WHO: Walter Lander, 62, and Kit Tong Ng, 42, of Boston
WHERE: South America
WHEN: Two and half weeks in February and March
WHY: The married couple chose a cruise geared toward gay men "because of the itinerary," Lander said. "It went to spectacular, exotic places and really seemed like something fabulous. And we love to take winter vacations to someplace warm."
GOOD CROWD: "We'd gone on smaller sailboat cruises before , but this was the first big boat, with about 650 people," Lander said. "I almost didn't book it because I was afraid it would be the young and the buff party people." That turned out not to be the case. There were people of all ages, but mostly in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and they met several nice couples. Lander also noted that the food on the 12-day Atlantis cruise from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro (atlantisevents.com ) was wonderful.
MUY BUENO BEEF: They spent a couple of days in Buenos Aires before boarding the ship and dined at Cabaña Las Lilas at the recommendation of their hotel concierge. "I had absolutely the best thing I've ever eaten," Lander said of the rib-eye steak he could cut with a fork. "Later we found out it was one of the best restaurants in the city." The tab for two was $60.
FIRST STOP, URUGUAY: Their first two ports of call were Montevideo and Punta del Este . "We did a walking tour of Montevideo," Lander said. "I was intrigued by the antique stores there, but I resisted. Punta del Este is a beach resort for rich Brazilians. We took a bus tour by some of their houses. There was a very beautiful beach area and an interesting sculpture, of fingers of a massive hand coming out of the sand." When the men weren't touring, they were enjoying their splurge -- a penthouse suite. "It was pretty fabulous," Lander said. "It had a sitting area and a veranda with sliding glass doors out to a patio."
A NUMBER OF THINGS: They enjoyed the beach and the public market at Florianópolis, Brazil. "We had to go to the post office there and [we] don't speak any Portuguese. That was pretty funny. We finally figured out we had to take a number to be waited on." They also liked Parati and Búzios, two beach resorts not far from Rio de Janeiro. "Parati was a historic town with an old mission and is a little fishing village." The locals seemed fine with an influx of gay men, he said. "We never experienced anything but true kindness."
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL: "I loved Rio," Lander said. "It was a really exciting city and really beautiful. And the people are so darn beautiful. They say it's the plastic surgery capital of the world, and that most of the population is under 30, so maybe that's why. But it also brought home that this is really the land of the haves and have nots." In Rio, Lander was thrilled to find the soccer shirt he wanted from the Vasco da Gama team. "I'm not really into soccer," he said. "I'm more into the jerseys."
