Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: Celebrity Infinity

Celebrity Infinity - January 5 - 19th, 2014

After saying goodbye to our friends at the Poetry Building, on Sunday morning, we headed to the port at Buenos Aires to begin our voyage around Cape Horn to Valparaiso, Chile. The boarding was very disorganised and after several hours of waiting in line we were welcomed on board with a glass of Champagne. Luckily for many of the passengers we were not scheduled to sail until Monday afternoon at 5pm. Due to the exceptionally bad weather on the east coast of the USA many people were re-routed through various airports. The last two passengers boarded at 4:30pm by the skin of their teeth.

On Monday we had our last stroll around Buenos Aires, before heading back to the ship to relax by the pool for a short while before dinner. After being assigned to our table for dinner we were joined by Bob and Judy from the USA. We were only four of us on a table for eight for the entire trip. We had many enlightening conversations and enjoyed their company immensely.

Our first Port of Call was Montevideo in Uruguay and although we were in Uruguay for five weeks earlier decided to leave touring the city for our day in port. Unfortunately, it was raining. However, undeterred we strolled through the streets and were pleasantly surprised by its history and architecture.

Our second stop was Punta del Este which although we spent five weeks here had become a favourite haunt. Needless to say we went back to the fish market and saw our lovely fish lady Gimena who was delighted to see us too. The weather in Punta del Este was very hot and we had a nostalgic visit before taking the tender back to the ship.

After a day at sea we arrived in Patagonia Austral - Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Puerto Madryn was founded in 1865 when 150 Welsh immigrants arrived on the clipper Mimosa. Welsh was spoken here for four generations and began dying out during the fifth. There is still a very Welsh presence here, with Welsh houses, Welsh street names and some signs. We walked about 4kms around the bay to where the Welsh immigrants landed and were rewarded to see some of the caves where they lived for the first two years of their arrival. I also found a couple of Pirates on the way back!!!!!!!

Another a day at sea and then we rounded Cape Horn, Chile. After all the warnings of how rough it might be and that it rains 278 days per year we had the most incredibly calm seas. There was no rain and although chilly, the weather was perfect and the scenery magnificent. It was absolutely breathtaking. We were able to see it all from our balcony and the comfort of our stateroom.

Ushuaia, back in Argentina, is the capital of Tierra del Fuego ( Land of Fire) and our next stop. It is flanked by the Martial mountain range and the Beagle Channel named after Ferdinand Magellan's ship "The Beagle". It is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. After breakfast we disembarked from the ship and took a taxi to the train station at the "End of the World". Tren del Fin del Mundo is an old steam train and the line was originally built by convicts. We chugged along through the National Park of Tierra del Fuego taking in the breathtaking scenery. We returned later that day to Ushuaia, the most important port for access to the Antarctic and our final stop in Argentina. The streets are very steep and it seems the Andes mountains rush straight down to the sea. Ushuaia has a subpolar oceanic climate with an average temperature in winter around +1.6C (July) and average highs in summer +10.3C (January).

Sailing through the night we arrived at Punta Arenas, Chile the next morning.

Punta Arenas, Chile, our next port of call is a commune and capital city of the southernmost region of the Magallenes and Antarctica, Chilena, with more steep hills to climb. Punta Arenas is a very colourful city with a vibrant market square and a band playing on our arrival. There were many alpaca, wool and sheepskin products for sale. The economy is diverse, with Chile's oil reserves located here, some low grade coal, cattle and sheep production, fishing and increasing tourism. It has a modern international airport and since The Falklands dispute, has been the major access point for reaching the archipelago. Chilean salmon is regarded as some of the finest in the world.

We sailed again that evening for the Strait of Magellan and the scenery was magnificent.

The next afternoon I was seconded to model in a jewellery fashion show. I modelled "Emeralds", unfortunately I didn't get to keep them?????? Later we passed through the Chilean Fjords but unfortunately the fog came down and we did not get to see them all. We also had our last formal night and enjoyed our dinner as usual with Judy and Bob.

Our last stop was Puerto Montt, another commune and port city at the northern end of Reloncavi Sound. Puerto Montt was the second largest salmon producer in the world, until the aquaculture crisis in the late 2,000's which temporarily caused severe unemployment. Its culture is a mixture of Chiloe and German Heritage. There are many good German Restaurants and cafes to be found here. The German Tortes are exceptional but not good for the waistline!!!!!!! When we disembarked in the morning it was quite cold so we dressed in warm clothes only to be fooled when the sun came out and it became very hot. We walked around the new part of the city and then back past the port to the market. The market, along both sides of the street, stretched for a very long way starting with artisan wares, then magnificent fish and vegetables. This was certainly the highlight of the day. However, I lost Jim in the market and by the time I found him (nobody had bought him) he had taken off his hat, forgotten to put it back on and burnt his head. Can't leave them alone for five minutes

Our last day was spent at sea and January 19th we sailed into Valparaiso, Chile to start the next part of our adventure...................