February 9, 2025
PUERTO DESEADO, ARGENTINA
Puerto Deseado is a sleepy little town that gets 1 cruise ship, every 3 months. There is not a lot to do there, but it is home to a large colony of Rock Jumper penguins, seen here. We have to tender in from this port and wave swells are so high that it is not safe for us to tender to port our second day there. This was a bummer for us because a group of about 30 of us had planned and excursion out to see the rock hoppers up close and personal. Several others got to see them on our first port day, so we have their photo's to live vicariously. We did get some amazing sunsets and rainbows the last couple of days despite the choppy seas.
We met up with the Ship in Timor Leste or East Timor, one of the youngest countries in the World . This sovereign state just gained their independence on May 20, 2002 from prior Portuguese rule (1515 until 1975) and Indonesian occupation (1975 until 1999). The Ship was anchored off the coastal town of Dili, the capital city with a population of roughly 1.4 million.
I know people laugh when I say we took a vacation from the Ship , they view this whole amazing voyage as a vacation! But the reality is the Ship is my home now, and almost everybody loves a vacation away from home, to unwind and recharge! So my life on the Odyssey, is not that different. I really appreciated my two weeks away at Eco Cove Resort , on Yeben Island in Raja Ampat, Indonesia !
I got to do 14 dives and 5 snorkel trips over our two weeks at Eco Cove Resort. I feel much more confident and comfortable diving, practice does truly help! Eco has these t-shirts that list all their Resort excursions - we made a nice dent in all of them and it's hard to pick a favorite!