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Around the Horn in 80 days.

rafinmd

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

Talking about your "parting shot", Roy, our DD and her BF in Gander (both ATCs) said they contributed to the "pizza fund".🍕

That wonderful town comes through again.

 

Roy

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Day P11, Tuesday, January 15, 2019, Arrive Lima (Callao), Peru


I was up at 5 and when I went on deck about 5:45 we were about 65 miles from Callao.  I walked 4 laps for a mile.  The sun was due to rise at 6 but there was quite a bit of cloud cover.  After a valiant fight to emerge the sun came through on my final lap at 6:10.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dawn0115.jpg


There was a morning presentation on Yachts by Tim Calvert but by then I was starting to think about our arrival in Lima.  We started to get fairly close to land about 9:30 and starting to pass anchored boats.  We had our pilot by 10 and by 10:20 we were escorted by 2 tugs and the number of ships anchored just outside the channel was quite substantial.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/anchorage.jpg


I had expected we would be the only cruise ship in town.  As we got closer to the port it became clear there was another (and older) one.  It turned out to be a Phoenix Reisen ship, the Albatros.  Like the Prinsendam it was originally a Royal Viking ship, and the Prinsendam will become one of her sisters at Phoenix Reisen in July.  It was at the location where I have normally docked.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/albatros.jpg


We had a bit of a squeeze with tug assistance to get into a triangular patch of water with the Albatros at our bow and a huge container ship at our stern.   As we arrived (10:40) I was standing on the Lower Promenade deck aft near one of the deck hands with a rope.  His throw was perfect and we soon started attaching mooring lines.   Local vendors were starting to set up their stands on the dock.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/atlima.jpg


Callao is quite a large and busy port and just past the Albatros there was a row of about 5 freighters, mostly bulk.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/cargorow.jpg


There were some tours for our first afternoon in Callao but instead I just went into town for a walk.  The last time I was here on Holland America we had a shuttle to San Miguel Plaza, a shopping center without a lot else to offer, but this time the shuttle went to the JW Marriott in Miraflores, a much nicer location.  I left about 12:30 after lunch and walked inland getting as far as Park Kennedy.  That square (I did not see any reference to our late President and do not know if that was behind the name) contained a nice church and the apparent equivalent of city hall.  I returned past the Marriott to a walkway overlooking the beach (at about a 200 foot elevation) and stopped in at a little mall built into the hillside.  While walking I stopped in a pharmacy and picked up a few bottles of Inka Cola.  


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/callaowalk.jpg


I returned to the ship on the 3:30 shuttle, about a 45 minute ride.  Apparently new since my last visit a large stadium is nearing completion along our route.  A long line of trucks pulling containers was lined up waiting to enter the port.  I am friends on Cruise Critic with a HAL security officer; we have shared meals in person several times, when I was a passenger on the Oosterdam, on the Crystal Symphony when we docked next to his ship in Huatulco, and on the Crystal Serenity in Los Angeles.  To the best of my knowledge there are just 2 HAL security officers with North American police backgrounds.  John is retired from LAPD.  He had alerted me that his buddy Norm (retired from Calgary) was rotating onto the ship in Lima.  As I entered the deck 4 lobby Norm was standing about 10 feet away.  He came when I called his name and we exchanged greetings (both personally and on behalf of John).  He claimed to remember me from a previous cruise (2017 transatlantic) although it may have been the reference to John that tipped him off.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/cargoqueue.jpg


We were wondering at table 19 about our 5th member who had been on an overland trip to the Galapagos.  She was still not back, returning to the ship late in the evening.  Several of my tablemates had been on an afternoon boat trip where they saw lots of sea lions and Humboldt Penguins, and some would soon be off to an after dark light show in Miraflores.  I opted for the lamb chops and cherry crisp.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes15.jpg


There was a local show at 9:30 but I dozed off and missed it.  I heard it was good.


My parting shot–I seem to be dozing off more before bed time than I used to.  Must be a sign of advancing age.  Getting old is no picnic but it sure beats the alternative.


Roy

 

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Good morning Roy,

Love the sunrise glad you were able to get a picture on your last lap, and were expecting 

more rain today in San Diego today much needed but seeing your pic made me smile.

Enjoying your pictures and those lamb chops look yummy.

Inka Cola? Humm..... I wonder if it has more sugar content. I saw it on our adventures there but never checked it out. You know me , retired DDS always checking sugar content LOL.😉

Denise😊

 

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whogo

whogo

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1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

My parting shot–I seem to be dozing off more before bed time than I used to.  Must be a sign of advancing age.

I thought I had another fifteen years to go before I'd be one of the people who falls asleep at lectures. Nope.

 

Congratulations on spelling Albatros the correct German way. The Albatros is on a fantastic world cruise itinerary, headed to Bremerhaven with lots of ports on the way.

