Off the ship, now in Chile, Punta Arenas(Sandy Point), feet tired,had walked the town with two couples fromNYC whomI'd met in the airport in Buenos Aires waiting for the flight and it had just turned 4am.  Then we were at the same hotel in Ushuaia , and again aboard ship  we were assigned to the same table on the ship's dining room..  I really like this Berg, it's about 300,000 people, a great downtown with the city square across the street, in the middle of the square is a combination statue with Magillian on the top, I think, and native American guys on both sides of statue, but one level down; one of these fellows, I've heard about several times, cause his leg & foot are hanging down from on high, and tradition says that if one kisses or rubs his big toe, the kisser (or toe rubber) gets good luck for the next year.  I rubbed it vigorously, so here's hoping.

We left the dock about 6:30 PM, just as it was getting dark, got into our assigned cabins--really nice, spacious, and immaculately clean, when it was time for the first of 10 meals.  I won't make you drool, but you really should, every thing was soooo good, and there were always choices.   Uuummmmm! I ate too much sorry VA folks reading this but they made me do it, I simply couldn't say no. Marcia, the deserts were very similar to those grandma made.   Uuummmmmm, again.   I forgot, didn't have time to check my blood, but once inbetween meals it was a not great, but OK 125.   I only get breakfasts includedfor the foreseeable future so I'll be in control of choices, and will be morecareful.  Promise.  I did get to Cape Horn, the most southern piece of rock anywhere round the world, except Antarctica.  Every time we left the ship (and we left four times) we had to don our winter gear, waterproof  outfit on top of that, topped off with the life preserver.  So we sort of waddled instead of walking.  The next step in leaving the ship, is to get our instructions from the crew, in at least two, but often four languages (Spanish first, English was often next, then  Portuguese, and something else.  We English speakers were usually in the fourth deck lounge, the Spanish folks were in the fifth deck lounge, as well as the Germans, Romanians, Portuguese, and and the French speakers.  It was truly amazing how many languages various members of the crew spoke.  The guy who I had as a guide several times spoke Spanish, English and Russian.  And he was so funny, and knowledgeable too.  Well the next step is to get 13 tourists into the zodiacs safely.  Which we did , no one fell into the drink.  The guides were strict, and safety conscious,  we were all understanding and obeyed, except when we forgot a step here or there.  The worst weather was at cape Horn itself.  I heard that we had 6 to 8  foot swells on the way to Cap e Horn from the ship, the worst weather on the first trip.    The prior trip to ours th landing at Cape Horn was cancelled, due to unsafe weather conditions.  So we all tried to be good solders and followed directions, just so we could a?ctually go to Cape Horn.  When we got to the island it was raining gently, so we started climbing the the first of seemingly a million stairs, I must have counted each stair more than once, for the actual number of stairs was dramatically less.  On the half mile or more climb to the top was accomplished by enduring wind, WIND, and then some really strong gusts of wind that almost knocked us over.  And it rained harder, the sleetfelt like bee-bee shot on my face.  When I finally got to the top it was sleeting and gusting  so hard it was hard to stand to have someone else take your picture to prove you were there but I have the pic. I had my camera out, and took maybe 50 pictures,but I 'd forgotten to charge my tablet, so no blog  pics of Cape Horn, but I can prove I was there when I get back home in Iowa and show you my camera shots, maybe my computer geek son, said as a complement Brian, can figure out how to get my camera pics of Cape Horn posted on my tablet blog then.  So be patient, I was a top Cape Horn and saw the Atlantic and Pacific merge together.    Woopie!!!!! Another bucket list item accomplished.  It was astonishing to just be there.

We made three other zodiac trips, two we went ashore, the third we watched sea lions from just feet away from them frolicking in the water and ashore.  I'll post those, and some zodiac pics too.  Another trip ashore we took the zodiacs to an island and climbed a mountantous hill or a hilly sized mountain.  From the top we could see a toy ship way down below, swinging around on it's anchor in the currents of the oceanic bay below.  The climb wasn't as hard as the climb to Muchupicchu, but I was winded and had to rest quite often, but I made it all the way up.  The last trip. I 'll describe was one of the most interesting, except for Cape Horn, it was the excursion to the base of a glassier.  The  cragg's were various shades of blue.  It is a huge glacier, and it winds around the mountain where you can't see most of itfrom thIe bottom, I had not anticiapted how much I would enjoy this leg of my trip, but I wouldn't have missed it.

 See the pics I have on the tablet:

I really do not know what's up but I can't find tons of pics I know I took on the tablet.    I didn't erase them, but I can't find them.  I'll look on my camera later, damn!!!!!!

