Exciting and New

We're home and are slowly settling in after our two-week cruise around the end of the world, our first delicious taste of Patagonia. What an amazing adventure we had! The ports were well worth the visit, and, as an added bonus, the sights along the channels were spectacular.
I'll admit, I had some pre-conceived notions about cruises, mainly that they were for older people who liked to partake in the endless buffet; the Home Shopping Network crowd. However, when one of my besties, young and active, became an avid cruiser and raved about her trips, my opinion started changing. The cruisers footwear of choice was, in fact, an orthopedic with velcro straps, and I saw more "Quacker Factory" outfits than I cared to see, but the ship really did have something for everyone. There was a super Kid's Club for Mr. Teague, two pools, a really nice gym, and even a 5K race on the decks one day. To further perpetuate the "It's a Small World" notion, we happened to share our breakfast table with one of Sean's USAFA classmates who was cruising with her husband for their 'babymoon'. What are the odds?

This particular route was a great way for us to see hard to get to places within Argentina and Chile. Flying or driving to each of these ports individually would have been much more costly and time consuming. We now have a much better idea of how we want to plan the Traveling Circus road trip through Argentina later this year.
My favorite port was definitely the Falkland Islands. I have always been interested in them, especially now that we're in Argentina, and hear about the "Malvinas" fairly often! Although it was very windy and cold, we had an incredible time, complete with a battlefield tour, penguin rookery visit and a tasty Dr. Pepper soda--haven't had one of those since at least May. Sean really liked Usuhaia and now wants to move to Southern Argentina! I just don't know about a place that requires snow pants in the summer.

We arrived back at our apartment in Buenos Aires and were lucky enough to be welcomed by our friends Daniel and Jenn! We're so excited have our first visitors! It is such a treat to have real-life Americans to spend our holidays with, and of course we're thrilled to show them around our new stomping grounds! Once the holiday festivities conclude and I have some free time, I will post more photos from the trip.

May your days be merry and bright...

¡Feliz Navidad!