 

The Phoenix Reisen ship was used for a few seasons of the German reality TV program Verrückt nach Meer (Crazy for the Sea). The current Verrückt nach Meer season takes place on Phoenix Reisen's ship Artania. https://www.daserste.de/information/reportage-dokumentation/verrueckt-nach-meer/index.html

 

Perhaps the Prinsendam/Amera will be used in a future series. I have been enjoying Verrückt nach Meer despite my limited German abilities, maybe someone else will, too. The Phoenix Reisen ships seem to have big excursion and entertainment staffs. It's fun to see the bridge, kitchen, and below deck scenes. The Phoenix Reisen itineraries tempt me, don't know if I could handle that much German food and language and I am pretty sure my wife couldn't.

 

Thanks for the great thread, Roy.

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you Krazy Kruizers, Denise, puppycanducruise, and whogo.  Not sure how long it will be till my next post since tomorrow's tour is at 7 and we lose 2 hours that night.  I spelled Albatros the wrong way but had to google it for something and was corrected.

 

Day P12, Wednesday, January 16, 2019, Leave Lima


Our second day in Lima started pretty early.  I managed to get in a 6-lap walk before heading up to breakfast.  Tender 6 was left in the lifeboat boarding position (on the lower promenade deck) and the engine cover was open as if they were doing some significant maintenance on the boat.  It was back in place when I returned from my tour.  A fuel barge also arrived while I was walking.


4 of the regulars from table 19 (including the one just back from the Galapagos) were on a tour that started just after 8.  It was called Inca Civilization and Pachacamac and we left the pier at 8:30 with Rolando driving and guide Ruth who I thought was quite good.  Our first stop was near Plaza San Miguel at the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology.  The museum is a large building with 3 substantial gardens.  Ruth told us it was once a private home.  Some home!


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/limamuseum.jpg


I often do little collages of photos and this is one I could not pass up.  One of the exhibits is an ancient stone tablet that is pretty faded but right beside it is a poster with the markings on the tablet shown plainly.  The 2 panels are not quite as close together as I placed them but pretty close.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/plate16.jpg


I had surgery for prostate cancer in 1997 with a couple of lingering effects.  I need to use the toilet quite frequently but once there tend to finish much quicker than many men my age.  I was one of the first ones in when we had a rest stop midway through the museum and while waiting for the line to go down investigated a basement room the tour did not visit with some nice metal artifacts.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/metals.jpg


We finished with the museum about 10 and started the drive to Pachacamac, about 20 miles southeast of the port, traveling very briefly on the Pan American Highway.  It’s the site of a large pre-Inca settlement started about 200AD, adopted by the Inca, and flourishing until Spanish invaders arrived.  Surprisingly, the area is a desert (Lima is a product of intense irrigation) and we were pretty much in the middle of sand dunes.  We saw a number of large structures made of large adobe blocks and a tightly walled passageway up to one of the temples.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pachacamac.jpg


Our last stop at Pachacamac viewed a house used by the rulers and the fairest virgins they took into their homes.  It was likely not a very good outcome for the virgins as one of the principles of the culture was sacrificing their most beloved things to the gods.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pachouse.jpg


Our final stop was at a nearby hacienda.  We started things off with a demonstration of paso horses.  These horses are known for a special gait where they only raise one hoof at a time and the front legs do a high stepping strut.  In addition to being distinctive their gait produces a very stable ride without the extreme bouncing motion usually associated with horses.  A band played and a pair of dancers led the little parade.  When the horses had completed their routine a handler brought out a 4-month old colt to demonstrate that their gait is instinctive and not the result of training.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/paso.jpg


Next the dancers returned for a special dance where the man imitated the motions of the horses’ forelegs.  


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pasodance.jpg


Finally, the horses were brought back out and members of the group offered an opportunity to go for a ride.  About a half dozen of our people did.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/ourturn.jpg


After the show we went to a pavilion where a buffet lunch was being prepared for us.  As we were getting our deserts the dancers returned to a raised dance floor and performed, then started calling guests up.  There was quite a bit of talent on the dance floor–until they called me up.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/buffetdance.jpg


We returned to the ship about 4.  There is a fire station on site at the port.  I saw an engine out when leaving on the shuttle Tuesday but did not have my camera ready.  As I came in for the final time there was an ambulance and a command unit out on the apron.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/portfire.jpg


All aboard was 5:30 and we left the dock about 5:50.  The vendors on the dock sent us off with a farewell of their own.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/byelima.jpg


There was a special “Taste of Peru”dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and the ladies at table 19 all attended.  Jim had said he would dine in the lido and I decided this was the proper time to visit the Canaletto Italian Restaurant.  The menu had changed somewhat from my last visit but I was quite happy with the Canaletto Salad, Spaghetti Bolognese, and pistachio gelato.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes16.jpg


