Bob and I have just returned from our first real vacation in a long time. We spent three weeks on a cruise, sailing down through the Caribbean to South America, ending up in Argentina, where we stayed for five days in Buenos Aries.

Our point of departure was Fort Lauderdale and we stopped off at various places on our journey south: San Juan in Puerto Rico, Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, and Barbados. We anchored off such places as Devils Island, the infamous French penal colony, closed since the late 1940's; Recife and Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, as we sailed toward Argentina. It was a great trip, relaxing and informative as we visited places we had never been before.

Here are some of the photographs we took on our South American journey.

Devils Island, the notorious French penal colony, now closed. That night on board ship we saw Papillon, the movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Based on the book of the same name by Henri Charriere, it is about one man's escape from Devils Island.

Prison cells on Devils Island.	Ruins of the cells.

Sailing into Rio de Janiero, Brazil, heading toward Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach. The most famous landmarks in Rio are Sugarloaf Mountain and the large statue called Christ the Redeemer on top of Corcovado Mountain (below).

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Iguassu Falls, which span the border between Brazil and Argentina. The falls are one of the world's greatest natural wonders... 275 separate falls plunging from various heights over a 2 ½ mile crest, sending up a continuing wall of spray with rainbows glinting through. We went by tender to Florianopolis, took a bus to the local airport, and flew to Iguassu Falls. Leaving the ship at five o'clock in the morning, we arrived at noon. But it was well worth the early morning departure and the long trip.

	Bob (my husband) took this shot of me in front of the falls.
	Bob and I with our friends Arthur and Tara Diedrick, again in front of the magnificent falls.

This is Bob's photograph of another angle of the falls.

Once we docked in Argentina, we went for a day on the pampas, where we visited a beautiful estancia (ranch) and were treated to a show of horses and skillful riding by gauchos at Los Patricios. We were greeted by the owners, Hector Juan Brané and Maria de Bary de Brané, and after drinks we watched the incredible skills of the gauchos on their pampas ponies. Later the gauchos prepared the traditional asado (barbecue) on open fires. Bob took some great pictures, shown here.

Here are some of the pampas ponies. My favorite was the white pony shown in the center of the field.
Gauchos with some of the ponies, getting ready to show off their riding skills.

	Here I am in front of the estancia.
	A gaucho gives me a small tour of the outdoor "kitchen".

Here I am with Bob viewing the barbecue.