Travel Log: South Atlantic Ocean

Saturday, March 2, 2024 – It has been a few days since our last post so we wanted to say hello and provide a brief status update about our ongoing travels around South America. Today is Dog and Dragon’s wedding anniversary and we’re dropping you a happy hello from deep down the South Atlantic.

Sea Days

One of the interesting aspects to cruise life are sea days. The Oosterdam is currently in the second of two sea days travelling north from Port Stanley, Falkland Islands to Montevideo, Uruguay. Sea days are inevitably busy for the medical staff on the cruise ship because the guests are all onboard and have the opportunity to do things they don’t have time for when the ship is in port. While Dragon is hard at work, Dog has time to update the website, write a blog post, go to the gym, etc. Slacker… From a social media standpoint we often utilize sea days to send out some of the cool places we’ve previously been. So if you’re ever wondering why there isn’t a cool post from a new spot or we’ve gone oddly quiet, it is most likely a sea day.

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic off the coast of Argentina. Stanley, often called Port Stanley, is the largest city and capital of the Falkland Islands. Being a UK Overseas Territory, the Falklands are one of the few English speaking locations in this part of the world. There is a long maritime history here that includes the visible remains of shipwrecks. Not cool for those sailors, but cool to look at now.

Cruise crew like Port Stanley because of the large grocery store and convenient post office. Tourists love to visit for the many tours to see penguins. The penguin species here include king, gentoo, rockhopper, and magellanic. Dog went on an amazing off-road penguin excursion to Volunteer Point with Penguin Travel. There are also opportunities to see orcas, sea lions, elephant seals, albatross, petrels, and a variety of other fauna.

Uruguay

Since joining the ship on this assignment Dog and Dragon have been to Uruguay several times, including stops in Punta del Este and Montevideo.

Punta del Este is a gorgeous Uruguayan vacation town. Dog considers it one of the nicest cities he’s visited in South America, period. The streets are clean, the beaches are lovely, there are many restaurants to choose from, people are out enjoying the outdoors, and there is a pervasive feeling of comfort and safety. Walk around the peninsula along Rambla Artigas, visit The Hand on the Sand, or grab some Chinese food and an artisanal beer at the casual Wantan Cantina.

Montevideo is another excellent port in this region. As the capital of Uruguay it has a much larger population and an understandably different vibe to Punta del Este. Still, Dog and Dragon have had pleasant visits to Montevideo and feel very comfortable walking around this city as well. One of the cool things about both towns is the walkability from the port. Montevideo has an adorable old city district leading away from the port that includes restaurants, plazas, and parks. You’ll want to walk through the 19th century Port Market full of small shops and open Uruguayan BBQs. Make sure you try some mini alfajores while you are in Uruguay! The dark chocolate ones are our new obsession and we’re psyched to resupply!

Verdict

Sea days may be Dragon’s least favorite days working on a cruise ship. For Dog they generally end up being work days too, but that’s by choice so whatever. The Falkland Islands are adorable. On our most recent visit we actually had the good fortune to arrive on a sunny day, although we didn’t go ashore that day. They are definitely worth a visit though, especially if you want to see penguins up close in the wild. What we’ve seen of Uruguay has been great. It is probably our favorite country in South America at this point. Granted, we’ve only been to a few so far. We’d definitely consider a return visit to Uruguay on vacation for sure. Thanks for hanging out with us on our anniversary. Check in with you again soon.