The suggestion of a trip around South America on the ms Ryndam offered two attractions - another cruise on this lovely ship as well as visits to a part of the world new to us. The group quickly grew from two to four as Peter’s mother and her brother said they would go also. We flew with Qantas to Buenos Aires and then by a local airline to Rio de Janeiro. The Ryndam remained in Rio for a further day and a half, giving time for sightseeing.

In perfect weather, we went by taxi to the top of Corcovado (Hunchback Mountain) where the statue of Christ the Redeemer stands like a sentinel with outstretched arms watching over the city.

The views of Rio harbour, Sugar Loaf and the other rock outcrops with the city nestled among them were absolutely incredible. Rio was spread out below us, with its nine million inhabitants crowded into high-rise buildings in the valleys and into shacks (favelas) on the steep hillsides. After standing, just soaking up the view for quite a while, we continued with our sightseeing.

At Copacabana Beach the wide strip of white sand, backed by high rise apartments and hotels, and curving around to Sugar Loaf, was dotted with volley ball nets, rows of colourful deckchairs and multi coloured sun umbrellas. It appeared that the main activities for the scantily-clad suntanned crowd were to see and be seen but not actually to go in the water.

Our next stop was Sugar Loaf and the trip by cablecar which lifts the visitor 396m above Rio and the Baía de Guanabara. The views, once again, were absolutely breath-taking and add to the impression we have that Rio has the most spectacular setting of any city in the world. A tour of the city centre was rather an anti-climax after the intoxicating views we had experienced.

The Ryndam left Rio just before sunset and we sailed for Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. This is a charming city which runs at a slower pace than frantic Buenos Aires or Rio. Our walking tour took in the Plaza Independencia where a huge statue tops the mausoleum of the country’s greatest hero, José Artigas. Two elaborately dressed soldiers stand guard over the last resting place of Artigas which is the focal point of a totally-black marble room with a very low level of illumination. We had been advised to enter with caution as the (also black) internal stairs blend perfectly with their surroundings. We continued our walking tour of the major sights of central Montevideo then went by taxi to the Palacio Legislativo (Parliament House) which is an elaborate wedding-cake confection of marble. Then on to the Cerro de Montevideo after which the city was named. An old Spanish fort stands atop the 132m high "mountain" and it affords sweeping views of the city and harbour.

Our next port of call, Buenos Aires, is a beautiful city where the streets are lined with purple jacaranda and yellow cassia trees, both blooming when we were there. The jacarandas reminded us of home because the jacarandas were in full bloom when we left. The Casa Rosada, the Presidential Palace, in the Plaza de Mayo, has great historical significance.

We visited on a Thursday when the Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo were holding their weekly vigil. They were protesting the "disappearance" of their young people who expressed dissatisfaction with the government during an unparalleled reign of terror between 1976 and 1983. It was very moving to see thousands of photographs of the missing and the old women, with their headscarves, still seeking answers after 20 years. They have been joined in their protest by a younger generation of political activists. The Plaza de Mayo was the site of riots and the death of 27 people (hundreds injured) only two weeks after our visit.

The Metropolitan Cathedral houses the tomb of Argentina’s most venerated national hero, José de San Martin, guarded by two soldiers elaborately dressed complete with swords. The main avenue, the 16-lane Av. 9 de Julio, with its famous obelisk in a roundabout, cuts a swathe through the city. Crossing the avenue as a pedestrian is an interesting exercise requiring a couple of changes of traffic lights and nervously waiting on a tiny traffic island in the middle. The Argentinians are mad drivers!

There are many grand buildings in central Buenos Aires and quite a few parks. At the end of the Florida pedestrian mall stands the Plaza Libertador General San Martin with a memorial dedicated to the dead of the Falklands War. This is guarded by two serviceman who stand staring straight ahead at the "English Clock" in an elaborate tower likened to Big Ben in London. This was donated by the English community in Buenos Aires to celebrate 100 years of Argentinian independence from Spain.

We visited the colourful area of La Boca, originally an Italian enclave, but now an artists’ colony and tourist mecca. Another interesting corner of Buenos Aires is the Recoleta cemetery which houses, among hundreds of others, the grave of Eva Peron who is buried in the bosom of her family, the Duartes.

The over-the-top decoration of these vaults testifies more to the self-proclaimed importance of the family who erected them rather than to their grief at the death of a family member.

