Seashore – Rick and Kathie's Travel Adventures

QUICK PICK – Sunset Walk at Perkins Cove Maine

March 24, 2021Rick & Kathie WetmoreLeave a comment

“Quick Pick” a Photo Essay series highlighting a specific place, moment, or event from our travels or everyday life.

Perkins Cove in the town of Ogunquit Maine is a charming harbor village, known for it’s small artist community, restaurants, shops and a small harbor sheltering a mix of lobster boats and pleasure craft.

These photos were taken during a sunset walk we took around the harbor in June of 2016. We did a weekend getaway in celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary. Ogunquit, Perkins Cove and the southern Maine coast are very familiar to us. It is only an hour drive from our home, and we had spent the first couple of nights of our honeymoon back in 1971 at nearby Cliff House resort before driving to California to start our new life as a married Navy couple.

It was a short walk from our accommodations at the Hartwell House Inn to Perkins Cove. As you walk along the narrow Perkins Cove Road, you started getting glimpses of the harbor between the grey weathered clapboard covered homes and shops. Once you pass Barnacle Billy’s restaurant, the harbor view opens up, the lobster boats on their mooring lines all pointing out to sea. A small floating dock in the foreground with a cluster of colorful rowboats.

Quick Dinner

We decided on a early, light dinner, so we would have time walk along Marginal Way and watch the sunset later in the harbor. Chowder and a Lobster Roll were what we were craving so we went the The Lobster Shack for a simple, low-key dining experience. Rustic picnic style tables, plastic plates and utensils, it was perfect. The Clam Chowder was rich and creamy, big chunks of clams and potatoes. The Lobster Rolls, toasted hot dog buns over-stuffed with buttered lobster meat, a small side of tangy cold slaw and chips. Topped off with house wine. Nothing fancy, but really good! The waiter’s tee-shirt asked the question… got tail?. Well, there was tail meat in the lobster roll, so yes!

Marginal Way

We walked along Marginal Way after eating. Marginal Way is a public pedestrian walkway that is about one mile long, starts (or ends) at Perkins Cove and goes along the rocky shore all the way to the town of Ogunquit. The views are stunning looking out over the Atlantic with the rugged, rocky shoreline in the foreground. You pass in front of multi-million dollar ocean view homes and there are a few small coves with sand beach strips breaking up the mostly rocky shore. It was getting close to sunset, so a golden glow was tinting the scene.

Part Time Bridge Tender

Back at Perkins Cove, we walked on the foot bridge that crossed the narrow channel. This is a great location to photograph the boats in the harbor. This foot bridge is a draw bridge, which must be raised so boats can enter or leave the harbor. Anyone who happens to be on or near the bridge may be called on to open the bridge for approaching boats. A sailboat was returning from sea and the gentleman piloting the boat was blowing the whistle and calling on his bull-horn for someone to open the bridge. Well, I was near the operating switch, so it was my turn to open the bridge. Yelling for everyone to clear, I pushed the button as directed and the motorized winch raised the bridge, and our friends on the sailboat passed safely into the harbor, just in time for sunset.

Day Ends with a Stunning Sunset

Hope you enjoyed this “Quick Pick” photo essay. More to come, so please follow to get notifications when a new post is available. I’d be interested in your comments or questions, so please comment below. Thanks!

South America – Colonia del Sacramento Uruguay

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020Rick & Kathie WetmoreLeave a comment

We got to Colonia around noon on Sunday February 16th after the 2.5 hour bus ride from Montevideo. It was a short cab ride from the bus terminal to our hotel, the Radisson and we were able to check-in right away. The Radisson is located on the water in the historic district and since this was a summer weekend in Uruguay, many families were staying at this hotel…. lots of kids!

We were hungry so decide to walk down to the area near the marina where there were many restaurants. All the restaurants had outdoor seating, but it was so hot and humid, we chose a place that had indoor “air conditioned” seating. It turned out the A/C was not very helpful, it was quite hot inside, but we powered through and had our Chivitos.

Because of the heat, we went back to the hotel to cool off and rest after lunch. Our plan was to go out to the waterfront later to watch the sunset.

While doing some Google research about Colonia long before our trip, one attraction that is mentioned by many is the beautiful sunsets. So we wanted to make sure we caught the sunset on our one and only night in Colonia.

The weather forecasts indicated that thunderstorms were approaching from the northwest and late afternoon we could see the big clouds building on the horizon over the Rio de la Plata. This probably would make the sunset more dramatic.

With camera and phones in hand, we headed to the riverfront and it seems that everyone else was doing the same thing. As it turned out, watching the sunset was a nightly ritual here in Colonia, and we were treated to a spectacular sight. The lighting was constantly changing as the sky started to glow a fiery red. The clouds enhanced the effect and the distant silhouette of Buenos Aires high-rises on the horizon added to the dramatic scene. At the point when the sun disappeared below the horizon, the onlookers broke out in applause. What a way to spend our last night in Uruguay!

Sunset audience

Morning Walk Around Colonia

After that beautiful sunset, the skies were filled with brilliant lightning as the thunderstorms moved into the area. We decided to get back to the hotel for dinner so we wouldn’t get caught in any downpours. That night some heavy T-storms passed through the area.

The next day we went out for an early morning walk around the old town. It was still cloudy but the rains had stopped and it was very quiet and tranquil around town, it seemed we were the only people out and about.

We had the morning to ourselves, then checked out of the hotel early afternoon to get to the ferry terminal for our ferry to Buenos Aires. We left Colonia to spend our last two days in Buenos Aires. Our long amazing trip is coming to an end, stay tuned for our final Buenos Aires blog coming soon.

