Day 49 – Departed Buenos Aires

Hi Everyone,                  Welcome to day 49 of our voyage. Just a quick log entry to let you know that we have just departed Buenos Aires following a short but extremely enjoyable 38hr visit. We are currently conducting our 128nmnm pilotage out of Buenos Aires so it is another long night for all of us Bridge Staff. The Crew are writing a Log for tonight but I will have to put it onto the system a little later as my focus at the moment is to get us safely through this pilotage.  Hopefully if all goes to plan you will get the rest of this entry once we have disembarked the Pilot and we are safely on our way to Rio.  Yours Aye  Captain Gav  Current time is 0500 and we are still going with our pilotage but nothing stops the Captains Log. As promised despite everything else that has been going on the Crew have still found time to to tell you about their adventures in Buenos Aires. Please enjoy tonights Log which has been beautifully written by Effie.  It was a dark and stormy night……Somewhere in the world, but certainly not Buenos Aires. The last watch ended at 0001 and headed peacefully to their sweaty bunks. It was still to be a couple of hours before we would come alongside the naval wharf, which we would find conveniently located quite close to most of the city’s main attractions. Against all odds, and perhaps spurred by a deep desire not to miss out on a second of port time, a few of the crew actually wandered up on deck in the wee hours to help out the staffies.  After a fairly smooth berthing for 0200 and a lot of snaps of the glittering city skyline it was back to bed to prepare for an intense taster of ‘the Paris of South America.’ Most of us began the following morning in search of breakfast and an internet connection. Only to find Argentineans are not really breakfast people and little was open – quite the cultural shock to a Melbournian.  The day followed with a bus tour of the city’s eclectic neighbourhoods. A beautiful mix of French, Italian, Latin American, colonial, modernist and post modern architecture means the city breathes its history through its skyline and avenues. From the delicate Parisian rose garden and grand Embassies within elegant old mansions to glass skyscrapers; the tall, imposing obelisk to the vibrant chaos of La Boca and around every corner another grand statue or monument to a moment or person of distinction.  The mingled cultures were alive and well in the city’s people as well, especially in the artist district, La Boca, where we experienced Tango, Spanish guitar and an array of beautiful art styles expressing the spirit of Buenos Aires. Of course, more dulce de leche was consumed and most favourably in the form of gelato with the Italian influence strongly permeating the local cuisine.  At the conclusion of the tour we were all of course eager to explore the city on our own but we had one little thing to do first – sundowners. Although the semi-formal event was voluntary a large number of the crew donned their YE polo shirts and showed up on deck, perhaps out of a patriotic desire to show off the ship or because of the lure of champagne and canapés. Most certainly the former. The Australian Ambassador was welcomed aboard along with a few of his staff and members of the Argentinean Navy, and the crew settled quickly into sharing our adventures and future goals with our guests who were mutually inspiring.  Of course a few tips were drawn out of the locals and after a quick cleanup we were making dinner plans on the other side of town. Quite a few (weak) members of the crew had booked hotels and snuck off to enjoy their air-conditioned comfort like true landlubbers. A little over half of us headed out into the unknown with Grace expertly organising a convoy of taxis over to Palermo. The taxis themselves expertly wove their way through the city, which was mostly us holding on for dear life and wondering why they had bothered to paint lines on the road.  After a small misunderstanding and a short detour of a ten block walk we finally reached our destination where we enjoyed a mix of first Mexican, Italian/Argentinean and finally Irish food and beverages on a little restaurant and bar hop. As with Ushuaia the fare was certainly not disagreeable and we returned to the ship with a warm –read: stinking hot – hearth and a full belly.Our final morning in Buenos Aires saw the crew heading off in all different directions to get in touch with loved ones, run errands, seek out more dulce de leche goodies or spend the last of our Argentinean Pesos on souvenirs and candy. It was another warm and humid day with a slight breeze that kept us cool while we set sail, figuratively, at 1700.  Currently the new red watch are comfortably huddled together on the bullpit, watching the stars and keeping a close eye on the shipping traffic as we head back out to the Atlantic Ocean.Ready for a good sleep after 38 hours of non-stop Buenos Aires,  EffiePS We would like to inform all interested parties that during their run this afternoon, Tito beat Sandy and Kenny.