November 10-13, 2019: Three Days in Barcelona, Spain
	September 22, 2019: The Friedman-Tarradell Nuptials
	Return to the Index for 2019

Early this year, Greg was browsing around the cruise sites and ran across a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Buenos Aires. While it stopped at some of the same places as previous cruises we'd taken, there were enough new stops (many of them in South America where we have not cruised before) to make it worthwhile.

Greg is quite the experienced "cruiser"; while we have been on four cruises with him so far, he has been on a good many more.

This cruise will be on a new cruise line for us (although not for Greg)- Viking Cruises. In fact, Greg has been on the very ship that this itinerary uses- the Viking Jupiter- one of the small ocean ships (Viking is best-known for its river cruises around the world) that Viking has added to its fleet in recent years. At just under 1000 passengers, this will be the smallest of all the ships we have been on (although slightly larger that the first cruise ship I was on with Grant back in 1991.

Viking is bucking the trend towards larger and larger mega ships, aiming for the niche market of upscale, older folks who want to get away from kids, rock climbing walls, shopping malls, and olympic size swimming pools. The Viking Jupiter (about which you'll learn more later) has none of those things. What it does have, according to Greg and the online information we found, was a quiet elegance. What it also has is a steeper price for that elegance. This cruise will be close to double the price that we have aimed for in the past, although ofsetting that cost disparity will be free airfare to Barcelona and back from Buenos Aires, free Internet access for all our devices throughout the ship, free wine, beer, and sodas (and the permission of the ship for passengers to bring aboard moderate quantities of alcohol), no-charge specialty restaurants, and even free shore excursions in each port. Just about everything is included.

So we agreed with Greg that this would be a viable option for a Fall cruise, and we booked it early in the summer. I worked with the air desk at Viking to book our flights on American, which meant that Fred and I could have our Platinum benefits available on the flights to Barcelona and back from Buenos Aires. Our travel professional, Greg's friend Zoran, got us some cabin credits as well; these would essentially pay for the expected tips at the end of the cruise.

We also made plans to spend a couple of days in Barcelona ahead of the actual cruise, and also a few days in Buenos Aires after its conclusion. I also made plans for Fred and I to make a side trip from Buenos Aires to Iguasu Falls. While I was there back in the late 1970s, I thought it was something Fred should not miss while we were so close. Greg opted to stay in Buenos Aires on the day of our side trip, as he had also been to the Falls before.

So, in a nutshell, that's the upcoming trip.

On the pages that follow, you can come along with us as we visit Barcelona for a few days before the cruise, you can join us on our excursion to the old city of Ronda in the mountains of Spain when we dock in Malaga, you can ride with us to an old Portuguese fort south of Casablanca in Morocco, and you can visit Goree Island near the city of Dakar, Senegal, the point from which many thousands of African slaves were taken to the New World.

You'll also get a chance to find out what sea days aboard the Viking Jupiter were like, and you'll also be able to tour the ship with us on one of the four sea days as we cross the South Atlantic.

In South America, you'll stop with us in the old town of Recife, Brazil, at the confluence of two major rivers and the South Atlantic, originally a slave port but now a bustling city of some 2 million people. Next, you'll be able to go with us on one of our most interesting and scenic shore excursions- a visit to Rio de Janiero's Sugarloaf and Corcovado mountains, the latter being the site of the iconic "Christ the Redeemer" statue. Next, you'll come with us as we tour the city of Montevideo in Uruguay (the second of the two new countries we'll visit on this vacation).

As we reach the end of the actual cruise, you'll see quite a bit of "The Paris of South America"- the beautiful city of Buenos Aires- where we will stay for one night aboard the ship and then three nights in a rental apartment just near the Botanical Garden in downtown. And finally, get ready to see one of the world's most beautiful natural wonders- the world's widest and most complex set of waterfalls- Iguasu- as Fred and I have a private guided tour of both the Argentinean and Brazilian sides of the Falls.

So buckle up as we fly out of DFW on the morning of November 10th, to return a month later on December 7th.

To begin with our major trip, click on the "Next" button below.

	November 10-13, 2019: Three Days in Barcelona, Spain
	September 22, 2019: The Friedman-Tarradell Nuptials
	Return to the Index for 2019