passed under the lift bridge at Highway 31 without a problem — it opened a few minutes later for the boat in the pictures — that one is a little bit taller than ours (and by little bit, I mean a whole lot.) We drive over that bridge at least every week we're here, sometimes we have to wait when the bridge is up for a big boat. We don't hold the traffic up when we boat under it!

We've had time to visit a few of our favorite walking areas since we've been home . Here are a few birds we saw:

Cardinal, Lakes Park

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers at both Lakes Park and Caloosahatchie East Preserve and below back and front views of an Anahinga drying his wings at Lakes Park.

It's good to be here!

LINKING this week with the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
Buenos Aires, our last port of call

April 7, 2024

The final port of call on our South America and Chilean Fjords Cruise was Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.

First view of the City from our balcony

Three million plus people reside within the city limits, with millions more in the Greater BA area. It's an interesting Big City to explore. Located on the beautiful Rio de la Plata, there's a lot of port and river activity. The downtown area is a mix of European-looking 19th Century buildings along with reminders of the fishing and port origins. And so much history.

This is Casa Rosada (the Pink Palace) which houses the offices of the President (not the presidential residence) and the focal point of Plaza de Mayo, the City's gathering place.

Plaza de Mayo had been the center of Buenos Aires political life since the city was founded in 1580. It was renamed for the May 1810 revolution when the country gained its independence from Spain. The monument in the center picture was placed in 1811 to celebrate the first anniversary of the revolution. The collage above also shows some of the buildings surrounding the Plaza including the City Legislature building, the National Museum, and a former commercial building with the statue of two giants ringing a bell. Their mechanical hammers are connected to the clock.

The Plaza is perhaps best known here in the US as the place where huge throngs gathered to hear Eva Peron's passionate addresses from the balcony. As an unofficial political leader during her husband's presidency (in the 1960s), she helped to bring about economic reforms as well as the passage of women's suffrage legislation.

But the Plaza had been (and remains) the site of huge gatherings and protests since its origin. Below is an example of a more recent action by citizens:

Each stone on the steps surrounding the statue (and the picture doesn't show anywhere near all of them) was placed to honor someone who died during the Covid pandemic. Many include names and dates. People wanted to remember and honor those who died, especially because they were almost always unable to be with their loved ones during their final hours or to hold a service. Later, the City government planned to gather the memorial stones and display them in a building, but people protested that they should be left in the original spot.

Tiles such as the one pictured below are reminders of a courageous public protest from a slightly earlier time (but well within memory):

This symbol on the Plaza's floor tiles marks the path taken on weekly walks by the Mother's Group. They began marches of resistance during the in the 1970s when over 30,000 people disappeared during what was called the National Reorganization Process. Mostly teenagers and young adults, they were hunted down and killed because they were known to have opposed the right wing military junta that had gained power. These brave mothers wore white head scarves when they began to march in resistance to the dictatorship and to petition for the return of their Disappeared children. They continue the marches in their memory and as a constant reminder.

Democracy was re-established in 1983, but the Mothers Group continues their political action work and members hold a ceremonial march on the Plaza once every week.

The top row pictures are from the Riverfront neighborhood of the city, while the lower row are of the Municipal Cathedral. This is the Church where Pope Francis served before being elected Pope. (It was really crowded, pictures were practically impossible )

The pictures below are from the La Boca neighborhood — a colorful, eccentric, and joyful area:

This is La Boca, where local artists celebrate and preserve the origins of the neighborhood which was once a tenement district where port workers and fishermen lived with their families. The shacks are mostly reproductions of the original homes which were made from shipbuilding scraps. Local artists added the bright colors. The neighborhood is full of small cafes and food carts, art galleries, odd little shops, and street entertainment (tango dancers, dog shows to name a few). And many winding hallways and alleys, where it was way too easy to get turned around.

Our time in this beautiful lively city with all its important history, interesting neighborhoods, and busy port district made an incredible last day for what had been an amazing trip. We're immensely grateful for all we saw and learned.

This pedestrian bridge is in Puerto Madero, the newest neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It rotates to allow ships access to the river. Viking transported disembarking passengers to a hotel in this area, where we had breakfast and snacks while waiting in groups for our airport transportation. (The ship's crew would prepare to board a new group who would take the same cruise in the opposite direction beginning the next day). The last day of vacation is never fun, but it was made about as painless as possible and we walked around this new scenic neighborhood while we waited to begin the long trip home.

At least a couple of people have asked for further information about our days at sea and I do plan to post one more blog about "life aboard ship." Meanwhile, we have been alive and well and doing a few blog-worthy things at home and around the Canal Cottage, and it's great to be just about caught up here in blogland.

LINKING to the following sharing opportunities this week:

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;
Small town, big city, and two countries

March 24, 2024

We were away for 18 days on this trip. Seven of those were sailing days — spent entirely on the boat. At-sea days are what you make of them and it's easy to find things to do — more activities than we needed actually. For us, there were no bad days on board — and some of them were spectacular.

We can say the same thing about shore excursion days as well. Or any days at all for that matter. Every day can't be spectacular. But on this trip, almost every day came fairly close. Every shore visit was to a new place, often one we'd never heard of before booking the voyage. And every day brought a learning experience. We count our blessings.

Our next port-of-call was the one day we were slightly disappointed with. But it wasn't a bad day either. We were in a new place and it gave us the opportunity to learn more about the Patagonian region of Argentina. Puerto Madryn is a fishing port, settled in the mid-19th century when the Argentine government, like Chile's, encouraged European immigration to this remote region. The first settlers to arrive were Welsh immigrants. Settlers from Spain and Italy soon followed, but the heritage of the original Welsh settlers lives on.

