Our first port-of-call was Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The city is filled with many plazas and parks containing magnificent monuments.

On Monday, we toured the city's opera house, Teatro Colon.  Built in 1909, it is elegant inside with incredible acoustics.

At Plaza de Mayo, chalk outlines protest the "disappeared" people who were kidnapped by the military government and whose fate remains unknown.

In the city's main cathedral, a child attends the tomb of the famous liberator, San Martin.

In the Recoleta District near our hotel, the city's graveyard was filled with impressive mausoleums adorned with fine statuary.

Near the old railway yard, we found the sculptures of local artist, Carlos Regazzoni, on display.

We particularly loved this piece, a dinosaur built of dinosaur manual rotary calculators.

A tour of the city included lunch and an  impressive and energetic show of Argentina's national dance at a local tango club.

We flew south from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.

On Wednesday afternoon we explored the mountains and lakes of Tierra del Fuego north of Ushuaia.

We were treated to views of wildflowers and waterfalls during our hike.

Late Wednesday we boarded the Hanseatic, which proved far more luxurious than we had ever imagined.

Our first night at sea, we were invited to dine with Captain Thilo Natke.

We left Tierra del Fuego via the Beagle Channel and set a course to the Falklands.