Disembarking The Majestic

 Fresh off the amazing day in Uruguay, we arrived in Buenos Aires. It was bittersweet, of course, as it would be the last port of call for us. Making it better was we planned to spend an additional 5 days there after disembarking. 

So, our last full day on the ship was useful but not all together sexy. We did laundry. We packed. We made the rounds to bless our favorite crew members as best we could. We did all the traditional things - the drink at the wake bar, the last night in Vines, etc. All things considered, it was a ‘normal day’ and that’s ok. 

I’ve written quite a bit about the need to build in ‘sea days’ or normal days when you are traveling awhile. Burnout is real. Every day cannot be the MOST EXCITING DAY EVER. Sometimes, you just need a normal day to get yourself together, rest, transition, or whatever. 

Our Malbec friends all went ashore for a great day at a cowboy ranch and got back on late. By late, I mean - 5. The horror! Slowly, everyone arrived in Vines for our last farewell. What a great group! We took some group photos, had a few rounds of cheers, talked a bit about the next one ( New England in the Fall??) and then we had to head up to the cabin to get our suitcases outside the room by 8 PM. 

It’s always the same - it goes so slowly at first that it almost drags and then POOF - it’s gone. The circle of (travel) life. In some ways, I don’t mind it. It was a great trip and another great trip will now be on deck. 

The next morning, we were a bit confused about the process because we had received a form asking when we wanted to disembark and we said 9:30. But, we got a note in our room telling us we had to leave at 7:15. 7:15 is just rude. Also, we had a note saying we had to be out of our cabin by 8. Which was neither 7:15 nor 9:30. We asked Sep, our awesome cabin steward, because a) he would know and b) the last thing we wanted to do was mess his day up! Sep said it would be find if we were out by 9. Great - 9 sounded good.

So, I woke up and went to order coffee which is exactly when I noticed they’d cut me off the app. No room service. That’s rude. How am I supposed to function without coffee? I waited for Jason to get up. He still had app access so he ordered coffee. Unfortunately, as soon as he did, the order cancelled. Dang. Truly cut off.  So, finally, I ran up to the lido deck and grabbed coffee from the buffet. The coffee up there is terrible but terrible coffee is better than no coffee.

At this point, we hadn’t eaten anything and had no way of knowing what really was going to happen once we left the ship so Jason wanted to go eat first. Normally, there are a lot of options but those of disembarking who were obviously already dead to Princess, didn’t have those options. We were able to get into the Allegro dining room and had a lovely final meal there. 

After, we simply walked right off the ship with no pomp and circumstance whatsoever. I feel like there should be an ample amount of pomp and at least some circumstance. I mean- geez. Alas, I had made a reservation for a private car to take us to our hotel but since I had no idea what time we’d actually make it off the boat, I wasn’t sure what time to book the car. Having to wait is better than missing it, so I requested the car for 10:30 and we walked off at 9:30. I will have you know, the driver walked up at exactly 10:30. He held up the sign with my name for one single second, we waved, and then we were off to the races.

As it turns out, the car ride lasted about 3 whole minutes. I’m not complaining. I didn’t want to drag all my luggage through a brand new country and city through what turned out to be the worst area of said city so a 3 minute car ride was ok with me!

Our beautiful hotel, The Park, Tower, was waiting for us. We had requested a special room since we’d be there a week, and therefore, it wasn’t quite ready when we got there early (before check in time). But, we grabbed some very comfy chairs in the lobby bar and in about 30 minutes, we had a text that the room was available. 

To our delight, our suite was gigantic - a full living area, a separate bedroom, 2 bathrooms. So much space! Jason had quite the cough so it was nice to be able to separate to sleep in the hopes that somehow we would both actually sleep. 

We decided to stay close to the hotel for this first day because we were exhausted  and therefore was plenty to entertain us right there. The hotel had this great thing where every day from 2-3 in the lobby bar they would have a local Argentinian food/snack and a drink for free. What a fun way to try some many local things. So, we went to that and had a choripan, which had been highly recommended. It had been described as a hot dog, which really wasn’t quite right. It was a piece of chorizo on bread and it was delicious, though! We had a local beer that was SO good. I almost never drink beer anymore and I really enjoyed this one.