Our shore excursion was a drive-through tour of Puerto Madryn and then on to the village of Gaiman, where descendants of the original Welsh families still keep their traditions alive. It was a hot day for a bus ride along a not-very-scenic road.

We had tea and biscuits (sweets) in Gaiman and listened to Welsh folk music. We were sorry not to have more time in the village as we had time for only a very short guided walk around the town. A lot of this excursion was taken up by the bus ride to and from the village.

In the afternoon, we took a shuttle bus from the dock into the town of Puerto Madryn where we braved the heat and did a little walking around on our own. This is the Jupiter at the dock shown in the first picture, taken from the bus stop across the beach. It was pleasant to watch local families enjoying the warm summer day at the beach and it had me wishing to dip my toes into the water as well. In retrospect, we should have foregone the bus tour and chosen to spend more time on our own.

A couple of at-sea days later, we woke up to an entirely new country at a very interesting port of call.

We were docked at Montevideo, Uruguay. This, the Capital City of the country, is situated on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the south coast of Uruguay from the north coast of Argentina.

Looking out our window in the morning as the ship came in to the dock, we could see what looked like a ship graveyard as well as a thriving commercial port and then the skyscrapers of the city.

Though we never did find out about the abandoned ships, we did quickly realize just how big the city is. The Capital of Uruguay, Montevideo has a population of over a million — one-third of the country's population resides within its city limits. Montevideo is said to have one of the highest qualities of life of any Latin American city and it felt to us like a thriving city. If anything from the brief time we spent there, it seemed more European than anything else.

We were comfortable exploring City streets on our own. Modern skyscrapers co-exist with historic art deco and neo-classical architecture. Remnants of the old walled city still exist in some places.

There was a street art exhibit going on in the old part of downtown, along with some probably unauthorized graffiti. We window shopped and even sampled a little of the local cuisine.

Teatro Solis is the country's major theater. Opened in 1865, the building was designed by Italian architect Carlos Zucchi and named after the first European explorer to land in what is now Uruguay. It served as a hub for society in those days. According to Wikipedia:

The motivation behind constructing a theatre was to have a worthy place where one could be seen socializing and flaunt one's social and political influence. The necessity behind constructing a theatre in Montevideo was the need to elevate one's social and political status through civil associations that had a cultural, scientific, and commercial nature. Therefore, the new theatre would offer a platform for socializing among the societal elite.

A renovation project was completed in 2004.   I wish we could have attended a performance in this historic theater!

We would have two more sea days following our time in Uruguay and then we'd be back in Argentina for the last two days of our trip. We appreciated the chance to see another country – one we did not expect to visit when we decided on this itinerary. It was also, for me at least, a good geography lesson. Before this, I honestly wouldn't have been able to place Uruguay on a map. (I'd at least be able to get close now!)

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities.

Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;
Port Stanley Falkland Islands

March 17, 2024

After a couple of days on the ocean (the first of which was sailing around Cape Horn), the Juniper anchored off shore.

Tenders transferred passengers from the ship to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Geographically, it's Argentina, but it felt like England. (Albeit, a very nice spring-like day for January in England)>

Of course, The Falkland Islands is (still) a British Territory and it feels like one. Top row is Christ Church Anglican Cathedral built in the 1800s, the British Flag at the Port, and the iconic red phone booth. In the lower row, the flag flies near a government building, one of the many English gardens we passed on a walk around town, and the Royal Post Office. We also passed several typical British pubs and tea shops (no pictures of the last two)

But first …

Before we walked around town, we boarded a local tour bus near the port. It took us to Gypsy Cove, a scenic park on Pembroke Peninsula, about 4 miles from the Port. This beautiful coastal park is home to several colonies of Penguins.

It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. I spotted penguins on the beach, but too far from the top of a hill. This beach was off limits for walking (as it should be for the penguins safety). A few had waddled up closer to the path. Here are some of my favorites:

After our morning at Gypsy Cove, the bus transported us back to the Port. We spent the afternoon walking around on the town of Stanley on a self-guided tour.

A military plane flying over the Port is a reminder of the 1982 Falklands War — and why the Island is still a British Territory. The Royal Air Force Base is on the other side of the island. Some of our fellow passengers on the ship opted to take a tour focused on the history of the war, instead of focusing on nature and wildlife. We have long ago come to terms with not being able to do everything of interest, no matter where we go on a tour. Or when traveling on our own for that matter. We are grateful to see and learn what we can.

This arch, made from the jawbones of two blue whales, was built in 1933 to commemorate a century of continuous British administration of the Islands. It is one entrance to the grounds of the Anglican Cathedral.

Our walk took us to the National Museum of the Falkland Islands, which had well-done rooms showing early history of the Island and British Isles settlement (many descendants of early settlers still make it their home). There are displays dedicated to the Falklands War and more. We could easily have spent much more time there, but it was time to walk back to the port as we didn't want to miss the last tender trip back to the ship.

It was a great day. Besides all that we saw — and more Penguins! — we talked to friendly locals and learned a little bit about what it was like to live on this somewhat remote Island. The Falkland Islands was never a place I dreamed of seeing, certainly wasn't on my travel wish list, but as often happens it was one of the most interesting places we've visited. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Linking this week to the following: Thanks to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES ;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS