Puerto San Martin (Pisco), Peru

If I hadn’t known better, when I looked out the window this morning I would have sworn we’d landed in the Sahara Desert. All I could see were gold colored hills made of sand. This area of Peru is one of the driest on Earth, getting around 1.3 millimeters of rain in a typical year. Consequently there is very little vegetation so almost all of their food must be imported. Ten thousand years BC this was part of the Pacific Ocean and when it evaporated it left mostly salt, which is their main export. Most of it goes to Alaska to be spread on the roads to melt the snow.
We took a tour of the Paracas National Reserve where we saw thousands of birds and ever-changing scenery of different colors; gold, red, yellow and brown. It was truly beautiful for a barren landscape. Two years ago Pisco was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that lasted for three minutes, which is an eternity in an earthquake. We saw a place where a cliff had sheared off during the quake and left a fault line that will further change the coastline should another earthquake hit.
Here’s a funny story for anyone reading this who was on the Amsterdam with us two years ago: we’ve been talking about that trip and a couple of times have mentioned the “entertainer” with the boxes. You know who I mean! How bad he was and how embarrassed we were for him. So last night our entertainer was a juggler. Pete didn’t want to go because he said he hates jugglers. Sharon convinced him to go and he said “OK, but if he juggles boxes, I’m leaving”. This guy was the WORST juggler ever. He tried to be funny but wasn’t, he dropped things, and the final part of his act was….you guessed it, juggling boxes! Sharon and I looked at each other and started laughing and the more we laughed the funnier it got until we were almost sick. It was one of those “you had to be there” stories but it was hilarious!
That’s it for Pisco. Tomorrow we’ll be in unexplored territory: Chile.

Lima, Peru

This was the end of the first segment of the cruise. Approximately 100 people left the ship and about the same number of new passengers got on. We didn’t have a tour scheduled because we’ve been to Lima before, so we used the day for a little R&R. Pete and Sharon’s excursion to Machu Picchu was cancelled. Probably by now everyone has heard what happened there. They had torrential rain, more rain than they’ve had in 15 years. It washed away the railroad and flooded the area very badly. Since the railroad is the only way in or out of Machu Picchu, the visitors had to be air lifted out. The Peruvian government isn’t letting any other entity help them with the evacuation so it’s very slow. A couple new to our ship was one of the first tourists taken out; they were told they could take their passports, medications and money with them. They had to leave everything else there so they have no idea when they’ll get their belongings, if ever. As of now, there are still people trapped there.
The ship put on a lively barbeque that evening around the pool, complete with a Peruvian band and red and white bunting decorating the deck. After dinner the 4 of us were having dessert in the Lido restaurant when our entertainer from a few nights before, Bobby Brooks Hamilton, asked if he could sit down with us. He’s the one who is Jackie Wilson’s son. He spent about an hour regaling us with stories about show business and entertainers; who is nice, who is not, how they make their money, etc. etc. When he left he kissed Sharon and me and we promised to see his show when he comes to Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
The next day the 4 of us, plus Jan and Karen, hired a car and driver who took us outside the city to some Incan ruins. Our driver’s name was Elias and he was a lot of fun. He spoke English with a heavy accent so I had some trouble understanding him and missed a lot of what he was telling us, but the ride was nice and the views of the cliffs and the sea were spectacular. The ruins weren’t really much to look at but check out the world’s ugliest breed of dog!!!
We asked Elias to take us to a supermarket so we could pick up some wine and soft drinks. He took us to a nice grocery store that had an underground parking garage. We had to go up about 2 stories from the garage and there was a moving ramp to take us up. When we came out with our carts laden with heavy bottles I was a little hesitant to get on the ramp to go down, but as soon as our carts rolled onto the ramp they were magnetically attached to it and didn’t move until we reached the bottom. Just when you think you’re in a backward country you discover something amazing like that!
We’re approaching cold weather again. We saw a picture of the Veendam, Holland America’s ship that is two weeks ahead of us, cruising now in Antarctica. The decks are covered with 2-3 inches of snow!! That’s what we have to look forward to.

Manta Ecuador

We took a short tour today because most of our day was to be devoted to the football playoffs. Our tour guide, Edwin, had a very good command of English and gave us a lot of information about the area. This part of Ecuador produces most of the world’s tuna. He proudly pointed out the “Charlie Star Kist” factory when we passed by. Luckily we didn’t tour the factory; if we had I may have eaten another tuna salad sandwich .
Our first stop was the button factory. They produce buttons from a nut with a center that has the look and durability of ivory. It was Sunday morning but the factory was fully staffed. The workers have all five fingers bandaged as they slice the nuts in preparation for them to be made into buttons. It looked like monotonous work to me but they seemed to be happy enough. Many of them were doing this primitive work while listening to their ipods. The part of the nut that isn’t used for buttons is then made into small figurines and jewelry to sell to the tourists. They didn’t waste anything.
We learned that Panama hats are not made in Panama; they’re made in Ecuador. So, of course, we had to go to a workshop to see how they are made. It’s amazing to see the work that people in these countries are willing to do. They see it as a privilege to be a hat maker, a trade that’s handed down with pride from generation to generation. The hats are mostly made by the women, who are bent over a pedestal to achieve just the right angle to do the weaving. After 8 hours their backs must ache and at the end of this “career” I’m sure their backs are bent and arthritic.
Today we’re on the second of two sea days. Sharon and Pete were scheduled for a 3 day trip to Machu Picchu tomorrow but it looks like the trip is canceled due to some kind of natural disaster that has hit the area. We’re trying to get the details but so far we’ve only heard rumors.
We’ve been playing trivia every day and our teamed, named OH MICH, has gotten pretty good. Yesterday we had the highest score after we answered the tie breaker question correctly. We’re so proud!
Ed and I continue our dancing lessons. We’ve now learned the waltz, rumba and swing. But here’s what happens: as soon as we learned the rumba, we forgot the waltz, and now that we’ve learned the swing, we’ve forgotten the waltz and the rumba. It makes me crazy! Hopefully they’ll schedule some Dancing For Dummies remedial classes.
We’re going to spend the next 2 days in Lima. We’ve been there twice before and don’t have any plans while we’re there. After that it’s all new territory for us so hopefully this blog will get more interesting after that. Adios!

Panama Canal and Panama City

We sloooowly cruised into Panama City waters Thursday evening. Because it was a “no wake zone”, we took about 2 hours to travel a couple of miles, arriving around 5PM. We anchored offshore so we had a panoramic view of the beautiful skyline. That evening we met up with Jan and Karen from Calgary, Alberta, who had been on the Amsterdam with us. The 6 of us took the tender to the wharf area that I think is the main entertainment area for cruisers and tourists. We found a nice restaurant and had a drink together. It was good to be off the ship on a balmy night with new friends. (Picture below of the 3 girls.)
This is our second time to spend the night in Panama City. Everyone said that it isn’t worth the time or money to visit the city so we opted for a different kind of tour. We took a bus about an hour outside the city where we got an aerial tram that went through what our guide called a “forest” but I would call a jungle. The tram went up a few hundred feet where we exited and walked up a tower that was several more hundred feet in the air. There we were above the treetops and had a great view of the Panama Canal and the Chagres River, which supplies the canal with water.
After the tram, we visited a butterfly garden that had thousands of beautiful butterflies fluttering around loose and would occasionally land on people. Our guide warned us of this and showed us a mirror at the exit for us to examine ourselves to make sure we didn’t leave with a butterfly on our bodies. I did this and was satisfied that I didn’t have a butterfly hanging on. Several minutes later I looked down at my sandals and guess what was trapped in the velcro? Yep, a poor little butterfly. By the time I could get it unstuck, the unlucky fellow was practically torn apart and couldn’t fly anymore. I felt very sorry for him and guilty that I had ruined his life.
After a fairly rocky start (so to speak), the ship life is improving all the time. We all agree that we love our cruise director, Thom, who had big shoes to fill after Bruce, our Amsterdam cruise director. Sharon says he is a cross between Robin Williams and Tim Conway. The entertainment has been very good, too. Last night we had the son of Jackie Wilson, the black singer from the 50’s and 60’s. He looks just like his father and was a very dynamic entertainer. Of course, most his songs were from the 60’s and we all felt young again for a whole hour.
Next stop: Manta, Ecuador.