Sunset was 6:40 and I finished dinner about 7:05 but the sky ahead was still nicely colored as I left Canaletto.  There were movies in both the Showroom and Wajang Theater and I decided on the one in the Wajang which was a documentary called 180 degrees south on a person taking a long journey on a small sailboat and climbing a mountain in Chile.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dusk0116.jpg


I first visited Lima in 2007 on a river cruise on the upper Amazon with a side trip to the Nazca lines.  I passed through much of the area on our tour today on the way to Nazca but did not really remember anything of it.  One thing I do remember is not being impressed with the flight over Nazca and thinking the lines might be better viewed from a tall tower.  A week or two after that trip Lima was hit by a severe earthquake and the idea of a tower quickly went by the wayside.  On this tour I still saw damage from that earthquake over 11 years later.  Lima is overdue but may they continue to enjoy a respite from another such disaster for many more years.


Roy

 

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Loved your writings Roy. What a great tour you had. Loved the picture of you at

Pachacamac! The lunch and the entertainment you had on this tour was wonderful.

Looks like everyone had a great time and made it back to ship at 5:30 for 5:50 take off!

Thank you for the sunset pic too!

Enjoy tomorrow and your tour.

Denise😊

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you everyone.  Jacqui, most of the menus on the Navigator and listed on my menus page:  Hopefully Sherita will have more to say about it on Kathi's thread,  My menu page:

 

https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/menus/2019gsa/

 

Day P13, Thursday, January 17, 2019, At sea, MS Prinsendam


I thought the foot was coming along well enough to get in a 5-mile (20 lap) walk. I was on lap 17 when I diverted up to the lido for my second cup of coffee with plans to include 3 additional laps on the way to breakfast and lunch.  It was a cloudy day but the sun did find a little break in the clouds.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dawn0117.jpg


I had planned to get an omelet in the dining room at 8 and then go up to the lido for something else at 9.  I walked around the bow and stern to the dining room and was there longer than planned.  The omelet came with potatoes and I cancelled the 9AM lido visit and completed laps 19 and 20 right after breakfast.


When I returned from the dining room my cabin had not yet been made up.  I walked another 3 laps when they came by and one more on the way to lunch for an eventual total of 6 miles.


There was supposed to be coffee chat with comedian Russ Stolnack at 10:30.  Linda admitted she had forgotten to notify him (and he apparently did not read his When and Where or listen to the morning announcement) so she did an impromptu Q&A.  I asked her about the passenger count she said it was somewhere around 630 with 100 getting off in Buenos Aires and 100 more getting on.  I think there are quite a large number of solos so there are probably not many vacant cabins.


In his noon update Captain Jeroen talked a bit about Matarani and the Amazon.  I have been on the upper Amazon out of Iquitos on a river cruise.. He indicated that on an exceptionally rainy season Prinsendam would be able to go up the Amazon to Peru (perhaps once every 15 years).


Tim Calvert had a talk at 2 on Sir Francis Drake and Errol Flynn.  After the talk I walked through the Ocean Bar.  On the Grand Voyage there are dance hosts and the dance class appeared quite well attended.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/danceclass.jpg


For the third Gala Night plus Black and White Ball the dining room was set up beautifully and the penguins had very fancy vests.  With the late ball the late seating had a pre-dinner show.  Table 19 was very full as Kathi (Scrapnana) joined us as well as having the table hosted by Crystal from Guest Relations.  She is the one who takes care of our passports and visas.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/bwpenguins.jpg

I opted for the Apple Pear, and Cucumber Salad, the Turf from Surf and Turf and the Almond and Orange cake.    When I returned to my room the next pillow gift was a nice map of the Cape Horn area.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes17.jpg


The featured entertainment was Bailamos, a trio of very energetic young Canadian lads doing a wide variety of music.  I had seen them perform once before on the Zaandam, ironically then on the sea day after leaving Lima as well.  They will do a second show in the next few days.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/bailamos.jpg


The showroom also hosted the Black and White Ball where the officers all made themselves available for dancing.  It started off with a song by the Prinsendam Singers, followed by the arrival off the officers.  Captain Jeroen and the future cruise consultant danced briefly, and then invited others to cut in, and soon the other officers followed suit.  I stopped in only briefly and then headed to bed since my Matarani tour leaves at 7AM.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/ball3.jpg


My parting shot will be a wish for as smooth a transition as possible without massive disruptions as the UK seems to be headed for a hard Brexit.  I am a bit concerned that the move will add some customs hassles to my next trip as I have a bag being shipped from Amsterdam to Southampton on my next journey.


Roy

 

 

 

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Have to wonder about those penguins!  Do you think the ship's tailors are making all those outfits?