There was also a free happy hour in the evening for …well, some people. Us included for whatever reason. So, we enjoyed trying some local white and red wine and skipped dinner.

We figured the next day, we would go find the HOHO and explore the city a bit. It was great because the MALBEC gang took a city tour that day and Ginny sent over some areas that we should definitely check out. 

With that, we closed out the 3rd part of the trip (the cruise) and started the 4th part (Argentina by land) and went to bed happy.

Ringing in 2025 and Waking Up to Uruguay

 We had a couple of sea days after Puerto Madryn. We did the usual things but also hit up another art auction (still didn’t buy anything!). Then we decided to get wild and hit the casino where we prompted dropped $60 and then bailed. I mean, you can’t have that much fun all day long. We did laundry and took naps and tried new weird drinks. All the things. I was feeling truly relaxed!

Then, all the sudden it was somehow New Year’s Eve. Don’t ask me how - I don’t keep track of these things but what I’m saying is, 2024 just suddenly ended. The ship bought a gazillion 2024 NYE things so we were all decked out in hats, and headbands, and glasses, and various accoutrements. 

Everyone was ready to party- starting early that morning when I rolled into the buffet for breakfast to find a roaming Mariachi style band playing right in the middle of everything and as I walked by, I swear to you they sang out loud and proud those Footloose lyrics we all love so much, “ Jack. Get Back. Wake up the morning crack.”

We stayed downstairs that night for a bit but it was starting to get wild and Rich and Ginny went to the show in the theater so we can back up the room. It’s pretty rare for me to ever see a midnight. 

The next morning, we all had an excursion together- we’d arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. I was pumped! Montevideo has been low key on my radar since about 1994 when I had a Bible teacher at ACU who had been a missionary there and who had since then changed jobs to become a professor and who was very much committed to driving people nuts. I say this with love. 

He was the guy who thought it was funny to print the study guide for the test with the words all skewed about the page- to shake things up for the OCD people. Who does this? I’m asking.  I’m not in the least bit OCD - leave all the drawers open. Put things around all Willy Nilly. Knock something over and leave it there a week. I don’t give a rip. But for the love of all things holy, who goes out of their way to make word soup on paper just to be annoying? 

This is what I thought of when I thought of Montevideo.

ANYWAY- the country wanted to redeem itself. I just knew it.

We all loaded onto the bus and met our lovely guide for the day, a sweet older woman named Betty who spoke impeccable English.We had a bit of a city tour first - and I’m so glad. It is a gorgeous city! And then, we were off to head outside of town to the lovely summer vineyards and a wonderful family run winery. There we had a tour and some talks and then a delicious lunch and wine tasting. Uruguay is known for their Tannat! Who knew? I mean presumably plenty of people - but not me. The good news was, I love tannat!! We tried the sauv blanc, the rose, the merlot, and the tannat. All were quite good. We wished they’d have poured their Chardonnay, but no such luck. 

The food was delicious - we’d heard that their biggest export (Uruguay, not the winery) was beef so we were hoping to try some of this famous meat. They brought each table a large salad, a plate of roasted potatoes, and then a massive tray of grilled meats- chicken, sausage, pork, and beef. It was insane! Also insane was the couple who was seated with our group who didn’t seem to get the ‘family style’ concept and just took food and didn’t pass anything around. Had Jason not stepped in to pass the trays, they would have likely eaten the entire tray of meats- lol! 

In the middle of lunch, all the sudden music started up and a tango broke out in the center of the room. Wow! It was amazing. They did 6 dances in all, but had a break and costume change in the middle. 

After, we were able to buy bottles of wine if we wanted (we did) and then back on the bus for a nap as we traveled back to the ship. 

The only bummer of the day was it was Jan 1 and everything was closed in town. Again, no shopping! I’m saving money but I want my Christmas ornaments!!! 