Peaceful Morning Walk Around Colonia

South America Cruise – Part 4

February 7, 2020Rick & Kathie WetmoreLeave a comment

Puerto Madryn and Patagonian Penguins.

After two days of sailing from the Falklands we docked at Puerto Madryn Argentina, in the heart of coastal Patagonia. Puerto Madryn is an area of Argentina that was settled by Welsh immigrants in the 19th Century. Many town names are Welsh and we were told a Welsh dialect is still spoken along with Spanish, of course.

Our excursion to the penguin colony at Punta Tombo Wildlife Reserve was eight hours long. The coach ride was two hours one-way, the last 30-minutes or so by gravel road.

Punto Tombo is a nesting site for the Magellanic Penguins, a smaller penguin species that is found in more moderate climates (not the Antarctic). It is reported that this rookery is the home for up to one million penguins during the summer when they lay their eggs, incubate and hatch chicks. By March/April the chicks are mature and the colony migrates north, returning once again the Punta Tombo in the Fall.

Magellanic Penguins mate for life and always return to the same nest. The nests here are either shallow burrows in the sand or under thick bushes. The mating pairs separate during the northerly migration and when they return in the Fall, find each other by their unique calls. The juveniles have “fluffy” feathers.

The Punta Tombo reserve has boardwalks and roped off trails that go through the nesting area. The tour guides will stop everyone if a penguin is crossing the “people path”, we don’t want to disturb or agitate these little guys, after all, we are on their turf. You do get up close to these critters and they are quite adorable (but smelly). There were thousands of them, so we finally got to see more than enough penguins.

Caution…. Penguins Crossing!

Walking with penguins…..

Cruise is winding down…

After the Puerto Madryn visit we sail for two days then dock in Montevideo Uruguay for a one day port visit. After Montevideo, we cross the Rio de La Platte to Buenos Aires and our cruise will end there on February 10th. However, we will continue our stay in South America for another nine days visiting Mendoza Argentina, back to Montevideo and Buenos Aires before heading home on February 19th. We will post more from this trip, so stay tuned.

Useful Links…

Puerto Madryn

Punta Tombo

Magellanic Penguins

South America Cruise – Part 3

February 6, 2020February 7, 2020Rick & Kathie Wetmore

Rounding the Horn… Punta Arenas & Ushuaia

We spent several days cruising the southern tip of South America with port stops in Punta Arenas Chile, Ushuaia Argentina, and then sailing around Cape Horn to enter the South Atlantic.

Punta Arenas

We spent a day in Punta Arenas and we opted for the included walking tour of the town. The ship was alongside the main dock which is in the center of town and our walking tour started right from the dock. We had an excellent local guide.

It was a bit disheartening to see the damage, graffiti and vandalism to buildings and monuments from the recent riots and unrest. The highlight of the tour was the walk up to a hilltop vista point (steep sidewalks and lots of steps) which offered a great view of the town with Magellan Strait in the background.

**Some Rock Cormorants along Punta Arenas waterfront.**

A View of Viking Jupiter from the hilltop park.

Ushuaia, Argentina

An overnight sail from Punta Arenas brought us back out through the Magellan Strait, then into the Beagle Channel for an early morning arrival in Ushuaia Argentina on January 31st.

Ushuaia Argentina is the worlds southern most city and it is a main departure point for Antarctic expeditions. The city is located on Tierra el Fuego and is known as the “End of the World”. It has colorful buildings and is surrounded by snow covered mountains which provide a very scenic backdrop.

We had a brief bus tour around the city and we spent the afternoon walking around the small downtown and along the waterfront. We found the Hard Rock Cafe, I suppose it would be the southern most Hard Rock Cafe in the world. At the recommendation of our tour director David, we visited the Laguna Negra chocolate shop. According to David it is one of the best chocolate shops in South America. We ended up buying a kilo of assorted chocolates and definitely agree with our tour director.

The port is very busy and the dock where we tied up was full of the smaller Antarctic Expedition cruise ships. We left late in the afternoon for the overnight sail to Cape Horn.

Rounding Cape Horn

We arrive at Cape Horn at around 8am on February 1st. Cape Horn is actually an island so after viewing the actual southern most point with the famous Cape Horn lighthouse, we sailed around the island and then headed northeast for our next destination, Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. As we sailed around Cape Horn, there were other smaller cruise ships sailing around the area. As we entered the Atlantic Ocean the winds and the seas picked up a bit so it was a bit rough for much of the day and overnight sail towards the Falklands.

Falkland Islands

We were looking forward to the visit to the Falklands. There were quite a few interesting shore excursions available and we chose two excursions that involved scenic drives and visits to penguin areas.

During the port briefing the night before our arrival we were told there was a possibility that high winds would prevent tender boat operations, thus cancelling the Falkland shore visits. The final decision would be made in the morning when we anchored, when the Captain could assess the conditions and forecasts.

In the morning, it appeared that the winds were favorable, so we were all at our departure assembly points waiting for our turn to board the tenders. The early tour groups actually got ashore but then the winds started picking up an the forecast was not good. The Captain decided to cancel all shore tours and recalled all who already made it ashore. Needless to say, there was a lot of disappointed passengers, but we totally respect the Captains decision. If several hundred passengers were ashore and could not be returned to the ship the whole remain cruise itinerary could have been jeopardized. In addition Port Stanley does not have hotel accommodations to handle that many people and they would have been housed in local school gyms or auditoriums.

So we left the Falklands for the two day sail to Puerto Madryn Argentina where we hope to see penguins.