Dec 5 & 6

We docked at Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 4th and were at the worst location for a cruise ship in the port.  We had to take an intra port shuttle bus to the terminal to get a shuttle bus into the city.  The area is overcrowded and inefficient.  On the way we crossed Avineda 9 de Julio which has 8 lanes each direction and is the widest street in the world.   It was sunny & hot as we arrived at the Marriott and walked down Calle Florida, the main pedestrian shopping street to pick up some needed toiletries, aspirin etc.  We stopped at a shop we had used in the past and Pat got a painted purse which can be made into a backpack and I got a belt to replace one which is wearing out after several years of use.  Argentina has wonderful and inexpensive leather products.  We'd buy leather coats if we could use them in Florida.  We went back to the Marriott and met our friends Cheryl, Jan & Harry and walked to an area frequented by locals and found a restaurant we had visited 5 years ago and had a wonderful Argentine steak & wine lunch.  We were the only non Argentinians in the place and the menu was only in Spanish.  No problem since we know the Spanish words for what we wanted.  Instead of "rare" for the steak we say "jugoso" which means "juicy."  It was really hot so we headed back to the ship around 3pm.  It was Jan & Harry's last night on the ship and we joined them and another departing couple for dinner followed by Beatles night in the lounge.

On the 5th all of the 700 passengers, except for 8 of us continuing on, debarked in light rain.  We had intended to wait until around 10am when shops open before heading into the city but around 9:30 an announcement was made to stay inside.  There was a container fire and chemical spill nearby and smoke & toxic fumes were in the air.  We then found out that the port was closed and the terminal evacuated so we had to remain on the ship.  The rain just got worse and the port remained closed.  The 696 new guests were supposed to start boarding around 11:30, but they were kept at their hotels.  Finally at 3:00 the first guests arrived.  Normally on Boarding days only the pool grill and La Veranda restaurant are open for lunch but they were shut down.  There was supposed to be a group of 40 local VIPs and travel agents coming on board for a tour and special lunch in the main restaurant and, of course, it was cancelled.  The 8 of us remaining on board were invited to the restaurant to enjoy the special lunch which began with a chopped lobster & cucumber salad, pumpkin soup, choice of filet or barramundi fish and a desert.  Of course a selection of wines was poured.  We 8 had a table together and had a great conversation.  The entertainment for the afternoon was watching the new guests dash from the bus to the gangplank in the deluge.  Towels were handed out.  The luggage being delivered got soaked.  We were scheduled to sail at 6:00pm but it took until after 7 to get all guests & luggage on board.  Fortunately we have been here a few times so we didn't miss anything.  We joined Cheryl & Wolfgang in the Prime 7 steakhouse restaurant for dinner.

Since we didn't get a chance to take photos, I'm posting some from our visit in February, 2007