It is Wednesday morning, checkout was 10am, pickup to go to the ship is 10:45,so we are cooling our heals til then.  Yesterday we landed in Ushusuia (U. Sue E A) tour guide met us at the airport entrance, with the tour company name and each of our names.  And surprise as each party booked their tours each booking had its separate guide.  I booked as a single, so had my own guide, the others had couple, two couples, and one more single.  And we'd meet here and there during the next four hour tour of the national park of Terra del Flago.   The mountains to the north, West and South are Chile, but we are in Argentina.   After the tour we met again at the same hotel.  There are two main streets, San Martin and Maipu.  Ran across the same names in BA.  The first is the Father of Argentina (and Peru & Chile)  the second is a major battle for independence.   Ate at small restaurant, OK.... The are about 60,000 people plus a significant number of illegals.  Walked the town for about  four hours  & went to the main museum. til 7:30 PM.  The museum is in the old prison, which was the reason for founding this town, just as USA was sometime after the pilgrims, and Australia.  Then the town grew on it's own thereafter, with tax free industry...   Are a lot of shops, many based n tourism and sports.  Hiking in the summer, down hill skying in the winter.  There is some fishing, and a lot of freight in & out of the port, including almost all food, as it is too cold to grow much here other than potatoes, lettuce...cold weather crops.  Slept well  in nice hotel ina suite with living room-kitchen, bedroom &bath.  Scandivan in style.  After breakfast we had to go to the tourist office and register to get aboard the ship, because when we get offe we will be in Chile, Punta Arenas.  After the check in I went back to the museum.  It is a star shaped building with jail cells onboth sides of each hallway with a different  exhibit in each cell.  Some

are well done, others it seems they were trying  fill up some exhibit in every cell.  Sure we're a huge number of ships that sank in the various waterways around here.  Stopped in a small sandwich shop and had a ham n cheese... 65 pecos.  Sounds like a lot of money, til you remember to divide by 15.a little more than 4 $ US.    It's cold, but my  sweater and jacket are in my suitcase  and I don't rejoin them for another 90 minutes.  I'm in our hotel, or it was my hotel before I checked out this morning, but it is nice and warm.  ........captions :  me in jail "at the end of the world, how well dressed prisoners pose for their pictures,the museum jail, next two pics are of the 1982 war memorial for those who died in the IslesMelvanes war (Falkland Island war),  it rained last night and this morning here in town, but a few feet higher it was the second snow of the coming winter.

It is getting late, tomarrow--is fast approaching.  The tour guide will be here in five hours at 3 am, to take me to the domestic airport, it is a lot closer to hotel than international airport.  Plane leaves at 5am, and lands in Terra del Flago before 9am so will have a full day there.  Then I cruise the Straits of Magillian.  Suitcases all packed.  Good nite!

Argentina, Buenos Aires

Well, It'sMonday and I'm still catching up on  events since my computer snafu, first day in Bueous Aires  I walked around the neighborhood.  Like Lima BA has many walking streets, which have huge  numbers of people on them, some strolling some walking with great purpose .  Many other sidewalks on other streets are not in good repair, with missing tiles, chunks of concrete missingin some places piles of garbage waiting pickup, flats of delivered merchandise waiting brought into the stores, rows of motorcycles parked on 3foot wide sidewalks, so folks are zig-zaging around all this stuff, but on the walking only streets it's clear all over, but for art, small fenced plantings, and people meeting friends , and hanging together in groups.  It's a comfortable feeling on the walking streets, while regular streets in the old-original downtown area are a zig zag by situation.  In the newer area, sidewalks  aren't any different than ours.  But I do like the congestion, fully populated older BA. It is so interesting.  Went to a tango performance - dinner combo.  The whole show  was just like the movie or other exerpts I've seen, but more  dramatic.  All the dancers are real athletics .... So vigorous.  One young guy I swear is Johnny Carson's grand or great grand son, a spitting image.who were in their twenty and thirties, even his gestures...  The male and female singers were older than the dancers,  one probably in his 40's.?  Earlier my monograms tour host brought me on a personalized tour of the city,, since I was the only one  scheduled  at this time.  She was very personable, proud of her city.  She is a professional dancer, who moonlights with Southameican Tours it was nice having a one to one.tour.  Well that was yesterday, today is my free day, so I slept til I wok e up at 9:30 had slow breakfast, went from place to place  to figure out my computer tablet.  One fella at about the third store got rid of the language which I or any of the other people couldn't identify. That language would come up whenever I would hit a drop down screen, while the main content was nicely in English.  It is really amusing to try to communicate when the computer guy, and I don't come close to understanding each other.  But I think it is resolved, finally.  Got the blog to accept me in again as the author...  Now all I need to have resolved is to be able to see what I am typing, especially when trying to fix mistakes, so that's why sometimes say to my self, well that's good enough, they,'ll understand so I just leave the error alone.  Placing the cursor at exactly the right spot so I can go back to fix something is frustrating.   Well that is the last of computer problems, I'm gonna oto try to just talk about the trip.  In walking from store to store I  went many blocks in several directions as the previous store person would direct me to someone else who could help me.  Say their George Washington monument, same style, butbwith the various people who were responsible for Argentina'svindependence, went past their pink Palace (our White House) but in pink, and I think it is where the president works, he lives in an official residence in the suburbs. i learned that the building was pink because cow blood was mixed into the morter, but now a days it is regular pink paint that maintains the  tradition of pink.  Yesterday after the tour the tour director encouraged me to stroll thru their art fair, craft, antiques, food Street fair.  I bet it was thirty blocks long with some enlargements when the street hit an intersection or square, then it would expand.  Had lunch, snack, and purchased a a man's shoulder bag for my tablet, and today I got a screen saver to prevent screen scratches.

