I’ve got good news and bad news. I guess I’ll start with the good. Today was our first day ever in Chile. This part of the country is one of the driest places in the world and gets only 0.03 millimeters of rain per year so the landscape is even more Saharan than Pisco, Peru. We had a long tour through the countryside that would take us 150 kilometers from Arica. It was just hill after hill of gold colored sand; not much else to look at. Our destination was Codpa Village, a very small town with less than 300 inhabitants. After a series of switchbacks, we arrived there and were serenaded by a five piece band. It was considered rude not to dance with the local people so Ed and I got out there and hopped around with them. A few more passengers joined in and we danced for a few minutes. Then we walked around the town, which was very quiet and very clean. In the town square the people had set up some booths with local handicrafts and dressed the town llama so we could take pictures. We went to the only restaurant in town for lunch, most of which I stealthily put into a bag on my lap because I didn’t want to eat it nor did I want to offend the people working there. That was about it for the day.
The bad news is that there has been an outbreak of the norovirus on the ship. We’ve been warned about it since day one and have been told many times how to prevent it, but nevertheless it has crept onto the ship. Consequently the ship has taken some measures that have changed the tone of the shipboard life. There’s no more self-service anywhere on the ship, nothing communal will be in the dining room, like bread and salt and pepper, the “dance host program” is suspended, meaning the single ladies won’t have dance partners (Oh My!), the formal ball scheduled for tonight is cancelled, and sports equipment and jigsaw puzzles have been put away. That is really minor stuff but, of course, everyone is talking about it and hoping they won’t be the next one infected. But they say that if we all do our part to help (i.e., observe all the new rules, wash our hands to the tune of Happy Birthday and sanitize at every opportunity) we’ll get through this in 2-3 days.
The bad news is that there has been an outbreak of the norovirus on the ship. We’ve been warned about it since day one and have been told many times how to prevent it, but nevertheless it has crept onto the ship. Consequently the ship has taken some measures that have changed the tone of the shipboard life. There’s no more self-service anywhere on the ship, nothing communal will be in the dining room, like bread and salt and pepper, the “dance host program” is suspended, meaning the single ladies won’t have dance partners (Oh My!), the formal ball scheduled for tonight is cancelled, and sports equipment and jigsaw puzzles have been put away. That is really minor stuff but, of course, everyone is talking about it and hoping they won’t be the next one infected. But they say that if we all do our part to help (i.e., observe all the new rules, wash our hands to the tune of Happy Birthday and sanitize at every opportunity) we’ll get through this in 2-3 days.
I am really enjoying your Blogs Suzanne, thank you for doing them.
ReplyDeleteI can so see you guys dancing with the locals. Ed's unique midget dance for sure!
With all the dry weather, ship issues, questionable food and now the norovirus.... are you missing the comforts of home?
I'm off to India on Sunday but plan to keep up with you guys.
Love,
Lisa