A Day at the Races

It's hard to believe that time passes so quickly! It seems just a couple of days ago we were cruising Antarctica, and now we're heading to Africa! I'll try to catch up on all we've done and seen the past 10 days or so...

After leaving Antarctica, our first stop was Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Sailing into these barren, windy islands, you wonder why England and Argentina fought so hard over them! We stopped here on our cruise in 2003 and saw all the major sights - penguins, penguins and more penguins - plus the signs by the side of the road advising "Live Land Mines" leftover from the Falklands War, so we decided to forgo touring again and spent the time in town doing a little shopping (what else is new?) There are a couple of little shops we remembered from our last visit with some very nice things; a bit expensive however, since the Falklands are British and therefore the currency is the British pound (which isn't good for the American dollar right now). We did pick up a copy of the one weekly newspaper -- "The Penguin News." The people who live here have a quiet, isolated life, but do receive perks from the British government for living on - and thereby keeping the British flag flying over - this remote British outpost.

Sailing up the coast, our next step was in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The big attractions here are the sea lions, once again a repeat for us, so we walked on the beach and - what else - did a little shopping - although we really didn't buy much of anything here.

We arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay on Feb. 13th. Crystal offered a completely complimentary tour to all the passengers on board called "A Day at the Races." About 400 (of the 900+ on board)took advantage of it - and what a day it was! Accompanied by a local guide, we travelled just outside the city center to a horse racetrack. Uruguay is noted for its horses and racing is a popular sport. The track opened just for us. After a short walking tour of the main buildings, we were seated in the deluxe or "first class" section. Annie and I were up at the top level and had a great view of the course (Our tablemates were the "Ice Pilot" who took us through Antarctica and his wife. He's retired Coast Guard and went to the Academy in New London, so he was familiar with Newport). As soon as we were seated, waiters and waitresses began coming around offering juice, wine, beer. It was only 10:00 am, but we were at the races! After the first few rounds of drinks, they began coming around with food, food and more food! There were enormous grills set up below us and they brought each table an individual pan piled high with pieces of grilled beef, chicken and sausage. There were hot coals underneath the pan to keep everything warm. Mind you, this was after the trays of cold meats, vegetable and other hors d'ouevres - and before the desserts! Needless to say, the drinks kept flowing throughout. Then, they brought out the 4 horses, along with the jockeys, grooms, etc. and we had two full races around the track. They had given us each 2 tickets to bet on a horse. Our choices didn't win, but it didn't matter - it was such a great day, the actual race was a minor highlight! Crystal really should be commended for offering such a first-rate free tour to us all - I think everyone enjoyed it. Anyone who didn't go missed a great experience!