Montevideo and Buenos Aires

  On Tuesday 25^th we berthed in Montevideo on a clear and very warm morning. This was one of the very few places where we could leave the ship and walk straight into the city in a very few minutes.

  First impressions were of a clean and well ordered city with many similarities to cities in Spain. In fact the 1.8m inhabitants (half of Uruguay´s population) are almost entirely of European descent, mainly Spanish and Italian stock and the country is only the size of England and Wales. It is sometimes called the Switzerland of South America because of its high standard of living and its unique welfare state.

  We spent 4 hours wandering round the streets and admiring the sights as it got hotter-a maximum of about 32C. The main centre was the grand Plaza de  Independencia with Government house and its Opera House the Teatro Solis. We had to have a coffee break in a wonderful leafy square with a gorgeous fountain and ended up for a lunch break near the ship in the wonderfully restored Mercado del Puerto which is no longer a market but a collection of restaurants mostly serving barbecued beef. We came across our friends Mick and Mavis there and had to join them and sample the local beer which arrived in a 1 litre bottle named Patricia! Also a couple of huge barbecued sausages that were delicious!

  On the way back to Aurora we passed by some relics (an anchor and a gun rangefinder) salved from the German battleship Graf Spee which was scuttled outside the port in 1939.

  By 1730 everyone had returned aboard and we sailed away for the 125mile crossing of the Rio de la Plata to Buenos Aires.

  On Wednesday morning we arrived in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina and home of the tango. Cleansed by overnight rain we were lucky that the next 2 days would be dry and very warm and allow us to explore this famous city.

  The current city originated from a Spanish settlement in May 1580 named Nuestra Senora Santa Maria del Buen Aire. The city declared itself independent from Spain in 1810 and became capital of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata 6years later. By the beginning of the 20^th century the city had grown in size to nearly 700,000 and 70% of these were immigrants from Europe. Nowadays greater Buenos Aires has a population of over 13 million, more than a third of Argentina´s total and it certainly has the feel of a very large city. Argentina is 11 times the size of the UK and is on the same latitude as Adelaide.

  Argentina is of course famous for President Juan Peron and his wife Eva who reigned 1946-1955, for the Tango and for being the beef rearing and eating capital of the world. The period they want to forget is 1976-83 when the military appointed General Jorge Videla as President and anyone who opposed him was killed or just disappeared. In 1982 the failed invasion of the Falklands resulted in his downfall and things have improved ever since. Was it coincidence though that there was no BBC or Sky News on the ship´s TV while we were there?

  As there is no cruise ship berth we and the other 2 ships (4 on the next day) were berthed on the container terminal and shuttle buses had to take everyone to a new reception terminal where we transferred to shuttle buses taking us into the city. At times the queues were horrendous as you can imagine. However we made it OK and started our exploration of this very crowded and busy city at the Marriot Hotel and made our way along Avenida Florida, a pedestrianised shopping street where we were immediately accosted by street sellers offering Tango shows and dinner. This must be such big business. Avoiding them was fun and after much walking we arrived at the Plaza de Mayo which is the sight of the original settlement and also of the Casa Rosada where the Perons lived. There was a political rally going on there so many police in riot gear were in the background and firecrackers were being set off. We explored the Cathedral there as well before having a coffee break at a pavement café on Avenida 9 de Julio, a grand avenue based on Paris´s Champs Elysees. The city was certainly impressive and we enjoyed our trek and ended up  sitting outside an Irish Pub with a pint!

  Back on board mid afternoon we needed a rest and then prepared ourselves for our 7pm muster to go to a Tango dinner organized form the ship. This really was a highlight of the trip so far. First a 3 course meal served perhaps a little too fast for our liking but of excellent quality including a massive steak cooked to perfection. The wine flowed freely too! The restaurant was decorated like a wine cellar with a stage at one end and as soon as the meal was cleared the show began and continued for about 90mins. There was a five piece orchestra including a wonderful squeeze box, 4 elegant couples who danced some wonderful tangos, 2 solo singers and a couple of soloists, one who played an instrument called a Charanga I think, a bit like a mandolin. The other is difficult to describe but there were hard balls on the end of his ropes and he twirled these around and over his head and hitting the balls on the floor in time with the music-it was amazing. The show was over all too quickly to a standing ovation and we were whisked back to the ship by about 11pm.

  Luckily the straddle carriers´ warning sounds stopped during the night so we were well rested and up early on Thursday, beat the rush and were in the city for an open top bus tour at 1000. We started off by covering some of the city we walked to the day before including the main square where shrapnel damage to one of the government buildings was pointed out. This occurred when Peron was overthrown. We continued past grand buildings through areas called Monserrat and San Telmo and ended up not far from the football stadium at La Boca, the home of Boca Juniors. A little time was spent there in the many souvenir shops-very arty too and reminiscent of Camden Market. We returned to the city via Puerto Madera which is the old port area where warehouses have been restored and skyscrapers built. This was very impressive. Many great restaurants there too but no time to try them! The trip lasted 2.5 hours and unfortunately we felt there was no time to do another loop before our 4pm deadline so had refreshments before returning to the ship without queuing!

  Two days were good in Buenos Aires but not enough. About 1730 we drew away from the quay and headed out into the River Plate and turned south towards Port Stanley in the Falklands another 2 days steaming away. It was 30C today and expect it to be only 12C there so out will come the woolies again!    

Aurora 2010 Recife to Rio de Janeiro

  Our 2 days steaming south from Recife was idyllic! Hot sunshine and smooth seas-just what the doctor ordered. We were so looking forward to our next port of call, Rio as we had read so much about it but never been there before. We were not to be disappointed!

