Day 18 27th January

The beef that was left

Tango Theatre

We had a magic night at a Tango show and dinner. The show is performed in what is a converted sausage house. These are long and narrow houses that were the homes of multiple families of immigrants in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. This one had been converted into an elegant theatre with a barrelled roof, stage at one end and seating for about 200 people. It had been made wheelchair accessible with a dipped step, lift between floors and a slope down the theatre so you could get right the front. Visibility was excellent from all parts of the theatre.

We started with dinner which being Argentinean was centred on beef. The beef steaks were mouth wateringly tender about 2 to 3 inches thick and covered half the plate. This was accompanied by a couple bottles of wine. The live show lasted about two hours and carried you away with the music and dance to another world. There was a tango band, singers, dancers as well as a Andean pipe band, gaucho and individual singers. It was none-stop and because the theatre was small you were close to the performers. One of the best nights of entertainment we have ever experienced.

When we leave for a trip here they pick us up on the quayside so we only have a few yards to walk. However, for some odd Argentinean reason on the return journey we have to be dropped of at the Port Terminal and go through security checking before being bussed back to the ship. This is OK if you are not in a wheelchair but having to get on and off buses not designed for disabled people is no joke. The security was also a joke since we had to send our bags through the X-ray machine but they allowed me to push Chris through the metal detector in her wheelchair setting off the alarms but then simply waved us on.

One of the lasting memories of this port is the sound of containers being moved. We are berthed in the heart of the container port and the huge cranes are continuously moving them around. When they move there is a warning noise that sounds and we have been woken up each day by this continuous bleep. They don’t always find a berth for cruise ships that is glamorous; often it is in the working port with lorries and cargo moving a round. 

Today, we will leave Buenos Aires to sail to Port Stanley, Falklands. We will be arriving on Sunday, 30^th January. We will then return to the Argentinean city of Ushuaia that is one of the most southerly cities in the world. It is near Tierra del Fuego.