We all just loved this excursion and the country. A beautiful place. I’d be delighted to return. I’m a bit jealous because our friends do get to return - the ship will go back to Montevideo after they drop us in Buenos Aires!

We now only had 2 more night left onboard. What a whirlwind. 

A Jump Ahead, Wake View Bar, Sipping a Bloody

 I can’t believe this, but we get off the ship in 24 hours. As tradition demands, I’m sitting in the Wake View Bar at the very back of the ship sipping a Bloody Mary. This particular bar holds a lot of memories for me- the most dramatic of which was the morning in spring 2022 when I was killing time waiting to walk off into Mykonos only to see my wonderful room steward walking towards me really quickly. I can still hear her voice as she leaned towards me and barely whispered, “They said you have to come with me.” 

I like to come here now and remember how much I love being free, healthy, safe. And while I’m certainly not ready for the trip to end, I’m incredibly pleased that it ends on my terms and not locked in a quarantine cabin!

A lot of this particular trip, for me, has been down time for my mind. I needed it so badly that I even realized I needed it and that’s saying something.

It’s been a…weird year. When I look back on it now, the second day of 2025, what I remember falls mostly into 2 categories: slowly losing almost all my favorite people at PayPal to layoffs and walking away from it myself.

I’ve experienced layoff culture for a long time. Too long. I myself was laid off way back in 1999 when the telecom and dot.com bubble burst. Lay offs at PayPal happened every single year I was there - 13 full years. Most years, they happened more than once. I can’t remember a time I didn’t know someone affected. But this year it was brutal. Some of my closest friends and colleagues. People who brought tremendous value, worked hard, and were genuinely a joy to be around.

And listen, I’m not naive or ignorant. I have 2 business degrees and I’ve worked for 3 publicly traded companies and 2 major universities. I understand that businesses need to make money. 

Anyway, at the point I was ready to walk away, I consider myself tremendously lucky and grateful that there was something waiting for me. The thing was- I knew I needed to go but damn, it was hard. And I really, really needed time to process that and understand why and I didn’t get it. I worked Friday at PayPal and Monday I started at the new place. I told my brain to go on standby until this trip when I could let it stop processing all the required new things so that it could finally process the old things. 

What I’ve learned about my poor, overworked brain is that I need a solid 2 weeks before it really believes it can rest. Anything shorter than 2 weeks won’t count as a vacation for my beleaguered mind. So, here I am somewhere between 2-3 weeks since my last day of work for the year. I haven’t been trying to figure out what the new acronym is, who does what, where things are, how to process an expense report OR what orchard chores to prioritize, how to sell the new olive oil, whether to try to source new bottles OR how to train our new dog, how to deal with rainy season this year, and whether the new/old/dead/alive cat really is someone’s missing house cat. 

Finally, all of that paused. For real. And my brain can simply just wander. Free to think of things as they come up. Free to linger long enough to come to an understanding. Not pushed or rushed to judgement. 

I think I’ll do my best, most clear thinking in the next couple of days before my brain has to move into dealing with getting home and returning to work. 

Right now, what I’m coming to is that leaving PayPal was so hard because I really thought I could be a part of making it awesome again. I felt like I’d worked so hard for so long that leaving wasn’t the right thing. I wanted to see it through. I felt like I could be an important part of the needed change. 

And I think I’m stuck wrestling with an old lesson I thought I’d learned awhile ago which is a combination of a)I’m really not that important and b)you don’t get to decide that you’re a part of the change. Sure, I know the famous quote too about being the change you want to see in the world. That’s not really what’s at play here. Sometimes we’re not the right person. Sometimes it’s not the right time or place. And sometimes, it just isn’t going to change like you want it to. 

That’s when you decide whether you are ok with it and stay or declare you aren’t, and you go.

I was in a weird holding pattern because I’d mixed that all up. I’d decided I wasn’t ok with it and yet I stayed. And I’ve done that a few times in my life and it was always to my detriment so it was infuriating to find myself doing it again.