  Rio de Janeiro was named by Portuguese navigators who found it in January 1502 and assumed it was a river estuary (River of January). 60 years later the area was settled by the Portuguese and sugarcane plantations were set up. Slaves were imported from the Caribbean to work on the land and this explains the presence of many black people there today.. In the early 1700´s settlers from Europe arrived to exploit the newly discovered gold and diamonds and in 1763 Rio became the capital of Brazil. By the end of the 18^th century the sugar industry faced much competition and Rio lost much of its prosperity. Luckily they started growing coffee and the rest is history!

  In 1889 the Portuguese monarchy was overthrown and Brazil became a republic. In 1960 the capital city became Brasilia specially built in the centre of this vast country which is 35 times larger than the UK and which covers nearly half of South America. Rio is on the same latitude as Rockhampton in Queensland Australia and has a population of 7m people (Sao Paulo has 17m!).

  With only one day in the city (0800-2300) we realized that we would not be able to see everything so we opted for a full day tour which visited the top of  Sugarloaf  Mountain and also the Statue of Christ the Redeemer which was erected in 1931 to celebrate 100years of independence from Portugal (1822).

  The approach to Rio in the morning (0600!) was spectacular as the sun rose to light up the Sugarloaf and the Statue as we passed by to reach our berth in the centre of this wonderful city of beaches.

  Our tour left the ship at roughly 0900 and there were some delays as we had to be minibused from the ship to our tour coaches. This was because there were 3 other cruise ships in and we were the furthest away from the terminal and we weren´t allowed to walk on the quay. However we got away and made it to the first cable car for Sugarloaf Mountain very quickly. It was already over 30C so we were glad that the queue was not too long. The cars take 60 people at a time and the first one goes to the top of Morro do Urca (715ft). There you have to change to another cablecar which takes you to the top of Pao de Acucar (1293ft). Well the views are really spectacular. The harbour is so beautiful maybe even better than Sydney! Mountains surround Rio and those coupled with the fantastic views down to Copacobana beach are breathtaking. Of course you look straight across at the Statue of Christ too.

  Having retraced our steps to the ground and managed to grab the compulsory fridge magnet we were driven to a restaurant for lunch where we had a wonderful buffet and many meats sliced off the skewered joints at the table South American style. This place served 25 coaches from the ship during the extended lunch time and the organization was amazing!

  Back on the coach before 2pm we were whisked off to get the train up to the Statue of Christ on the top of Corcovado mountain (2310ft). It is a cog train which travels up a very steep 2.5mile track to the top of the mountain. Then there are elevators to get to the base of the 125ft high statue (or 200 steps!). Again the views were absolutely amazing and of course it was very busy! The statue faces Sugarloaf and is very impressive.

  After the 30min train ride back to the base of the mountain we were taken on a scenic drive along the beaches of  Leblon, Ipanema and of course Copacabana. Being Saturday afternoon they were packed with people and colourful umbrellas-a fantastic sight. Lots of very fit bodies and wonderful tans but the ladies never go topless we were told!

By this time it was after 5pm so we were taken back to the port and back on board by 6 after a great day. Many thanks to our super guide and coach driver. We were in need of a shower and a drink or two!

  Later that evening we sailed about 11pm and we watched Rio and the Sugarloaf and the illuminated Statue of Christ disappear into the distance.

  Already out of the tropics we have another 2 days at sea heading further south before our next port, Montevideo the capital of Uruguay.

Aurora 2010 Southampton to Madeira

Our adventure began on Saturday 8^th when we were taken to Gibraltar for our flight to Heathrow. After the winter weather disruption before Christmas we had our fingers crossed that we would not be affected by delays and BA came up trumps with a perfect flight. Glad we hadn´t chosen Easyjet as theirs was 4 hours late! After a night in an airport hotel our journey to Southampton on Sunday was uneventful courtesy of National Express and after taking on supplies from Asda we were in the considerable queue for check in at the Mayflower Terminal by 1230hrs and on board soon after 1300hrs.

   Boarding a cruise ship is always so exciting and this time was no exception. With the world cruise it is even better as friendly faces soon appear. So many people cruise every year on the same ship that it is like a meeting of an exclusive club. This time we understand that there are 1450 people staying on for the whole 96day Grand Voyage to Australia via South America and return via Panama.

   Finding our cabin was easy as we have been on the ship before and after the usual Emergency Drill we were on deck for the Sailaway Party at 1730 but it was so cold! However stores and baggage were still being loaded and this continued up until nearly 1830 when a big cheer went up signaling the last case. It is obvious that for a world cruise some ladies bring a lot of luggage-I overheard a woman at sailaway saying that she checked in at 1200 but 5 of her cases had still not reached her cabin!

   At around 1840 we moved off the berth and were entertained by an exclusive firework display as a sendoff from P&O. However we soon moved inside to get warm! Luckily the dress code was casual for the evening as my suitcase didn´t reach my cabin until after 2230. Luckily our table companions were good company and it bodes well for the voyage.

  The trip across the Bay of Biscay was OK considering the wind was SW´ly force 8-9 and we got into our usual routine except for the walking laps around the deck. Despite the Orangery Buffet being closed for the first 2 days plus no room service, as a precaution to contain any Novovirus that may have been brought on board, we managed to attend Pilates at 0900, Line Dancing at 1000, Yoga at 1630 and intend to keep this up for the voyage.

  Entertainment on the first leg looks good with Pam Eyres and the Merseybeats amongst others.

   On Thursday 13^th we arrived on schedule in Funchal, Madeira a Portuguese Island about twice the size of the IOW and the sun was shining and it looked glorious. Out came the shorts at last and we could feel some warmth! A short walk into town was enjoyed as this is such a beautiful town and we were off again at 1745. Ahead is a 5.5day voyage south to Brazil and crossing the line!