Our next scheduled port of call after Buenos Aires was Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Unfortunately, due to the port authorities delaying our departure, then having to wait 3 hours in the River Plate, we had to forego visiting Stanley. A half day of gale force 8 winds with 30 foot seas only compounded the problem. The Ryndam handled the big seas exceptionally well, but the loud bangs as she plowed into the swells reverberated through the ship. It was not a time to go out on the open decks.

Our cabin was quite spacious and the service great. We could not fault any aspect of the ship or the amenities and shows provided for the passengers. Probably I should not talk too much about the meals because I will be trying to work off the excesses in that department for quite a while.

After a few days at sea we reached Cape Horn, on a rather cool day (6ºC at noon) with a very strong wind. As we sailed south we had enjoyed watching the seabirds - albatrosses and petrels - soaring and gliding effortlessly around the ship.

Still in Argentina, our next port of call, Ushuaia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, is the most southerly town in the world. It has a lovely setting, surrounded by mountains snow-capped even in the middle of summer. Ushuaia is the jumping-off point for most Antarctic expeditions.

In beautiful clear weather we sailed through the picturesque Beagle Channel where a succession of glaciers reaching to or almost to the waterline kept cameras clicking.

Because we missed our call to the Falkland Islands, Punta Arenas, Chile was the only opportunity to see a penguin colony. The township has some grand houses from the late 19th/early 20th centuries which display the wealth and lifestyle that a few families achieved from the wool boom.

I went on a 12 hour fly-drive tour to the Torres del Paine National Park, famous for its spectacular granite pillars soaring above the Patagonian steppe and its shimmering turquoise lakes. The weather was not ideal, but our guide declared it was a "good day" because we could see the granite peaks - the Towers and the Horns.

We had close-up views of lots of absolutely gorgeous guanacos, wild llama-like animals.

Other residents of the park we saw were grey foxes, lesser rhea, condors, flamingoes, and upland geese.

After the Ryndam left Punta Arenas we threaded our way through the Straits of Magellan and had a close up view of the stunning Amalia Glacier, the wide face of which flows to the waterline. A tender from the ship recovered some ice which was brought back to the ship so passengers could have glacial ice in their drinks.

As we continued through the narrow waterway, we had a close view of rocks which are the home of a colony of sea lions and also blue-eyed cormorants.

From Puerto Montt we went with a group of other passengers on a tour through the Lake District of Chile. We visited the town of Frutillar, with a high proportion of German families who built picturesque wooden houses. Frutillar and Puerto Varas are both in a picture-postcard setting looking across Lake Llanguihue to the flawless snow capped cone of Osorno Volcano.

We drove between 2660m high Osorno Volcano and its snow-capped companion, the 2015m high Calbuco Volcano, looking like a broken tooth. From the incredibly turquoise Lago Todos Los Santos we had a view of the mountains soaring above dense forests, while underfoot there was the black evidence of volcanic eruptions of the past. We called at a property to see a puma in a cage and also a herd of llamas but were wary in case they spat at us. A market at Puerto Montt had beautiful woollens, wooden products and lapis lazuli at exceptionally low prices.

Sadly our cruise came to an end at Valparaiso from where we drove to Santiago on a highway flanked by vineyards. Our tour of Santiago encompassed a walk past the Plaza de la Libertad to the Plaza de la Constitución where the Presidential Palace is located, flanked by rows of Chilean flags. A stroll down the Paseo Ahumada pedestrian mall took us to the Plaza de Armas, the historical centre of Santiago, where a couple of dozen artists displayed their wares. Locals cooled off by dipping their hands in the fountain and others played chess, their brows furrowed in concentration. A taxi ride took us to the top of Cerro San Cristóbal where an enormous statue of the Madonna gives her blessing to the city. Maybe it is an imitation of Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio, but nowhere as spectacular. The hilltop Cerro Santa Lucía, a park with a fantasy of turrets and fountains, overlooks the main thoroughfare of the city, the Av. General O’Higgins known as the Alameda.

Our memories of South America with its varied and stunning scenery, the absolutely beautiful ms Ryndam and the friends we met on board, will stay with us for a long time. A fitting finale to our journey was a daylight flight across the Andes from Santiago to Buenos Aires. The mountains were clearly visible in an seemingly endless parade of snow-capped peaks, only becoming more bare as we approached the prairies of Argentina.

Our flight path home with Qantas left Buenos Aires shortly after midnight and travelled south to around 70º from where the pack ice of Antarctica was visible and we were in the land of the midnight sun. The sun rose in the south east and, as we followed the Great Circle Route we out-ran the sun so it actually set again in the south east. We landed in Auckland in darkness and experienced a normal sunrise prior to our take-off for Sydney.