Columbia, Costa Rico and Panama Canal

Today is the 9th day of our cruise and still not much to talk about. Our first stop after Key West was Santa Marta, Columbia. Our ship docked at an industrial port on a very hot, sunny day. We hadn’t booked a tour so around noon Pete, Sharon, Ed and I (hereafter referred to as “the 4 of us”) took a shuttle into town. Santa Marta obviously doesn’t have many tourists because no one tried to sell us anything. We walked through the local market and didn’t see a thing to buy anyway. The shops seemed to be selling mostly cell phones, baby clothes, and small appliances. Pete and I looked into the local church on the square while Ed and Sharon, having “seen enough churches to last a lifetime”, waited outside. It was extremely hot and humid so we decided to walk to the beach to cool off. It was Sunday and the total population of the island had had the same idea we did, so the black sand beach was covered with little brown bodies in various stages of undress. We flicked a few pictures and headed back to the bus. So that was Santa Marta.
The next day we anchored off an island called Isla de Providencia, also in Columbia. There weren’t n any tours offered on this island because tourism doesn’t seem to have reached there yet. We decided to go see what it was all about and went to get a “tender ticket” because we had to take a boat from our ship to the island. We waited about a half an hour, all the time watching a tender boat hovering just a few yards from the ship, bobbing up and down in the water, with a few passengers on board. One curious person went to see why we were waiting so long and reported that there were apparently a couple of tenders with engine trouble. Since being stranded on a bouncing tender wasn’t our cup of tea, we concluded that staying on the ship was our destiny for the day. We changed into our swimsuits and went out to our newly refurbished back pool deck and had a lovely afternoon. And that was Isla de Providencia.
Next came Puerta Limon, Costa Rica. We had all been to Costa Rica a few times and we didn’t book an excursion there either, so, except for being bombarded with Costa Rican natives wanting to take us on various expeditions and journeys around the island, this was basically the same as Santa Marta. We just walked around town in the heat. Sharon and I did get a $15 pedicure and foot/leg massage at a makeshift salon that some Costa Rican girls had set up on the pier. That was the highlight of the day.
Today we’re transiting the Panama Canal which is always interesting but we have a bit of a “been there, done that” attitude.
Ship life is getting more fun. Ed and I are taking dancing lessons. We’ve now learned the waltz and the rumba. Tonight we’ll go dancing in the Ocean Bar and wow the crowd!! The 4 of us and another couple we’ve met, named Romeo and Joyce, have been playing trivia every day. It’s always fun and hopefully keeps our brains from atrophying (is that a word?). Our entertainment has been pretty good and there are game shows most nights that we enjoy, too.
That’s all for now. Things should get more interesting as we get deeper into South America. Let’s hope, anyway.

Getting Started

For all of you out there eagerly awaiting my first blog, here goes. I’m not very inspired but I’ll do my best. We had a very nice 4-day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas with our world cruise buds. The weather was terrible; cold, cloudy, rainy, especially in Cozumel, but we had plenty of warmth among ourselves. Lots of laughs and fun, then a tearful goodbye. After the cruise, Pete, Sharon, Ed and I froze our butts off for 2 days in Miami. I wore the same clothes the whole two days and couldn’t wait to board the Prinsendam.
We haven’t had a very auspicious beginning, though, aboard this ship. She had been in dry dock for several weeks and weather conditions had prevented completion of the work. So, consequently, the ship is not really ready for 700+ passengers. The rear pool deck is still under construction and probably won’t be open for a week or two. The gym is very small and well equipped, but there is no room for aerobics and we had to scrounge for a place to exercise. There are a few other kinks to be worked out, but we’ll get through it. Our cabin is very nice (think walk-in closet) and the layout is quite different from any other ship we’ve been on. Plus we have a window so I’m happy. Pete and Sharon were upgraded to a beautiful large suite. I don’t know what they did or who they know, but they sure are lucky. All in all, I have to say that so far I much prefer the Amsterdam. But, for that, too, time will tell.
It was a little bit like old home week in the terminal as we waited to embark. We saw at least 20 folks from the world cruise and every day we see one or two others who look familiar. (For the “Insiders”: remember Kyoko? She’s here with a NEW MAN!! His name is Siggy and he is very nice. Also, the blond woman who always competed with the others to dance with Bob! She’s here, still traveling alone, and has her eye on the dance hosts again.) . Buddy Mitchell, the Amsterdam’s “Name that Tune” piano man, is also here.
Our first port of call was Key West. It took the place of the Turks and Caicos and rumor has it that we couldn’t go to Grand Turk because the new mega-ship Oasis of the Seas was there and the island couldn’t hold any more tourists. We were disappointed because we’ve never been to Turks and Caicos. So we wandered around Key West for an hour or so and got back on the ship.
Today the ship is rocking and rolling. This is a much smaller ship than the Amsterdam and they say we’ll have some pretty rough days and nights, especially in the Pacific Ocean. Ed and I started taking dancing lessons today and it is quite a challenge trying to learn the waltz with the dance floor moving back and forth under your feet.
So, that’s all for now. Tomorrow we’ll be in Santa Marta, Colombia and I’ll send a full report after that.