South America: Around the Horn with Road Scholar

We decided last fall that we were ready for another adventure, so signed up with Road Scholar (formerly known as Elderhostel), for a cruise around Cape Horn. The description sounded intriguing: Enjoy wondrously diverse experiences of South America: the haunting landscape of Patagonia and the lively boulevards of Montevideo; the friendly German settlers of a Chilean community and the robust gauchos of Argentina; scenic Chilean fjords and glacier and the seaside sheep pastures of a working Falkland Islands farm.

We checked the climate of Patagonia, and knew we were not heading for the tropics as we usually try to do in the winter, but thought this trip might be a good one.

At an estancia near Santiago, Chile,

I had intended to write a travel blog while we were away, but the internet connections were expensive and unreliable, and it was not possible to compose offline and then post the entries. With the time required to review and select photos as well, it just wasn't going to work, so it had to wait until we returned.

We are now safely at home, having missed by scant hours the terrors of the Dallas tornados, secure in our ignorance of what we had left behind us.

It was a fantastic trip! Lloyd thinks we should call it a ‘voyage’ rather than a ‘cruise’ as it was a real adventure. Buenos Aires, Montevideo, rounding the Horn, cruising the Chilean fjords, learning all about the history of circumnavigation of the world and southern exploration including Antarctica, stops in various ports for tours, and the last couple of beautifully warm days in Santiago. Wonderful!

Our only disappointment was not being able to see any penguins – our stop at the Falkland Islands was cancelled due to high seas, and Punto Arenas had had a storm and flood the previous week and the penguins had all left! But we did gain a new respect for the early sailors who explored these daunting seas in their small ships, and of course made many new friends among our travel companions.

If you are interested in the details of our trip, I will be posting narratives, photos and some videos of our journey over the next few weeks. I will email to let you know that I have posted a new entry.