mi

The tango dancers, the street fair, colorful buildings--the one that's blue white and maroon with three figures on it's face, the middle one I's Eva Peron, had a good picture of the Duerte family moseulem were she is burried--but it is stored somewhere in the either????, the tree is four hundred years old plus and has steel posts holding up extended heavy branches tthis one is a statue the others are steel posts, the big building is the Colon (Columbus) Theater.  The soldiers guard  the grave ofe of San Martin which is in the church headed by Papa (Pope) Francis before he became pope, San Martin is the e Father of Argentina, and Peru and Chili, who asked for his help after he freed Argentina from Spain, he went and helped the other two become free also.   The three statues represent Argentina, Chilli and Peru, he also helped Equidor, but did. Please excuse the spelling, typo's, etc.  Cant see what Im typing, gotta getbthat fixed next.    N't succeed then so no statue for Equidor.

After being without a computer, hopefully I can post again.

I hope I can post again but my keyboard covers up what I am typing, but a least I can type, be it so very slowly .  It was my fault, I put my tablet down on the counter, took out my wallet to pay for a Nick-nack put my wallet away picked up my new package and left the store.  A couple of minutes later I looked at my hands  and suddenly realized I wasn't carrying my computer tablet......  That was Wednesday in Lima, Peru.  The next day Thursday I visited the Nazac Lines four hours south of Lima by Van.  I took pics with my camera, and the four trip south turned out to be a little over six hours coming back.  The van over heated, areplaccement van was called for, we waited in a restaurant and a half hour later we were on our way.  Back in Lima the van dropped me off at Rippleys a department store several folks recommended.  I purchased a Lenovo tablet, developed by IBM and owned and built by the Chinese , as aren-t most other computers?  I really like the keyboard   but it covers up what I'm typing,  .   Friday at 5am I left the hotel for BUENOS Aires.   The tour group which had the van break down gave me a free ride to the airport.... a$50 value I was grateful for, .  I arrived in BA about 3:30 PM after a four hour flight, and a two hour time change.

10:22 pm and I'm sprawled out on the bed in the el tambo ll hotel in the mirflores section of Lima.  Achey,  tired and happy to finally be still & quiet.  Got CNN, in English yet, on and am half listening, and writing this and wanting to not fall behind on doing the blog 'cause I fear I'd never catch up.  This morning after 6am I got the picture I wanted of one of the freighter-passenger ships that traversed Lake Titicaca's various ports, but primarily the route between Puno, Peru and a port in Boliva far to the south shore of the

lake.  These ships are the reason this lake got the title of worlds highest navagible lake.  Lake's about 12,600 feet above sea level, and one island, Tiquili (spelling?)  after you climb up to the plaza level of the town on top of a huge hill or not so small mountain, you are breathing air just a smiggon below 13,000 feet above sea level; see the pictures of the torcherous struggle up that hill/mountain.  Believe me, it is a struggle, for not only old farts, but I kept up with and passed a bunch of twenty-somethings, all of us in various stages of walking up, hanging on the rock-boulder fencing and panting--every one of us panted; not racing just trying to finally making it up for lunch--and boy was it worth it.  Home made, grains soup with great spices and small chopped vegatables, fresh grilled trout, caught that morning I bet, it was so fresh & delicious, a few each of varous fresh vegies, and one of the best salsas I've ever had, it wasn't just the fresh tomatoes and onions...it was the spices: vinegar & .... tasted great on the freshly baked breads.  The freighters are all retired because both Peru & Boliva have built and connected their roads together, make the same trip one fourth of the time by road.  So I've seen two three other freighters docked in Puno port, and at a ship slip two blocks to the left of 'my' hotel.  Our speed boat is taking about two+ hours from the island back to our port in Puno, Peru.  I walked from the port to the main square, then seeing a fair part of the town, hailed a cab to last night's hotel and spent quite a while writing the blog and eating dinner in the hotels restaurant.  The guide the previous day had suggested the walk from the port to the square, but had cautioned that when hailing a cab get the price fixed before getting in, and they will say the fare is twenty sols, but don't pay more than seven sols.  So when I exhaustedly raised my arm and a cab swerved over to the curb, I asked the price showing him the back of my room key card listing the hotel and it's address, he said, twenty sols, I said no, my tourista said seven showing seven fingers, he grunted & said ok.  It worked!