I'll bet they did.  Also, one of my pieces of luggage is a rather large backpack.  The waist strap had a cut and was almost sliced completely through.  The tailor knitted the ends together beautifully.

 

Roy

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Day P14, Friday, January 18, 2019, Matarani, Peru


This was an early day and in different ways long and short.  I was up at 5 and had walked 6 laps around the Lower Promenade deck by 6.  While I was walking we were approached by the pilot boar and a good 6 to 8 people boarded–I imagine the others besides the pilots were Immigration authorities stamping our passports to leave Peru.


I am not sure of the reason but our departure had been moved up from an original 5PM to 4 and our tour departure was moved from 8AM to 7.  The apparent attraction for Matarani is the city of Arequipa, some distance away.  It is reported that Matarani has essentially nothing to offer and a shuttle was offered to Mondello, a 40-minute hair raising drive away and people reported there was very little of interest there.  


There were just 3 tours offered at Matarani, 4 hours to the Meija National Wildlife Sanctuary and 8 hours to Arequipa, one “Sightseeing and Shopping” and the second primarily visiting a convent.


I was on the tour to the convent.  We had 2 buses for the tour, about 30 people on the first and 24 on the second one (mine).  The port of Matarani has just a narrow bit of land at the bottom of about a 300-foot cliff.  After ascending the steep road out of the port we passed through the town of Matarani which really did not entice me.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/matarani.jpg


The ride to the city of Arequipa was somewhat over 2 hours on a winding highway through a high desert terrain.  Along the way we passed some settlements with tiny buildings laid out in a grid pattern.  People bought lots with a promise that water would be brought to the settlement but that does not look like it will happen anytime soon.  I saw very few cars and assume most are seldom if ever visited.  We saw an oasis or two and looked down on a copper mine.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/highdesert.jpg


The Santa Catalina Convent was founded in 1580 and is the size of a small city. We entered at a lovely courtyard for a tour by a Convent employee.  In it’s almost 440 years it has changed many times with changing society and changing winds from the Vatican.  In the early years it was just assumed that for each family the first daughter would marry and the second would enter the convent while the first son would join the army and the second become a priest.  Our first stop was a room where in the early years a novice would spend her first year.  It sounded to me a lot like solitary confinement where the girl would return to her room after worship with the closest thing she got to human contact would be her meals passed in through the window.  The guide pointed out that the beds were placed under little archways as that was the safe place to be in an earthquake.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/noviceroom.jpg


After the first year the girl would live a somewhat less austere life.  In a later phase of the Convent the nuns actually had individual houses and had servants (funded by their families).  We stopped at the laundry, a series of vats with a little trough with water in the middle where the servant could block the trough and cause water to flow into one of the vats to wash the clothes.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/laundry.jpg


In that area we also got a peek at one of the nearby volcanoes.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/volcano.jpg


The use of individual homes and servants ended and another phase which ended just in the latter 20th century had the nuns all sleeping in a dormitory, shaped like a cross, bedding on cots suspended from hooks on the ceiling.  The former dormitory is now used as an art gallery and occasionally the site of classical music recitals.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dormitory.jpg


Various buildings have served unexpected uses over the years.  One of the early church buildings was converted into a community kitchen following a particularly bad earthquake.  There is one very nice square in a public area.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/maincourt.jpg


There are about 20 nuns today.  They are free to resign their status and leave the convent at any time but while still active they are allowed outside under only limited circumstances.  The Convent is closed to the public in the morning and opened only after the nuns have attended Mass and returned to their quarters.


We left the Convent a little after 11 and walked 2 blocks to the main square.  On one side of the square sat the Cathedral although it was not open and we would not have had time to enter anyway.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/cathedral.jpg


We had lunch in Arequipa at a local restaurant, the Sol de Mayo.  There were 2 long tables set up, one for each bus and a musical combo was playing at one end.  The guide said buffet but to me the term was more like family style with large plates of various dishes being placed on the table for about each 4 people.  We left the restaurant about 1:30.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/lunchsoldemayo.jpg


All aboard was at 3:30 and we were back at the port at 3:45.  I think others were behind us but by about 4 the crew had quickly removed all the furnishings from the gangway.  I think we started moving about 4:20.


We were all back at table 19 and our people had done several different things during the day including staying on the ship.  I opted for the cirrus delight, pork chop, and cherry crisp.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes18.jpg


The featured entertainment was flautist Andrea Amat.  She put on a very nice show.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/amat.jpg


I’ve talked about the long day and my parting shot will be the short.  It really was a short day.  In going from Peru to Chile we not only transitioned from Eastern time to Atlantic time but in moving towards summer in the Southern Hemisphere we also entered an area where Daylight Savings time is observed, losing not just one hour but 2.  A miserable way to end an evening.

Roy

 

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