Here we go again!!!

The roaming Clarks are about to take off again! This time we will be spending time in Buenos Aires, Argentina for about three weeks. We have rented an apartment in the Recoleta district of the capital. This area looks like Paris! Our apartment overlooks the famous Recoleta Cemetary where Eva Peron is buried. In 2006 we spent two days in Buenos Aires on a cruise and fell in love with the City. This time we hope to get to know BA well! Our friends from Escondido, Georg and Antje Funke will be renting an apartment next to ours for part of the time we are there.

We found the apartment on our favorite website for apartments Vacation Rentals by Owner. Our rentals in Assisi and Venice Italy last September and October were found on this website. The rental we like the most in Paris was also found at VRBO. There is nothing better than really getting to know a city or region by living in an apartment. We like to shop in local stores and "pretend" to be Venetians or Parisians. We like to cook for ourselves a lot of the time - it is so much fun shopping in both super markets and local open-air markets.

While in Buenos Aires, we will spend two nights and three days at Iguacu Falls on the Brazilian/Paraguayan/Argentinean border. Another day is planned for a trip to an estancia for a barbecue and horse show by the gauchos - probably touristy but it sounds like fun. We also want to take the hydrofoil across the Rio de la Plata to Colonia Sacramento in Uruguay - a World Heritage site.

After BA, we will fly to Santiago with Georg and Antje where we will meet the Quastlers - our cruising buddies from Coronado, CA. The three couples have rented an apartment in Vina del Mar, Chile for a week. Yes...another apartment from VRBO. Splitting the cost three ways of this 4 bedroom apartment in a high rise on the ocean will cost about $20 per person per night! Sure beats a hotel!

We have been to Vina before and love it! It is a lovely coastal city next to the more gritty Valparaiso - a major port for Chile. After a week in the apartment, the six of us leave on the Amsterdam - Holland America line - for an 18 day cruise back to San Diego. We have stops in La Serena and Arica Chile; Lima, Peru; Manta, Ecuador; Costa Rica; Puerto Chiapas, Huatalco, Acapulco, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

We leave a week from tomorrow - not long now. Of course, I have to go to northern California for consulting for three days - which means the bags will be packed at the last minute as usual!

Check back to see how our adventure progresses!