More on this and a wrap of the rest of the trip soon!

Land, Ho! Docking in Chubut

 Ok, so we haven’t been on land in a couple of days since the whole Falkland Islands debacle and we were thrilled to arrive at Puerto Madryn in the Chubut region just about as much as I was happy to say “chewbutt” like a proper 12 year old boy every single time we walked passed a sign. Also, in the list of things to be thankful for - a proper port docking so no water shuttles. Shazam. Things were looking up.

We didn’t have an excursion today. Everyone frantically tried to score one when Stanley was canceled because this is our last viable penguin stop but…they were mostly sold out or WAY TOO long. Mike and Diana had one that was scheduled to be like 9 hours. What the heck. Turns out, everything is far away and you’ve got 2.5-3 hours drive there and back. Also, nope. So, doubling down on sad about the penguins but I had a sunny day in a gorgeous seaside town in an area called Chubut and it was time for a walkabout!

Jason and I opted to walk in- I honestly love walking a port. Sometimes they don’t let you. Today, they did! The water was a gorgeous array of blues and greens and as we stood admiring it I realized I was also staring at what felt like thousands of jelly fish! So many! The biggest ones I’d ever seen with massive heads and long, trailing tentacles. It was incredible to see! And I was thankful to be on land and not swimming with them;) Though I did briefly think a scuba dive underneath them to watch them swim would be so cool. I’m still trying to find someone on ship who got great pics of them - lots of photogs onboard with excellent cameras. Here’s to hoping. 

A bit further down the pier, we came across a bunch of sunbathing sea lions. These dudes just hopped right up the steps, even opening a gate to go up higher. 

Once we got to the beach, we took a left and followed along the boardwalk. We were told there would be 2 long streets of shopping and restaurants and it was true. Everything you could imagine - including an actual Columbia store with outdoor wear. Who knew? 

We found a mini grocery and popped in and the most interesting thing happened. There was a security lady at the front and she saw my tote bag and started talking to me. I thought she said I couldn’t carry my bag in and would need to leave it up front. Ok, fine. So I pulled my phone out because I didn’t want to leave that and then she grabbed my entire bag and put into an even larger red bag and then - bam - snapped it shut with a lock and handed it back to me. What in the heck is this sorcery? This is BRILLIANT. I can keep my stuff but can’t sneak anything in. When done shopping, the cashier unlocks it and you go on your way. Why is this so smart and why didn’t I invent it?

We looked at several restaurant menus hoping for a solid linger lunch and settled on the one beach front. As we came around the block again, a spectacular wind appeared and gave us a great leg workout as we forced our way through it. Oddly, on the other side of the street where the restaurant was, there was absolutely no wind. Zero. Nada. Like - how is that? What’s going on down here in Chubut?

We got the perfect corner window table facing the beach and ordered delicious cocktails and food. We could have stayed there for hours but there was also one other thing happening which was Jason was profusely sweating as it was approximately 9304% humidity and no air movement whatsoever. I was beginning to long for the wind storm again just to have air flow. BUT, the food, drinks, and waitstaff were wonderful and we really enjoyed it. My highlight was having Argentinian empanadas in Argentina. So delicious. We would have stayed for a bottle of local white but alas, needed air.

When we left, I had flagged 3 shops I wanted to pop into and would you know that ALL of them were now closed? At the ripe hour of 2 PM. We couldn’t figure out if that was because it was Sunday, if there is a siesta time, or they just got tired of all us crazy ship passengers and called it a day. Regardless, another miss a buying something from Patagonia!

With everything being closed and the beach being chock full of jellyfish, we decided to head back to ship. By the time we made it back, we’d clocked close to 13,000 steps and it was only 3:30. Killing this thing. Everyone loved Puerto Madryn- a delightful little town with a gorgeous beach. If you’re ever in good ol’ Chubut, make your way over. Bring some jellyfish repellent. 

Check out these amazing totem pole sort of things all along the beachfront - how cool is this?