We made it to the Seabourn Quest

Mom and I made it to Buenos Aries last night - the flight was long, but pleasant. I haven't "been south" for a couple of years now, and what was really interesting to me was the change of people as we completed each leg of our journey.  In Vancouver we were a plane load of multicultural travelers - when we loaded in Los Angles, we were decidedly Peruvian, and then when we headed east to Buenos Aries, there was a very Argentinian feel to the travelers; the melodic "ja" of the Argentinian Spanish could be heard all around us. After having worked in South America for long, the differences between the countries and the people is very obvious; it was so nice to "come home"!

I worked most of the night on a big proposal, wanting to complete it before getting on the ship in the morning.  Fortunately it was completed in the morning so off we went for a short drive to the cruise ship dock.  The jacarandas are in bloom, it was Saturday morning, very calm sunny and warm. My first visit to BA was October 1994 - actually not much has changed in 20 years! I talked to an old friend from the very first trip to BA - he said then that Argentina was a mirage - he was right, but it continues to be a wonderful place to come and experience the mirage that is Argentina!

Our first dinner - it was warm enough to eat out on the patio deck.

The ship is beautiful. Seabourn bills itself as 5+ stars and it shows.  Everything is spotless, beautiful artwork everywhere and wonderful friendly staff.  The other sixteen members of the expedition staff seem like a great group - but unlike the Vavilov (and it is a bit like moving from a 1970's Volkswagen to a Ferrari...) we are not the main show.  There are entertainers, musicians, and a host of things for passengers to do.  Our lectures are fit between the other events, but once we get to the Peninsula we become the main act.

Tomorrow there will be some pictures... good night from the La Plata, in the middle of a fantastic rainstorm with lots of lightening.