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, 90 minutes after sunrise, the sun was very intense, even that early in the morning.  Glad of a long sleeve shirt, jeans, straw hat and sunglasses, and a jacket in my backpack to ward off the breeze off the lake I was ready to experience all I've read about: the straw boats, floating islands, the isolated peoples and the climb up that mountain on Tequali island to 13,000 feet.  The boat was full, and just out of the harbor we were surrounded by miles of the reed whose roots when cut into two by four foot blocks of root and reed are the flotation source of the floating islands.  From the harbor to the deeper part of the lake the reeds have had a channel cut thru them for boat access.  The reeds grow in water 4 meters deep or less, deeper and they die for lack of light.  The reeds range during their growth from thumb round and smaller, and up to 12 feet tall. These reeds are toothbrushes, cellery, boats, islands, houses, mats...  Their color is dark green, chartruse, yellow, tan & brown.  Our first stop was a floating island supporting five families, about thirty people pre-school to grandparents.  All were barefoot trodding around on thesquishy reeds.  The islands last about thirty years, but at least monthly an additional 8-12 inches of reeds must be added, or they get their feet wet.  The grandpa pushed his hand down about a foot thru the reeds, tugged and pulled up a black mush which he squeezed  much water out of, hence the need for additional monthly layers of reeds.  They demonstrated with a model, how the build the island in the beginning.  There is a semi-circle saw blade-knife on a long pole, which is pushed down to the bottom, at a lesser deep area of growing reeds and sawed further down thru the growing reeds to a depth of two feet of reeds & roots, and then these are brought up to the existing island, and a pole is inserted into the center of the rectangular black mass of root and reeds, then these rectangular blocks of root-reed are lashed together, and floated next to the existing island made decades earlier.  More & more blocks of root-reeds are lashed together, until the new island is formed to their liking, about 30x45 feet.  As we traveled amoung the 56-60 islands they were all about the same shape, to my eye.  During, after the roots-reeds are afloat bundles if reeds 6-8 inches thick are repeatedly cross-hatched on top of the roots blocks.  additional stacks of reeds are placed on top of the 'floor' of reeds a little bigger than the house footprint, maybe another 18" above the floor.  The houses have reed mat roofs, and light weight doors, no windows.  Houses store stuff hung from the walls with some stuff on the house floor.  No need for windows, they live, eat, cook, work and play in the island.  The houses are arranged in a three sidded rectangle so that the center is used for living.  The houses (& sheds-storerooms) are about three four feet from the back of the islands back edge, where more stuff-junk, aluminum boats with outboards are docked.  The reed boats are docked at the front end of the island, to show them off.  They have a 10 foot tall 'watchtower', and some decorative devices indicating welcome to the tourists.  The reed boats are simply banana shaped reedsoverlapping one another, until there is a banana twenty feet long and curved up at both ends (some have monster heads at the foreward tips, the diameter of the banana is aboutfour + feet at the center and 12-18" at either tip.  Well that is half of the boat.  Tie two together, and you have a single boat.  Then to make the"Mercedes-Benz" boat, take two double boats, attach a wooden floor, and a roofed area--which on many M-B boats, folks can climb on the roof and sit. Two oars propel this monster ( I did it for a couple of minutes.).  It can be rowed from a sitting or standing position, or pushed by an aluminum boat with an outboard motor as the rower.  That's the traditional, the modern touches:  empty coke bottles with the caps screwed on tightly, 2,000 bottles are wrapped in tarps or plastic, and the reed vaneer is wrapped round the bottles; this inginuity lightens the load, and reduces the rowing power needed.  Another is solar cells for the one cell phone per island, not only for gossoping, but to get fire, medical...help, also saw several boombox radios, and one light per habited dwelling.   Another bigger, more people island had a kitchen, our island had a 2-3 foot square thin rock on which the women cooked, again the reed, dryed were the fuel...they mentioned fire was a risk.   The capital island--just regular but bigger, and with a medical office (or barge docked along side), a barge modern looking church dock there, and a couple of school building ( I assume barges, but I couldn't see the lower part of the school).  The president is elected by the 2-3,000 citizens, for one year, all vote, the pres can be male or female, but has to be from an island that hasn't had a president (recently). Each island has a chair(wo)man, who others must obey, or leave, I think.   Well that's what I know remember.  Don't understand, but the men seem mostly thin, but every woman is very over weight, and a couple of times the mentioned womens health concerns, even teenage girls were getting heavy, but I don't remember a chubby man....