What a difference a couple of days makes. A simply glorious morning as we docked at Puerto Madryn. As it is a Sunday there are many pleasure boats heading out.
After breakfast we headed out and walked the length of the pier into town. Even though it was only 10.00ish, there were a lot of families already set up on the beach. A bit sad to see that the coastline is covered with seaweed, which would certainly put us of swimming. We later heard that they had experienced a big storm earlier in the week.
Being a South American country and being relatively early (10.00), we found it quite hard to find a cafe open. We must have walked a couple of miles along the promenade until we came across one, thankfully on the shady side of the road.
Had a latte & what was described as "chocolate brownie", which turned out to be cake, caramel on top and then meringue - no wonder we had to keep up our walking. We must have been early off the ship, as quite a few passengers came by over the next 30 minutes - with many stopping for the free Wifi.
We walked another mile and by then the beach was crowded. The locals certainly make use of the lovely weather - which had reached 37° just prior to midday. We decided to return to the ship and as we were walking along the pier we spied a seal putting on a display. All too soon he disappeared again.
Which reminds me. Yesterday afternoon we saw 3 large whales as we steamed along. Unfortunately they only spouted and did not fully breach. Plus they were heading south while we were steaming north.
Tonight is a big night, called "White Night". Another Azamara specialty which consists of an outdoor buffet dinner with parade of staff etc. Yes, it is not quite the end of the cruise, but as far as I can make out they have these events on port days, where things are more stable.
We sail at 8.00, but the food part is pretty much over by then. I wrote the above mid afternoon, but shortly afterward big black clouds appeared and we had a thunderstorm and rain for a good hour or so.
The weather cleared by 6.30, in time for the party, although the breeze remained - at least it was warm. A great evening despite the near gale force winds after we pulled away. We actually danced for an hour before giving in to the wind and retreating for a sobering cuppa green tea & bed.
No, we did not bother to get up early morning to see the lunar eclipse, although quite a few did - Azamara had flown out a NASA expert to provide commentary for those willing to hang around deck 10 for the 4 hour duration.
Day 16
Lovely sea day, warm (27°), sunny and a bit of a choppy sea, but nice to enjoy our penultimate day & reflect on what we have seen and done over the last couple of weeks.
Tonight we had the Chocolate buffet - the whole of the Mosaic Cafe was transformed into an Azamara version of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Now I have eschewed dessert for the duration, but chocolate, chocolate was just too much.
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| That's liquid chocolate running down - yummmmm |
Day 17
We are having yet another breakfast on the deck in glorious sunshine & very smooth seas. If anything, it is almost too hot (just can't please some people). We did manage the (slow) walk this morning but it was surprisingly windy up there.
Had coffee in the Living Room on deck 10 - this has panoramic windows across the front of the ship. Previously (when we were in Antarctic waters) this area has been full to overflowing but today many guests were getting their dose of vitamin D before they head back to their northern winter.
Sadly today is "packing day" but it only took me half an hour to do mine while Vivian had her final bridge. Tonight we are having dinner with Sue & Brian from St Louis, USA (we also shared White Night with them). Last night was with Sandra & Allan from Havelock North (NZ), previously with Avril & Lynne from Sydney and of course earlier with our good friends Donna & Jim from Calgary (note to Jim - see, you did eventually make it to the blog!).
Obviously we have met many, many other great people throughout the cruise and that has been a highlight. Staff have been extremely good in all departments and we have made good use of the various lounges throughout the ship.
Would we cruise Azamara again? Highly likely, but it really does depend on the itinerary, as Azamara along with most of the other cruise lines mainly come "down under" during our summer. Next question - would I recommend Azamara? Well yes, but it does depend on people's expectations. Certainly suits us where we are not looking for a lot of activity, which just does not happen on a smaller ship.
So this is sort of the last entry - certainly on the cruise part. We fly up to Iguazu on Thursday/Friday, and then another 3 days back in Buenos Aires, so hopefully I will have something further to record.
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